- April 26, 2024
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Organization provides new opportunity to tap into Hispanic business community.
Wayne Grant
News Editor
The “palmetto curtain” has long divided the County of Volusia. The swampy, low-lying area down the center of the county separates the beaches in the east from the small towns in the west.
Carlos Valderrama and others are hoping to open this curtain and make a connection between the growing Hispanic business community in the west with businesses throughout the county.
They are doing this through the Volusia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Started a few years ago in Deltona to help Hispanic businesses, it’s now expanding its role.
“It’s a conduit for Spanish and non-Spanish businesses to work together,” Valderrama, president of the chamber, said recently. They are promoting membership among all business people in the county and have many non-Hispanic members.
“We’re now a blend,” he said. “
He said the chamber provides a bridge for East Volusia businesses make connections with the Hispanic business community, which is growing.
“The Spanish are entrepreneurs,” he said. “They open businesses. They are risk takers.”
A growing business opportunity
Rafael Ramirez, a chamber member and market development specialist at Halifax Health, said business people often belong to several chambers, and this presents an opportunity to increase their contacts. He said half of the meetings are on the east side of the county.
The Hispanic Chamber’s next “Conexion,” a business after-hours, is at Daytona Beach Kennel Club and Poker Room, 960 S. Williamson Blvd., 5:30-8:30 p.m., on Aug. 13. Admission is $10 for nonmembers. Call 628-0929 or email [email protected].
All meetings are in English.
“The language of business is English,” Valderrama said. He said half of those attending the gala last year were not Hispanic.
Trip to Cuba planned
The Hispanic Chamber is also reaching out beyond the U.S. to bring economic development and jobs. They have gone on trade missions to Peru, and are planning one in November to Cuba.
“The purpose of the trip to Cuba is to open up lines of communication for future business. We’re trying to start a dialog.” Valderrama said. “We live in a global economy. The competition is not the guy next door; it’s the guy in another country.”
As an example, he said he runs an accounting and bookkeeping business, and helps people who are immigrating to the country start up their business.
The long-term goal of the Volusia Hispanic Chamber is to expand regionally, to places such as Sanford and Lake Mary. In the future, the name could be changed.
They discuss regional matters on a TV show on Deltona TV, and a radio show on WNDB 1150 AM, which also runs on 93.5 FM and 94.1 FM.
Ramirez sees a lot growth ahead for the Hispanic Chamber.
“I’m excited,” he said. “We have a good team and events are well attended. We had a couple hundred at the gala last year.”
Hispanic culture continues to grow
They are expecting the Hispanic community to grow, not only because of newcomers, but because the culture holds the generations together.
Even if a person’s family came to Florida several generations ago, and they no longer speak Spanish, they still identify with the culture’s food, music and other aspects.
Ramirez, whose children grew up in U.S., enjoy going to Puerto Rico to visit with their grandfather.
He remembers fondly the beach house that his father rented every summer in Puerto Rico.
“I miss the taste and smell of Puerto Rico,” Ramirez said.
For information about the chamber, call 626-4264 or visit volusiachamber.org.
