State panel to give Hispanic awards to 2 area residents

Both award recipients have been active in local Hispanic affairs.
COLUMBUS -- Two Youngstown-area residents will be among 11 people statewide who will receive the Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award on Thursday from the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs.
Porfirio Esparra Jr., of Jacobs Road, Youngstown, director of employee relations at Humility of Mary Health Partners, and Migdalia (Maggie) Diaz McClendon, of Lundy Lane, Boardman, admissions coordinator at Youngstown State University, will receive the award at a Thursday luncheon in the Statehouse atrium.
Esparra's history
Esparra, who holds a bachelor's degree in social work and Spanish from YSU, is a member of the board of directors of Turning Point Counseling Services and a member of the Mahoning County Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. He is a member and eucharistic minister at St. Rose of Lima Church.
Previously, he was a member of the board of directors of the Organizacion Civica y Cultural Hispana Americana for 15 years, having been its board president for six years.
OCCHA is the primary social service agency serving Youngstown's Hispanic community.
Esparra has also served as treasurer of the Community Corrections Association and as a board member of Catholic Charities, the Youngstown-Mahoning Valley United Way, the Youngstown Employment and Training Corp., the Greater Youngstown Citizens League and Catholic Social Service League. He has also been a member of the executive committee of the Mahoning County Democratic Party.
An Air Force reservist with the 910th Airlift Wing, he was activated in 2002-03 for a tour of duty in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
McClendon's background
A graduate of East High School, McClendon holds a bachelor's degree in management from YSU. She is a member of the board of directors of Mahoning Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes. She is also a past board member of OCCHA.
McClendon volunteers as a bilingual radio announcer and commentator on weekends on WASN and WGFT. Her Sunday program on WGFT, "Life on Life's Terms," focuses on minority issues and concerns for those affected by alcohol and drug abuse.
At YSU, she advises the Hispanic and Latino campus organization, "Mi Gente," and has also been an adviser to the Greek sorority Delta Zeta. She has written and produced bilingual radio spots for YSU to help recruit Hispanic and Latino students.
On May 7 of this year, McClendon received a distinguished service award at YSU's annual employee awards banquet. Last year, she received the Ohio Association for College Admissions human relations award. In April 2001, she received YSU's Edna K. McDonald Cultural Awareness Award.
Esparra and McClendon were nominated for the Distinguished Hispanic Ohioan Award by Dr. Silvia Jimenez-Hyre, assistant to the dean and outreach coordinator at YSU's College of Fine and Performing Arts and a member of the Ohio Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs.