Small Business—Big Dreams
Entrepreneurship in the Rio Grande Valley
June 23, 2005
Harlingen Country Club, Harlingen, Texas

Hosted by: The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Las Comadres Para Las Americas Rio Grande Valley Network

Small businesses are the backbone of America’s economy. Opportunities for small business development are increasing as the growing population demands more services. This conference will provide information about developing enterprises in the Rio Grande Valley. Participants will gain knowledge from successful entrepreneurs, educators and small business specialists. Speakers will explore such topics as business plan writing, small

Agenda
Thursday, June 23, 2005

7:30 a.m.		Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:15 a.m.		Welcome and Opening Address
		Gloria V. Brown Vice President Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
		Nora de Hoyos Comstock Acting Executive Director Las Comadres Para Las Américas
8:25 a.m.		Opening Remarks
		Bárbara Robles Assistant Professor Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin
8:50 a.m.		In the Spotlight: Small Business Success Stories
		Sylvia Acevedo President and CEO CommuniCard
		Sandra Vasquez President Mex-Sales Co.
9:20 a.m.		Entrepreneurial IQ: Assess Your Business Sense
		Ida Acuña-Garza Adjunct Professor Department of Educational Psychology University of Texas–Pan American
10:05 a.m.		Break
10:15 a.m.		Building a Dynamic Business Plan Setting the Stage
		Teofilo Ozuna Associate Professor of Economics, University of Texas–Pan American
		María D. Juárez Program Director Small Business Development Center, University of Texas–Pan American
11:00 a.m.		Lifetime Learning: In Pursuit of the American Dream
		W. Michael Cox Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
11:45 a.m.		Lunch
Noon		Luncheon Speaker
		Yrma Rico President and CEO, Weber BMW, and Author of La Vida Rica: The Latina’s Guide to Success
12:45 p.m.		Concurrent Breakout Sessions: Session One
		Room A: Track 1— This session is designed for participants with a plan (or dream) to start a business.
		Business Fundamentals: Legal Structure, Insurance and Human Resources
		Armantina Germeyer Human Resources Manager Brownsville Public Utilities Board
		Elena Leal Associate Sales Development Manager New York Life Insurance Co.
		Oscar Masso IRS Enrolled Agent and Owner Masso Business Services
		Cynthia Salinas District Counsel Small Business Administration, Lower Rio Grande Valley
		Room B: Track 2— This session is designed for participants with an established business
		Marketing Strategies: Captivating Your Customers and Innovating Via the Internet
		Lupita Gutierrez-Garza Commercial Real Estate Broker and Developer Southern Commercial Real Estate Group
		Joe Garza Lecturer Department of Management, Marketing and International Business University of Texas–Pan American
		Juanita Soliz Manager Southwestern Bell Corp.
		Ida G. Ambriz Senior Auditor Long Chilton, LLP
2:00 p.m.		Break
2:15 p.m.		Concurrent Breakout Sessions: Session Two
		Room A: Track 1 Marketing Strategies: Captivating Your Customers and Innovating Via the Internet
		Room B: Track 2 Business Fundamentals: Legal Structure, Insurance and Human Resources
3:30 p.m.		Break
3:40 p.m.		Personal Financial Education
		Alfreda B. Norman Community Affairs Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
3:45 p.m.		Raising Capital: A Panel Discussion
		Alberto Muñoz Executive Director Dallas PLAN Fund
		Sandra Zayas Loan Officer ACCION Texas
		Sonia A. Falcon First Vice President International Bank of Commerce
		Moderator: Sylvia Zamponi District Director Small Business Administration, Harlingen
4:45 p.m.		Observations and Inspirations
		Baltazar Acevedo Executive Director The Cross Border Institute for Regional Development, University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College
4:55 p.m.		Closing Remarks
		Alfreda B. Norman Community Affairs Officer Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
		Nora de Hoyos Comstock Acting Executive Director Las Comadres Para Las Américas
5:00 p.m.		Reception

About the Speakers

Sylvia Acevedo
President and CEO
CommuniCard
Acevedo is the president and CEO of CommuniCard, based in Austin. CommuniCards are English-to-Spanish flash cards developed by Acevedo to help break communication barriers between employers and their employees. The idea won her the title of National Business Woman of the Year from the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Before starting CommuniCard, she helped found and later sold Reba Technologies, where she was vice president of sales and marketing. Acevedo has a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University and a master’s degree in engineering from Stanford University.

