NEW ORLEANS – The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana (HCCL) hosted the 2017 Town Hall Roundtable Meeting & Luncheon on April 5, at the Hyatt Regency. The event featured Don Salazar, Chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, as Keynote Speaker and Guest of Honor.
Many small business owners were in attendance to take part in the forum and learned about best practices and opportunities available through participation, education and certifications. The event was sponsored by Chevron.
“Chevron is pleased to sponsor the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Town Hall and continue our support of economic development for Hispanic-owned businesses,” said Leah Brown, manager of Public Affairs for Chevron’s Gulf of Mexico Business Unit. “We believe that economic opportunity should be extended to as many as possible, and that companies should be reflective of the diverse customers they serve.”
Salazar currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer and President at Creative Times Inc., also known as CTI Construction, a design-and-build construction business based in Ogden, Utah. Salazar oversees all management activities, such as general business planning, accounting, finance, marketing, resource allocation, contract negotiation and on-site job performance. Salazar and CTI have received many awards, including Utah Minority Small Business Man of the Year, Utah Achievement/Community Service Award and SBA contractor of the year. Salazar is the past chair of the Ogden Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, past president of Northern Utah Public Employees Association, governor-appointed State Council on Workforce Services, member of Weber State University National Advisory Board and Weber State University Arts and Humanities Board, and serves on the board of the Utah Hispanic Chamber.
Prior to becoming a successful business owner, Salazar held many diverse careers, including 25 years with Utah Youth Corrections, working with troubled youth. Since 1988, his family has owned and managed Creative Times daycare. Today, he focuses his time on CTI, his construction company. Salazar holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management, and is a Business Transformation Graduate from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University.
HCCL is a nonprofit organization committed to creating and facilitating a business climate within the Hispanic community which will result in economic development and progress for Louisiana. HCCL is also dedicated to the expansion of trade relations between the State of Louisiana and Latin America. Its mission is to foster the continued economic growth, development, and promotion of Hispanic businesses and their associations in the state of Louisiana, and to serve as the conduit between the Hispanic business community and the community at large.
L to R: Jerry Bologna, Don Salazar, Rachel Shields, Mayra Pineda and Mayra Pineda, Kenner Mayor Ben Zahn, Don Salazar
