Sandra Says

Last Saturday I joined @ 300 Hispanic community members, politicians, organizers, members of the media, and representatives from various organizations in the Houston Area Latino Summit. The purpose of the meet was to discuss issues relevant to the community. It was coordinated/led by Houston City Council Member James Rodriguez.

I promised to post my tweets from that day, so here I am (just a few days late):

sandrasays: I don’t know if there’s a hashtag for this, so will use #latinosummit for this. will be here until 1pm.

sandrasays: i have run into a couple dozen people I know including current and former members of the media, city PR staff, #latinosummit

sandrasays: also board members for community organizations, at least one independent filmmaker, and other friends #latinosummit

sandrasays: the room is hot! have been fed, am having starbucks coffee and sitting comfortabky (other than the heat) #latinosummit

sandrasays: remarks by state representative rick noriega #latinosummit

sandrasays: Dr. Stephen Klineberg is discussing the importance of the census #latinosummit

sandrasays: “Houston has a more even distribution of the four great communities than any other city in America” says Klineberg #latinosummit

sandrasays: Dr. Klineberg always does a great presentation about demographic trends in Houston. even if u think u know, it’s remarkable #latinosummit

sandrasays: education, workforce preparation is very important to the future of Houston says Klineberg #latinosummit

sandrasays: “everyone is entitled to their opinions, but everyone isn’t entitled to their own facts” #latinosummit

sandrasays: “houston’s diversity is a tremendous potential asset for this major port in the global economy” Klineberg #latinosummit

sandrasays: current topic “demographic change and districting” #latinosummit

sandrasays: hispanic population is disproportionately *) below 18 yrs old, *) younger adults, *) non-citizen, *) loewr income #latinosummit

sandrasays: “no evidence that hispanic participation is lower than anglos with the same socioeconomic characteristics” #latinosummit

sandrasays: discussion of neighborhoods historically high-hispanic with “new high cost housing” changing the dynamics of the community #latinosummit
v>
sandrasays: “hispanic population growth has begun to concentrate in new, hard to dsitrict areas” #latinosummit

sandrasays: almost as many hispanic students in conrose high school as in jeff davis high school (WOW!) #latinosummit

sandrasays: areas being discussed are West Harris County, Alief ISD, Hiram Clarke #latinosummit

sandrasays: Houston city council districts with high spanish surname registered voters: I, H, F, A #latinosummit

sandrasays: District I 43%, District H 36.5%, District F 18.5%, District A 17.4% #latinosummit

sandrasays: Spanish surname oters in new areas: West Harris County 18.9%, Hiram Clarke 18.3%, Alief 14.1% #latinosummit

sandrasays: Discussion of need for workforce preparation is interesting, especially for me #latinosummit

sandrasays: @houstonlibrary is still in launch mode for Digital Inclusion Initiative, which focuses on digital literacy (computer skills) #latinosummit

sandrasays: Q&A session with Dr. Klineberg and Jerry Wood. Interesting questions. #latinosummit

sandrasays: nearly every meeting I’ve been to in the last two weeks has had census as major discussion. this includes personal lunches. #latinosummit

sandrasays: today is no different, accurate census is important, census is important, census is important #latinosummit

sandrasays: Jerry Wood is trying to answer “political philosophical question” of why we need at large council positions #latinosummit

sandrasays: next is Diana Davila, HISD trustee #latinosummit

sandrasays: @choicestoday is here as well. yeah! have beeninvited to post-summit lunch. #latinosummit

sandrasays: HISD is huge! Interesting to hear what they offer, especially in special programs/educational venues #latinosummit

sandrasays: HISD has early colleges where students graduate with a high school diploma and an associate’s degree #latinosummit

sandrasays: @choicestoday who’s with you at the #latinosummit?

sandrasays: all HISD high schools offer dual credit enrollment #latinosummit

sandrasays: looking at stats for enrollment vs completion for dual enrollment. standard seems to be @ 50% completion rate, +/- 5% #latinosummit

sandrasays: sory, mistyped, 50% compltion is for AP, nearly 100% for dual credit. why the difference? #latinosummit

sandrasays: ss="msgtxt en">HISD drop out tates: hispanics 66% #latinosummit

sandrasays: Ok, of the 22% of the students who drop out, 66% are hispanic. (another example of why I am no good at reading stats) #latinosummit

sandrasays: of the drop outs, only 7% are immigrants. only 18% are liminted english. 66% are hispanic #latinosummit

sandrasays: I am wondering what the overlap is in these stats? how many students are part of all three pools? #latinosummit

sandrasays: educational income comparison: less than high school @ $20-$27K #latinosummit

sandrasays: high school diploma @ $41K; certificate $48K; associate degree $56K; bachelor’s $60K+ #latinosummit

sandrasays: there are national averages. Houston real incomes for these may be less. #latinosummit

sandrasays: info provided by HCC. salaries are based on national average. #latinosummit

sandrasays: Professional note, every presenter so far has done a really good job with their presentations #latinosummit

sandrasays: speaking to a room with 300 active, vocal members of the community is not easy. credit to them for making it look easy. #latinosummit

sandrasays: another note, this is a lot of preachiing to the choir #latinosummit

sandrasays: “el respeto al derecho ajeno da la pa” #latinosummit

sandrasays: “el respeto al derecho ajeno da la paz” means repecting others’ rights (and property) gives way to peace #latinosummit