Ida Acuña-Garza
Adjunct Professor
University of Texas–Pan American
Acuña-Garza is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas–Pan American teaching human growth and development and career development classes. She is also a program specialist and co-director of the Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors) program with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. Acuña-Garza has a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University–Kingsville, a master’s in education from the University of Texas–Pan American and a doctorate in education from Texas A&M University.

Ida G. Ambriz
Senior Auditor
Long Chilton, LLP
Ambriz has worked at Long Chilton, LLP in Harlingen for five years as a senior auditor. Her responsibilities include supervising audit engagements, assisting clients with internal control issues and tax preparation. Ambriz received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas–Pan American and is currently enrolled in the M.B.A. accounting program with the University of Phoenix.

Gloria V. Brown
Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Brown oversees the Bank’s Public Affairs Department, which encompasses Bank communications, economic education, publications, the web site, Bank events, the tour program and community affairs. Brown serves on the boards of the Dallas Women’s Foundation, TWU Foundation, Texas Council on Economic Education and on the advisory board to the Greater Dallas Asian American Chamber of Commerce. Brown holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Woman’s University.

Nora de Hoyos Comstock
Acting Executive Director
Las Comadres Para Las Américas
Comstock is the founder of Las Comadres Para Las Américas, a growing, informal organization with more than 5,000 members who meet in cities across the country. Comstock is also the president of Comstock Connections, a business development company. She was selected as one of 20 Latinas in the United States to be a 2000 fellow of the National Hispana Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C. She received her Ph.D. in education administration from the University of Texas at Austin.

W. Michael Cox
Senior Vice President and Chief Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Cox heads the free enterprise research group and authors the Bank’s annual report essays on rising American living standards and the New Economy. He has published in such journals as the Journal of Monetary Economics and the Review of Economics and Statistics and is coauthor of the book Myths of Rich and Poor. Cox is past president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education, a Cato Institute adjunct scholar and a National Center for Policy Analysis senior fellow. He teaches economics at Southern Methodist University. Cox holds a B.A. from Hendrix College and a Ph.D. from Tulane University.

Sonia A. Falcon
First Vice President
International Bank of Commerce
Falcon is a senior lending officer for International Bank of Commerce in McAllen. Falcon’s responsibilities include reviewing loan requests, preparing and presenting larger loan requests to the board of directors, monitoring a $55 million loan portfolio and providing sales training for bank employees. Falcon has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas–Pan American. She is also a graduate of the Texas Bankers Association School of Lending and the School of Compliance as well as the Omega Cash Flow School.

Joe Garza
Lecturer, Department of Management, Marketing and International Business
University of Texas–Pan American
Garza is a lecturer in the College of Business Administration at the University of Texas–Pan American, where he teaches various courses including industrial marketing, sales management, and advertising and promotion. Garza received his B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Texas–Pan American.

Armantina Germeyer
Human Resources Manager
Brownsville Public Utilities Board
Germeyer is a certified senior professional in human resources management. She has 25 years’ experience in the field of human resources involving hospital and clinic administration as well as municipal utilities and manufacturing start-ups. Germeyer is also a part-time instructor of human resources at the University of Texas at Brownsville. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Houston and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas.

Lupita Gutierrez-Garza
Commercial Real Estate Broker and Developer
Southern Commercial Real Estate Group
Gutierrez-Garza owns the Southern Commercial Real Estate Group, where she oversees sales, promotion and consulting of commercial real estate in the Rio Grande Valley and South Texas. Gutierrez-Garza also is a partner of G & G Sales Co., a family-owned wholesale distributorship. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Incarnate Word and has completed graduate work at the University of Texas–Pan American and Trinity University. She is a candidate for the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

María D. Juárez
Program Director
Small Business Development Center
University of Texas–Pan American
As the program director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Texas–Pan American, Juárez oversees the program and staff, coordinates events and provides training. She joined the SBDC team as a business development advisor in 2002, providing business planning assistance and bilingual business training. Juárez holds a B.S., an M.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas–Pan American.

