In a pregame ceremony at Coors Field on Saturday, September 17, the Colorado Rockies named Ruby Reyna as the 2016 Hispanic Adult Leadership Award winner. It is the fourteenth year of the Colorado Rockies' commitment to recognizing hard-working individuals who are making a positive impact in the Hispanic community at a grassroots level.
Reyna experienced domestic abuse throughout her childhood and young adulthood, but after escaping it herself, she chose to devote her life to helping others break the cycle, volunteering and working in shelters since she was 21. In addition to her job as a Family Tree shelter supervisor, Reyna goes beyond her responsibilities on a daily basis by devoting extra time as a victim advocate, both at the shelter and at her church; she uses her personal experiences to counsel victims, train people to learn the signs of abuse, and she takes special pride in teaching art to empower victims and encourage them to express themselves. Always quick to take the most challenging cases at the shelter, Reyna takes her passion into her everyday life, too, handing out blankets to homeless families in the winter, taking any opportunity to educate people on the resources they have if they choose to seek help. Ultimately, Reyna, a single mother of three, wants everyone to experience kindness, and she wants victims to achieve the personal fulfillment she has in her own life.
At the September 17 ceremony, all three award finalists were introduced to the crowd. Along with Reyna were finalists John Romero, a young community leader focused on youth education, and Danitza Sosa who represented her mother Linda Sosa, a 30-year volunteer activist with her church. Laura Morales, winner of the 2015 Adult Leadership Award, presented the 2016 award, which was a personalized lamp designed and created by local artist Hitu Parmar (photos attached). As the 2016 winner, Reyna also received 2017 Rockies Season Tickets and her name will appear with the past thirteen award winners on a plaque displayed at Coors Field, inside Gate C at 21st and Blake Street.
Nominations for the 2017 Adult Leadership Award are being accepted now. To submit a nomination or for more information about the 2016 award finalists, go to Rockies.com/Leadership.