Heaven Sent Jewelry Blessings: 2008-08-17

I attended The California Hispanic Chambers of Commerce's (CHCC) for its 29th annual State Convention & Expo. The CHCC's convention took place in San Francisco, California on August 13-16, 2008 at the Mark Hopkins Hotel.

Having been involved with the chamber for many, many years I once again volunteered once again. Here we are on Wednesday night assisting with the preparation of the convention. This is Joel Ayala, the President/CEO of the California Hispanic Chamber. His leadership and passion to assist business owners has made a difference in the direction of the chamber! Through the conference, California business owners contribute to the economic well being of our country and setting some trends.

I had the pleasure of listening and meeting Ronald N. Langston, National Director for the Minority Business Development Agency. He gave an outstanding presentation that challenged business owners . I was inspired with his message!

The program had an international component with speakers from Mexico and Canada. The CHCC will be presenting the 1st Annual Presidents Trade Mission to Mexico on May 16 to 20th.

Mexico is California's number one trade partner. The purpose is to learn about trade and investment opportunities in Mexico and share this information to respective members with local chambers.

Jason Sisneros was our motivation presenter. What an incredible story he shared about his childhood...yet challenges did not hold him down. He had people cheering, laughing and energized.

Now this man is an author, and he has given over 3,000 workshops. I recall hearing about his presentation and the crowed loved him and I can see why. His website is http://www.jasonsisneros.com/ .

My wonderful friend Diana Borrel, CEO/President of the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber introduced me to her friend, Nick Montoya. Nick is an author of The Magic Megaphone "how to get your projects unstuck and back on track in under 60 minutes"
I introduced him to some of my friends.....some of them had heard his presentation at the NLBWA (National Latina Business Women's Association) in Long Beach. They said they loved him!... I can't wait to read my book.

A few years ago I meet, Michael Barrera, former President and CEO of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC). He is now the Presidente of National Hispanic Business Information Clearinghouse.

He demonstrated this awesome website...wow... sure wish I would have had access to this when I was starting my business. Check out his website at http://www.nhbic.org/. Many organizations can become part of it and assist their membership.

One of my favorite gratifications was attending the ABC Program during the convention.

Established in 2004 in Southern CA, the chamber established a statewide series into a multi-faceted program that provides business owners with practical tools and non-traditional sources of capital for business growth that more traditional insitutions cannot provide.

The ABC Program provides a unique value to Chambers, chamber members, and business owners in general. Additionally, through it's legislative involvement, ABC is also able to provide resources for investment companies and venture funds. For more information you can contact Juan A. Gallegos at (619) 246-7550 or juan@gallegosassociates.com .

Here we are celebrating after the program. Richard Sandoval and his son Chris run Hispanic Life Style in Southern CA. They are a family run business. I'm totally impressed with their mission ,their professionalism and the excellent quality of everything they produce.

Hispaniclifestyle.com. Over the past 12 years, Hispanic Lifestyle has produced hundreds of stories that have captured the passions of a community. Since their inception in 1995, they have been recognized by several federal, state and local organizations for promoting positive images of the Latino community.

Here I am connecting with a former high school class mate and his lovely wife. Sergeant Major Daniel J. Morales is now an appointee with our governor of California. What a small world...:-)

I also ran into another high school alum, Tim Rios from Wells Fargo. Tim is the the Vice President of Community Development and national spokesperson for the Wells Fargo's Latino Business Services program.

During our networking I meet a young lady that was interested in starting a chapter of NLBWA in Fresno. I followed up with her and Tim....now they are meeting tomorrow . The beauty of networking and sharing resources are incredible!..:-)

When I first started my business, I joined the OC Hispanic Chamber. I recall , Viola gave me such a big welcome hug... I felt like I was part of a family. She not only was my client, along with Diana Ornalez, we became such good friends. Laura Ente works for the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.... She is always so sweet, and funny.

Here is Silvia Ichar and her son Francis Betran, owners of Para Todos magazine. She was recognized as the Woman of the Year by the Chamber. Thier magazine has had such a positive impact in the Latino Community. Since I work as a consultant with (IWE) Institute for Women Entrepreneurs, many readers have heard about our services. Some business owners mentioned that they were ready to close their doors, but once they read about IWE, they decided to hold on.