David Luna

"The job is not something you can do sitting behind a desk," said David Luna, chairman of the Utah Hispanic Advisory Council.
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Luna is one of four council members who assisted the governor's office in choosing the new director.The Office of Hispanic Affairs aims to create a communication bridge between the state's 200,000 estimated Latinos and the Governor's Office.

Yapias' appointment will be announced today at a 9 a.m. news conference.

Yapias' experience working as a case manager in Provo, his 1985 election as a student body president in high school in Wyoming, and fluency in Spanish and English made him the top candidate in the eyes of six-member hiring committee, Luna said.The committee was looking for a candidate who showed day-to-day involvement with Latinos, good leadership skills and an understanding the culture of immigrant and American-born Latinos.

Another quality that made Yapias stand out, Luna said, was his involvement with government offices.In 1989, he served as a legislative intern for Wyoming's Republican Sen.

But David Luna, chairman of the Governor's Hispanic Advisory Council, says the word devil in a street name would offend Latinos the same way some people in Utah County shuddered at Springville High's Red Devil mascot.Ultimately, residents and the Nebo School Board stuck with the mascot.