NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The Jewish Community Center (JCC) has announced its 2023 New Mexico Humanitarian Award (NMHA) honorees. The award ceremony will be held on Sunday, Aug. 13, at 5 p.m., at the Sandia Golf Club event center on Rainbow Road in Albuquerque.
The NMHA honorees are Diana Trujeque, Clara Apodaca, and Dr. Sanjeev Arora. In addition to those three, Margie and Perry Pintzow are slated to receive the JCC’s Harold B. Albert Jewish Community Service Award.
According to the JCC, the finalists are selected based on the visibility of their cause, the quality of humanitarian effort exceeding that which is called for, and the recipient’s personal involvement with the assistance and support of others. “The NMHA celebrates those who have devoted themselves to helping others and who have been a pillar of their community in the great state of New Mexico,” the JCC.
Diana Trujeque has devoted her career to working with the Children’s Cancer Fund. Along with her many personal efforts, Trujeque joined community members in creating a golf tournament to raise money for the fund; the tournament is now in its 37th year. Trujeque also developed a college scholarship program for teens in treatment at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.
Former New Mexico First Lady Clara Apodaca has worked as the President and CEO of the National Hispanic Cultural Center Foundation and the chair of the Jeff Apodaca Celebration of Life Foundation in honor of her son. The Celebration of Life Foundation helped fund the Multimedia Center at UNM Children’s Hospital. Apodaca currently serves on the Board of Directors of Think New Mexico, New Mexico First, International Women’s Forum, and Opera Southwest.
Dr. Sanjeev Arora founded Project ECHO and serves as the Executive Director of the ECHO Institute – an effort to help patients receive faster quality care. The ECHO model is now being applied across the globe to connect rural communities with medical access. Dr. Arora also served with the Department of Internal Medicine and on the Board of the Health Sciences Center at UNM.
Margie and Perry Pintzow have devoted much of their lives to helping the Albuquerque community, volunteering their time and effort to strangers, friends, and neighbors. Margie Pintzow helped raise thousands of dollars in tuition scholarships to support students with the former Schechter Day School. Margie and Perry both serve with Locker 505, which supports students around Albuquerque with necessary items.
Tickets for the award ceremony are on sale now for $150 each or $1,500 for a table. All proceeds will go to the JCC’s community philanthropic efforts. To reserve a ticket or table for the event, or to learn more about the New Mexico Humanitarian Awards and the nominees, click here.
