SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 540

WHEREAS, Members of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are visiting the State Capitol in Austin on March 30, 2017, and this is a fitting opportunity to celebrate the chamber's proud history and many achievements; and

WHEREAS, The first organization of its kind in the United States, the chamber was chartered as the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in 1929; in one of its earliest victories, the chamber won approval in 1949 for the Buena Vista overpass, which relocated a street-level railway line that hindered pedestrian and vehicular traffic along Commerce Street and adversely affected Mexican American businesses in the Vista Verde neighborhood; and

WHEREAS, In 1987, the group changed its name to the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, reflecting the diversity of Hispanic businesses as well as the city's relationships with all of Latin America; in the years that followed, the chamber played a vital role in shaping and promoting the North American Free Trade Agreement and helped secure its passage in 1994; the organization has also been actively involved in efforts to ensure full participation by small, minority, and woman-owned businesses in our free enterprise system, and it provided important support for the legislation that created the state's Historically Underutilized Business program in 1999; and

WHEREAS, In 2004, the Hispanic Chamber issued a new mission statement that emphasized its goal of making San Antonio a leading city for Hispanic business opportunities and entrepreneurship; the chamber has subsequently seen unprecedented growth, and its accomplishments were recognized in 2014, when it became the first chamber of commerce in San Antonio and the first Hispanic chamber in the nation to earn five-star accreditation from the United States Chamber of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, The Hispanic Chamber is joined at the State Capitol today by representatives of two of its partner organizations, the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Woodforest National Bank; and

WHEREAS, For nearly 90 years, the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has been a champion for the Hispanic business community, nurturing and promoting the success of its members and helping to make the city a more prosperous and thriving community for all of its residents; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 85th Legislature, hereby honor the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce on the occasion of the group's visit to the State Capitol and extend to the chamber and its partners sincere best wishes for a meaningful and memorable time in Austin; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for the chamber as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. Menéndez

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President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 30, 2017.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate