ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Over the course of her life, Janeth Vazquez has received multiple awards for advocating for various issues.
In October, Vazquez was one of three recipients from Southwest Kansas for the KSNN 23 Community Award. Those individuals each represent the communities of Liberal, Garden City and Dodge City, and Vazquez said she was quite surprised to be Liberal’s recipient.
“With this awards banquet, this is the second year they did it,” she said. “I did hear about it last year, but I don’t know how the recipients are selected. That’s why I was shocked. I really didn’t know who nominated me or how I was selected.”
Vazquez was informed about the award through e-mail, and she said when she found out, she was extremely blessed and happy.
“This award means so much to me because I believe it represents hope, unity and the power of a community,” she said. “It’s not just a recognition of my work, but it’s a celebration of the people in Liberal who believe in coming together, supporting one another and creating a better future for all families. It reminds me kindness and compassion are still at the heart of who we are.”
As a Liberal city commissioner, marketing director for Southwest Medical Center and in other capacities, Vazquez has spent years building bridges in the community and bringing people together from all backgrounds, and she has done this through city initiatives, health events and advocacy for families who often feel unseen.
“I truly believe every person, regardless of where they come from, deserves respect, dignity and love, and my goal has always been to create spaces where everyone feels valued and included,” she said.
In October, Vazquez helps coordinate SWMC’s Community Health Fair, which she said is another example of unity in Liberal.
“It’s a health event that advocates for everybody to have access to health care,” she said.
Vazquez said she believes her work with the Health Fair also put her on the radar for the KSNN award.
“They heard such great stories about how the health fair is transforming lives, how people are getting the care they need,” she said. “They’re able to go and get checked. At the end of the day, the health fair is changing a lot of people’s lives. It’s not just me. It’s a collaboration of a lot of physicians, volunteers and employees of Southwest Medical Center.”
Vazquez said KSNN officials likewise saw her passion for growing the Health Fair, including the reduction of exam costs and adding more exams to the panel at the event.
“It’s me promoting health equity,” she said. “Unity doesn’t just have to be based on uniting people who feel left out because of race. It’s also for other reasons – financial barriers, health care barriers. We all face barriers in our lives. At the end of the day, we all have our struggles.”
Problems are common to everyone, and Vazquez said her work with the Health Fair comes down to finding solutions to make everyone feel included and valued.
“Health care is one of them because a lot of people neglect their health because they lack the resources, so when you create events like this, it helps people feel valued,” she said. “It helps bring resources to the table. If an event like this didn’t exist, they probably would’ve never gone checked, or it would’ve taken time for them to get the financial resources to go and get checked.”
When Vazquez stands up for issues she is passionate about, she often finds herself with fewer supporters than she would like, but she said this does not keep her from advocating.
“There are moments when standing up for what’s right means standing alone, but I remind myself of why I started,” she said. “Every single individual, every single family deserves to feel safe, respected and supported.”
With many awards under her belt, some may feel Vazquez does what she does for recognition, but she said she does it simply because it is the right thing to do.
“The truth is I don’t do the work for praise,” she said. “I do it because I’ve seen how love and understanding can change people’s lives. The support from so many in my community is what keeps me going and gives me strength. It’s being able to help people in different ways, whether it’s the health sector or the education health sector or the immigration sector.”
Vazquez had also worked at Seward County Community College, and there, she was passionate about helping students find scholarships and afford to go to college.
“Another big initiative is I worked very hard to get articulation agreements in place with universities to where when our students transferred out, they were actually transferring as juniors,” she said. “The way the articulation agreements were written is when they transferred, yes, they took all their classes, but the majority of those classes transferred as electives not as core requirements. I feel I cover a lot of different sectors in the various roles I’ve taken, but it’s basically helping any family in whatever area they need.”
Through this award, Vazquez said she hopes people see the difference one person can truly make by simply caring, and that can be through speaking, showing up or choosing unity over division.
“You don’t have to have a title or a platform to make a change,” she said. “You just need heart and persistence, and together, we can build communities rooted in love, not fear. Everyone can be a leader.”
Vazquez said she feels a common misconception about leadership is only those with certain titles or roles can be leaders and to make a difference.
“In reality, anybody can make a difference,” she said. “All you have to do is have a heart and care.”
Vazquez said she likewise hopes her work inspires more people to become leaders, serve on boards, care about the community and make changes, and this can be something as presenting a great idea to the city commission.
“At the end of the day, we need people’s input,” she said. “Some of the most brilliant ideas have come from people who typically don’t speak up.”
Vazquez said more people need to care about their community, and she is passionate about Liberal because of the numerous opportunities it has given her family and herself to have the life they currently have.
“I live in a community where everybody’s so kind and helpful, and I feel that is what got me through my struggles,” she said. “My journey hasn’t been easy. My dad got deported when I was starting my first semester in college, and there were a lot of times I wanted to give up.”
Vazquez, though, said it is the support, friendliness and warmth of the community that gave her family the opportunity to have a good quality of life.
“I want to do the same for people,” she said. “How people showed up for me when I was younger and I was struggling, I want to do the same for other people. This is just an award. It’s not for me. It’s for the whole city of Liberal.”
