Anita Canul Franchi selected for recognition at ‘Women in
Action’
The League of United Latin American Citizens of San Benito
County will recognize Anita Canul Franchi, the assistant
superintendent of educational services for the Hollister School
District, at its annual Hispanic Women in Action Reception Aug.
29.
Anita Canul Franchi selected for recognition at ‘Women in Action’
The League of United Latin American Citizens of San Benito County will recognize Anita Canul Franchi, the assistant superintendent of educational services for the Hollister School District, at its annual Hispanic Women in Action Reception Aug. 29.
The reception started in 1988 as a way to honor Latinas in the community who have placed importance on education and who serve as role models for younger women. The reception doubles as a fundraiser, and to date has raised more than $139,000 for scholarships.
Franchi, who will be honored this year, grew up in San Benito County, Texas. Her father was a tenant farmer who worked in the county near the Rio Grande, supporting Franchi and her eleven siblings. Her father Raul and mother Tomasa moved the family to New Mexico. Every summer, the family migrated around New Mexico and parts of Texas, working in the fields.
When she was 17, her family moved to Los Angeles, where she attended Van Nuys High School. After graduation, Franchi returned to New Mexico to attend school in Las Cruces. She was the only one of her siblings to get a degree beyond high school. She eventually completed a bachelor’s and master’s at San Jose State University.
Franchi started her teaching career at a high school in New Mexico, and at a elementary and middle school in San Jose. In 1980, she took her first administrative position as a coordinator of fourteen preschools in the Alum Rock School District.
After taking a private industry job and several more positions, she took a job in Hollister in 2000 as a director and an assistant superintendent for the Hollister School District.
She is married to Jose Vivas Franchi, also a San Jose State University graduate. She considers her two adult children, Cynthia Canul-Pierre and Christopher Alan Tichenor, to be her greatest achievements.
The keynote speaker at this year’s reception will be Gloria Romero, the California senator for District 24. Romero represents East Los Angeles and the Greater San Gabriel Valley. Romero serves as the chair of the education committee as well as chair of the senate budget and fiscal review subcommittee on education.
“My mother had a sixth-grade education; I have a PhD.,” Romero said, in a press release. “I understand the transformational power of education and the key it holds to accessing the American Dream.”
Reception information
San Benito County LULAC Council #2890 will host the 19th Annual Hispanic Women In Action Reception on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at the Hollister Elk’s Lodge, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets are $40 and no tickets will be sold at the door. Table reservations are encouraged. This is an annual sell-out event, so please reserve your tickets early. The public is welcome to attend. Proceeds from the evening’s event will fund the year 2010 LULAC Scholarship Fund.
For reception tickets or information contact the reception committee: Marian Cruz at 636-5321, Mickie Luna at 673-2009, Laura Munoz Velazquez at 637-4030, Mary Edge at 623-2582 or Ana de Alba at 637-2550.
