Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston

Event Highlights!
6th Annual Jumpstart Your Business!

sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield

Helping Latino-Owned Business Grow to the Next Level
Blue Cross Blue Shield hosted its 6th Annual HACC Jumpstart Your Business on Friday October 23rd at the Landmark Center. It began with a series of Business Forums. Jim Cote, President of Cote, Pulitzer, and Alvarez, Inc hosted Jobs in a Rebounding Economy; focusing on key strategies for employees and individuals to recruit and market oneself respectively in an uncertain economy. Carol Sanchez, CPA, of Sanchez and Santiago, LLC hosted Taxes and Organization for the Owner-Run Business where she discussed key efficient tax strategies for business owners to implement Mayor Thomas Menino then kicked off the breakfast by saying how an increasing number of Latinos are making contributions in the economy; "We are seeing more bodegas, beauty salons, restaurants... that individuals are making a difference and we are seeing the entrepreneur spirit is thriving." He stressed the importance of small business owners partnering with organizations like HACC and the SBA (Small Business Administration). His seeks as his duty to do anything to help businesses grow and with the help of Rafael Carbonell, Deputy Director of Small Business Development, businesses can obtain loans, grants, and technical assistance. He also introduced Main Street Program which helps improve and strengthen districts where small businesses operate.

This year they have helped open 133 new businesses. But he doesn't think its enough; Latinos make up 17% of the population in Boston and are the fastest growing minority. He stated, "Boston should be more inclusive, diverse, and tolerant, we must do better to promote this."Lastly he ended by saying, that at events such as this one, individuals should take advantage of the opportunity to network with others and share knowledge/resources that could help each other's business prosper.

The SBA award was then given to Janice Guy who began her company P3i, Inc., in 2000 with 4 employees and now has 250 employees. She stressed by partnering with the SBA she was able to take advantage of great opportunities that helped her business grow. This award has recognized minority business contribution since 1983. Janice then said that Small Business lead is out of the recession and are formed around the kitchen table; they are "Energizing the American Economy".

Alberto Vasallo III then kicked of the Healthcare Reform and the Implications for Small Businesses. He introduced the three panelists Jay Curley, Senior Vice President, Chief Government and Public Affairs officer; Larry Croes, Vice President, Commercial Markets; and Juan Lopera, Director of Affordability. Jay spoke about the importance of Massachusetts sustaining Healthcare costs. With The National Healthcare Reform implemented in 2006 employers are required to provide employees with affordable insurance.

Since MA already has taken steps towards this we won't be affected by too much change compared to other states. Juan then spoke on the concern lies of "Clinical Waste." In other words, the overuse, unnecessary tests and procedures, medical errors, and preventative care to name a few that are causing high healthcare costs. He stated that the solution was to change the way businesses pay for care with the use of Alternative Quality Contract, where instead of the business owner paying a fee for services he pays for the quality. Larry then went on to explain that this can be done by setting up "Tiered Network" where it rewards those healthcare services that provide low cost high quality services to businesses which in turn is more of an incentive to go there rather than go to one that is high cost and perhaps low quality services.

In the end as Jay stressed, "the challenge still remains to protect MA and not have it 'take steps back' and make sure that we 'make it a human right' for affordable healthcare."

Citizens Bank hosted the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce (HACC) for a "Business After Hours," event on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. The event commenced with opening comments from HACC Chairman of the Board Ariel E, Schmidt. Ariel welcomed the membership and thanked the hosts of Citizens Bank for a great event, and then introduced Steve Woods, the President of Citizens Bank of Massachusetts, Steve welcomed the membership and made interesting comments on how receptive Citizens is and will be to HACC members. He noted that the speaker Tom O'Leary would cover topics of interest to the membership and that he was available to assist in business growth.

Jeanne Hulit was introduced as the Regional Administrator of the US Small Business Administration (SBA). Jeanne commented on the welcome she received from the bank and from the HACC and noted that the SBA was committed to helping out through financing options, counseling services, and training.

