In 1989, a group of businessmen and women recognized the need for a Hispanic voice to represent Hispanic business concerns in San Diego County. From that original vision grew the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has been named the “Large Chamber of the Year — Region 1” three years in a row by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Much of the San Diego Hispanic Chamber’s success is attributed to Robert Villarreal, who joined the organization in 2000 as executive director and is president and CEO. For his accomplishments, the SBA-San Diego District has named Villarreal its Minority Small Business Advocate of the Year.

“Villarreal has worked tirelessly in support of minority small business,” reports Rudy Lopez, special projects assistant with the San Diego County Hispanic Chamber. For instance, “his implementation of the Diverse Emerging Vendor Outreach Program in partnership with the city of San Diego has led to the disbursement of more than 2,800 contracts to area small businesses, worth more than $23 million.”

County Supervisor Greg Cox observes that a third of these purchase orders went to businesses with no previous history of business with the city. “That’s proof of the program’s value and success,” Cox says.

The Hispanic Chamber’s main mission is to provide a forum for the discussion of Hispanic business issues and concerns. Its impressive Web site hosts a referral program for outside businesses that wish to do business with the Hispanic community.

To foster awareness of its members, the chamber has done things such as working with the San Diego Unified Port District to host trade and business delegations from select states in Mexico. Sessions focus on trade, tourism, foreign investment, agribusiness-related opportunities and site tours of key infrastructure facilities in the San Diego-Tijuana region.

“The city of San Diego, along with the Port District, the Centre City Development Corp., the San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan Water District, owe a debt of gratitude to Robert Villarreal for his leadership in developing the Hispanic Chamber and its Vendor Outreach Program,” says District 8 Councilman Ralph Inzunza. “By helping us reach our goals of diversifying our base of vendors, Robert is assisting small and minority-owned businesses to gain a toehold in the competitive market.”

Villarreal also is responsible for developing the chamber’s most successful fund-raiser, the annual Viva El Mariachi! Festival, administering a budget of $850,000 and a staff of eight. He is involved in many community events, including serving on the boards of United Way of San Diego, Small Business Finance, CDC, Star Pal and the Super Bowl XXXVII Host Committee, among other professional and civic organizations.

“Mr. Villarreal has literally opened the doors of opportunity for hundreds of small businesses that may not have otherwise considered government contracts,” says Cox. “He has created unprecedented opportunities for the continued growth and prosperity of small and minority businesses in the region.”