2 min read December 2021 — In an interview with Invest:, Diane Cortes, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Tampa Bay, talked about the ways in which the Chamber has been able to provide assistance to its members throughout the pandemic and how it was able to sustain itself while helping others. “Trying to get the funds in place to help others and keep ourselves running was the challenge we faced,” she said.
What are some of your takeaways from the pandemic?
The pandemic hit all the chambers very hard because we don’t qualify to receive any help from government programs such as PPP. We had to come together and through the United States Hispanic Chamber we were able to submit a bill that will open the opportunity for chambers like ours to receive help. We survived through grants and that was an amazing opportunity. We also had donors who paid for rent throughout the entire year, which shows how much people recognize the value and contributions we bring to the community.
We are now starting to put the pieces together. We stopped charging dues to our members because we knew that wasn’t a priority and any service we could provide to help we did. One program we have in place is Empresario Emprendedor. Those are business grants given to 13 small businesses that were the most impacted by the pandemic. Trying to get the funds in place to help others and keep ourselves running was the challenge we faced.
What are the Adelante and the Prestigio Hispano (Hispanic Prestige) programs?
Adelante is our scholarship for students in need and it is open to everyone. We partner with other organizations depending on the needs. This year, it was with Univision and students sent hundreds of essays to apply. We also partnered with HPWA and Florida Aerospace industry and they provided a full scholarship for a training certification and license related to the aerospace industry.
Prestigio Hispano (Hispanic Prestige) is an award for which normally eight people are chosen after a review of their information and proposals. It recognizes leaders in the community and their contribution to the Hispanic community and the Tampa Bay area. Also, you do not have to be Hispanic to receive this award.
How is your podcast functioning as an engagement mechanism?
Normally, we do a podcast once a week and have many different government representatives and companies as guests. Depending on the trends, we approach people that our audience wants to listen to. It’s about the story that they have to tell and not what they are selling. That is the type of information we want to put out.
We also launched our new info hub, Growth Zone, to add value and benefit to our members. That launched November 1, 2021 and members are in charge of the information they want posted or want to find. In January, we are launching a new business development program for more engaged training named PRAXIS, featuring subjects such as human resources, technology, finance, and business development to provide certifications and additional tools to keep growing.
What is your view of the labor shortage?
I am also the President and Founder of Acumen Strategist, a staffing firm. We post many available jobs. Industries are changing their work conditions and benefits in order to incentivize employees. Currently we are seeing an employees’ market. Manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and pharmaceuticals are among the industries that have continued working massively throughout the pandemic.
What is your outlook for your organization and the local business ecosystem?
As long as no other viruses or issues out of our control happen, the year ahead will be massive and amazing. We are not stopping and we are continuing to grow and that goes for Central Florida in general. Manufacturing and real estate are industries generating global recognition for their contributions to the business ecosystem. Because of the manufacturing in Central Florida, we are on our way to becoming the next Silicon Valley.
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