Story & Photographs by Diane Fleischman

 

It was a night of elegant evening gowns, tuxedos, networking, socializing, and dancing with plenty of selfie opportunities thrown in the mix at the annual Hispanic Chamber Gala held Friday night at the Musikfest Café. 

Humberto Chavolla, owner of Fiesta Ole, was honored with the 2018 Hispanic Community Partner Award.  In his speech, he emphasized the importance of his large family and heritage. 

The crowd stood up and applauded for Samuel Polanco, former CEO of Roberto Clemente Charter School, as he was awarded the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Polanco, who was raised in Puerto Rico, arrived in the United States as a teenager. He received a BS in physics from MIT, a BS and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan, and a MBA from Temple University.   

As a Lehigh Valley resident, Polanco was passionate and committed to help the Latino community through his volunteer work at the Hispanic American Organization and the Roberto Clemente Charter School.  Polanco served as President of the Roberto Clemente Charter School for ten years.

Another highlight of the evening was the silent auction with some of Lehigh Valley’s finest donors, Just Born, Inc., Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, Allentown Art Museum, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Mega 99.5FM, the Zoellner Arts Center and several other great companies. 

Special thanks to Danielle Joseph, Executive Vice President Diversity Councils of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, who coordinated the evening and kept the program on schedule.  The Valley Ledger remains grateful for the invitation to celebrate the evening with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. 

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Lehigh Valley is organized for the purpose of advancing the commercial, industrial, and professional interests of our Members and the Greater Lehigh business community as a whole. 

http://www.lehighvalleychamber.org/hispanic-chamber.html