FL First Lady Columba Bush
Bush's Wife Among 'New Americans'
Florida's first lady, a university professor, a journalist, businessmen and philanthropists -- they chose distinct paths but have a common beginning. They're all immigrants.
On Friday, Catholic Charities Legal Services celebrated the achievements of six different ''New Americans'' at its second annual New American Awards Banquet.
The event at the Hotel Sheraton Bal Harbour, 9701 Collins Ave., was hosted by Archbishop John Clement Favalora to honor their professional work, diversity and community service: Horacio Aguirre, founding editor of Diario Las Americas; first lady Columba Bush; Carlos de la Cruz, a Miami-Dade Anheuser-Busch distributor and philanthropist; Jean-Claude Garcia--Zamor, a professor of public administration at Florida International University; Manuel D. Medina, founder of Terremark Worldwide, a development firm; and Dr. Rudolph Moise, an Air Force flight surgeon.
''Our concept of what an American is is changing,'' said Randolph P. McGrorty, executive director of Catholic Charities Legal Services. 'New Americans can be so many different things and [the honorees] symbolize what the `New American' is about.''
Catholic Charities Legal Services, a nonprofit established in 1998, works with the Archdiocese of Miami and provides affordable immigration legal services.
''We understand the importance that immigrants play in the United States -- especially in South Florida,'' McGrorty said of the New American Awards.
At the banquet's opening reception, the honorees mingled with some 300 attendees and kept busy shaking hands, accepting kudos and posing for pictures.
''It's a great honor,'' said Bush, who was born in Mexico. ``And it's great to be in Miami.''
''We're honoring an incredible woman,'' her beaming husband, Gov. Jeb Bush, said.
``And I like being the spouse tonight, instead of the governor.''