It never surprises me just how small and yet amazing Orlando is at times. You just never know who you are going to meet and how they will impact your life. On a seemingly random Saturday, I was introduced to Melissa Hernandez. She and a friend, Susan Fernandez came into MAC to get ready to attend The Don Quijote Awards, which I am told is like the Hispanic Oscars. Ok, kind of a big deal...
The Don Quijote Awards were created by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and
the Hispanic Business Initiative Fund of Florida, Inc. to celebrate individuals "who have shown character of great strength, courage,
conviction and determination." The categories range from Hispanic Business of the Year to Professional of the Year to The Excellence Award... which Melissa was nominated for and actually WON! I feel so honored to have been given the opportunity to do her makeup for such an important event. Melissa was nominated based on all her great work for the Orlando community as the Director of Constituent Services for Senator Marco Rubio... which basically means she is the go-to person when someone has a serious issue that needs help on a bigger scale. She leads a team of advocates that help people access social services and federal benefits like Social Security, passports, and veterans benefits. And from just talking with her while doing her makeup, I can tell she's definitely a great person to have on your side.
And so here are a few pics from the event that Melissa shared and that I found on Facebook...
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| with Bob Cortes |
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| Susan is on the far right with Melissa and other members of Senator Rubio's staff. |
"I have to thank you so very much for making me feel like a million
bucks, you knew exactly what I needed and did it in top speed. I am
happy to report, I did win the award so, once again MAC is a significant
part of a milestone in my life. It was my first speech in front of over
1000 people and not once did I worry if my mascara was smudged."
Trust me, the pleasure was all mine!!