For more than 40 years Margarita has been a pillar of civic service across the Tampa Bay area, giving back to the Hispanic and International communities. Through her 30-year career in community relations for the City of Tampa and her tremendous work ethic, Gonzalez has dedicated her time and hard work to making it a better place to live, work and play. She also co-founded the Hispanic Professional Women's Association and the mayor's Hispanic Heritage Committee, working tirelessly within both to serve the Hispanic community, and celebrate it.
Through her passionate guidance, the Hispanic Professional Women's Association has provided more than 500 women with scholarships and mentor opportunities and more than 10,000 women with networking and development programs. Margarita has channeled her love of culture and doing what is right for most of her life, giving back to those in need as best she can.
Gonzalez becomes the 417th Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the Lightning Community Hero program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through this evening's game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $21.8 million to more than 750 different nonprofits in the Greater Tampa Bay area. During the summer of 2016, the Vinik's announced that the community hero program will give away another $10 million over the next five seasons.