The next speaker introduced by Jeanne was the keynote speaker of the evening Thomas (Tom) O'Leary, who is the Executive Vice President of Specialized Lending. The topic of Tom's talk was "Access to Credit," a very compelling topic considering the current economic climate. First though, Tom, mostly fluent in Spanish gave a brief on his background which included extensive bank operational experience in Latin America. This experience is from his 22 years of working in the Latin Department of Bank of Boston. Tom has spent the last 7.5 years of his banking career working for Citizens Bank in Boston. He discussed spending and savings trends of consumers and business leaders explaining how the current crisis has affected the way in which people spend and live. He then went on to elaborate how this affects the banks thinking when dealing with requests for credit and in to send money out into the community to promote growth and business success. Tom's riveting talk certainly kept the attention of the membership.

Upon the completion of Tom's talk, Alba Alavarez Cote, Vice Chair of the HACC, lead a question and answer session with all of the speakers present. The evening was informative and fun providing Alba with a lot of work in fielding, sorting, and presenting questions to the speakers.

Food and drinks, catered by HACC member Oriental de Cuba, followed with a very interactive networking session that not surprisingly kept everyone there until at least 30 minutes after the intended ending time of this timely and informative event.

The New! Vision Newsletter is Now available!

Newsletter Introduction

Welcome to the winter edition of VISION, the quarterly publication of the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce. Each issue includes news, on Hispanic business trends and information on past and upcoming chamber educational programs.

Highlights from: 

• Jumpstarting Latino Businesses
• "We can not overlook the important role that minority businesses play in the grand scheme of things," urged Sandy K. Baruah, Acting Director of the US SBA.
• HACC highlighted at BCBSMA Multicultural Marketing Forum
• BCBSMA has been working closely to create value for their membership by collaborating with other organizations.
• HACC 2008 Score Card
• 2008 was another successful year for the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce. We were able to bring additional educational programs, support and networking events to our members despite the challenges of our economy.
  
  We continually strive to improve VISION and, we welcome your comments, suggestions and news submissions. Please send comments and editorial submissions to newsletter@hacc.com.

Trolley Tour & Networking Reception sponsored by National Grid.
By: Felipe López

On Tuesday, September 9th, members and friends of the HACC met at a very unusual setting: at the corner of Dalton & Belvidere streets in front of the Sheraton Hotel in Boston. in Boston. The reason was to enjoy a tour of Boston by boarding a new generation of City View Trolleys powered by natural gas.

The first trolley viewed a video that portrayed the history of natural gas in greater Boston, and the evolution of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles. The video was narrated by Mike Manning, Lead Account Executive and resident CNG expert at National Grid. Riding on the NGV trolley was delightful: no Diesel smell and no guilty feelings of polluting the planet.

The second trolley began with a presentation by Kim Dragoo, Director of Business Marketing at National Grid. Kim explained the increasing demand for NGV (Natural Gas Vehicles) that is taking place in the current market due to the high cost of gasoline and the need to reduce combustion vehicle emissions.

Kim explained that more NGVs are being sought by a wider variety of applications, including individuals rather than just by the traditional business vehicle "fleets," such as UPS, MBTA, etc. Honda now offers a NGV version of their Civic model, and consumers from the state of California are buying an increasing amount of NGV vehicles.

The attendees asked various questions about the availability of refueling facilities to assure the convenience of refueling, as well as an abundance and wide distribution of stations. To our surprise, currently there are enough stations to allow anyone to travel around the NE corridor (Boston, New York, etc.). There are also many private fueling stations that are in the process of opening their doors to the general public.

The City View tour helped attendees learn many new facts about Boston, such as the site of the infamous Boston massacre, the path that Paul Revere traveled on his historic run, and the final resting place for Samuel Adams and other notable Boston residents.

We concluded the tour at the doors of Tapeo Restaurant on Newbury Street in Boston. National Grid hosted a networking reception to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month with Spanish tapas and sangria. These are specialties from Barcelona, Spain, which we learned during the tour is Boston's sister city!

