Register Staff

American Canyon City Councilmember Leon Garcia remembers the very first Napa County Hispanic Network benefit, a low-key and lightly attended affair 23 years ago that raised around $300 for local Latino youth.

Garcia reflected on that moment Friday night, as he surveyed a crowd of more than 300 guests at the Meritage Resort who had come to honor 20 students who received scholarships of $1,000 each during the network's annual banquet.

The recipients came from all over Napa County -- from Valley Oak High School to St. Helena High -- and several were Napa Valley College students who have have already transferred or are preparing to attend University of California campuses including Berkeley and Davis.

The event drew a bevy of Napa political, educational and business leaders for dinner, a silent auction and a brief live auction at the city's newest hotel.

Vicka Llamas, a past recipient of a Hispanic Network scholarship, captured the crowd with a high-energy talk of her own personal and professional journey. She is the daughter of two farmworkers who said it took a long time for her to fully respect and understand their sacrifices.

"My parents are the backbone of the wine industry," she said. "But all I saw was the dirt on their clothes. That made me embarrassed."

A negative encounter with a high school counselor caused Llamas to give up her college dreams, and she dropped out of Napa High at 17 to have a child.

But with the help of the network and others, she graduated, attended Napa Valley College, graduated from Sonoma State University and is now just months away from receiving her master's degree from CSU Sacramento.

A former teacher at Shearer Elementary and Napa Valley Language Academy, she is now coordinator of the teen pregnancy prevention program for the Napa County Office of Education.

Speaking of her parents and the parents of other scholarship recipients, she said, "Our success is their dream."

The keynote speaker, National Hispanic University administrator Maria Elena Riddle, addressed significant milestones of Hispanic leaders and emphasized the importance of education. She encouraged people from all walks of life to "have in your heart to break bread, share stories, work together to share the richness of our backgrounds."

The stars of the show, the 2006 scholarship recipients, came to the stage to receive applause and plaques from elected leaders in honor of their achievements.