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HISTORY

In 1991 The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (HCC) was founded and incorporated by Luz Bazan Gutierrez, with the assistance of Minerva Villareal who was President of the Washington State Hispanic Chamber. Daniel Enriquez, a small business owner was appointed the President. Luz Bazan Gutierrez, a realtor and Director of the Washington Association of Minority Entrepreneurs, was appointed Secretary and volunteer coordinator for the organization. In the same year, the Yakima Chamber became a member of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) and coordinated the first Cinco de Mayo Celebration & Heritage Dinner to recognize Latino leadership in the region.

In 1994 the Chamber conducted a community forum to gauge interest in forming a revolving loan fund and determined that a significant demand for services by limited English speaking Latino entrepreuners existed. A local bank consortium and parntership with WAME were established to help review prospective loans from entrepreneurs. Business trainings were coordinated to provide access to microloans for low & moderate income businesses. The model proved to be successful and it is now called Rural Community Development Resources (RCDR) Small Business Lending.

In 1997, Mayor Glenn Buchanan of the City of Yakima designates the HCC to serve as “Ambassadors” to Morelia, Mexico to help establish a Sister City between Yakima and Morelia.

In 2001, the HCC organized the 1st Annual Cinco de Mayo in Downtown Yakima. The event proves to be a success in bringing more people into downtown Yakima, and has become the longest running successful entertainment event for downtown Yakima.

In 2006, the HCC began to receive the recognition and financial support from the City of Yakima to help identify and support Latino/Hispanic businesses and increase the sales tax base for the downtown area.