ADRIAN — The Lenawee County chapter of the NAACP honored several area residents for their service to the community at its 30th annual Freedom Fund Banquet, which took place on Oct. 13 in the Adrian Tobias Center at Adrian College.
Two people were presented with the NAACP’s annual Community Service Award. Local businessman Don Lofton was introduced by Kasey White.
“He has stuck around this community when this community has not always been there for him,” White said of Lofton. “He could have moved his businesses to larger, more diverse cities, but he stuck with us at home. He is a positive Black role model, an innovator, and an entrepreneur. With over 60 employees, he does not hesitate to employ minorities or give second chances. He requires his employees to give back to the community through community service work and he leads by example. He has sponsored and helped out at the NAACP’s Juneteenth events, the M Society’s Pride event, the Daily Bread, back-to-school bashes to distribute school supplies, and much more when it comes to local family fundraisers.”
Lizbeth Perez-Cazares, bilingual library assistant at the Adrian District Library, was introduced by Aaron Chesher-Moorman, who said that since Perez-Cazares stepped into that role, the library has seen a 350 percent increase in the circulation of Spanish-language material.
“She has also run about 18 to 20 biluingual programs a year since she’s been there,” Chesher-Moorman said. “In all areas she is entrusted with the awesome responsibility of tearing down the language barrier that stands in the way of many opportunities for our neighbors who may only speak Spanish.”
Perez-Cazares thanked the library for taking the step of creating the bilingual assistant position. “For someone who is passionate about books and who loves to read, I couldn’t find a better job,” she said. “I love what I do, and when you love what you do, it doesn’t become a job, and it’s so easy to do it with passion and with love.”
Perez-Cazares remembered her mother’s words when she started her first job, which was in public health: “Siempre trata bien a la gente, especialmente a la gente que viene de otro lugar porqué nunca sabes lo que pasaron para llegar aquí,” or “always treat others very well, especially others that come from other places, because you don’t know how they struggled to get here.”
In addition to the community service awards, Andre White and Javon Jenkins were recognized for stepping up to organize a 3-on-3 basketball tournament that was added to the NAACP’s downtown Adrian Juneteenth celebration this year.
The dinner also featured a youth address by Taylor Robinson and a keynote address by Michigan Supreme Court Justice Kyra Harris Bolden.
