OUR HISTORY

Hispanic Annual Salute: A Hallmark to Inspire

The U.S. Census indicates Colorado as one of only nine states consecutively measuring Hispanics as the largest minority group since 1970. Colorado's Hispanic community is unmistakably strong and active, tirelessly working toward improving the future. This hallmark is demonstrated by one local family that has made a difference for over a quarter of a century.

M. L. Sandos was a first-generation Hispanic who lived the American dream. He became the first Hispanic City Councilmen in Denver's District 3, and passed away happily married to the love of his life, Ethel, with nine proud children. Sam was successful, both professionally and personally, and this success inspired him to give back.

He did more than his share of community service. Yet, it was bestowing the volunteerism value within his children that was his most important service. He witnessed how his commitment to the community was contagious among his progeny, who have all since been life-long volunteers for numerous causes. This gave Sam the notion to recognize the volunteers who ensured the Hispanic role within Colorado as appreciation and motivation to others.

When the unforgettable Bernie Valdez and still-inspiring Ron Montoya were at the pinnacle of their activism, there were no sustaining charitable organizations before 1980 recognizing those changing the Hispanic face of Colorado. Sam speculated that there were benefits to recognizing these leaders; recognition would inspire even more volunteerism among others just as it had done with the Sandos siblings.

And this was the reason for establishing the Hispanic Annual Salute.

Dynamic community leaders were recognized at a dinner with an award and a monetary gift to be given to the non-profit organization of their choice. For 15 years, it was considered an honor to sit on the Hispanic Annual Salute's Board of Directors, the only organizing committee for the annual dinners. Selecting the recipients had a unique quality that inspired many to participate on the board. Sam was right. Inspiration through recognition seemed to be a successful formula and benefited many people.

From the very beginning, it was the community members support that contributed to the success of the Hispanic Annual Salute. As time went on, these people took inevitable turns away from the organization. In 1998, retirements, market conditions, and career changes forced a mass exodus of organizers. This ultimately limited the ability to raise funds for the monetary awards. The outgoing Board made the important insight that if Sami's dream was to continue, the Board of Directors would need to consist of family members and not community members.

The current President for the past ten years is one of Sam's nine children, Daniel Sandos. Dan took over as President of the organization in 1998 and in an effort to reach more students, he made the number one agenda item fund raising.

Now, the Hispanic Annual Salute would not only recognize adult leaders with monetary gifts but also young leaders by awarding college scholarships. Because Sam and Ethel also believed in education for their children, it made sense to combine college scholarships with volunteerism as criteria to determine the youth recipients. This created even more uniqueness to the organization because scholarships were not only based on grades but also on character.

The Sandos Family is far too humble to add up all the scholarship dollars and monetary gifts in order to pat themselves on the back. However, current records show the Hispanic Annual Salute has been responsible for helping 30 students fund their higher education in just the past years. A total of 24 $2,500 scholarships and six $8,000 scholarships have been awarded and funded only since 2005.

It is still considered an honor to sit on the Board of Directors for many reasons. Though successes and failures, the Hispanic Annual Salute Board of Directors continues to be free of debt, all volunteers, and family centric with no overhead. This ensures, without a doubt, that every scholarship meets its obligations until the recipient graduates. All of this is to appreciate those who built the unmistakably strong and active community while making todays youth a safe bet to become tomorrow's leaders.

Thus, Sam's hallmark became the Hispanic Annual Salute's legacy.