ALVA San Diego Expo & Awards: A Great Success

San Diego, CA – The American Latino Veterans Association (ALVA) held a successful expo and awards reception in the historic Liberty Station district in San Diego, California on Wednesday June 25th, 2025. This was ALVA’s first event in San Diego and it was a great success.

The event was sponsored by Wells Fargo (represented by Antonio Barbosa) and was hosted by World Wide Technology (represented by Bruce Rice) and NPower (represented by Chris Starling). The event included guest speaker Kate Monroe of VETCOMM. “We were honored to hold this important event in beautiful San Diego where so many have served in uniform and where so many veterans reside,” stated ALVA Founder/Chairman & CEO, Danny Vargas. He continued, “The panels were enlightening and valuable and the stories of the honorees were inspiring and moving. We greatly appreciate our sponsors, partners, supporters, and friends who made this event possible and those who believe in our mission to help Latino veterans thrive and recognize their indispensable contributions.”

The ALVA Award Honorees were:
– Veteran in Business Award: Jeffrey Rosales
– Community Service Award: Livier “Livy” Lazaro
– Military Service Award: Carlos Gomez Perez
– Role Model Award: Guillermo Diaz, Jr.
Profiles of the honorees can be found here: CLICK HERE FOR HONOREE PROFILES

The first panel, focused on Future Proofing Your Skills (AI and Technology Impact), was moderated by Guillermo Diaz, Jr. and the panelists were
– Bruce Rice
– Jeffrey Rosales
– Chris Starling
– Jeffrey Vargas
The second panel entitled “From Classroom to Courage to Career” was moderated by Danny Vargas and the panelists were:
– Efrain Apodaca
– Jorge E. Calixto
– Livier “Livy” Lazaro
– Rocio Perez
Profiles of the speakers can be found here: CLICK HERE FOR SPEAKER PROFILES

Photos from the events can be found here: CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS
Video from the events can be found here: CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS

Please visit our website www.alvavets.org and follow us on social media @alvavets to learn more about our other programs and future events.

ALVA Membership is free to all veterans (including guard and reserves), active-duty personnel, and their families. We recognize that military service is not an individual exercise, but rather a family endeavor. Visit the website to join and become a member of ALVA today.

About American Latino Veterans Association (ALVA):
The American Latino Veterans Association (ALVA) is a registered 501c3 that exists to help American Latino veterans thrive after their military service, access the benefits they have earned, and enhance recognition of Latino contributions to our nation’s defense since before its inception. For more information on ALVA visit https://www.alvavets.org or follow us on our social media channels @alvavets

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