by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
“America will come out stronger, better and smarter,” when the current economic climate improves.
That was the message delivered by Alejandro Sanchez, president and CEO of the Florida Bankers Association (FBA) at Friday’s 9th Annual Scholarship Luncheon hosted by the Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board.
Before joining the FBA, Sanchez was an attorney at Sinclair Lewis, a Miami-based firm that specializes in business law. He was also appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, a $240 billion savings plan that serves nearly 4 million government and military personnel. Sanchez is also a graduate of Leadership Florida and a board member of Florida Tax Watch.
Twenty-one students enrolled at Florida Coastal School of Law, Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida and Florida Community College at Jacksonville received $1,000 scholarships this year. Prior to the awards ceremony, Sanchez had some advice for the students and for the audience as well.
To the scholarship recipients, he said, “The education you are getting is what will give you the respect and courage you will need to move forward. You are the future of America.”
Sanchez then shared some of his life story, beginning in 1962 when he was barely more than one year old. His mother and two brothers fled Cuba and Fidel Castro’s regime for America and Sanchez recalled, “I had no idea what was happening. My mother grabbed our family photos and we left Havana on a plane bound for Miami.
“My mother never expected she would leave her homeland. That day, she saw her parents for the last time in her life, but she had made a decision. She didn’t want me and my brothers to grow up in a country with no freedom.”
He also urged the students to register to vote if they have not already done so and cast their ballot.
“In the last statewide election, there were almost 19 million Floridians. Only 10 million were registered to vote and only 1.9 million voted. There are people in this world who want to destroy our way of life, but aren’t we doing it to ourselves when we don’t vote?” asked Sanchez.
For the audience, he offered some financial advice.
“Keep your money in a bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company,” he said. “If they don’t have FDIC, they’re not a real bank.”
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