A local woman who used her bilingual skills to help Spanish-speaking newcomers to Columbus find educational and health care services has been honored with one of the highest civilian honors bestowed by Mexico.
Laura Leonard, president of Our Hospice of South Central Indiana in Columbus, received the award at the Mexican Consulate in Indianapolis in a private ceremony in September.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to invite people,” Leonard said of receiving the award. “I wanted to say, ‘I didn’t do this by myself — I did this with a group of volunteers,’ ” she said. “That’s the way the (Columbus) community does things.”
The award, nominated by individual Mexican consulates in the United States and bestowed by the Mexican government, honors outstanding individuals of Mexican heritage living in a foreign country for contributions to their communities.
The recognition is called the “Ohtli Award,” which in the Nahuatl language means “path,” according to the consulate. The symbolism of the name alludes to the idea of the honoree opening a path for others.
In Leonard’s case, it could be called a path, but in her mind, it was also planting seeds for the future.
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
