Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, January 5, 2019

SATURDAY, JANUARY 5, 2019

AROUND SAN GABRIEL VALLEY


REYNA AND RUBEN DIAZ:

DUARTE’S DYNAMIC DUO 


By Joan Schmidt

 It’s hard to believe it was twenty-six years ago 
when I met Reyna Diaz and was so blown away 
by this modest woman who did so much for her 
community. When the Town Council Formation 
Committee met from March-June, 1993, she was 
translator. Reyna also walked her Duarte county 
area, encouraged people to attend the meetings, 
register to vote, and vote for a school bond. (And 
they did!)

 Reyna had come from a war-torn El Salvador 
with a baby daughter, Violet. She met her soul 
mate, Ruben; they married and raised Violet and 
two sons, Junior and Alfredo. All these years, 
they have done so much. It began with the annual 
Christmas trip to Mexico or El Salvador with 1000 
boy toys and 1000 girl toys. Reyna had fundraiser 
dinners to achieve this. She expanded what she 
brought, adding items of clothing, and brought 
many on board. Her dear friend Margaret Finlay 
joined the cause. I remember the year Margaret’s 
five children, still living at home, chose to receive 
only one Christmas gift and all other monies went 
to toys for children in those countries.

 There have been many natural disasters over 
the years. Again, Reyna and Ruben would host 
dinners to raise money for the victims.

 One of my fondest memories is the day Reyna, 
the first Latina, and Unincorporated Duarte 
resident was sworn in on the Duarte School Board 
with Ken Bell. We both were teary-eyed and I 
asked her if it was the proudest day of her life. She 
said, “No, imy proudest day was the day I became 
a citizen.”

 In September 2017, Reyna was honored as the 
Hometown Hero of the MAD County Area at 
the County Fair for all she has done and all she 
continues to do.

 This year, with their Christmas card, Reyna and 
Ruben requested donations for the Duarte Kiwanis. 
In 2018, they distributed 80 basic needs and food 
baskets at the cost of $30 each. 40 of them were 
distributed to people living in extreme poverty 
in Parakeet Island in El Salvador. These families 
depend on the shrimp economy- which at the 
time was prohibited due to reproduction months. 
The remaining 40 baskets were distributed among 
families that make between $2 and $6 a day. They 
donated a 3D printer, 8 rolls of printer material, 
6 pairs of headphones, 8 computer cameras and a 
sound system to the Fusalmo Center which helps 
out more than 7000 youths prepare for a better 
future. They gave a bed, mattress, and bedding to a 
four-year old girl with cerebral palsy so she could 
sleep on a bed for the first time. They also gave 
her mom a carriage so she could have outings to 
the park. Sixteen youths came to participate in a 
Taekwondo Competition, needing towels, sheets, 
food and personal hygiene items, and they were 
taken care of.

 On January 28, Ruben and Reyna will be making 
their journey to El Salvador. Their mission is to 
prepare a luncheon that will feed 200 people who 
give their time and love, working hard to prevent 
thousands of youths from falling into the hands 
of gangs, violence and drugs. The luncheon will 
take place January 31. They also would like to take 
school supplies to a very poor school.

 They ask for your help in these endeavors. 
Checks can be made out to Duarte Kiwanis. 
Address: Duarte Kiwanis P.O. Box 46 Duarte, CA 
91010.

STELLA ROSA FLOAT WINS TOURNAMENT OF 
ROSES GRAND MARSHAL AWARD

(Los Angeles, Calif.)- On January 1, 2019, award-
winning wine brand Stella Rosa made its second 
appearance in the world-renowned Pasadena 
Rose Parade and earned the prestigious Grand 
Marshal Award for “Most outstanding creative 
concept and float design.” “The Stella Rosa brand 
is an important part of my family’s historic San 
Antonio Winery in Los Angeles, and we couldn’t 
be prouder to have received such a prestigious 
award for our float in the world-renowned Rose 
Parade,” said vice president Steve Riboli. “We 
thank everyone who worked on our float from 
Fiesta Floats to the designer Mike Abboud and 
the volunteers who dedicated countless hours 
of their time. And of course Kool & The Gang 
for performing on our float and adding to the 
excitement!”

 In keeping with the theme “Melody of Life”, 
the 55-foot long Stella Rosa float featured the 
legendary Grammy-award winning band Kool 
& The Gang, which has influenced the music of 
generations and fittingly kicked off its 50th year 
anniversary by “stellabrating” at the Rose Parade. 
The band sang their classic hit “Celebrate Good 
Times” with a twist, changing it to “Stellabrate 
Good Times”. Accompanying the band was a 
troupe of fifty dancers who danced in the street 
alongside Kool & The Gang, down the five-mile 
route as one million parade attendees cheer on, 
and an estimated 44 million watched across the 
country.

