Las Vegas food insecurity leader surprised with second set of Super Bowl LVIII tickets
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Meet Nolga Valadez: a Las Vegan with Cuban beginnings, and now, one of the first people to secure tickets to Super Bowl LVIII.
Over 200 Southern Nevadan Charities that feed the hungry receive fresh and non-perishable foods from Three Square, the nonprofit that Valadez is senior outreach manager for.
Colleagues describe her as the heart of Three Square’s Las Vegas center, with a dedication from abolishing language barriers to providing services to primarily Spanish-speaking “neighbors,” as they call those they assist. Her coworker, Rosa Martinez, said she takes that title a step further.
“Not only is she helping with the overarching things – such as securing grants that can help our community or doing these interviews to help advocate for the cause and to end hunger in our community – she’s also right there on the frontlines of our call center, assisting members, helping them find food assistance, helping them with SNAP applications, wraparound services,” Martinez, Three Square’s Marketing & PR Specialist, said outside Caesars Palace Friday morning. “I could go on forever and ever.”
After nearly a decade of feeding, connecting, and reaching out to Southern Nevada communities, a touchdown reached out to her. The surprise was disguised as another resource fair for Spanish speakers.
At least that’s what Martinez told her to get her to Caesars Palace Friday morning.
“I did so much homework last night, thinking I was going to speak to, my Hispanic community,” Valadez said through tears and a smile after receiving the tickets outside the Winged Victory statue.
The Las Vegas Super Bowl Host Committee (LVSBHC) and Caesars Palace had other plans. The hotel’s general manager, Terrance O’Donnell, provided Valadez with a complimentary dinner at their newest steakhouse, followed by LVSBHC President Sam Joffray presenting two tickets to the Super Bowl in 100 days.
Through the attention of cameras and applause, Valadez remained humble.
“I definitely don’t do (my job) for the recognition. I do it because it comes from my heart and I love what I do,” Valadez said with tears in her eyes after the surprise. “It’s what I do every day and I do it gracefully, so for somebody to even think I deserve this, it feels my heart.”
“Thank you so much for recognizing what Three Square does, because it’s not just me. I’m only a small piece of the puzzle,” she said.
Valadez said she plans on taking a family member who loves football as her plus one.
While ticket prices have yet to be revealed for the upcoming game, Sports Illustrated reported the average ticket price for last year’s game at $10,959.29.
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