LATE                                                                                                                    ADOPTED -  NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Agenda Item No. 25

Introduced by the:

INGHAM COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

RESOLUTION HONORING ALFONSO SALAS

RESOLUTION #99-298

WHEREAS, Alfonso Salas arrived in Lansing, Michigan in January, 1974 as a seasonal migrant worker; and

WHEREAS, Alfonso Salas, who his friends and family know as Al, made that annual trek to El Norte, who labored in the harvest of sugar beets, wheat, cherries, cucumbers, tomatoes and apples in the fields and orchards of Nebraska, Ohio and Michigan respectively; and

WHEREAS, in spite of these annual treks, Al Salas graduated from Brownsville High School; and

WHEREAS, through the efforts of United Migrants for Opportunity, Inc. and friends like Raul and Ramiro Gonzales, as well as Ted Deleon, Al Salas dropped out of the migrant stream to work at General Motors where he has worked for twenty-four years, first as a line workers, relief worker, group leader and as a supervisor; ;and

WHEREAS, Al Salas furthered his education at Lansing Community College, GM=s School for Industrial Management where he gained his entrepreneurial skills and knowledge; and

WHEREAS, in 1986, he started an apparel business with one booth at the Lansing City Market, which expanded to six booths in 1988; and

WHEREAS, today Al Salas operates a successful retail business B Lansing Athletics B which has become an inspiration for others looking to start a new business; and

WHEREAS, Al Salas acknowledges that this success has been made possible through the team effort of his family, especially his wife, Gina, who is the driving force of their enterprise; and

WHEREAS, the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce has recognized Al Salas= business rise by naming him as the Minority Small Business Person of the Year.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Ingham County Board of Commissioners hereby honors Alfonso Salas for his personal achievements and for his contributions to the community.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board wishes him continued success in all of his future endeavors.

Virgil Bernero                          Jean McDonald                        Alfreda Schmidt

John Czarnecki                        Thomas Minter                          Michael Severino

Mark Grebner                          Paul C. Pratt                             Anne Smiley

Wally Juall                               Randy Schafer                           Mary Stid

Calvin Lynch