Miller Brewing donates $1 million to ¡Adelante!;
Boxing great Oscar De La Hoya addresses Hispanic scholarship program

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Miller Brewing Company Thursday presented a $1 million check to the ¡Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund in support of the national Hispanic college scholarship and leadership development program.

Joining Miller Brewing Company officials to present the donation to ¡Adelante! was seven-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya. De La Hoya thanked Miller Brewing Company, a founding supporter of ¡Adelante!, for aiding hundreds of Hispanic college students through the company’s continuing support for the nonprofit organization.

“¡Adelante! is an incredible organization that gives back to students and the community,” De La Hoya said at a crowded “Luncheon of Champions” for ¡Adelante! in downtown San Antonio.

¡Adelante! helps Hispanic college students “become winners and champions in their own fields and professions,” said Gary Booher, senior vice president of human resources for Miller Brewing Company and an ¡Adelante! board member.

“Miller Brewing Company is proud of its long-standing commitment to create opportunities for Hispanic students who aspire to attain a higher education,” Booher said. “At Miller, we believe it is crucial to invest in tomorrow’s leaders, and we know that our support of ¡Adelante! is helping that goal become a reality.” Monies generated through local Miller Brewing Company Texas marketing events and distributor fundraising initiatives contributed to the $1 million gift to ¡Adelante!.

The ¡Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund was founded by the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and became a separate organization in 1999. “This program is building a new generation of Hispanic corporate and community leaders,” said HACU President and CEO Antonio R. Flores, who is chair of the ¡Adelante! board. Both HACU and its sister organization have their national headquarters in San Antonio.

“Hispanics are an integral part of our society, and it is important that their desire to continue their education is not hindered due to financial difficulties,” ¡Adelante! Executive Director John Puder said. “We are so fortunate that Miller Brewing Company recognizes the importance of investing in the community through their commitment to educational advancement.”

Platinum tickets to Thursday’s fundraising luncheon, sponsored by Miller Brewing Company, came with ringside seats for Thursday night’s Miller Lite Texas Title Belt boxing match in San Antonio. De La Hoya was co-promoting the event, featuring two-time world champion “Jesse” James Leija, for De La Joya’s Golden Boy Promotions.

The ¡Adelante! Fund each year provides Hispanic college juniors and seniors throughout the country with scholarships worth up to $3,000, summer internships at participating corporations and an annual leadership-training institute. ¡Adelante! has provided scholarship and leadership training support to students from 30 HACU-member Hispanic-Serving Institutions, or HSIs, which have a student enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic.

The 2003 ¡Adelante! Leadership Institute is scheduled May 23-May 25 at the Marriott Riverwalk Hotel in downtown San Antonio. The three-day institute will attract more than 65 top college students from throughout the country, including 38 recipients of 2003-2004 ¡Adelante! scholarships from HACU-member colleges and universities in Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New York and Texas.

U.S. Congressman Ciro Rodriguez of Texas, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, on Saturday will address the institute’s opening session. Corporate and community leaders will address special sessions on graduate education choices, technology, international business communications, community responsibilities, and other professional and leadership development issues.

HACU represents more than 300 colleges and universities serving the largest concentrations of Hispanic higher education institutions in the United States. Every college and university in San Antonio is a member of HACU.

For more information about ¡Adelante!, contact ¡Adelante! Executive Director John Puder at (210) 692-1971 (jpuder@adelantefund.org). Or visit www.adelantefund.org. For more information about HACU, visit www.hacu.net.