Valentine's Day formal gala to raise scholarship funds for students in Austin area universities

January 18, 2006

AUSTIN, Texas—The Sembradores de Austin Valentine’s Ball, a formal gala supporting a scholarship program for underprivileged students at The University of Texas at Austin and three other central Texas universities, will be held Feb. 11 at the Omni Hotel South Park in Austin.

Ron Oliveira, anchor for KEYE-TV, Channel 42 in Austin, will be the master of ceremonies for the Valentine’s Day gala that, according to the organization’s secretary, Hilbert R. Maldonado, has raised more than $296,000 for the endowment since the program began in Austin in 1995. Maldonado said the organization originally was affiliated with a group based in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, but has changed during the past year to become a separate Austin-based program expected to be a part of a new international association based in Texas.

Maldonado said that from the beginning of the program through 2005, 31 scholarships valued at $28,242 have been awarded to students in the four universities from interest earned on the endowment funds.

Maldonado said the Valentine’s Ball is open to the public but seating is limited to about 450 people. Tickets for the dinner and dance must be purchased in advance and cannot be bought at the door. Tickets cost $150 a couple. Sponsor tables cost $2,000 for a gold corporate table and $1,250 for a silver corporate table. For details, contact Maldonado at 512-733-7775.

Maldonado said gala proceeds go toward endowment funds at The University of Texas at Austin, Concordia University, Huston-Tillotson University and St. Edward’s University. He said the proceeds build on the principal so that future awards would be secure and adequate regardless of economic conditions. Money from the endowment funds interest allocated to The University of Texas at Austin will become a part of the university's endowed presidential scholarship program.

Preference for Sembradores scholarships is given to central Texas students who are among the first generation of their families to attend college and who qualify as being “financially and educationally disadvantaged,” Maldonado said.

For more information contact: Robert D. Meckel, Office of Public Affairs, 512-475-7847.