Four Latino Leaders To Be Honored In Palm Springs

Four Latino leaders will be honored tonight for their contributions to Palm Springs.

Dr. Elber S. Camacho, J. Alex Gomez, Patricia Fontes Lancaster and Cathy Lopez Van Horn will be recognized at the City Council meeting in conjunction with Latino Heritage Month in Palm Springs, said city spokeswoman Amy Blaisdell.

Camacho, medical director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at Desert Regional Medical Center, is a native of Colombia who came to the Coachella Valley in 1995.

He serves on the boards of the American Cancer Society and the Desert Cancer Foundation.

Gomez, who was born in Mexico, moved to Palm Springs in 2007 and organized the Palm Springs West Fest and Frank M. Bogert Memorial Rodeo, which drew more than 12,000 people to the city last March.

Gomez has also been involved in the steering committee for the Coachella Valley Economic Partnership and is the organizer of the inaugural Palm Springs Fiesta Days at the O’Donnell Golf Club, which will celebrate Latino culture and heritage on Sept. 18-19.

Lancaster, who is a native of Palm Springs, has been the member services specialist for the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce for 17 years.

She annually visits the Oaxacan Indian Camp in Mexico with her church as part of a community outreach mission to provide food and clothing to those in need.

Van Horn, the city’s Economic Development Administrator, grew up in Indio and began working for the city in 1996.

She has served on the boards of the Palm Springs Chamber of Commerce and the Palm Springs Economic Development Corporation.