LEWISTON — The Maine chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) advocacy group met for the first time on May 31. Twenty-five Latino citizens and business leaders from the Lewiston-Auburn area attended the meeting, joined by Regla Gonzalez, national vice president for women chair, and Toula Politis Lugo, national vice president for the northeast, second chair. The group also held the election of officers.

The goal of the Lewiston-Auburn chapter is to be fully active in local civic participation, support civil rights for Maine Latinos, give economic empowerment to Latinos by assisting them in starting businesses, assist with education of the Latino community in the areas of reading, writing and speaking English and also assisting the community with health issues.

The national group has a history of working with all forms of government from local city government and law enforcement to county commission, state representatives, senators and at the national level with representatives, senators and current President Barack Obama.

The League of United Latin American Citizens is nationally recognized, with more than 5,000 chapter locations throughout the U.S. and over 110,000 registered members.

The local chapter meets the first Saturday of the month at the L-A Church of God, 40 Strawberry Ave. For more information, call 212-2713 or 754-8870.