Letter From The Chairman

Earlier this month, the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce culminated a year of accomplishments by honoring the best of the best in our Hispanic business community through the Quality and Excellence Awards.

 

Recognizing this group of outstanding businesses was the perfect close to this year's accomplishments.  With the very generous support of our partner Citi, we opened the Small Business Center of Excellence.  This first-of-its-kind center will serve the business community of Dallas by providing capacity to minority-owned businesses with a particular emphasis on those with between $1MM and $30MM in revenue.  

 

Our Business Assistance Center Program, funded in part by the City of Dallas through HUD's Community Development Block Grant, continues to provide much needed services to our community by helping those who are interested in starting or expanding a micro-enterprise.

 

The Viva Dallas Hispanic Expo continued to provide information about the educational, health, and lifestyle products and services to enhance the well-being of our community and we also

raised an impressive amount of money for scholarships.

 

For 28 years, the Chamber has grown the Stars on the Rise scholarship program.  In 2011, we awarded over $3.4 million in scholarships to 210 students attending universities across the country.  When these scholars come back to our community, watch out, they will transform our community for generations to come.

 

We also are saying goodbye to our President and CEO, David Gonzales.  The momentum begun under Mr. Gonzales will continue as we transition into a new era.  Mr. Gonzales has agreed to assist the chamber as needed during this transition period.  We wish him the best as he returns to the consulting world.  

 

Looking forward to 2012, I am confident that we will continue to see ever greater accomplishments.  As always, we are grateful for the invaluable support of our member partners and sponsors and are eager to continue to nurture and grow these relationships.

 

Thank you to all our members for making 2011, a wonderful year for the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.  We look forward to helping you in 2012.

 

Sincerely,

 

Angel Reyes III

Chairman of the Board

Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

 

Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

 

EC Driving Provides Training to the Dallas Police Department!

EC Driving, LLC., a member business of the GDHCC Entrepreneur Program at the West Dallas Business Assistance Center since 2008, completed its first public entity contract with the City of Dallas this quarter. The Dallas Police Department contacted Angelica Gonzales, owner and CEO, to provide one-on-one behind-the-wheel training to six (6) officers. Angelica and her team responded with a series of customized trainings for each officer and received great feedback from the "students" and the supervisor. Congratulations and thanks, EC Driving, for making our officers even safer on the road!

EC Driving provides holistic driver training services, ranging from defensive driving to specialized corporate, fleet, and transportation consulting. The company's complete offerings can be found at ecdriving.com. This summer, EC Driving will expand programming to develop drivers from ages 15-18. Keep an eye out for the new classes. For more information or to schedule a corporate training, call 214-723-3547 or visit http://www.ecdriving.com/.

Let the GDHCC help you start your own business!

Interested in starting your own business? Here are the five basic steps to get you started:

  • Write a Business Plan –Start with the basics. What is your business concept? What are your goals? Who is your market? Have you developed a budget for your business?
  • Register Your Business – Obtain a Certificate of Assumed Name at the County Clerk’s Office; also known as a DBA “Doing Business As.” Or, if you are looking to incorporate your business, learn about the different legal structures that exist.
  • Get Your Texas Sales Tax Permit – State law requires certain businesses to charge Sales Tax. Find out if you need to charge Sales Tax and how to obtain the permit.
  • Get Your Licenses and Permits – Depending on the nature of your business you will need to hold specific licenses and/or permits.
  • Protect Yourself and Your Business – Find out what type of commercial insurance is best for your type of business.

    For more information contact one of our three Business Assistance Centers and make an appointment to get free technical assistance training from one our business experts.

    Click here for details!
2011 Membership Directory