Filipina named California district’s ‘Woman of the Year’
SACRAMENTO, California—Vallejo resident Belle Santos was selected 2011 “Woman of the Year” for Assembly District 7, which covers all of Napa County and parts of Sonoma and Solano Counties.
In ceremonies at the State Capitol last March 21, 7th District Assemblyman Michael Allen presented Santos with the plaque of recognition, honoring her, according to the biography read on the Assembly floor, as “a driving force for various activities in Vallejo and the Bay Area — as Vallejo Pilipino Youth Coalition (PYC) advisor; as a former Field Representative of former State Senator Wes Chesbro; and currently as a Planned Parenthood manager in Concord, California.”
Santos was honored along with women awardees from each of California’s 79 other Assembly districts. She is the second Filipina to be named “Woman of the Year” for District 7. Last year, Lilibeth Pinpin, a biotechnology teacher at Vallejo’s Hogan High School, received the award, nominated by then Assemblywoman now State Senator Noreen Evans.
Created in 1987, the “Woman of the Year” program recognizes the month of March as Women’s History Month, and honors the accomplishments of women in each of the 80 California Assembly districts. This year’s awarding is doubly significant as 2011 marks the centennial anniversary of the granting of women’s suffrage to California women.
The Filipino community, especially in Solano County where the City of Vallejo counts Filipinos as among the largest ethnic groups there, is elated over Santos receiving the award, saying she deserves nothing less.
“Belle serves as a role model for our local Filipino youth, a great mentor,” Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Ph.D., member of the Solano County Board of Education, told FilAm Star. “She has worked tirelessly with them for the past 15 years. She is very passionate about serving the community, a selfless individual. I am honored to be named with her as ‘2009-2010 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S.’”
Those with whom Santos has worked in youth mentorship and who call her ‘Aunt Belle,’ found it hard to contain their excitement over the news of the award, and harnessed the power of the internet to make public their feelings immediately.
“Auntie Belle, you are the most deserving person for the award!” read the Facebook message posted by Maricar Pascual, former PYC member and now a UC Davis student.
Another former mainstay of PYC, Rey Campones, provides a glimpse into the character of Santos, when he said: “Aunt Belle always prefers to be on the background …. she does not make waves, or seek the limelight for herself. But her dedication, passion, and commitment is so strong, it is contagious.”
Campones said that Santos is omnipresent in Vallejo, using just about every community event as an opportunity to help and get others to lend a hand as well.
“On Thanksgiving Day, at the Christian Help Center, she’s there to help in distributing the turkey giveaways,” Campones said. “On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, she leads in cleaning up the yard of the Global Center for Success. Also, the ‘Pista sa Nayon’ in Vallejo seems not complete without her serving in whatever capacity.”
Santos also serves in the boards of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum and SafeQuest, a shelter for battered women in Solano. This month, she will also be helping in the fundraising drive for Filipinos Advocates for Justice, formerly Filipinos for Affirmative Action in Oakland, California. FilAm Star
Santos was honored along with women awardees from each of California’s 79 other Assembly districts. She is the second Filipina to be named “Woman of the Year” for District 7. Last year, Lilibeth Pinpin, a biotechnology teacher at Vallejo’s Hogan High School, received the award, nominated by then Assemblywoman now State Senator Noreen Evans.
Created in 1987, the “Woman of the Year” program recognizes the month of March as Women’s History Month, and honors the accomplishments of women in each of the 80 California Assembly districts. This year’s awarding is doubly significant as 2011 marks the centennial anniversary of the granting of women’s suffrage to California women.
The Filipino community, especially in Solano County where the City of Vallejo counts Filipinos as among the largest ethnic groups there, is elated over Santos receiving the award, saying she deserves nothing less.
“Belle serves as a role model for our local Filipino youth, a great mentor,” Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Ph.D., member of the Solano County Board of Education, told FilAm Star. “She has worked tirelessly with them for the past 15 years. She is very passionate about serving the community, a selfless individual. I am honored to be named with her as ‘2009-2010 Most Influential Filipina Women in the U.S.’”
Those with whom Santos has worked in youth mentorship and who call her ‘Aunt Belle,’ found it hard to contain their excitement over the news of the award, and harnessed the power of the internet to make public their feelings immediately.
“Auntie Belle, you are the most deserving person for the award!” read the Facebook message posted by Maricar Pascual, former PYC member and now a UC Davis student.
Another former mainstay of PYC, Rey Campones, provides a glimpse into the character of Santos, when he said: “Aunt Belle always prefers to be on the background …. she does not make waves, or seek the limelight for herself. But her dedication, passion, and commitment is so strong, it is contagious.”
Campones said that Santos is omnipresent in Vallejo, using just about every community event as an opportunity to help and get others to lend a hand as well.
“On Thanksgiving Day, at the Christian Help Center, she’s there to help in distributing the turkey giveaways,” Campones said. “On Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, she leads in cleaning up the yard of the Global Center for Success. Also, the ‘Pista sa Nayon’ in Vallejo seems not complete without her serving in whatever capacity.”
Santos also serves in the boards of Vallejo Naval and Historical Museum and SafeQuest, a shelter for battered women in Solano. This month, she will also be helping in the fundraising drive for Filipinos Advocates for Justice, formerly Filipinos for Affirmative Action in Oakland, California. FilAm Star
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