The announcement was made during the HBE Elite Luncheon at the 33rd USHCC Annual National Convention in Los Angeles, CA.

“We are proud to recognize these Hispanic entrepreneurs who are a driving force of our nation’s economic development,” said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of the USHCC. ”This award underscores the importance of Hispanic businesswomen and businessmen not only within the Hispanic community but in the nation as a whole.”

2012 HBE Hispanic Businesswoman Patricia Pliego Stout, who celebrates 30 years in business this year, is the founder of The Alamo Travel Group (ATG). While she is committed to her business and to supporting the families of 69 employees, she also contributes her time and resources to other Hispanic entrepreneurs through her participation in organizations that support Hispanic businessmen and women.  

“I am humbled by this award.  I believe my Abuelita put me on the road to success when she taught me the importance of wisely managing my resources,” expressed Stout.  ”I benefitted greatly from her wisdom and teachings. I also thank God for the strength and courage he gave me to overcome challenges and obstacles throughout my life-long business journey!”

2012 HBE Hispanic Businessman Gregg Ontiveros, CEO of Group O, leads with a hands-on approach, remaining very involved in all facets of the company’s daily operations, including its choice of sponsorship, charitable contributions, and volunteer activities that have maximum impact in the community.

“Our commitment to diversity – through both procurement strategies and employment goals – is foundation of who we are, at all levels of our organization,” said Ontiveros. “Our diversity is fundamental to how we approach creating sustainable value for our clients.”

The Hispanic Businessman and Businesswoman of the Year were chosen from a list of exceptional applicants from across the country and selected by an independent judging panel.  

Hispanic entrepreneurs are starting businesses at more than three times the national rate, and the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is expected to grow by 42 percent over the next six years.

About The Alamo Travel Group The Alamo Travel Group is a travel management company with over 20 years of experience providing the highest quality travel services to more than 150 DOD and Civilian government agencies, corporations and leisure travelers. http://www.alamotravel.com/

About Group O Group O provides third party logistics and business process outsourcing solutions in marketing, packaging and supply chain. Group O has become one of the largest Hispanic-owned businesses in North America. www.groupo.com

About the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of over 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that combined generate in excess of $465 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit: www.ushcc.com.

SOURCE United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Over 500 attendees from across the state benefited from procurement roundtable sessions with state agencies and corporate executives, as well as franchise opportunities, a business tradeshow and expo, workshops and seminars.

A highlight of the convention was the presentation of a new research study of Hispanic-owned businesses entitled “The Survey of Texas Hispanic-owned Businesses with Paid Employees” by The University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Business Research. It found that two critical challenges for Hispanic-owned businesses to grow are overcoming a lack of training in management and communication skills and gaining better access to markets. The full report is available at ic2.utexas.edu/hob.

“The TAMACC Annual Convention is one of the largest statewide business and business opportunity gatherings in Texas,” said Ben Mendez, TAMACC Chairman. “Each year, TAMACC member chambers nominate individuals from their community to compete for TAMACC business awards.”

The 2012 honorees are:

Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
2012 Small Chamber of the Year

Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
2012 Medium Chamber of the Year

El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
2012 Large Chamber of the Year

Pete Garza – Apache Disposal, Inc.
2012 Business Man of the Year
Seguin, Texas (Small Chamber)

Carlos E. Varela – Pronto Insurance
2012 Business Man of the Year
Brownsville, Texas (Medium Chamber)

Oscar Venegas – Venegas Engineering Management & Construction
2012 Business Man of the Year
El Paso, Texas (Large Chamber)

Maria Lourdes Campero – Forever Tiles
2012 Business Woman of the Year
Irving, Texas (Small Chamber)

Amada Flores – Aim Construction
2012 Business Woman of the Year
El Paso, Texas (Large Chamber)

Ruben Estrada – Delphi Global Supply Management
2012 Corporate Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year
El Paso, Texas (Large Chamber)

Larry Elizondo, Sr. – CITGO
2012 Corporate Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year
Corpus Christi, Texas (Medium Chamber)

Guadalupe Regional Medical Center
2012 Corporate Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year
Seguin, Texas (Small Chamber)

Robert A. Eads – City Manager, City of Del Rio
2012 Government Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year
Del Rio, Texas (Small Chamber)

The Honorable Silvestre Reyes – U.S. Congressman
2012 Government Hispanic Business Advocate of the Year
El Paso, Texas (Large Chamber)

TAMACC will host its 38th Annual Convention and Business Expo in September, 2013 in Houston, Texas. For more information about next year’s convention, contact the TAMACC office at (512) 444-5727

About TAMACC
TAMACC promotes the growth, development and success of local Hispanic chambers of commerce and serves as the leading advocate of Hispanic business in Texas.

