There have been so many blessings bestowed upon our chamber over the past summer that I am not certain where to begin in writing this message. I guess a good place to start is to tell you the chamber has finally implemented its first Health Insurance Program. In addition, this summer we had our second consecutive sold out golf tournament. It was a wonderful, fun-filled event with beautiful weather and well over 250 participants. We also had our most successful La Oportunidad conference with over 3,000 attendees who visited and sampled the wares of over 130 vendors. It seems the event gets better with each passing year.

Another proud milestone that we reached this summer was our 12th Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference, held on the campuses of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Nevada State College and the Community College of Southern Nevada. Also, for the first time ever in the history of any chamber in Las Vegas, the Latin Chamber, in partnership with the Urban Chamber, was successful in creating an economic development corporation that will invest in our respective communities. The program is called the Valley Center Opportunity Zone (VCOZ).

I also take pride in mentioning the noteworthy achievements made by many of our members over the past couple of years. Individuals such as Ruben Kihuen, who recently won the Democratic Primary in the race for assembly District 11, and Mo Denis, who served with distinction during his first term as the Assemblyman for District 28 at the State Legislature, In addition, I am especially proud of my fellow Latina board members Elizabeth Gallagher and Irene Bustamante, who were both recognized at the national level, “you go girls.”

Of course I cannot go on without mentioning the unprecedented and generous donation made by Latin Chamber member, Aner Iglesias, which will surely continue to propel the Chamber’s mission to the next level.