Our community has lost a true role model. Terry Alderete passed away on March 21. She was too modest to think of herself as a role model, but that is how I and many people saw her.

In business, Terry was a marketer, an event planner, the driving force behind big community events such as Oakland’s Cinco de Mayo festival. She was a connecter, a volunteer, an achiever - she wanted to see things happen for other people and for the community.

As busy as she was, she always had time to talk or help. She was real, genuine and had a big heart. She helped and inspired me, she helped this newspaper, but she helped mostly by being an example of a positive, hard-working person who didn’t complain or blame. She showed people how to achieve, how to solve problems and how to take responsibility.

Terry received numerous awards from the community, though she was never comfortable receiving such recognition – awards and recognition were not the reasons she worked so hard and gave so much to others and the community. Terry is gone but she is still a role model for everyone who was fortunate to know her.