The Napa County Hispanic Network invites the community to its 25-Year Silver Anniversary Scholarship Banquet on Friday, Sept. 12, at Silverado Country Club.

The Hispanic Network will celebrate 25 years of serving the community, honor the accomplishments of former scholarship recipients and award new scholarships to deserving local teens. The banquet starts at 5:30 p.m. with no-host cocktails, and will feature dinner, scholarship awards and silent and live auctions.

Among the former scholarship recipients to be honored is 1999 Napa High graduate Raquel Navarro. Navarro’s scholarship helped her to attend UCLA, where she completed a bachelor’s degree in political science and world arts and culture in June of 2003.

Navarro currently works as a senior account executive at Draft FCB, where she manages the Hilton Hotel corporate account. Since graduating from UCLA, Navarro has actively volunteered as a guest speaker at various schools in the Bay Area, including schools in Napa, helping students develop habits that will help them to be successful in school and in life.

Navarro’s lectures have covered subjects such as Sean Covey’s “Seven Habits of the Highly Effective Teen,” career mapping, and resume building. Navarro will be a keynote speaker at the Hispanic Network’s Banquet event.

Another honoree is Rafael Garcia Jr., a 1995 Napa High graduate who completed his bachelors degree in mathematics at UC Santa Cruz in 1999, then transferred to Sonoma State University to complete his teaching credential. This fall Garcia will be starting his ninth year at Napa High School, where he teaches mathematics.

The Napa County Hispanic Network was established in 1983 by local Latino leaders with the original intent of being an information-sharing alliance for the Hispanic community. Today, the mission of the Napa County Hispanic Network is to empower the Latino community by promoting higher education, building community partnerships, and achieving an equal voice on countywide issues.

For more information on Hispanic Network’s Silver Anniversary Banquet, to become a sponsor, or to advertise in the program, visit www.napacountyhispanicnetwork.com or contact Teresa Foster at 255-8666./Register