LOCAL SPOTLIGHT Orlando Ortiz

ORLANDO ORTIZ

BY KELLY BREUER

Tell us a little about who is Orlando Ortiz. where you grew up, where are you now, family, etc...

I was born and raised in Cayey, Puerto Rico. At the age of 10, my family came to Rochester for a one month visit to see other family members. Now, 25+ years later, I’m still on that “one-month” vacation. My family decided at the time to make Rochester home.

I started helping out in my uncle’s grocery store, Rivera’s Market at the age of 11 doing odds and ends jobs. Although I wasn’t there many hours, the exposure provided me with the value of hard work, commitment, and working for what I want in life.

My family consists of my wife Denishea and two boys Esaias and Gian. We reside in East Irondequoit.

What do you do for a living and how did you get started?

I’m a Manufacturing Manager at The Gleason Works. I got into this industry by attending Edison Tech High School which has a vocational program. I selected machine shop as my area of focus for the remainder of my high school years. During that time, I became exposed to Manufacturing processes and Engineering which later aided my transition to college at MCC & RIT. The summer between junior and senior year I was provided an opportunity to co-op at The Gleason Works. This coop provided me hands on experience in the field I was learning in school and hoped to continue in college.

Over the years at Gleason I was exposed to

various areas such as machining, process engineering, mechanical engineering, quality control, and production management. Each experience aided my professional growth and allowed me to reach the current position of Manufacturing Manager. The one thing I love is that despite all the positions I’ve had over my career at Gleason and other companies, I’m now managing the area I started working in as a 16-year-old. I have come full circle and wouldn’t have thought that was possible when I started my career at Gleason.

You are the organizer of the Puerto Rican Festival. How did you become involved with it?

Yes, I’m the President of the Puerto Rican Festival, Inc (PRFI). I became involved with the PRFI in 2003. I was attending RIT and had joined my fraternity, Lambda Alpha Upsilon Fraternity, Inc. Since I was one of the fraternity brothers from Rochester, I was tasked with exposing the organization to community service opportunities. I came across volunteering at the PRFI the summer of 2003 and we loved it. We came back to volunteer again in 2004, and in 2005 I was asked to join the board as the Volunteer Coordinator. Since then I’ve held the position as Treasurer and the President the past 10 years.

What are some of the responsibilities being the organizer of such a large event?

We are the largest ethnic festival in Monroe County, and we are very proud of the history and legacy this organization has here in Rochester. The Puerto Rican

“I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished to date and feel everything happens for a reason and how it’s meant to happen.”

Festival is one of many events that the PRFI does yearly. As organizers of the Puerto Rican Festival, we meet yearly to ensure we keep continuity of planning our events throughout the year. The all-volunteer board that puts together this Puerto Rican Festival have the responsibility of putting together one of the safest and most organized events here in Rochester. We thrive in seeing our patrons enjoying themselves during the festival and makes all our efforts worth it.

How has everything in 2020 with the Covid-19 impacted the festival?

The Puerto Rican Festival was slated to celebrate its 51st annual Puerto Rican Festival celebration in 2020. Our planning began in November 2019 and in March 2020 we realized the heightened concerns over COVID-19.

At that time, we decided to stop all planning until April so we can assess what was happening. That is when we decided to cancel the 2020 Puerto Rican Festival. It was a heartbreaking decision for us to make, but one we felt was the right one not only for the safety and security of our organization, but for the longevity of the organization moving forward. It’s our intent to come back in 2021 and bring back the one Latino event that bring the culture and pride of our heritage.

What is your greatest accomplishment to date?

I’m very proud of what I’ve accomplished to date and feel everything happens for a reason and

how it’s meant to happen. If I had to pick my greatest accomplishment, it would have to be my family. They keep me grounded and motivated to do better every day to ensure I leave a legacy behind to my children and others I care about.

What are your plans for the near future?

Continue to take advantage of this pandemic to spend more time with my family and also re-evaluate where I spent my time pre-covid and determine if I need to make change post-covid to ensure I remain committed to what is important in my life.

Name one thing that you love about what you do and why...

1. Professionally I love that I get to work with people on a daily basis. I get to solve problems, find ways to satisfy our customer needs, and make a difference daily.

2. Volunteering wise, I love that I give of my time to various organizations. These include The Housing Council, PathStone Corporation, FoodLink, and R I T A l u m n i Association. Each board satisfies a particular interest of mine in giving back to my community.

What makes you who you are?

I’m a very positive person.

I love to smile and make others smile.

“I came across volunteering at the PRFI the summer of 2003 and we loved it. We came back to volunteer again in 2004, and in 2005 I was asked to join the board as the Volunteer Coordinator. Since then I’ve held the position as Treasurer and the President the past 10 years.”

If you could do one thing over in your life what would it be and why?

I don’t personally have anything that I would do over in my life. I feel each experience has been the right experience for me at that time.

The one area I wish I was exposed at a younger age would be real estate and creating generational wealth.

you and why?

There are actually two people: 1. Dennis Shaw has been my 2nd father and mentor since I remember being here in Rochester. He’s been an amazing sounding board and someone who always says the right thing at the right time.

2. Denishea Ortiz, my wife has been a strong supporter of my interests, goals, and continues to be someone that helps me grow daily.

Is there anything else you want our audience to know about Orlando Ortiz?

One of my favorite quotes is by Henry Ford who said: “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal”. We often make excuses why certain things happen to us. I believe when we do that, we’ve taken our eyes off the goal we’ve set.