Issue link: https://cp.revolio.com/i/1463439
Introducing Lazaro Alba International President: BSHDFC (May 2022) I was born in Los Angeles, CA. on September 29 th , 1972, to Antonio and Alida Alba. My parents, my maternal grandparents, and my older brother Luis fled the island of Cuba from the communist regime of Fidel Castro in the 1960s. Upon arrival in the USA, my parents decided to make California their home. They had the choice to go to Florida or New Jersey. (I'm sure glad they picked Southern California!) I grew up in the city of Bell, CA. Looking back now, I had a truly blessed childhood. My parents were loving, caring, and worked very hard to always provid for me what I needed and very often, what I wanted. However, since my parents both worked, I was cared for by my grandparents – Luis and Alejandrina. My grandfather Luis was a serious - no nonsense kind of man and so wise. Nevertheless, he loved me unconditionally, sometimes to a fault. He taught me so many life lessons that I still apply to this day. I fondly remember our weekly trips to McDonalds where I would order a Big Mac combo and a hot apple pie (those darn pies were always so hot!). As a child I loved listening to music, playing outside with my friends, watching tv/movies, and playing baseball. Baseball was my favorite sport, and I was pretty good at it too! In fact, after high school, I had the opportunity to play minor league baseball, but I chose not to. That, however, is a story for another time. My parents were also devoted Catholics and were very involved in our local parish. I attended St. Rose of Lima elementary school in Maywood, CA. and then graduated from Pius X High School in Downey, CA in 1990. I wasn't much of a scholar in High School. I even flunked Spanish! That means that after graduation I had to find employment. During a four-year period, I worked for many companies like Security Pacific Bank, La Abejita Mexican Candy Company, Frito Lay Inc., and Bank of America ...just to name a few. In 1993 I was in between jobs when I found myself at the local welfare office applying for medical benefits. I was waiting in the lobby when I ran into a family friend who worked in that office. My friend told me that the County of Los Angeles was hiring Eligibility Workers and that I should apply. So, I did! On March 23, 1994, I was hired by the County of Los Angeles as an Eligibility Worker assigned to the East LA office, the same office where I went in to apply for benefits months earlier. I've now have been working for LA County for 28 years and I'm currently an HR manager with the Dept. of Health Services. I met my wife Laura at the workplace in the mid-1990s. Laura was an office unit clerk and she was (and still is!) a total knockout beauty. I used to take every opportunity to walk by her desk just to say hi and engage in some small talk and hopefully make her laugh. Some occasional flirting led to our first date, which then lead to the beginning of our deeper relationship. In the beginning, it was blissful! In time, however, problems began to surface. By early 2001 our relationship was in a bad place, and we were in desperate need of help. God intervened in April 2001 when Marty and Iliana Mendez, coworkers, and good friends of ours, invited Laura and I to attend a Wednesday night service at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs. On that Wednesday evening, we heard the message of the Gospel and Laura, and I gave our lives to Jesus and our new life in Christ began. Laura and I have now been together for twenty-six years; married for seventeen. We are a blended family with four adult daughters, one adult son and three grandchildren. Before moving to Hesperia earlier this year, we attended and served at Calvary Chapel Chino Valley for more than fourteen years. We've been involved in many church ministries, including greeters, Sure Foundation, children's ministry, and couple's ministries. In 2020, I graduated from Calvary Chapel Bible College with a degree in theology and had the