Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

AZHCC Chairman’s July Message

Happy July Chamber members!!!

Israel Torres Summer marches on, and so do the AZHCC’s efforts to work with statewide stakeholders to develop an action plan for the advancement and expansion of Arizona’s small business community. Earlier this month, we hosted a first ever multi-chamber summit that included Hispanic chambers and business and community leaders from Flagstaff, Phoenix, Nogales, Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, Rio Rico, Tucson, Williams and Yuma, as well as the Border Trade Alliance, Arizona-Mexico Commission and the Nogales Port Authority.

Three common themes that need to be addressed by our state’s small business agenda emerged from the summit: immigration and its impact on the availability of labor; economic development and access to Federal small business assistance programs at the local and state levels; and, congressional support of existing border infrastructure needs such as the expansion of the Port of Mariposa in Nogales and the funding for the construction of the new commercial port of entry, San Luis II, in San Luis, AZ.

The next step will be to hone these objectives and articulate them to the national small business community at the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce annual convention in Milwaukee in September. Arizona will have a strong delegation at the conference to articulate this statewide agenda, and we plan to make a significant impact there as a border state and a small business community that is gaining momentum on a national level. Thank you to each multi-chamber summit participant and to the delegates who will advocate for Arizona’s agenda in Milwaukee.

Also, Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week is right around the corner, culminating in the 2005 MED Week Awards Breakfast, presented by Cox Communications and the Arizona Minority Business Development Center, on Wednesday, Aug. 3. Visit www.azhcc.com for more information about MED Week and this year’s deserving award recipients.

Last, thank you to everyone who attended this month’s outstanding Contactos After 5 at Coyoacán Steakhouse in Phoenix. These events are a valuable networking opportunity, so don’t miss the next Contactos, hosted by Diversified Human Resources on Thursday, Aug. 18 at E4 in Scottsdale. Remember, this is your chamber, get involved!

Israel G. Torres
AZHCC Chairman of the Board