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Hedi & I learned while in Las Vegas last week that our
dear friend and
Secretary of Yuma County Youth Boxing Association, Adrienne Heredia,
along with her boyfriend,
and her four children had been murdered in her
Yuma home.
To date the person(s) responsible for this massacre has (have) not been caught
by law enforcement agencies.
The "America's Most Wanted" TV Show producers have been in Yuma covering this
event and will air an upcoming show regarding the same.
Adrienne age 30, served our board for a number of years. She had trained
at our program as a boxer along with her two older boys, Andreas age 13,
and Enrique age 12.
Her boys have been training since 2001 and had
considerable experience in the
ring.
Additionally, Adrienne brought her smaller children, Inez age 9 and Danny age 6, to the gym with her.
...they were always with her.
We are all shocked and numb........
Adrienne's uncle, Mr.
Billy Orta, is our head coach. He
was recently inducted into the Arizona Boxing Hall of
Fame,
on April 30, 2005. This was the day of our last
competition - Ringside
Challenge 22 - where Adrienne and her kids attended or participated.
Adrienne was our sole parent of boxers serving on our non-profit
organization's
Board of Directors and her loss will serve the surviving
Board Members as an even greater motivation to continue to serve our
community.
Adrienne, even with her responsibilities as a young working mother of
four young children, found energy and time to work for the betterment of all
the "at risk" youth in our Olympic-Style Boxing program,
which was
established back in 1999.
It is easy to find kind words after their passing, however, speaking for
the Board, I am clear in my observations through my association with
Adrienne, that we have lost an extraordinary human being who had a
positive impact on those who are left behind. Her kids were as loved by
a mother as I have ever witnessed.
Her sons were involved in Olympic-Style Boxing as well as baseball. She
attended their every participation, and went on trips to various boxing
venues in Nevada, Arizona, and California. Adrienne was very visible at
all of our USA Boxing competitions normally working in the concession
area.
Adrienne wanted to see a permanent boxing & athletic training facility
established for the organization she served. She hoped that YCYBA would
be able to find a generous land owner
anywhere (land can be traded)to donate property that YCYBA could
utilize as a basis for obtaining grant funding and serve as the keystone
for developers and building material sources in the community to be
generous as well and erect a lasting gathering place where our youth can
be taught the "lessons of life" through the difficult and rewarding
sport of Olympic-Style Boxing. |
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