Becas Vallarta, A.C./America-Mexico Foundation, Inc. will celebrate 50 years of giving scholarships to young people of Puerto Vallarta of great ability and little economic backing at the annual Becas Ball on February 26, 2011 at the Casa Magna Marriott.

I want you to meet some of the products of this program, who, through education have changed their own lives and the lives of their families and their community.

When the Outback Restaurant asked representatives from Becas Vallarta to come out for a meeting in preparation of their 10th Anniversary in Puerto Vallarta, we were greeted by a handsome young man, Edgar Solis Lopez, who told us that he had gotten his education with the help of the America-Mexico Foundation Inc. (Now Becas Vallarta, A.C.) We were thrilled to see this former becado doing so well in management at Outback. He said he never could have gone to school without it and thanked us profusely.

The next month a group of us foreigners, Jerry Lafferty, James McCarthy, Robert Kistner, Kelly Trainor, Dennis Whitelaw and I were honored by El Instituto Jalisciense de Asistencia Social (IJAS) for our work for the community of Puerto Vallarta.

After the ceremony a young man, Miguel Angel Lopez, came to tell me that he had been a becado when Bernice was still running things and is so grateful for the help he received. He is now working with the National Agency for Family Development, which everyone calls DIF.

Yesterday, Linda Wirth and I met with Guillermo Arechiga López at Los Mangos Bibilioteca, which incidentally was designed free of charge by another former becado, Cachi Perez. He told us a fascinating story. Bernice gave him a scholarship to go to that first junior high school in Puerto Vallarta, La Eti.

When he successfully finished junior high, he wanted desperately to continue his education. Bernice and her cohorts went to Mexico City, found a small apartment to rent, and sent Guillermo and several of his classmates to high school and university in Mexico City.

Guillermo said he had to return to Puerto Vallarta before he finished University due to the death of his Mother and his own marriage. He persevered; worked for twenty years as the Director for Mexicana Airlines in Tuxtla Gutíerrez in the State of Chiapas. Little by little he finished his degree and is now a Certified Public Accountant working as the Director of Ecopa here in Puerto Vallarta.

This genial man told us that there is no way he could have gotten his education if not for the help given to him by Bernice Starr and the AMF. He told us he wanted to help with our work so will join Becas Vallarta, A.C. this week to begin giving back.

On our last trip to Costo, we were greeted by Celia Guadalupe Astorga Huerta, who first got her scholarship from Becas in the 8th grade and continued to receive that scholarship through high school and university, always maintaining a grade point average of 9.5 or above out of a possible 10.0! She just graduated from Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Puerto Vallarta (ITSPV) and is a valued employee at Costco in the Credit Department.

So you see our graduates are in the forefront of Vallarta’s vibrant business community. One of the best examples is Marcelo Lara Gutierrez, a student who was in the very first graduating class of Puerto Vallarta’s university, Centro Universitario de la Costa who was a protégée of our founder Bernice Starr.

Marcelo has just completed a second degree in law and is the Jefe de Estacion de Combustibles at the airport. He is always giving back and helping Becas. He has acted as MC for some of our Becas Balls and often speaks to the students at the Christmas Posada.

María del Rosario Torres Ruiz is a certified public accountant for the Mexican Government's Family Service Agency. She was a Becada in junior high at La ETI and in senior high at Prepa.

During an interview, when asked about her emotions when she found she had qualified for a scholarship, María answered in a soft quavering voice that she had been in junior high and didn't even have shoes to wear to school, much less the required tennis shoes for the gym classes.

She continued that she had no money to buy books and that in order to do her homework she had to go to friends homes and wait until they were through with the books before she could use them for her homework.

María told us that her emotions when told she had a scholarship were "Pure Joy!" With her beautiful eyes bright with moisture, Rosario said that she is so proud that she is a professional with the opportunity to help others both in her personal life and in her chosen field. What a story!

Each August we meet with the junior high scholarship students to give them their vouchers for their uniforms, gym clothes, gym and school shoes. We also give them all of the school supplies they will need for the year - paper, notebooks, pens, paper, calculator, dictionary and more.

Prof. Hector Ulloa, a teacher and businessman, readies all these supplies for each student, brings them to Los Mangos Biblioteca and gives them out to the scholarship students. Hector got his education through the AMF and Bernice. He has worked with the foundation all these years! What an example for the young scholarship students.

Then there is young Jose Avalos Grano, now a lawyer who has always been there when we needed a helping hand and José Guadalupe Carrillo Soto, now a dental surgeon. Both worked part time for Compadre Judy de Galeana all through their school years as they had absolutely no economic backup other than their scholarships.

I recently received an email from Lupe in which he said, "Thank you infinitely for your assistance through the scholarship committee to whom I owe my training as a Dental Surgeon, a title that I got just a couple of months ago and that allows me to progress as a person and professional. I would like to give thanks in a personal way to all of you. I am at your service in case of needing a pair of hands to help continue this hard work. My most humble thanks to each of the members of this committee, great people with hearts dedicated to community support."

We often see Lico Flores, who, when he was able to get a part time job while he was on scholarship, came to us to tell us he no longer needed the money and he would like it to go to someone more in need. He is now Manager of the Parts Department at the local Ford Dealership.

Petite Rosalba Garcia, whose mother I see often as she is a beach vendor on Playa Los Muertos, is a lawyer who works at the large prison in Ixtapa. Rosie is very small in stature, but is great in heart and continues to represent Becas and her country admirably.

There are thousands of stories of Vallartenses getting their education with a Becas Vallarta/AMF scholarship. You will have a chance to meet many of them at the Becas Ball on February 26, 2011. Tickets are $1200 pesos or $100 each.

Tables for 10 may be reserved when you have 8 paid tickets. For more information and for tickets, call me at (322) 223-1371 or 044-322-182-0215 or email me at phvicars(at)gmail.com. Come and help us continue to change lives through education.