Mexican-American Bar Association hosts scholarship luncheon to benefit local law students

(Photo courtesy of the Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Foundation) From left: Benny Agosto Jr. (founder and president), Lisa Hernandez of KHOU-TV (Outstanding Service in the Media), Judge Esmeralda Peña Garcia (Lifetime Award), former Houston Oiler and entrepreneur Dan Pastorini (keynote speaker), Irma Gonzalez Galvan of Irma’s Downtown (Outstanding Service as an Entrepreneur), and Judge Michael Gomez of the 129th Judicial District Court (Outstanding Service in the Judiciary). Not pictured: Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department (Outstanding Service as a Public Servant).

The Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Foundation held its 12th Annual Scholarship Luncheon on Wednesday, August 24 at the DoubleTree Hotel in downtown Houston.

At the annual luncheon, funds were raised for scholarships that were awarded to Houston-based law students who demonstrate leadership, commitment, justice, and equality throughout the Hispanic community and beyond.

Benny Agosto Jr., a partner in Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Sorrels, Agosto & Aziz in Houston, started the foundation in 2006 to encourage justice and leadership within the Hispanic community. The foundation has raised more than $250,000 over the past 40 years.

“It is important that we encourage a new generation of lawyers to not only be great lawyers but to also give back to the legal community,” Agosto said in a press release about the annual luncheon event.

Dan Pastorini, former Houston Oiler and entrepreneur, was the keynote speaker at the luncheon, where local community leaders were honored for exemplifying the foundation’s ideals. The honorees included Irma Gonzalez Galvan of Irma’s Downtown, Lisa Hernandez of KHOU-TV, Judge Michael Gomez of the 129th Judicial District Court, Chief Art Acevedo of the Houston Police Department, and Judge Esmeralda Peña Garcia of the Houston Municipal Courts.

The Mexican-American Bar Association of Texas Foundation is a forum and a means for lawyers to promote the social, economic, and educational advancement of the people of Texas.