If the late Sen. Pete Suazo had a motto, it could easily have been, "It's not what you do, it's what you get done."
As a legislator and community leader, Suazo was always interested in results, not rhetoric. He didn't posture. He didn't preen. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes to better the lives of people and get things done.
That legacy now lives on in the Pete Suazo Business Center on his beloved west side.
The center is the brainchild of Gladys Gonzalez, owner and publisher of the Spanish language newspaper, Mundo Hispano. It was Suazo who helped Gonzalez get a $10,000 loan some 10 years ago to keep the newspaper afloat. Now she is returning the favor.
Ground was broken on Thursday for the new facility. And like Suazo himself, the center bearing his name will offer nuts-and-bolts, hands-on practical advice and help to those who choose business careers. There will be consultants for business novices. Classes, seminars and discussions will also be a priority. Financial services will be available.
On Nov. 23, the center will offer a seminar about getting started in business, covering all aspects from securing funding, creating a structure, understanding markets and the laws. The new center will be especially valuable to immigrants who come to the United States with a business background and some facility with English but simply don't know the ropes when it comes to American ways.
The role of the Suazo Center will be to show people those ropes.
And just as Suazo himself was adept at forming coalitions, the center has already cobbled together a diverse and savvy board of directors and gotten support from government and business leaders as well as several local institutions of higher education.
In short, Thursday was a quiet moment that could have major impact.
Henry Ford might have been thinking about the Suazo Center when he said, "Business needs more of the professional spirit. And the professional spirit seeks professional integrity from pride, not from compulsion."
Today, Utah's Hispanic community should feel proud of its new center.
And in the future, undoubtedly the center will be feeling proud of the successful entrepreneurs and merchants who avail themselves of its services to create a better life for themselves, their families and the state of Utah.