sandrasays: next topic is immigation reform, presentations due by attorneys from Vinson & Elkings and Foster Quan #latinosummit

sandrasays: 10-year-old reporter for Time Life Kids was just introduced. So cute! #latinosummit

sandrasays: presentation by Foster Quan is the best yet. Great facts, powerpoint, speaking points #latinosummit

sandrasays: “we are not doing enough” for immigration reform, says lawyer presenting now (what’s his name? was distracted) #latinosummit

sandrasays: sensible reforms: secure our borders; create an efficient temporary worker program; create a fast, … #latinosummit

sandrasays: … {{I don’t type fast enough! missed a few good ones}} SENSIBLE ACTIONS: earned media… {{missed more}} #latinosummit

sandrasays: 76% of polled support letting children brought into the country illegally to stay here legelly #latinosummit

sandrasays: 72% of polled think that if you serve in armed forces you should be given chance to become legal/resident #latinosummit

sandrasays: 72%, are the other 28% going to Iraq in theri stead? (asks the lawyer) #latinosummit span>

sandrasays: we need to get involved, it’s our responsiility to make our elected officials accountable #latinosummit

sandrasays: lawyer says check out www.americansforimmigrationreform.com for more info #latinosummit

sandrasays: Anna Nunez is giving info from her seat: nclr.org, americasvoiceonline.org, truthinimmigration.org, mmirr.org #latinosummit

sandrasays: sorry, that was nnirr.org #latinosummit

sandrasays: @choicestoday asked question, lawyer response is “time is now” — didn’t hear the question, sorry @choicestoday #latinosummit

sandrasays: #latinosummit is running @ 40 minutes behind schedule

sandrasays: remarks by state senator Mario Gallegos #latinosummit

sandrasays: we are now running @ one hour behind at #latinosummit

sandrasays: next topic will include Dr. Laura Murillo, Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Leo Vasquez, new tax assessor #latinosummit

sandrasays: Leo Vasquez, Harris County Tax Assessor, is now giving remarks #latinosummit

sandrasays: want to make changes? register to vote, and actually go out and vote, says Leo Vasquez #latinosummit

sandrasays: remarks by Dr. Laura Murillo, CEO of Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce #latinosummit

sandrasays: this latino community is spending $22 billion in the Houston community, says Murillo #latinosummit

sandrasays: “we may not agree, and we may not always like one another, but there are issues where we have to come together,” says Murillo #latinosummit

sandrasays: “sometimes being a leader means you follow,” Murillo #latinosummit

sandrasays: advice to students: “find a mentor” says Murillo #latinosummit

sandrasays: next is Hector de Leon www.hectordeleon.com on “understanding electoral emplowerment” #latinosummit

sandrasays: Understanding electoral empowerment, then closing remarks #latinosummit

sandrasays: the crowd has thinned out a lot, just the die-hards remain (and me). de Leon just started his presentation. #latinosummit

sandrasays: common themes: community needs to organize better, become a voter, keep informed, help get the word out #latinosummit

sandrasays: a lot of discussion on “let’s stop talking about it and actually do it” in various forms #latinosummit

sandrasays: and we are now running @ 70 minutes behind schedule #latinosummit

sandrasays: and we are now running @ one hour 20 minutes behind schedule #latinosummit

sandrasays: questions from the crowd are interesting. pointed on specific actions to push immigration reform bills, sponsor immigrants #latinosummit

sandrasays: Time for Kids reporter asked “what can kids do to become more involved” — great question from the 10-yr-old reporter #latinosummit

Okay, technically the Houston Public Library is one of the six winners announced for the 2009 John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Awards

Six libraries are winners of the John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award, which recognizes and honors outstanding achievement in library public relations. The John Cotton Dana honor has been awarded continuously since 1946 and is sponsored by the H.W. Wilson Company, the H.W. Wilson Foundation and the Library Leadership and Management Association (LLAMA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is considered to be the most prestigious of all library awards in the field of public relations.

“The judges enjoyed reviewing the many submissions and were impressed by the quality and creativity of the public relations campaigns being executed by libraries of all types and sizes from across the country and Canada,” said award committee Chair Linda Holtslander. “Public relations and marketing efforts are more important now than ever to communicate the many valuable services and programs provided by libraries to meet the increasing needs of their customers in these challenging economic times.”

[snip]

Houston Public Library, Houston Texas, for “A New Chapter,” its public relations campaign for the grand re-opening of the newly renovated Houston Central Library. Recognizing that this event marked “a big step in a new direction” for the library, it leveraged this event into a successful ongoing campaign featuring striking graphics reflecting images of Houston’s diversity, earning significant media coverage, attracting 20,000 people to the reopening event and increasing usage by non-traditional customers.

[snip]

Consider that there are more libraries in this country than McDonald’s. So, pardon me if I pat myself on the back for helping win what is “considered to be the most prestigious of all library awards in the field of public relations.”

Kudos go to Donna Jackson, our branding manager, for the “striking graphics” mentioned, to my colleague Blanca Quezada, who helps me every day (without whom I would be lost, literally) and worked tirelessly and effectively to promote the grand reopening, to my former fearless leader Robin Cavanaugh, who brought in partnerships and coordinated logistics, and to Steve Hill, grants coordinator and architect of the awards submission.

And now, I will cease my boasting and gratitude.