Maria De Leon, Ed Martinez and Maria Carlota Palacios are the recipients of the chamber's annual Excelencia Awards, which the chamber has granted to members of the Hispanic business community for nine years.

The awards dinner, to be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 100 E. Second St., is also the chamber's main fundraiser of the year.

Francisco Trevino, executive director of the chamber, said De Leon, who won the Avance Award for small Hispanic businesses, has helped the community in a variety of ways over the past year.

As owner and general manager of La Que Buena radio (KXTD, 1530 AM), De Leon is able to broadcast public service announcements for the chamber at no cost, Trevino said.

"She gets involved and helps us spread the word through the station," Trevino said.

De Leon said she worked with the chamber after the passage of Oklahoma's immigration law. House Bill 1804 created barriers to hiring illegal immigrants, required proof of citizenship to receive certain government benefits and made it illegal to knowingly transport illegal immigrants, among other things.

"We came together and wanted to give the right information to the Hispanic community," De Leon said.

At the time, she said, many people in the community were worried about how the legislation would impact their lives.

"They were concerned and afraid. We started calming them down and giving them the right information. There were a lot of rumors that weren't correct."

De Leon said she knew her station had made a difference when the supportive phone calls started coming in.

"It did help because then we had a lot of radio listeners calling to thank us for giving them that information," she said.

As a Mexican-American, De Leon said she feels a responsibility not just to entertain her audience, but to support the community.

"I say it's my community because I am Mexican, and whatever I can help them with will help me as well in the long run," she said.

La Que Buena has broadcast in Tulsa for nearly 11 years, and employs four full-time employees and three part-time workers.

"All of our DJs live in Tulsa, so whatever money we make here stays here," she said. "We are a small radio station that sounds very big."

Trevino said Martinez, who won the Bendana Amigo Award for community leader of the year, has lead the chamber in many projects.

"Some of the direction the chamber has taken has been as a result of his advice," Trevino said.

Martinez, a State Farm insurance agency owner and founding member of the chamber, said he has worked with the group to create a small business academy for Hispanic entrepreneurs.

"The academy was established to help give Hispanic business owners kind of a mini-MBA to help them achieve success," he said, adding that the academy offers training with computers, business accounting, employment law and marketing plans.

"At the end of the course, we help them develop a business plan that will hopefully help them have a successful business of their own," he said.

Palacios, an employee of the Tulsa-based Williams Cos., won the Adelante Award for corporate partner of the year. She also helped develop the small business academy, Trevino said.

"She has played an important role in trying to develop that academy and the company has provided funds."

Tulsa Mayor Kathy Taylor is the honorary chair of the event and Massey Villarreal, chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, is the event's keynote speaker. For more information about the chamber, call 664-5326 or visit www.tulsaworld.com/hispanicchamber .

Jeff Postelwait 581-8387
jeff.postelwait@tulsaworld.com