Austin ISD officials gathered with city, state and community leaders today to dedicate the Gus Garcia Young Men's Leadership Academy.

U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett spoke about his longtime friend and thanked the crowd of supporters. 

"You are saying by your presence, 'What you're doing at that academy is important to us,'" Dogett said.

Addressing the many students in attendance, Doggett said, "I hope each of you will follow that example and strive to be a Gus Garcia."

Elected in 19721, former Austin mayor and city councilman Gus Garcia was the first Hispanic to serve on the Austin ISD board of trustees. After his work with the district, Garcia began working with the city of Austin and was elected in 2001 as the city's first Hispanic mayor.

Garcia has received multiple honors for his work for the residents of Austin, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in 2009 and the Reconocimiento OHTLI Award presented by Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Relations (Trail Blazer Award) in 1996.

Wilhelmina Delco, whose own many achievements include being the first African-American on the Austin ISD Board of Trustees and the first African-American state representative for Travis County, congratulated the district for choosing Garcia and spoke to the students.

"Young people—Gus Garcia is your role model to do all the good things he's doing with his life," Delco said. "Gus Garcia stands for you in the past. Your names will stand for Austin in the future."