The annual CCNMA Scholarship Banquet, which began in 1981, is the primary source of funding for scholarships awarded each year to Latino students interested in pursuing careers in journalism.

The dinner is usually held the in June at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

In addition to recognizing the students who won scholarships, individuals and companies are honored at the banquet. Among past honorees are Dr. Tomas Rivera of UC Riverside, Olympic Boxing Gold Medalist Paul Gonzalez, the McClatchy Newspaper Group, Southern California Edison, Gerald Sass of The Freedom Forum, Jaime Jarrin of the Los Angeles Dodgers, the USC Annenberg School of Journalism, the Los Angeles Times, Maria Elena Salinas of Univision and Arnold Kleiner, general manager of KABC-TV in Los Angeles.

The dinner also includes the announcement of the annual Ruben Salazar Journalism Awards.

Past sponsors of the dinner have included the Los Angeles Times, KABC-TV, KNBC-TV, KCBS-TV, KTTV, KTLA-TV, KCAL-TV, Univision, Telemundo, Toyota, The Orange County Register, La Opinión, Kaiser Permanente, Anheuser-Busch and Coors.

Dinner tickets are $200 each. Tables of ten are $2,000. Sponsorship package range from $3,000 to $20,000.

The scholarships awarded include two in the memory of founders. Joel Garcia was a Los Angeles journalist who in 1972 first proposed founding a professional association of Latino journalists. Garcia worked as a newspaper and television reporter, and was a producer and reporter for KCET-TV in Los Angeles at the time of his death in 1977. Frank del Olmo was a founding member who served on the Board of Directors consecutively since 1972. He was associate editor of the Los Angeles Times at the time of his death in February 2004.

Since 1976, more than $700,000 has been awarded to nearly 700 students pursuing careers in journalism.

Click here for sponsorship and ad information or here for in the dinner program book.

Call the office at (213) 821-0075 for ticket information or other details.

A no-host reception and silent auction will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The program and dinner will be from 7 to 10 p.m.