Event Highlights!
Business After Hours

"The Best of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts" by Alexandra Rodriguez-Vazquez
Hosted By Foundation Blue Cross Blue Shield

If you missed the HACC Networking Reception this past Tuesday, June 24th at the Landmark Center and decided not to venture out on a very rainy evening you missed a great event. Here are some of the highlights:

The night began with welcoming remarks by Jarrett T. Barrios, President of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, introduced the Keynote Speaker Lily Mendez-Morgan.

Lily is responsible for overseeing the Appointment/Civic Engagement office, which supports the Governor in meeting his major obligation to appoint qualified people to a large number of important leadership roles throughout the state government. These appointments range from personnel in the executive offices to members of over 700 boards and commissions. She is also responsible for driving and coordinating Civic Engagement efforts, one of the Governor's top three priorities.

Governor Patrick appointed Lily personally in 2006 in his commitment "to do things differently," as Lily mentioned; by having strong minority individuals become strong leaders within the community. She spoke very passionately about civic responsibility and for us as individuals to become leaders within the boards she helps oversee.

As mentioned previously she has appointed 700 leaders within boards and commissions out of 800 and 2400 out of 3600 state positions have been filled while working with Governor Patrick. Her mission is to "find talent, create and raise leaders". She mentioned how only 11% of Latinos and 41% of people of color make up the board of trustees in state schools. And how the face of the government is not the political figures but everybody; the folks who work at the RMV, the folks of the MBTA, etc. As she said, "we as a community can change an institution, create opportunities and leave a legacy."

Lily strongly mentioned that if it wasn't for the government assisted programs she wouldn't be where she is today.  How both her parents received Pell Grants and were able to graduate from Boston University and become teachers, which in turn, meant they were able to give back to society.

In the end she said for us to "lean forward and take a chance" that if we wanted change within the community was up to us to take action.

Lily mentioned there are a lot of opportunities available within different fields, i.e. healthcare, housing and development, immigration, just to name a few.

Lily Mendez is the Senior Appointment and Civic Engagement Director for Governor Patrick. If you want more information on how to become part of a board you can contact Lily at Governor Patrick's office at 617 725 4000 and ask for her. Her administrative assistant's name is Yamara Bonilla

For more latino business news, please visit El Mundo.

Ariel E. Schmidt, owner of Atlantic Graphic Services in Clinton, was recently honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration. (T&G Staff/RICK CINCLAIR)

CLINTON- The first time he saw a printer use ink and paper to produce a page of text, Ariel E. Schmidt got goose pimples.
 
Just 11 years old and loitering in the printing shop of the Cuban college his father was leading, Mr. Schmidt suddenly stopped agitating for one of the shop workers to take him to a local swimming spot.
 
"Then I didn't mind staying there, "he said of the moment that would set him on a career path as a printer and businessman. "I don't know if we even went to the river."

From that revelatory beginning, Mr. Schmidt worked his way up to ownership of Atlantic Graphic Services Inc., a printing business with about 50 full-time employees and $6 million in annual revenues. This year, Mr. Schmidt, 64, was honored by the U.S. Small Business Administration with the 2006 Minority Small Business Person of the Year Award for Massachusetts and New England.
 
The award goes to successful businesses that have overcome obstacles and gotten involved in their communities. The description fits Mr. Schmidt, according to Nader Acevedo, executive director of the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston and the person who nominated Mr. Schmidt for the SBA award.
 
"I always admired him, because not only does he run a good business, but he's a good person, " Mr. Acevedo said. "He gives a lot back to the community."
 
A commercial printing operation that turns out advertisements, brochures and quarterly or semi-annual materials for clients in the financial, educational and medical industries, Atlantic Graphic Services operates out of 55,000-square-foot space on Plain Street. The business is something of a family enterprise: Mr. Schmidt's son, a daughter and her husband work for the company. Another daughter used to work there. Until her death, Mr. Schmidt's late wife, Enid, was what he calls "the rock" of the business, signing the checks and playing golf with female customers.
 
In addition to running the business, Mr. Schmidt is chairman of the Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston, where he presses for educational programs for members and greater economic development, according to Mr. Acevedo. Atlantic Graphic Services has been named to the Hispanic Business 500, a ranking of the nation's top Hispanic-owned businesses by Hispanic Business magazine.
 