The “Survey of Texas Hispanic-owned Businesses with Paid Employees” was produced by the university’s Bureau of Business Research (BBR) for the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC). The report findings are being presented today at the TAMACC annual meeting in San Antonio by the Bureau’s Bruce Kellison and Elsie Echeverri-Carroll, the principal investigators.

The university invested $155,000 in the survey through the Herb Kelleher Center at the McCombs School of Business and the Office of the President of The University of Texas at Austin. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation also funded the survey.

“We were pleased to help the Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce in studying this important economic issue,” said university President Bill Powers. “A better understanding of the challenges faced by Texas’ Hispanic businesses will allow TAMACC to identify strategies to help these businesses grow and help create jobs and new opportunity in Texas.”

“We’re paying attention to this demographic because Hispanic-owned businesses create jobs for Texans, and their ability to scale is critical to the Texas economy,” said McCombs Dean Tom Gilligan.

The survey is based on the results of a mail survey of 2,811 Texas-based Hispanic businesses with paid employees conducted between July 2011 and August 2012. Findings include:

Most Hispanic-owned businesses in Texas start small and stay small even after many years of operation.

• Forty-seven percent of Hispanic businesses with paid employees have between 1 and 4 employees, and 73 percent have fewer than 25 employees.
• Eighty percent of young firms (5 years or younger) have fewer than 10 employees, while 66 percent of mature firms (16 years or older) still have fewer than 10 employees.

Hispanic business owners have high educational attainment.

• Hispanic owners of businesses with paid employees have higher educational achievements than the general Hispanic population: 77 percent of the employers have some kind of post-high-school education, compared with 34 percent of Texas Hispanics in general over the age of 25.
• Hispanic entrepreneurs also have many years of business experience; 56 percent of respondents have more than 20 years of business experience in their current business.
• Many of the Hispanic business owners indicated that their employees need training, particularly in team management and leadership (24 percent), business/customer relations (16 percent) and written and oral communication (14 percent).

Promoting Hispanic business ownership can increase Hispanic employment.

• More than 80 percent of the respondents indicated that they hire mainly Hispanics or an equal number of Hispanics and non-Hispanics. These findings are in line with previous census results that show business owners tend to hire more employees in their own ethnic groups.

Hispanic business owners feel they have less access to private and public market opportunities.

• A larger percentage of respondents agree that they do not have equal access to government and private sector customers than disagree with such statements. Moreover, while 34 percent of respondents agree that they do not have equal opportunities in the private sector, a much larger proportion — 49 percent — agree that they do not have equal opportunities in the public sector.

“The information provided has yielded valuable insights, and we hope that this report will be useful to the survey participants as well as to other business owners who plan to start or expand their businesses,” said Echeverri-Carroll, one of the study’s principal investigators. “The Bureau of Business Research at The University of Texas at Austin is pleased to have produced this study in order to help Hispanic business owners succeed and continue to contribute vital strength to the Texas economy.”

A download link to the full report is available at ic2.utexas.edu/hob.

TAMACC noted the importance of the project to Hispanic businesses and families in Texas, and to the Texas economy, and U.S. energy independence.

The Gulf Coast Project pipeline will have an initial capacity to deliver up to 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil to Texas Gulf Coast refineries, enough to replace as much as 40 percent of imports from the Middle East and Venezuela.

“TAMACC strongly favors the construction and operation of TransCanada’s Gulf Coast Project, not only because of its importance to Hispanic families and businesses in Texas, but also because it is an important step on the road to U.S. energy independence,” said TAMACC Chairman of the Board Ben Mendez. “We urge federal authorities to move this project forward, and the sooner the better.”

Construction of the Gulf Coast Project will inject $2.3 billion into the Texas economy. Building the pipeline will create thousands of jobs in Texas and stimulate some 50,000 more spin-off jobs in Texas, while also creating many business opportunities.

“TransCanada’s Gulf Coast Project pipeline is incredibly important to Hispanic workers and businesses, especially in this struggling economy,” Mendez said.

Initially, the pipeline will deliver U.S.-produced crude oil that is currently bottlenecked in Oklahoma. U.S. oil production has substantially increased in recent years and current pipeline capacity prevents it from efficiently reaching Gulf Coast refineries.

“TransCanada’s Gulf Coast Project will help remove the bottleneck, delivering this increased U.S. –produced oil for use by Texas refineries. That’s good for Texas, good for Hispanic businesses and families, and good for the United States,” Mendez said.

