With Independence Day just days away, the Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce dedicated its monthly membership luncheon Thursday, July 2, to honoring patriotism, military service and the freedoms Americans often take for granted.
Held at the Cleveland Civic Center, the luncheon featured Maj. Ernest “Derek” Mendoza, a former officer in the United States Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s Corps, who shared how the opportunities afforded by America shaped both his life and his desire to serve his country.
Mendoza, who received several military honors during his years of service, is now a law partner with Linebarger, Goggan, Blair & Sampson LLP, where he oversees property tax collection programs for multiple taxing jurisdictions. Chamber officials also recognized his involvement in the community, including his service on the Cleveland ISD Education Foundation Board.
Rather than focusing on his accomplishments, Mendoza spent much of his presentation paying tribute to the men and women who have worn the nation’s uniform.
“I don’t know that I’ve done anything special,” he told the audience. “I was just a guy that wanted to serve his country.”
Mendoza recalled wanting to join the military as a teenager, but his parents encouraged him to finish college and law school first. While attending law school, he felt led to finally pursue that dream.
Even though he was eligible to receive a direct commission as an officer, Mendoza chose to enlist first and attend basic training.
“I felt like in order to lead, you have to learn how to serve,” he said.
Looking back, he called the decision one of the defining moments of his life.
“I don’t know where I’d have been if I had not been in America and joined the military,” Mendoza said. “From someone who’s traveled the world, you don’t need to look further than your own backyard. This is the greatest country in the world.”
Throughout his remarks, Mendoza repeatedly turned the attention away from himself and toward America’s veterans.
“Our service members and veterans are fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, neighbors and friends,” he said. “What unites them is their willingness to serve something greater than themselves.”
He encouraged those in attendance to remember the sacrifices military families make and noted that only about 1 percent of Americans currently serve in the armed forces, while veterans account for just 6 to 7 percent of the nation’s population.
As the country prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year, Mendoza challenged those in attendance to think not only about America’s past, but also its future.
“We have to ask ourselves what kind of nation we want to be in the next 250 years,” he said. “The answer lies within all of us — in the way we treat one another, the way we serve our communities and our willingness to listen, learn and lead.”
Following Mendoza’s presentation, chamber board member Brian Garcia shared a personal story about why Independence Day holds special meaning for his family.
Garcia said people are sometimes surprised by his last name or when they hear him speak Spanish, but his family’s story is one rooted in the freedoms America offers.
He explained that 57 years ago, his father came to the United States from communist Cuba as a 14-year-old political refugee.
“That started in motion a series of events that would lead to meeting my mom, raising five kids and helping build a community around him,” Garcia said.
Growing up, Garcia said, that story taught him what the American dream truly means.
“Anybody with the desire to make this country and this community better can do so by the sheer force of their own will and their desire to work and build those communities,” he said. “Two hundred fifty years for this great nation is near and dear to my heart. I’m so grateful for it.”
The chamber also welcomed two new members during the luncheon: Tarkington Insurance and Cove Dental.
The next Greater Cleveland Chamber of Commerce membership luncheon is scheduled for Aug. 6.
