Business

Message from the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Dear partners, friends and supporters:

On behalf of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and its partners, I want to thank everyone for making our 2003 Legislative Reception into a big success. Many of Maryland's most influential business leaders and politicians were present to join us in the privilege of honoring our Hispanic legislators. We had an initial brief opportunity to express our concerns as Hispanic businesses, to promote our leadership to the heads of the Governor’s Cabinet, and make a strong statement about our presence in Maryland and our willingness to work with our partner, friends and supporters. It is our hope that Hispanic Legislators and business leaders will work together to redefine our future with inclusion, vision and kindness. I want to extend an open invitation to Maryland’s business community to join our business organizations so we may all work together towards a better Maryland and share the benefits of our joint efforts. Please access www.mdhcc.net for a membership application.

My special thanks for their strong commitment and support to make our 2003 Legislative Reception into a success go to: Veronica Cool and Cristina Vena of the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Luis Borunda, Bill Villanueva and Robert Jones of the Baltimore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Juan Albert of Ibero-Washington Chamber of Commerce.

I also wanted to tell you about an important event that took place last week, the USHCC 2003 Legislative Reception.

I had the honor of attending the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Legislative Reception in Washington, DC, which was hosted by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, where various Hispanic Leaders were honored as well. The President of the USHCC, George Herrera, introduced several award winners and speakers as follows:

Bob Menendez, Representative (D-NJ) was the keynote speaker

the President’s Award was given to Judge Alberto R. Gonzales

Elaine L. Chao, Secretary, Department of Labor, was also a keynote speaker

Cesar Aristeiguieta, White House Fellow (HHS) USHCC Foundation Award and Cesar Conde – White House Fellow (State) USHCC Foundation Award were honored for their work at the White House.

The USHCC’s legislative Agenda discussed the following:

Despite the successes that Hispanic businesses have had over the past few years, they continue to lag behind their mainstream counterparts. Unfortunately, Hispanic businesses in this country are not on equal ground with larger, non-minority enterprises.

Therefore, the USHCC has placed priorities on the following:

Access to capital,

Procurement,

e-Commerce and

Workforce Education.

The Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shares in these concerns. Our 2003 Legislative Reception provided us with a forum to begin formulating talking points towards our two-year Maryland Hispanic Legislative Agenda.

MARCH 27, 2003 EVENT: WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR NIGHT: Our next meeting is Thursday March 27, 2003, at 7:00pm at El Trovador Restaurant, 504 S. Broadway, Baltimore 21231. We will honor our women entrepreneurs. Keynote speaker: Guadalupe Rascón, Executive Director of the Greater Washington IberoAmerican Chamber of Commerce. For more information or for a membership application for the Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, please visit us at http://www.mdhcc.net/ Please feel free to invite your friends.

Electoral Nomination Deadline: Attached please find a Nominations Form for open positions at MDHCC. Nominations are due on March 27 at 9pm. Elections will be held on April 24, 2003 at 8 pm.

APRIL 17, 2003 NEXT EVENT: 2003 Tour for Success Seminar – Keynote speakers: Mayor O’Malley and, your very own, Gigi Guzmán. Please visit http://www.mpbnetwork.com/resource/event/baltimore/home.html

APRIL 24, 2003 EVENT: New Members Night is Thursday April 24, 2003 at 7pm – location TBD - For more information, please visit http://www.mdhcc.net/

Outcome of the Hispanic Business 2003 Legislative Reception:
Solidarity and Cooperation among Hispanic Chambers of Commerce. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed by local and state-wide Hispanic Chambers Commerce of the states of Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.

The participants to the MOU were:
Ibero-Washington Chamber of Commerce:
Colombo-American Chamber of Commerce
Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce
Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:
Anne Arundel County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Eastern Shore Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Harford County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Business Association
Howard County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Prince George’s Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Western Maryland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

This MOU was a historic event, which formalized an on-going era of solidarity, cooperation
and growth among Hispanic businesses and business organizations. Everyone that attended our2003 Legislative Reception enjoyed the occasion, sampled delicious food, relished the music,and talked about future plans to continue making Maryland the best state in the Union.

We wish to thank all Maryland Delegates and Senators that attended, particularly Ana Sol
Gutierrez, Victor Ramirez, Luiz Simmons and Alex Mooney, the honorees, as well as the many high rankingdignitaries present such as Dr. Fielder of DLLR, Mr.Aris Melissaratos of DBED and DougJohnson of Prince George County. …and… many thanks to our sponsors: Harbor Bank, First Union and Plexus.

Did you know?
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Equifax 1-800-685-1111
Experian 1-866-200-6020 (this is still toll free)
Transunion 1-800-888-4213

This is an important piece of information. Check your credit often to prevent false reports and identity theft.