“We join many other Hispanic groups in urging the Administration to expedite this pipeline, as the President has said he would do,” Mendez said. The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the National Hispanic Professional Organization, the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and numerous other organizations support the project.

The Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) is a driving force for Hispanic business, promoting economic growth, job development, stability and sustainability in the Texas economy. TAMACC represents the interest of more than 400,000 Hispanic-owned Texas businesses, a number that has doubled each decade since 1960.

Though the decision upheld Section 2(B) of the law, the Court significantly narrowed how the law could be applied. This decision also affirmed that the “federal power to determine immigration policy is well settled.” The implications for America’s business community are clear. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, wrote, “Immigration policy can affect trade, investment, tourism, and diplomatic relations for the entire Nation, as well as the perceptions and expectations of aliens in this country who seek the full protection of the laws.”

“Arizona may have understandable frustrations with problems arising from illegal immigration, but the Arizona legislature and Governor Brewer overstepped their bounds by passing a sweeping anti-immigrant law,” said USHCC President & CEO Javier Palomarez. “We are glad the Supreme Court shares our view.”

Palomarez continued, “SB1070 has dramatically hurt businesses in Arizona and cost the state thousands of jobs. The Hispanic-American business community will continue to fight the law until it is fully repealed.”

About the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce:

Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of nearly 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that combined generate in excess of $465 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers and business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.ushcc.com .

SOURCE: United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

TAMACC to Host Statewide Women of Distinction Luncheon

13 Latinas from Across Texas to be Honored

AUSTIN, TEXAS—April 26, 2012—The Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce (TAMACC) will honor female business and community leaders at its first-ever Women of Distinction luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, May 4, 2012 in Austin.

Thirteen Latinas will be recognized for their professional accomplishments and community contributions. “TAMACC recognizes that Texas has one of the largest numbers of Hispanic women-owned businesses in the U.S. at approximately 140,000,” said Ben Mendez, TAMACC Board Chair. “We feel that it’s important to showcase the talent and contributions Latinas are making in our great state.”

The 2012 Women of Distinction are:

• Dora G. Alcala – Vice Chair, Legislative and Governmental Affairs, Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Del Rio
• Janie Barrera – President and CEO, Accion Texas, Inc., San Antonio
• Anna “Michele” Bobadilla – Senior Associate Vice President, Outreach Services and Community Engagement and Assistant Provost for Hispanic Student Success, University of Texas at Arlington, Dallas
• Astrid E. Cardona – Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio
• Liz Lara Carreño – President, LLC Strategies and Executive Director of K9s4COPS, Houston
• Ana Yañez-Correa, Ph.D. – Executive Director, Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, Austin
• The Honorable Veronica Gonzales – Texas State Representative, District 41 and Attorney, Kittleman, Thomas and Gonzales LLP, McAllen
• Maria Luisa “Lulu” Flores – Attorney, Partner, HendlerLaw PC, Austin
• Margarita A. Licon – President and CEO, Licon Engineering Company, El Paso
• Mary Ellen Londrie – President and CEO, P3s Corporation, San Antonio
• Lupe Morin – Executive Director, Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas, Austin
• Linda Valdez-Thompson – Executive Vice President, Administration and Diversity, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas
• Lora J. Villarreal, Ph.D. – Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, Xerox Corporation, Dallas

Author Grace Flores-Hughes who helped coin the term “Hispanic” will give the keynote address.

The luncheon will be at the Four Seasons, 98 San Jacinto Blvd. in Austin. For detailed information on the honorees and tickets, please visit www.tamacc.org or call (512) 444-5727.

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Contact: J.R. Gonzales, TAMACC Executive Board Member, (512) 289-3758
Pauline Anton, TAMACC Executive Director, (512) 444-5727

Grace Flores-Hughes, is the TAMACC’s Keynote Speaker for the 2012 Women of Distinction Awards Luncheon on May 4, 2012 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. The purpose of this women’s award luncheon is to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of some of Texas’ outstanding Latinas.

Grace Flores-Hughes has had a long career in government. During her career she spent some time working as an assistant in what was then called the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. It was there, in the early 1970s, that she helped coin the term “Hispanic” as the government’s word of choice for people of Spanish origin – a term that made it onto the official U.S. census form in 1980. Flores-Hughes was also a President Bush political appointee.

