12 March 2023: A movie about the San Felipe High School 1957 Class A Texas state champion golf team had its world premiere at the film festival part of SXSW (South by Southwest). The cast of “The Long Game” includes Cheech Marin and Dennis Quaid. The five players were caddies at the San Felipe Country Club (located in Del Rio); they taught themselves the game and used hand-me-down clubs to win by 35 strokes. The team was inducted into the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor in 2016.
7 March 2023: John Quinones, ABC News correspondent who was inducted into the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor in 2016, received the Leadership in Communications award from Catholic Television of San Antonio.
13 Feb 2023: Jesse Trevino, famous San Antonio artist who was inducted into the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor in 2008 in the Arts and Entertainment category, died from cancer at the age of 76. Mayor Ron Nirenberg Twitted: “Jesse Trevino was an American hero. The wounds of the Vietnam War, which took so many of his friends from the Westside of San Antonio, never left him, but he used those scars to bring healing to millions of people.” Jesse supported HSFE with paintings and prints to auction at HSFE fundraisers.
9 Dec 2022: Candid/GuideStar (a database of 1.8 million IRS-recognized tax-exempt organizations) upgraded our Silver Seal of Transparency to Gold. This was possibly due to how our IRS Forms 990 for 2020 and 2021 reflected our ability to continue to award scholarships in those two years while not being able to have fundraisers because of Covid-19.
14 Nov 2022: Our treasurer (Ruben Martinez, CPA) filed IRS Form 990 for 2021.
24 Sep 2022: At our first fundraiser since August 2019, we inducted Mr. Gordon Hartman and Dr. Arturo Bonilla into the National Hispanic Heritage Hall of Honor. Mr. Hartman received Special Recognition as a non-Hispanic who displays extraordinary dedication to inclusion of individuals with special needs as valued members of society. Doctor Bonilla received recognition for groundbreaking work healing ear abnormalities in children, including the 3-D printing of a new ear and the first successful transplant of such an ear.
9 Aug – 15 Sep 2022: Despite not being able to have fundraisers in 2020 and 2021 (because of Covid-19 restrictions), we awarded 10 scholarships; this was possible thanks to the generosity of the Board members and to early sponsorships of our 2022 fundraiser. Six were given through Project STAY, three to student athletes at Our Lady of the Lake University (in San Antonio, Texas) and one to a student athlete at Schreiner University (in Kerrville, Texas). Their names are on the SCHOLARSHIP RECEPIENTS page of this website.