New Chamber of Commerce comes to Rio Grande City

RIO GRANDE CITY — The new Greater Chamber of Commerce Rio Grande City is starting the new year with a full plate.

The six board members hit the ground running after their first official meeting in September. The Chamber worked on the annual Rio Grande City Christmas parade and has events planned for almost every month of the year 2012 with the goal of bringing in new businesses and tourism to the small historic city.

The Chamber will host the city’s first Art Walk in the La Borde House beginning in February, said Cecilia Olivarez, the board’s secretary and the owner of Yogurt Express in Rio Grande City. Wal-Mart will sponsor the Keep’n it Rio Art Walk. Each historic room at La Borde will feature the work of a different artist.

“We have this historic, unique, unique city and we just want to revive downtown and at the same time expose our local artists,” Olivarez said.

The art walks will take place at 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, March 1 and April 5.

On March 30, about a month before municipal elections, the Chamber will sponsor a Celebrity Bartender event, where local celebrities including politicians will make and serve signature drinks, Olivarez said. The tips will benefit the chamber.

During the summer months, H-E-B will sponsor wine tastings at La Borde House.

“We want to do something different in our community,” Olivarez said. “Wine tasting, mixers, it’s not very common in Rio Grande and we want to bring it in.”

The Chamber also has membership drives, a nighttime walk, a haunted house and the 2012 Christmas parade on its schedule.

At the 2011 haunted house and Christmas parade, Chamber representatives passed out goodie bags that included coupons, fliers, pens and other items that bear the names and information for local businesses. They also are working on a city map for tourists that will include advertisements from member businesses.

The events provide an opportunity for local businesses to get their names out to the community, said Roel Reyes, a community outreach director at the Chamber.

Juan Perez, who is the Chamber’s president and the administrative assistant at the city’s Economic Development Corp., said people often called the EDC asking for a chamber. Perez said that was his cue to start one. He recruited the current board members.

Olivarez praised the help the city’s Economic Development Corp. and the Starr County Industrial Foundation have given to the new chamber. The Chamber uses an extra office at the Starr County Industrial Foundation, which is housed in La Borde House. Both the Industrial Foundation and the Economic Development Corp. attend ribbon cuttings with the Chamber, she said.

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

This is not the first time the city has had a chamber of commerce. The previous all-volunteer chamber struggled without a staff and funding, said former board president Andy Hernandez.

Without the funds to hire a new director, the responsibilities fell onto the board members and some had a hard time with their full-time jobs to keep up. Hernandez said he wished the chamber had more support from the city of Rio Grande.

“There was no backup we had no support of the city,” he said. “There was no support financially in any aspect.”

The city previously had a chamber of commerce with an executive director, who was paid through the Rio Grande City Economic Development Corp. That chamber however did not succeed.

A junior chamber of commerce used to run the city’s Christmas parade, walks, a golf tournament and other events to unite the community and to raise money for scholarships and charity, said Mayor Ruben Villarreal, who served as the junior chamber’s president. Board members had to be younger than 40, which meant some active members had to leave.

Villarreal, whose wife Giselle Villarreal is the vice president of the current chamber, said he’s hopeful this one will last. The board is already planning events, communicating well and working within their financial means, he said.

“They’re on the right path,” he said. “One of the key things about organization is communication.”

LOOKING AHEAD

Chamber board members hope to have enough money coming in to pay a director in their third year, said Juan Perez, who is the Chamber president and the administrative assistant at the city’s Economic Development Corp.

Olivarez said the board will have to work hard to get to that point.

“We have a lot against us, but I think … we’ve proven to our community that we’re about something and we’re serious,” she said. “Everybody is really, really excited.”

Most of the board members see the benefit of the chamber because they are involved in business themselves. Veronica Alaniz, one of the community outreach coordinators, said as the owner of the Cattlemen Restaurant she can see how businesses in the area need a helping hand.

“It will help with the businesses, promote them and make them grow,” said Reyes, who owns a photography studio.

The Chamber also promotes tourism and brings visitors into local businesses.

“Sometimes we have people from out of town coming in and they’re looking for a specific product or service and a chamber is a place to go and ask for local businesses that will provide the service or local product that they need,” he said.

Although it will be a lot of work, Olivarez hopes this volunteer group can succeed.

“Hopefully this time we’ll get it going and make it an established entity here in Rio Grande.”

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Gail Burkhardt covers Mission, western Hidalgo County, Starr County and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at gburkhardt@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4462.

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