Flores-Hughes has recently written a book based on her life and the obstacles she had to overcome to survive and to succeed. Directly after the luncheon Flores-Hughes will be available for a book signing

A Tale of Survival is an explosive story that is much more than a simple memoir of a Hispanic woman: it is an important, quintessential American story of adversity and perseverance.

Flores-Hughes writes a brutally honest and provocative tale of not merely survival but success from one who came from a time and place where success and upward mobility for a Mexican-American was not only unlikely but near impossible.

Unlike some other Hispanic memoirs, Flores-Hughes describes her childhood and transition to adulthood and beyond, against the tapestry of the modern Hispanic experience and the sometimes turbulent era of the rebellious baby-boomer generation.

She writes of assimilation, racial and ethnic injustice, her role in coining of the term Hispanic, and her championing the lives of the disenfranchised before and after the civil rights movement.

Further, Ms. Flores-Hughes takes you on this treacherous journey while exploring her encounters and friendships with many of America’s leaders. She demonstrates in this colorful and spicy story that “Hold the Salsa” has never been her style; a story that chronicles the emergence of a child’s identity to that of an accomplished Hispanic woman who rose against all odds.

For additional information or tickets to the awards luncheon, telephone TAMACC at (512) 444-5727 or you can visit http://tamacc.org/events/women-of-distinction-awards/.

In December 2011, Knaggs, Verizon’s Director of External Affairs in Austin, Texas retired after a forty-four year career. Knaggs was responsible for Community Affairs in Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Missouri and Oklahoma.

During her career Knaggs has been a recognized and notable force in Texas politics. She was the first Hispanic business woman lobbyist in Texas. Knaggs currently serves as Vice Chair of the Texas Senate Hispanic Research Council and a member of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church Finance Council.

Knaggs has been actively involved with TAMACC as the Verizon representative since 1987. The last position she held with TAMACC was in 2011 as the Chair of Corporate Partners and a member of the Executive Board of Directors. However, she retired from Verizon not TAMACC. “Helen is an icon of what corporate involvement and responsibility should be” said TAMACC Chairman, Ben Mendez “ Now that Helen has a little more free time, we plan on keeping her busy”

Some of Knaggs’ other life achievements include:

• 2007 Distinguished Alumnus by Angelo State University
• Annual League of United American Citizens’ Award – Texas Hispanic Leader of 2000
• Mexican American League Defense Fund Corporate Responsibility Award
• Governor’s Commission for Women – Appointed by Texas Governor Bill Clements
• State Job Training Coordinating Council Member – Appointed by Texas Governor Bill Clements
• Named to Who’s Who of Texas Women
• Texas Child Abuse Prevention Foundation Board of Directors – Texas Women for the 80s
• Small Business Administration Advisory Council Region VI – Appointed by President Reagan
• Recognized as the First Hispanic Woman Lobbyist in Texas by the National Hispanic Women’s Institute
• Texas Women’s Employment and Education, Inc. Board of Directors – Appointed by Mrs. Clements

Knaggs is married to Historian and Author, John R. Knaggs and has four step-children, Bart, Ryan, David, Lisa and five granddaughters.

It is dedicated individuals like Knaggs who have made a difference in representing Hispanic issues. At TAMACC we are grateful for her years of selfless service and wish her the very best in her short retirement before she starts her new endeavors.

The Census Bureau has also estimated that the non-Hispanic white population would drop to 50.8% of the total population by 2040 – then drop to 46.3% by 2050. This demographic transformation holds the potential to shift economic and political dynamics across the country.

Today one out of six people in the United States are Hispanic. However, it is important to note that one in four people under the age of 18 are Hispanic.

The total number of people under age 18 rose by nearly two million over the decade. But the number of white children fell, while the number of Hispanic children rose sharply. During the decade, Texas alone added 979,000 individuals under age 18, of which 931,000 were Hispanic.
Texas’ population grew to more than 25 million, awarding the nation’s second most populous state four more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives . Hispanics accounted for 65% of the state’s growth since 2000, while non-Hispanic whites experienced the smallest increase of any group, just 4.2%. The black population grew by 22%.

The Latino population overall grew faster than expected and accounted for more than half of the nation’s growth over the past decade, with the group’s increase driven by births and immigration. The Hispanic market certainly deserves greater attention than many businesses and corporations give it.
The total Hispanic buying power in this country is growing rapidly. It grew from $212 billion in 1990 to $951 billion in 2008, to a projected $1.4 trillion by 2014. A 600% increase in just twenty-four years.

The demographic shift that is changing the face of this country is far from complete. The U.S. Hispanic population is expected to double to 100 million by 2050. By then it is estimated that one in four people in this country will be Hispanic.