North Hempstead Supervisor Judi Bosworth and the town board recently honored seven local Hispanic-American residents at Town Hall as part of the town’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month. Those honored were recognized for positively influencing the North Hempstead community in a variety of ways.
Among those honored was Yanira Chacon-Lopez, who was chosen by Councilwoman Viviana Russell. A resident of Westbury, Chacon-Lopez has worked at Saint Brigid’s Church in Westbury, serving the Spanish community in Westbury/New Cassel for the past 14 years. Chacon-Lopez has been recognized on many occasions for her advocacy and community service. She has been the recipient of the Pax Christi L.I. “Peace Maker” Award and honored by the Central American Refugee Center, the New Cassel Westbury Progressive Partners, the Haitian American Psychiatric Association, among others.
“The individuals we are honoring for Hispanic-American Heritage month are truly an inspiration to us all,” Bosworth said. “They have put so much effort into bettering our community and the amount of dedication and devotion they have to the Town of North Hempstead is admirable.”
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 in the United States, and provides an opportunity to recognize the contributions made by Hispanic and Latino Americans and to celebrate the group’s history, heritage and culture. Sept. 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American Countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on Sept. 16, 18 and 21, respectively.
—Submitted by the Town of North Hempstead
