{"recordId":"st_613as1kpokbpuklq","canonicalUrl":"https://sotwire.com/stories/alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion-2026","jsonUrl":"https://sotwire.com/stories/alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion-2026/record","slug":"alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion-2026","headline":"Triangle Business Journal honors Marks Clearing & Grading chaplain Alberto Valderrama","dek":"The company says Pastor Alberto Valderrama has served the Triangle's Hispanic community for years. The paper's 2026 Community Champion class has 16 individuals and 15 organizations, another honoree said.","articleBody":"Employees at Marks Clearing & Grading see Pastor Alberto Valderrama, the company chaplain, on jobsites and in the shop. Valderrama shares encouragement and faith with them, the company says.\n\nNow the Triangle Business Journal has named Valderrama a 2026 Community Champion, the Wendell sitework company announced on Oct. 14, 2026. The awards honor people whose service makes a lasting difference in the communities around them, Marks wrote.\n\nMarks says Valderrama has served the Triangle's Hispanic community for years, \"leading with faith, compassion, and a genuine commitment to serving others.\" The company did not name a congregation or describe specific programs.\n\nAnother 2026 honoree, the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson, said in August that this year's class includes 16 individuals and 15 organizations. The firm said the winners would be honored at a luncheon on Oct. 8 at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary. The photo Marks posted shows Valderrama holding a 2026 Community Champion Awards winner's trophy, engraved with Valderrama's name and the company's.\n\nThe Journal also named Gregg Marks, the company's executive chairman and chief growth officer, a 2026 Corporate Leadership Award winner in September.\n\n\"Faith is the first word in Faith, Family, Dirt,\" the company wrote, referring to its motto. \"It's not there for decoration. It shapes how we treat our people, how we treat our clients, and what we believe a company owes the community it works in.\"","category":"other","categoryLabel":"Company news","location":"Wendell, NC","company":{"name":"Marks Clearing & Grading","domain":"marksclearingandgrading.com"},"sample":false,"sampleDisclaimer":null,"publishedAt":"2026-10-15T12:51:00.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T04:12:45.170Z","badge":"Desk reported","trust":{"level":"desk_reported","doctrine":"Sotwire verifies who at the company stood behind the submission. It does not independently certify every underlying company claim as true.","verifies":"which named Sotwire editor wrote this from the cited sources","doesNotCertify":"independent truth of every claim","badge":"Desk reported","verificationMethod":"Named Sotwire editor, from the cited sources. Not a company attestation, and not an independent fact-check of every sentence.","domainChecked":false},"attestation":{"attested":false},"confirmation":null,"facts":[{"label":"Honoree","value":"Pastor Alberto Valderrama, company chaplain, Marks Clearing & Grading"},{"label":"Award","value":"Triangle Business Journal 2026 Community Champion"},{"label":"2026 class (per Womble Bond Dickinson)","value":"16 individuals and 15 organizations"},{"label":"Luncheon","value":"Oct. 8, 2026, The Umstead Hotel and Spa, Cary"},{"label":"Company","value":"Marks Clearing & Grading, Wendell, NC"},{"label":"Company motto","value":"Faith, Family, Dirt"}],"keyEvents":[{"date":"2026-08-25","label":"Womble Bond Dickinson announced its own Community Champion award and the size of the 2026 class"},{"date":"2026-09","label":"The Triangle Business Journal named Gregg Marks a 2026 Corporate Leadership Award winner"},{"date":"2026-10-08","label":"Community Champion honorees were set to be honored at a luncheon in Cary"},{"date":"2026-10-14","label":"Marks announced Valderrama's Community Champion award"}],"sources":[{"url":"https://marksclearingandgrading.com/2026/10/alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion/","title":"Pastor Alberto Valderrama Named a 2026 Triangle Business Journal Community Champion","publisher":"Marks Clearing & Grading"},{"url":"https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/insights/news/102nrig/womble-bond-dickinsons-raleigh-research-triangle-park-offices-honored-with-tria","title":"Womble Bond Dickinson's Raleigh, Research Triangle Park Offices Honored with Triangle Business Journal's Community Champion Award (Aug. 25, 2026)","publisher":"Womble Bond Dickinson"},{"url":"https://marksclearingandgrading.com/2026/09/gregg-marks-tbj-corporate-leadership-award/","title":"Gregg Marks Named a 2026 Triangle Business Journal Corporate Leadership Award Winner","publisher":"Marks Clearing & Grading"}],"source":{"url":"https://marksclearingandgrading.com/2026/10/alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion/","publisher":"Marks Clearing & Grading","publishedAt":"2026-10-14T21:33:07.000Z"},"cover":{"url":"https://sotwire.com/covers/alberto-valderrama-tbj-community-champion-2026.webp","alt":"Triangle Business Journal honors Marks Clearing & Grading chaplain Alberto Valderrama","provenance":"unknown","provenanceLabel":"Unknown origin","credit":null},"images":[{"id":"med_hu0v3vpnluxm8w9d","url":"https://pub-ec2c7475154f4c22ba3162ee6eef7802.r2.dev/wire/marksclearingandgrading.com/obj_wqipwptx1j31jnd4-alberto-valderrama-square-full-width.jpg","alt":"Alberto Valderrama, smiling, in glasses and a dark jacket, holds a clear octagonal trophy reading Community Champion Awards 2026 Winner, engraved with his name and Marks Clearing & Grading.","caption":"Pastor Alberto Valderrama with a 2026 Community Champion Awards trophy, in a photo posted by Marks Clearing & Grading.","credit":"Photo: Marks Clearing & Grading","lead":true,"provenance":"unknown","filename":"alberto-valderrama-square-full-width.jpg"}],"provenanceMethod":"EXIF, XMP, and filename heuristic. 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