 “Stella Rosa’s vision really drove what would 
become an award-winning celebration of life 
and music,” said Tim Estes, president of Fiesta 
Parade Floats. “The Tournament’s recognition 
of the Stella Rosa float was well-earned and an 
acknowledgment of a strong message delivered 
through floral presentation, engineering, and of 
course, incredible entertainment.”

 Since the Riboli family created Stella Rosa 
15 years ago, it has become the number one 
imported Italian wine in the country, and 
earned Shanken’s Impact Hot Brand five 
consecutive years, and been named a Blue Chip 
brand four consecutive years. To thank all their 
loyal customers through the years, the Riboli 
family also gave back by incorporating a “Wish 
Upon a Stella Rosa” campaign, in line with the 
magical genie atop the float, appearing from a 
sculpted wine bottle and soaring over bountiful 
vineyards of Northern Italy. The campaign 
was focused on the holiday spirit of granting 
wishes. Fans from across the country submitted 
three wishes online at www.stellarosawines.
com with a short description as to why they 
should be chosen. Winners were chosen based 
on creativity and more importantly, on how the 
granted wish would impact and improve their 
life.

 

 About Stella Rosa Wines: Award-winning Stella 
Rosa wines is a creation of the Riboli Family of 
San Antonio Winery, Los Angeles’ original urban 
winery established in 1917. Produced in a small 
town in Northern Italy, Stella Rosa has become 
the number one imported Italian wine in the U.S. 
For more information, visit www.stellarosawines.
com.

SCHIFF STATEMENT ON BEING NAMED 
CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE PERMANENT SELECT 
COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE

Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-
CA) released the following statement after Speaker 
Nancy Pelosi named him as Chair of the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence:

 “For four decades, the Intelligence Committees 
have occupied a unique place in the Congress 
and our democracy. Founded in the aftermath of 
the Church and Pike Committee hearings into 
the nation’s intelligence activities, the House 
Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and 
its Senate counterpart, have acted as a steward for 
the Congress and the American people in carrying 
out oversight of the nation’s most sensitive 
intelligence programs. In exchange for the 
Intelligence Community’s willingness to reveal 
closely guarded national secrets to a select group 
of members and staff for the purposes of oversight, 
the committees and the congressional leadership 
pledged to handle that information responsibly 
and without regard to politics. That compact 
continues today.

 “It has been an honor to serve for the last decade 
on the Committee, and for the last four years as 
the Committee’s Ranking Member. I am deeply 
grateful to Speaker Pelosi for asking me to serve 
in that capacity, and for her confidence in me to 
serve as the Committee’s Chairman at such a 
momentous time in our national life.

 “Despite the enormity of the Committee’s 
responsibilities – the oversight of seventeen 
different agencies – and the added responsibility 
of the investigation into the Russian attack on 
our democracy, I look forward to an invigorated 
committee that will both provide guidance and 
authorization to the Intelligence Community, 
while also rebuilding internal comity and 
strengthening the relationship between the 
Congress and the Intelligence Community. The 
last two years have been difficult ones for the 
Committee, but even in the darkest times, we 
have come together to pass significant legislation 
that both protects our national security, as well 
as our privacy and civil liberties, and conducts 
rigorous oversight.

 “This year, we must once again rise to meet 
this immense challenge – and my Democratic 
colleagues and I pledge to put the nation’s security 
and our constitutional responsibilities first, and 
to make every effort to conduct our work in a 
transparent and nonpartisan fashion.”

Photo: Nancy Newman Photography

NAPOLITANO VOTES TO END TRUMP SHUTDOWN 
& REOPEN GOVERNMENT

(WASHINGTON, DC) Today, Rep. Grace F. 
Napolitano (D-El Monte) voted to end the 
Trump Shutdown and reopen the federal 
government, issuing the following statement: 
“After formally assuming control of the House 
today, Democrats passed the same legislation the 
Republican-led Senate approved on a bipartisan 
basis a few weeks ago. It reopens the federal 
government, which President Trump recklessly 
shut down because of his tantrum over a border 
wall, a ploy that only a quarter of Americans 
support. We firmly reject his wasteful, immoral, 
and ineffective wall, which would do nothing to 
make us safer. The President continues to hold the 
paychecks of 800,000 federal workers hostage, and 
this must end immediately. 

 “The situation at our southern border demands 
our attention and meaningful action. We should 
be focusing on a comprehensive solution to the 
underlying issues, including addressing the 
root causes of migration to our country. We 
will continue to work toward reform that serves 
America’s interests, promotes fairness and 
the rule of law, and contributes effectively and 
meaningfully to our economic well-being. 

 “We urge the Senate to quickly pass this measure 
and the President to sign it, so people can get back 
to work and be paid.”


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