Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Hosted its Seventeenth Annual Awards Gala at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta with the Presence of Honorary Guests Vice President of Argentina Daniel Scioli and the Governor of Georgia Sonny Perdue.

ATLANTA -- The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's Seventeenth Annual Awards Gala on Saturday, June 25, which recognized some of the state's leading Hispanic businesspersons, drew more than 1000 attendees.

Held at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta downtown, the GHCC's annual black tie fundraiser was a tribute to the growing success of Georgia's Latino business community, awarding six businesspersons and companies, as well as four special recognitions for their contributions to the Hispanic community.

GHCC President and CEO Sara Gonzalez accompanied by representatives of this year's Gala Exemplar and Partner Sponsors, presented awards for the following:

Corporation of the Year, The Home Depot, accepted by Gloria Johnson Goins, vice-president of Diversity & Inclusion; Business of the Year (more than 10 employees), Abaco Mortgage Group, accepted by Patricia Boezio and Benjamin Rincon Business of the Year (less than 10 employees), Casablanca Publishing, Inc, accepted by Zaida Gonzalez; Businessman of the Year, Ralph de la Vega, COO of Cingular Wireless; Businesswoman of the Year, Lily Z. Winsaft, founder of Aldebaran Associates International; GHCC Member of the Year, awarded to Luis Aguilar, partner, McKenna Long & Aldridge.

This year four Special Recognition Awards went to the following: Patti M. Richards, president of The Richards Law Firm, Cristina Franco with Mediation Arbitration & Interpreters Services, Esther Adames-Jimenez, principal, Beaver Ridge Elementary, and Daniel R. Douglass with Stites & Harbison PLLC.

Honorary Guest Vice President Daniel Scioli of Argentina discussed the importance of establishing commercial relationships between Argentina and the state of Georgia.

"The successful night of the XVII Annual Awards Gala, showed the Vice President and his delegation why Atlanta, Georgia is a great place for business" said General Consul of Argentina, Pompeyo Carlos Layus.

Keynote speaker Governor Sonny Perdue, greeted the audience and spoke about the connection between Argentina and the state of Georgia. "Georgia shares strong ties with the Argentine community, and the country has long been an important business partner for the state," said Governor Perdue." "It's rewarding to showcase our state to visitors, and I look forward to returning the generous hospitality they showed us when we visited Buenos Aires last year."

Vanessa Olcese, public relations and marketing director of the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, served as Mistress of Ceremony for the event, which included dinner, dancing and entertainment by musical guests Alicia y Su Rumba Brava.

The 2005 Gala was supported by 71 corporate sponsors, including exemplar sponsors Anasteel & Supply Company, Cingular Wireless, The Home Depot and UPS. The corporate partners are Bank of America, The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, GE Energy, Georgia Power, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, LAPTV, SunTrust Bank and Univision 34 Atlanta.

The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce promotes and supports the domestic and international economic development of Hispanic businesses and individuals, and serves as a link between non-Hispanic entities and the Hispanic market. The chamber serves 1100 members throughout the state of Georgia and also provides services and educational programs to start-up businesses through the Hispanic American Center for Economic Development. For more information, visit our web page at www.ghcc.org.

"The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is the leading organization for Hispanic businesses in Georgia. We offer our members and supporters valuable resources that contribute to their success."