TIJUANA -When Don Luis Fimbres Moreno arrived in Tijuana from Sonora as a youth in the 1930s, his family was among w.aves of immigrants searching for a better future in the border city.

Growing up, Fimbres Moreno's formal education was limited to the middle level. Lessons in moral and ethical values taught at home and initiation into the family business at a young age helped make him the man he is today -founder and honorary CEO of the Empacadora Rosarito meatpacking company, and Philanthropists of the Year in Tijuana.

The philanthropy title was awarded in Tijuana at a May 13 ceremony sponsored by Iberoamericana University, Associations United for Development and Social Action of Tijuana, and the International Community Foundation.
A committee representing these groups selected Fimbres Moreno for his contributions that touch on a fundamental goal of Mexican society, which is to pursue greater equality through education.

San Diegan Lucy Killea, a former state senator and president and CEO of the International Community Foundation, a foundation that handles charitable funds internationally, said Fimbres Moreno hopes to be a role model for wealthy Mexicans who can create opportunities for the under privileged.

"He zeroed in on this as something important for individuals ...to provide those with the means to pursue greater equality," said Killea, who points out that the Center for Philanthropy in Mexico City also recognizes generosity.

Fimbres Moreno's most notable contributions are toward scholarship funds and loans for university students. At the Center for Technical and Higher Education (CETYS) campus in Ensenada, he gave financial support to an all-purpose center for social and cultural events. At the CETYS campus in Tijuana, he helped fund a niajor portion of a new library with modern electronic equipment.

Among other things, Fimbres Moreno is also credited with collaborating in the construction of a sports field at the Tijuana CETYS campus and the construction of elementary school classrooms.

"1 believe that by preparing our youth through education, they will be in better condition to compete favorably in the life that the actual -world is asking for," Fimbres Moreno said.

-Julie Brown