Litigation

Putting the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber's House back in Order

By Angel L. Reyes, III

Over the past several months, much has been said in the media about problems and even irregularities at the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ('GDHCC'). As with every story, there are two sides. The current Board, on which I serve as Vice-Chair, has taken a pro-active approach to rebuilding our house on a stronger foundation. To that end, we've engaged an outside auditor to review the financial statements for the past few years and we are focused on serving our members.

Our members are our lifeblood and as members of the Board of Directors, we know that for the GDHCC to be meaningful, we must get deliverables into the hands of our members. We intend to do just that.

We will be bringing on several new Board members very soon. Each of the individuals brings strong business expertise and acumen to the Board. We're excited to move forward and will rebuild our house on an even stronger foundation.

See excerpts below from today's Dallas Morning News Article by Sheryl Jean 'Hispanic chamber delays hiring a CEO.'

The group has been embroiled in a power struggle since CEO Cici Rojas left in April to become executive director of the Kansas Republican Party and more than a third of the 16-member board resigned in May. The 70-year-old chamber has more than 1,700 members.

On May 6, before the board could interview finalists to replace Rojas, a group of community activists protested that the selection process was "tainted." The board then halted the hiring process. Within days, six board members, including the chairman and chairman-elect, resigned...

The board voted Wednesday to create an exploratory committee to research how other groups, such as the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, have hired CEOs during difficult times, Ortiz said.

"Houston won the Large Chamber of the Year, didn't they?" said board member Jim Rodriguez. "Remember, before they hired [CEO] Laura Murillo, they had problems similar to ours – and bigger. We should take from their best practices."

Since Murillo was hired in 2007, the Houston Hispanic chamber's membership and corporate sponsorships have increased significantly.

On Wednesday, the Dallas group's board also appointed seven new directors for 2010-11 and three officers. Last month, it had received 20 nominations.

The new board members are: Fernando Andrade, CEO of GSR Andrade Architects; Irvin Ashford, a vice president at Comerica Bank; lawyer Cynthia Figueroa; Aaron Liverpool, CEO of Entrust One Facility Services Inc.; Maria Mendez, regional director of community relations for Aetna; Martha Metzger, owner of Metzger Awards & Promotional Products; and Claudia Mirza, CEO of Akorbi Language Consulting.

The board reappointed Ortiz as chairman and Angel L. Reyes III as vice chairman and appointed Salas secretary.
 

Full post as published by Angel Reyes Blog on September 24, 2009 (boomark / email).