Gustavo Bidart II has adopted as a motto for his life words he heard many years ago, and he tries to apply them to all he does. He paraphrases that he is “doing everything with a passion to leave something behind to benefit others.”

Bidart reminds himself of that motto regularly in his job as vice president/community relations director for Citibank (West), South Coast Inland Empire Region. He works out of an office in Chula Vista, but his area of responsibility encompasses San Diego, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. A business administration graduate of USD, he joined the bank’s community development department in 1996.

As director of the region, he oversees local banks as they partner with nonprofit organizations and reinvest in their communities. The goal, he says, “is to make communities better because we are there.”

Bidart, 35, applies his motto to his community service, including the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He joined that organization in 2000, and in March 2005 was elected board president. He also chairs the boards of Casa Familiar and the Regional Small Business Development Center for San Diego & Imperial Counties, and serves as a board member for the Urban League of San Diego County and sits on the Chula Vista Advisory Board.

His dedication earned him a 2004 Citistar service award from his employer. He has been honored several times with Casa Familiar’s Abrazo Award and by the Urban League for his efforts toward affordable housing.

When Bidart is not working or at a community meeting, he sets aside family time with his wife, Ericka, and their daughters, Yvanna, 7, and Camilla, 4. “We enjoy being together,” he says. “We act like tourists.”