Elena Leal
Associate Sales Development Manager
New York Life Insurance Co.
As an associate sales development manager for New York Life Insurance Co., Leal trains new agents in the Rio Grande Valley. She has 29 years’ experience in the financial services industry in the areas of banking, real estate and insurance. Leal received her Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow designation from the American College. She also attended East Texas State University and the Institute of Financial Services.

Oscar Masso
Owner
Masso Business Services
Masso is the founder of Masso Business Services, a corporation providing business and individual services in the areas of bookkeeping, income tax and consulting. He served as revenue officer with the Internal Revenue Service for 10 years and is currently enrolled to practice before the IRS. Masso received a bachelor’s degree from Columbia College and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Brownsville.

Alberto Muñoz
Executive Director
Dallas PLAN Fund
Muñoz is executive director of the Peer Lending Action Network (PLAN) Fund, a microcredit program that began as a pilot program of Dallas City Homes in 1997 and was launched as a project of Grameen Foundation USA. Muñoz’s experience includes working as an assistant director for business development and procurement services for the city of Dallas and vice president of economic development for the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Alfreda B. Norman
Community Affairs Officer
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Norman is responsible for supporting the Federal Reserve’s economic growth objectives by promoting community and economic development and fair and impartial access to credit. Norman was one of the first neighborhood development officers hired by Bank of America in Texas in 1992. She later assumed statewide CRA responsibilities with Bank of America’s mortgage lending group. In addition to banking, Norman has been a supervisor in the city of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and held management positions with The Container Store. Norman earned a B.A. from Southern Methodist University and is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s Graduate School of Retail Banking.

Yrma Rico
President and CEO, Weber BMW
Author, La Vida Rica: The Latina’s Guide to Success
Rico’s book La Vida Rica: The Latina’s Guide to Success focuses on achieving the American Dream and reflects on the personal experiences of Rico and other successful Hispanic women. Rico, who was born in Texas to migrant farmworkers, went on to become one of the founders of Entravision Communications Corp., the largest affiliate group of top-rated Univision and Telefutura networks, with stations in 22 markets. After 25 years of television experience, Rico got involved in the auto industry and is currently president and CEO of Weber BMW in Fresno, Calif.

Bárbara Robles
Assistant Professor
Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs
University of Texas at Austin
Robles has served on the faculty at the University of Texas since 1998, teaching courses in public financial management. Her other professional experience includes working as an economist for the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, teaching at the University of Colorado–Boulder, econometrics consulting and statistical consulting. Robles holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Maryland–College Park.

Cynthia Salinas
District Counsel
Small Business Administration
Lower Rio Grande Valley
Salinas has been a practicing attorney for 25 years. She has spent 15 of those years with the Small Business Administration and the former Immigration and Naturalization Service. Salinas received her bachelor’s degree and her law degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Juanita Soliz
Manager
Southwestern Bell Corp.
Soliz has more than 27 years of corporate experience in the field of telecommunications. As a manager for Southwestern Bell Corp. based in San Antonio, she supervises a sales program with more than 8,500 employees. Soliz also consults with small, medium and large businesses on their needs for data communications, long distance, local and Internet services.

Sandra Vasquez
President
Mex-Sales Co.
Vasquez is president of Mex-Sales Co. and the inventor, owner and distributor of Más Tamales Masa Spreader, a masa spreading utensil. Vasquez created the utensil while looking for a way to speed up and simplify the spreading process for making tamales. With the help of her husband, Vasquez developed the spreader and obtained a patent for it. She then established Mex-Sales Co., set up her first retail location in the Corpus Christi Trade Center and marketed her product over the Internet.

Sylvia Zamponi
District Director
Small Business Administration
Lower Rio Grande Valley
Zamponi is the district director of the Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office of the Small Business Administration, which serves 14 South Texas counties. She started her career with the SBA in 1969 as a receptionist. Over the years she completed leadership development training and worked as a supervisor in various technical and administrative positions with the agency. Zamponi attended Texas Southmost College/University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas State Technical College.

Sandra Zayas
Loan Officer
ACCION Texas
Zayas has been a loan officer at ACCION Texas’ Brownsville office for five years. Before working with ACCION Texas, Zayas was the Lending Department manager for the Valley Credit Union in Brownsville. Zayas is a native of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. She attended the University of Texas at Brownsville.