Hispanic couple receive the Giving is Living Award for their many charitable efforts
Read and comment on this story from MSNBC on Olga and Fernando Niebla who recently became the first Hispanic couple to receive the Giving is Living Award from Volunteer Center Orange County. Gaddi Vasquez, the new director of the Peace Corps and longtime friend of the Nieblas, is looking for people just like them for his organization. Read the story at:
* This link was active on the date it was posted. PCOL is not responsible for broken links which may have changed.
Hispanic couple receive the Giving is Living Award for their many charitable efforts
Gaddi Vasquez, the new director of the Peace Corps and longtime friend of the Nieblas, is looking for people just like them for his organization.
By ELIZABETH AGUILERA The Orange County Register
Orange County, Ca, Feb. 7 - Olga and Fernando Niebla's grandson Mason, 11, will tell you his nana makes great food and his tata likes to do old-people stuff.
You know, like golf and skiing.
Young Mason Hernandez admires his grandparents and wants to be just like them.
On Wednesday, the Nieblas became the first Hispanic couple to receive the Giving is Living Award from Volunteer Center Orange County.
"Fernando and Olga do not just give money, but they also give lots of time," said Susan Schuman, of the center.
Fernando Niebla, president of Orange-based International Technology Partners, is part of Hispanic 100, a group of top business owners in Orange County.
Niebla is the former head of software company Infotec Development, which he started in 1979 and sold in 1996.
"Business and giving go hand in hand," Fernando Niebla said. "Being involved with people is part of being in business; it's how we live."
The couple have served on numerous boards and donated thousands of dollars and countless hours to causes like the Child Guidance Center and the Delhi Community Center in Santa Ana. The Nieblas, who live in Orange, also founded the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund, which provides scholarships for Hispanic youths.
They both came from giving families in Sonora, Mexico -- she from a family of 14 children who wrapped gifts at Christmas for the less fortunate and he from a family of teachers. Now their three daughters are continuing the legacy of giving.
"Being involved is the work we like to do," said Fernando Niebla, a retired Rockwell engineer. "It's a way to get the whole family involved."
Last year's honorees, Tom and Elizabeth Tierney, nominated the Nieblas for the award. It was a unanimous decision by the center's board.
"Fernando is an accomplished entrepreneur and businessman; he is a true model for young people," Tom Tierney said. "Both he and Olga always give of themselves."
The couple got involved locally almost as soon as they settled in California in 1962, after coming from Arizona.
"They gave the hope to a lot of our youth in Orange County that they can go to college and they can make it," said Marie Moreno, former president of Hispanic Business Women.
Gaddi Vasquez, the new director of the Peace Corps and longtime friend of the Nieblas, is looking for people just like them for his organization. "They are a team, and they believe in making a difference in the community," Vasquez said. "They have a can-do attitude."
Fernando and Olga Niebla Who: Winners of the 2002 Giving is Living Award
Residence: Orange
Business: Fernando Niebla, president of International Technology Partners LLC. Former president of Infotec Development, which Niebla started in 1979 and sold in 1996.
Community service: Fernando Niebla serves on the boards of Pacific Life Corp., Union Bank of California and Granite Construction. He is a trustee for the Center of Occupational Research and Development and the RG Foundation. He is an adviser to the University of Southern California's Integrated Media Systems Center and is a University of California, Irvine, Foundation ambassador. He is a founding member and co-chairperson of the Hispanic Education Endowment Fund of Orange County.
Olga Niebla, whose longtime focus has been education, health and cultural awareness, is the chairwoman of the Delhi Community Center opening in Santa Ana, a member of the Hispanic Business Women of Orange County, and on the Child Guidance Center Advisory Committee. The League of United Latin American Citizens Santa Ana chapter named her Hispanic Woman of the Year in 1987. Last year, Hispanic Business Women of Orange County named her Outstanding Woman of the Year.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Service
