WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Sunday, September 27 through Tuesday, September 29, the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) hosted their National Conference: “Building America’s Business Future: Securing Wealth and Health for All Latinos” where more than 3,000 gathered virtually.
Keynote Speakers included Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza, Ambassador of Mexico to the U.S. Martha Bárcena Coqui, Senator Marco Rubio, Former Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Henry Cisneros, and other leaders who joined forces with the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to advocate for 4.7 million Hispanic Business Enterprises and more than 260 Hispanic Chambers of Commerce nationwide.
Each year, the USHCC honors champions within the Hispanic Business Community. The USHCC is proud to announce the 2020 Honorees:
- Chambers of the Year
- Large Chamber Category: Pueblo Latino Chamber of Commerce
- Medium Chamber Category: The Hispanic Chambers of Commerce of San Francisco
- Small Chamber Category: The Wisconsin Latino Chamber of Commerce
- Corporation of the Year
- bp
- The Ohtli Award Presented by the Mexican Embassy
- Raul Lomeli – Azoubel, Chairman, SABEResPODER and Immediate Past Chair, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF)
- Hispanic Business Person of the Year
- Female-Owned Category: Carolyn Rodz, Hello Alice
- Male-Owned Category: David Andalcio, Wynndalco Enterprises LLC
- USHCC Excellence in Leadership Award
- Luis Lobo, BB&T now Truist
- USHCC Hector Barreto Sr. “Con Ganas” Award
- Jose Niño, El Niño Group
- Employee Resource Group of the Year
- 2020 First Place Winner: Wells Fargo – Latin Connection
- LGBTQ Advocate of the Year
- Arturo Vargas, NALEO Educational Fund
- Entrepreneurial Spirit Award
- Jessica “Jessie” Garcia, Tozuda
- Technology & Innovation in Hispanic Business Award
- Jeff Vigil, My Business Matches
Originally scheduled to meet in person in Boca Raton, the USHCC hosted their annual convening of more than 3,000 attendees virtually.
Through a strategic procurement partnership with MyBusinessMatches, the USHCC offered free Business Matchmaking Sessions where small and minority-owned businesses can sign up at no cost to meet one-on-one with Fortune 500 companies to learn gain contracts and procurement opportunities. More than 200 meetings took place.
Attendees also received hands-on training including workshops such as:
- “How to do Business with AT&T” Presented by AT&T
- “Flip the Script! Transforming Your Business to Access Capital” Presented by Nationwide
- “Expanding Access to International Markets For Your Business With the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) Trade Agreement” Presented by UPS, American Airlines, and Cross-National Advisory Partners
- “How Hispanic-Owned Businesses Can Succeed Via Federal Government Contracting” Presented by Rafael Marrero & Co.
- “Supplier Training & Empowerment Program (STEP) Training” Presented by Coca-Cola
- “Enhancing Board Effectiveness” Presented by Coca-Cola
“Congratulations to all of our honorees who deserve this recognition for their efforts! Now is the time for entrepreneurs, corporations, and business organizations to stand strong together with one collective voice and lead the way to the road for economic recovery,” said Alice Rodriguez, Chairwoman of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) Board of Directors and Consumer Bank Senior Advisor and Managing Director, JPMorgan Chase. “More than 25% of Latino Businesses have already been temporarily or permanently forced to close. We are the ones who have been the most impacted during this pandemic and while there has been some Federal relief, we need to do more to save businesses. The USHCC is leading the way for advocacy and paving the road for the economic recovery.”
Latinos working in Corporate America usually participate in Employee Resource Groups at Fortune 500 companies to gain career advancement opportunities as well as community service initiatives. Each year, the USHCC celebrates and creates a friendly competition for Employee Resource Groups to compete and showcase their diversity and inclusion work. We were proud to announce this year’s four finalists for the Employee Resource Group Challenge who competed at the National Conference:
- Wells Fargo – Latin Connection;
- bp – Energía;
- AT&T – HACEMOS; and
- Cintas – TODOS.
Wells Fargo’s Latin Connection ERG took home first place through an audience-led voting platform.
The conference also featured an Expo Booth area virtually where attendees can mix and mingle with major companies and connect on new business opportunities.
The USHCC proudly worked with two strong Hispanic-owned businesses, Everlast Productions and Unico Communications, to present a world-class event to our national audience virtually.
“The USHCC will continue to propose necessary solutions for the equitable inclusion of women and minorities into future economic stimulus legislation,” said Ramiro A. Cavazos, President & CEO, USHCC. “We are proud to represent the voices of America’s more than 4.7 million Hispanic Business Enterprises. As small businesses work to re-open their doors, they’ll need access to resources and tools as we work to jumpstart the economy and get people back to work. America’s road to economic recovery will be through the Latino community.”
The USHCC has been working tirelessly during this economic crisis, through advocacy and creative new partnerships to help strengthen local Hispanic Chambers and support small businesses recovery. The USHCC has launched several grant programs due to the overwhelming need of many small businesses impacted by COVID-19. The USHCC staff has also created many bilingual resource guides and provided 24/7 hands-on support for business owners including bilingual technical assistance for federal programs including Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), and more.
The USHCC also launched two new important media partnerships to help reach more business owners beyond our network. The USHCC has partnered with Telemundo and Comcast to launch the #NuestrosNegocios campaign to share immediate resources on TV and online markets/platforms throughout the U.S. including Puerto Rico and other U.S. Territories. The USHCC also launched a new podcast and live radio show with Spanish Broadcasting Systems called “La Voz Del Negocio Hispano” (The Voice of Hispanic Business) which airs every Sunday to highlight resources and best practices for small business recovery.
To view the recordings “on demand” from the USHCC National Conference, please visit: ushccconference.com. To engage on social media, please follow the hashtag: #USHCCVirtual.
Questions may be submitted to bdimas@ushcc.com.
About the USHCC
The USHCC actively promotes the economic growth, development, and interests of more than 4.7 million Hispanic-owned businesses, that combined, contribute over $800 billion to the American economy every year. It advocates on behalf of its network of more than 250 local chambers and business associations nationwide, and also partners with more than 260 major American corporations. For more information, please visit ushcc.com. Follow us on Twitter @USHCC.
