WACO, TX – Cen-Tex Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (CTHCC) has recently moved to a central hub in the downtown area of Waco, TX and is taking a hybrid chamber approach with a “floating chamber.” CTHCC is the premier advocate for Waco’s growing Hispanic and business communities, and a valuable resource for strategic advocacy partners in the city. The nonprofit’s move to a coworking space allows for ease of access to budding small businesses while in the office, but its dedication to local businesses and advocacy for the Hispanic community doesn’t stop there. CTHCC has begun weekly floating office hours throughout Central Texas in their members’ offices, coffee and tea shops, restaurants and lobbies.
Members can connect with CTHCC to host a residency Floating Office Hours month where, similar to a concert residency, the business can host Floating Office Hours in their space every week for a month. The community is welcome to visit CTHCC in these spaces and ask questions, learn about resources or discuss how the chamber can help them.
In January, CTHCC can be found at Cha Community for Floating Office Hours on Thursdays from 9:30-12 p.m. In February, the chamber will partner with 25th Street Furniture Store.
25th Street Furniture Owner Daysi Barrera says, “I really believe they [CTHCC] want to go to every single business’ door and say, “how can we help you?”
This new addition is the latest iteration of their floating events like their monthly “Cafe y Pan Dulce” events, quarterly “Off the Clock” after-hours events, bi-monthly “Floating Mercado” market fairs and quarterly “Success in 60” luncheons.
“Wacoans especially value personal interactions and close relationships.” says Chamber President/CEO Andrea Kosar. “We are always looking for better ways to connect with our members and truly understand their needs. We are transitioning from focusing on networking events being in our space, where the expectation may have been for our members to get to know us and what we offer where we are, to an approach where we visit members and take events and meetings to their spaces.”
As the chamber innovates, they are bringing their members one step closer to the nonprofit’s strategic partners like TAMACC (Texas Association of Mexican American Chambers of Commerce), Baylor University, the City of Waco, Fox 44, KWTX, KWBU and Waco Tribune Herald, among others.
“We are creating spaces where stories are told by our members, where they are most comfortable and proud,” says Kosar. “As a former journalist, I understand how valuable it is to let our community members share their stories in their spaces, or where the action is, and it’s very exciting to bring that same model of storytelling to our chamber members.”
Chambers of Commerce are built on providing avenues for businesses and individuals to connect with resources, discounts, marketing opportunities and potential clients through a membership to a chamber. Chamber membership can be a great tool for businesses to have increased exposure and credibility in the community.
“With the Hispanic community being the majority in Texas, Hispanic Chambers of Commerce are playing an even bigger role than ever before,” says Board President Hermann Pereira. “The Central Texas Hispanic population and Hispanic business communities are spread all throughout the region. There is no one place or one way to support our community. We emphasize bridging communities, so CTHCC is focusing more on creating access points to provide more resources in more places to let our members know we are here for them and so are our community partners.”
