Mayor Sarno issued a proclamation declaring the month of November 2021 as ‘Puerto Rican Heritage Month’ in the City of Springfield. In addition, Senators Gomez and Lesser and Representative Ramos presented local businesses with citations to acknowledge their efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Members of the Springfield Police and Fire Departments were also on hand.
Mayor Sarno states, “It is important that we honor and recognize our City’s Puerto Rican Heritage and the positive contributions and impact that our Puerto Rican community has upon our social, cultural, economic and military service to our city, state and country. Springfield is proud of our diversity, especially our Puerto Rican community. When the island of Puerto Rico was hit with natural disasters such as hurricane Maria we rallied together to provide relief and to welcome those displaced. My Administration is also proud to have our City’s first Latina City Clerk and Cabinet Head in Gladys Oyola and our City’s first Latina Budget Director in Melanie Acobe.”