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| History |
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1963 – 1964
Roberto Ornelas and George Roybal along with the U.S. Navy Recruitment Command, the American GI Forum, and LULAC form the non-profit organization, Operation SER, in Corpus Christi, Texas.
William Bonilla, four-time chairman of SER, testifies before Congress on behalf of SER.
Dr. Hector Garcia, founder of the American GI Forum, co-sponsors Project SER together with LULAC.
Congressman, Eligio “Kika” De la Garza recommends federal funding for Operation SER.
1964
President Lyndon B. Johnson approves U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) funding for Operation SER.
1965
Operation SER names its first Director of Operations, George Roybal. The SER National office is established in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
1966 SER National office moves to Los Angeles.
1970 SER becomes a national community-based partner of the U.S. Department of Labor
1970
Rick D. Sanchez, Director of the SER program in Hawthorne, California, develops a local corporate advisory council – the Amigos de SER.
1971
SER receives national recognition in the Manpower Report of the President as “one of the most notable new efforts to develop an effective attack on the employment programs of the Spanish-speaking community.”
1974
SER National formalizes its corporate advisory council, Amigos de SER, in Los Angeles, California.
1975
Ricardo Zazueta begins term as National Director of SER-Jobs for Progress. SER network grows to include 60 local programs with an aggregate budget of $24.7 million.
1979
Pedro Ruiz Garza begins terms as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc., and moves the office to Dallas, Texas.
1982
Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) replaces Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) as SER’s primary DOL funding source introducing performance-based systems.
1984
Rolando Esparza begins term as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
1984 Harry Jamison, President of Arco Exploration and Chairman of Amigos de SER, recruits corporate CEOs from The Equitable, Allstate Insurance Company, and Kaiser Aluminum to the Amigo’s Senior Executive Council.
1985
John Ewing, Sr. Vice President, Frito-Lay, Inc., leads Amigos de SER as the National Chairman.
1986
Edward J. Franco begins term as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
1987 SER National publishes the first issue of the SER America magazine.
1987
SER National establishes the SER Institute for Policy Development and appoints Dr. Fred Romero as Director. The SER Institute creates the Family Learning Center Initiative.
1987
Milwaukee SER and SER National sign the agreement for SER National Information Center (NIC) to be housed in Milwaukee.
1987
Tom Tewksbury, Sr. Vice-President, Allstate Insurance Company, appointed as National Chairman of Amigos de SER.
1988 The Senior Executive Council of Amigos de SER elects Tom Tewksbury, Sr. Vice-President, Allstate Insurance Company, and Joe Ramirez, Vice-President and Assistant General Counsel, AT&T, as Amigos de SER Co-Chairs.
1988
Pedro L. Viera begins term as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
1989
The Barbara Bush Foundation book, First Teachers, features the SER Family Learning Center program as one of the top ten learning programs in the USA.
1990
SER names First Lady Barbara Bush as Honorary Chair of the SER National Literacy Council.
1992
Joe Ramirez, Vice-President and Assistant General Counsel, AT&T, and Dr. Ernest Drew, President and CEO, Hoechst Celanese, co-chair Amigos de SER.
1994
The IBM Corporation became the first Amigo de SER to contribute over $10 Million to the SER Network nationwide.
1995
Gerald J. Mussari, Vice-President, Human Resources, Procter & Gamble, Joe Ramirez, Vice-President, AT&T, appointed national co-chairs of Amigos de SER.
1997
Hugo Cardona begins his term as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
1997
SER Partners obtain the first SER One-Stop management and operation contract in San Antonio, Texas…Houston and Miami followed.
1999
SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc. partners with the National Urban League, the National Puerto Rican Forum, Inc., the National Council of La Raza, and the Opportunities Industrialization Centers of America, Inc. to form the National Community-Based Organization Alliance.
1999
SER National collaborates with SEARS in the Dallas Metroplex to teach tire technician and their managers the English and Spanish needed to communicate on the job.
2000
SER National successfully develops and implements a work specific language program for corporate America, Progama SOL.
2000 SER National becomes a Regional Cisco Networking Academy. Bringing the latest in information technology to SER local partners, SER National links local participants to technology and the Internet. Microsoft Corporation approves SER National as a Microsoft Authorized Academic Training Provider.
2000
SER National becomes an official Census Information Center for the U.S. Census Bureau.
2001
Ignacio Salazar, President, SER Metro-Detroit, Jobs for Progress, Inc., begins term as President of SER-Jobs for Progress National, Inc.
2001
SER receives funds from the Hearst Foundation for a Juvenile Justice Initiative working with adjudicated youth.
2002
SER awarded intermediary grant from the U.S. Department of Labor for a Faith-Based & Community-Based Organizations Initiative program.
2003
SER provides Pre-Apprentice Program in Construction Trades for Court-Involved Youth with funds from WorkSource for Dallas County.
2003
SER awarded funds for Employer Driven Older Worker Program for Hispanic women over 50 from the Women Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor.
2003
The U.S. Department of Labor awards SER National funds for the Senior Community Service Employment Program to implement in 16 states.
2003
Tom Trotter, Chairman of the Board, receives honor from SER recognizing IBM’s 36 years of support with contributions totaling $15 million dollars in product and services.
2004
The U.S. Department of Labor Senior Community Service Employment Program Awards SER funds for a 502(e) program for customer service training for employment in the private sector.
2004
SER wins award from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop a Youth Development Practitioner Apprenticeship program with SER affiliates.
2005
SER National awarded funds from the GE Foundation for SER Mentores program at Central States SER and ACCESS in Abilene, Texas.
2006
SER was awarded funds for The Limited English Proficiency Hispanic Worker Initiative from the U.S. Department of Labor: SER names program English Language Acquisition.
2007
Chrysler Financial provides funds for financial literacy programs at ten SER affiliate locations around the country. |
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For over 40 years, SER had played a key role in the nation's workforce investment system, and is today recognized by the US Department of Labor as the "premier community-based organization serving the employment needs of the Hispanic Community." |
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| SER Means “to be” in Spanish |
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| SER is an acronym for: |
Service
Employment
Redevelopment |
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