USACE Vicksburg District celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

Vicksburg, Miss. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg District celebrated National Hispanic Heritage Month Oct. 4 at its headquarters in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

USACE Pacific Ocean Division Regional Business Director Jose Sánchez spoke to employees about his time as the agency’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council chair, as well as his role in policy development and research oversight. In addition to a Bronze Order of the de Fleury Medal and numerous honors, Sánchez is a two-time honoree of Hispanic Business Magazine’s 100 most influential Hispanic professionals in the United States. 

Additional activities included themed trivia, a recipe tutorial for mofongo, a traditional Puerto Rican plantain dish, and food samples from several Hispanic countries. 

National Hispanic Heritage Month celebrates the cultures and histories of American citizens with ancestors from Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain and South and Central America. First observed as Hispanic Heritage Week in 1968 under President Lyndon Johnson, the holiday expanded to a month under Public Law 100-402 in 1988.

The USACE Vicksburg District is engineering solutions to the nation’s toughest challenges. The Vicksburg District encompasses a 68,000-square-mile area across portions of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana, that holds nine major river basins and incorporates approximately 460 miles of mainline Mississippi River levees. The Vicksburg District is engaged in hundreds of projects and employs approximately 1,100 personnel.