Oral history interview with Maila Aganon conducted by Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on June 10, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Maila Aganon discusses her childhood, family upbringing, and immigration to the United States from the Philippines when she was a college student. She shares how her parents moved to Las Vegas first and Maila followed a decade later, investing in real estate and eventually taking up permanent residence. Maila talks about her employment history with Allstate Insurance, Bank of America, AAA, Caesars Entertainment, and finally Aon as a Senior Vice President. She also shares her thoughts on the growth of Las Vegas and the growth of the Asian community and cultural influence within the city. Subjects discussed include: anti-Asian violence; Filipino grocery stores; Filipino foods; remote work.
Interviewed by Nathalie Martinez. Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez also participates in the questioning. Luis F. Valera serves as the Vice President of Government Affairs at UNLV. His heritage is from Venezuela and Cuba. He has served as the Chairman of the Latin Chamber of Commerce and has been an active member of the Latino community since his pursuing his undergraduate degree at UNLV in Political Science and his Juris Doctorate degree from the William S. Boyd School of Law. His various achievements in the community and nation led him to become recognized and awarded the Arturo Cambeiro Hispanic of the Year Award in 2011.
Joyce Anne Parkhurst (née Reese) was born on October 24, 1935, in Long Beach, California. Joyce married James on January 30, 1955, and they had five children: Jim, Jeff, Jennifer, Jocelyn, and Jill.
Parkhurst attended one and a half years of college and one and a half years of nursing school.
Oral history interview with Jean Childs conducted by Claytee White on December 02, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Jean recalls the culture shock of segregation and racism her family encountered upon arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada from California in 1963. Jean spoke about how her mother was a role model for her, who carved a path of fighting for the underprivileged, growing the Head Start program in Las Vegas.
Jim Bilbray served Nevada as member of the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada, chief legal counsel in the Clark County Juvenile Court, Nevada State Senator, member of the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and is currently on the Board of Governors of the US Postal Service through 2015. Jim was born in Las Vegas on May 19, 1938. Among his most memorable accomplishments is his work for the environment. As a young boy growing up in Las Vegas, he loved the climate. His backyard at the family home on 3rd Street was at the edge of the city so his playground was the desert. These early years led to a lifelong appreciation for the Nevada outdoors. The 1980s and 1990s were historical for Nevada and environmental efforts. The Nevada environmental triumvirate and congressional delegation composed of Jim, Harry Reid and Richard Bryan are widely known for passing significant legislation in this field. They worked closely together, in part, because of their friendship formed while growing up together in Las Vegas. This interview helps put into perspective the pivotal role played by Congressman Bilbray. During his terms as Nevada Senator (1981 - 1987) and US Representative (1987-1995), Jim worked on a number of major public lands issues for Nevada. He helped to defuse the Sagebrush Rebellion, designate additional Forest Service wilderness, protect Red Rock as a National Conservation Area, assign the Spring Mountains as a National Recreation Area, and initiate the legislative effort to establish the Southern Nevada Public Lands Act. Jim currently resides in Las Vegas where an elementary school is named in his honor.