Getting the business to the point that it could make such a list came after years of work. Born in Peru to Seventh-day Adventist Argentine missionaries of German descent, Mr. Schmidt spent his youth and high-school years in Cuba. After his first view of a galley proof in the Cuban print shop, he announced to his father that he wanted to become a printer. He started working at the school's print shop within a week, a job that typically paid 11 cents an hour but that his father knocked down even more.

"My father said, 'Well, since you are the son of the administrator, I'm going to give you 8 cents an hour,' " Mr. Schmidt said.
 
At 17, Mr. Schmidt arrived in the United States to attend Andrews University. He did not stay enrolled, however. He went back into printing.
 
Mr. Schmidt later graduated from Atlantic Union College in Lancaster and went to work for Eusey Press in Leominster, becoming vice president of manufacturing and plant supervisor. Then in 1982, he acquired the college printing operation at Atlantic Union College. The printing entity had just $100,000 in annual revenues.
 
Mr. Schmidt said he bumped up revenues to $1 million a year in his first year of operation. In subsequent years, the tribulations of his customers in technology and banking would challenge the commercial printing company.
 
"When Wang went bankrupt, that was a major hit for me," Mr. Schmidt said, referring to the 1992 bankruptcy of Lowell-based Wang Laboratories Inc. "They were over 50 percent of our business."
 
The company also lost about 20 percent of its business during the region's banking mergers, when Bank of America acquired Fleet Bank, Mr. Schmidt said.
 
His response has been to attempt to diversify the company's clientele. Although the company still prints for financial clients, it has also secured customers in education, such as Dartmouth College, and medicine, Mr. Schmidt said.
 
The company's success, he said, flows from the people who work there.
 
"It's the spirit the people have," he said. "The majority of our employees are very, very customer oriented, and they will do anything to make things happen, with the exception that I will not open the business from sundown Friday to after sundown on Saturday, and that's because of my religion," he said.
 
That schedule, said Mr. Schmidt, a Seventh-day Adventist, has never cost the company work.
 
"I have been threatened (with) losing business, but I have not lost a single job because of it," he said.
 
Contact business reporter Lisa Eckelbecker by e-mail at leckelbecker@telegram.com.

Foreword by Nader Acevedo

Conociendo Boston is an applause to the effort of Luis Fernando Velez, a lawyer who has been committed to social work in Boston. The experience of Velez as a judge in his homeland Colombia, strengthens his capacity of going in depth into the social aspects of a city as rich in culture as Boston.

I personally admire Luis Fernando for his tenacity and persistence to pursue a literary adventure that will raise the critical interest of an important community. Publishing this work will not just give great satisfaction to the author but even more to you our friend, the reader. As executive director of the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Boston, it is a pleasure to endorse an author that lives and works among us. It is part of our social and cultural responsibility to make available to professionals, families, workers, and students this important book about the academic capital of the United States.

Our associates, clients, and the extended community will have an invaluable social value publication. The book deposits knowledge, imagination, and stories about the story of a city that has given a lot to the Hispanic immigrant, who everyday wins more space and relevance in this land of pilgrims and colonizers. As he did researcher work, I want to highlight the effort of a thinker who is looking to accomplish a goal that will leave a historical mark to be recognized by residents and visitors. It is wonderful that Boston has a book about its history, written in Spanish and with interesting content for everyone.

This book can be found in Amazon

BOSTON, October 27- Over 100 Latino businessmen and women gathered at the bi-annual Hispanic-American Chamber of Commerce Business Forum held at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' headquarters in the Landmark Center in Boston. The topic of the business forum was Jumpstart Your Business: Helping Latino-Owned Business grow to the next level and was co-sponsored by the Small Business Administration (SBA), its resource partners and SCORE, the nation's largest volunteer business counseling service.

Attendees enjoyed several workshops on various topics including financing strategies, legal considerations, marketing and e-commerce strategies in the context of small businesses. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino was the keynote speaker at the reception and luncheon that followed the workshops and spoke about the importance of minority-owned businesses.