Monica Garcia
Fremont Tribune
When it comes to inclusivity, the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce has it down, especially when it comes to the city’s growing Hispanic/Latino community.When Director or Membership and Development Christine Torres moved to Fremont, she saw that there were services that her Hispanic/Latino clients were needing that were hard to come by. To help close that gap, she got a group of advocates together and, for the last several years, this group, known as the Spanish Networking Group, has met regularly to advocate for the Hispanic/Latino community.“It (the Spanish Networking Group) just bloomed,” Torres said. “It just grew super fast. It’s gotten a lot of attention, but it truly is just connecting everyone.”In celebration of Fremont’s Hispanic and Latino business community, the chamber will be hosting the Hispanic Business Banquet from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8, at Countryside Venue, 30030 W. Reichmuth Road, in Valley. The networking event includes dinner and a program recognizing people and businesses that have been allies for the Hispanic/Latino community.
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Unfortunately, tickets for this first year are sold out, but there are other chamber events planned for this year and more in 2025.Established by Torres, the Spanish Networking Group, according to the chamber website, offers the opportunity to share insights “on community development and growth opportunities.” There is also the opportunity to connect with other professionals, learn valuable information and expand your network.”This group (Christine) set up so that Spanish speaking business owners can get to know each other, know what resources are available to them and have a support group,” said Brenda Wilberding, president/CEO of the Fremont Area Chamber of Commerce.Since the group’s first meeting, participation has grown from 15 people to about 180 people being involved. This group meets monthly, on the third Wednesday of each month.Within the chamber, there are four councils that deal with different aspects of Fremont’s business community, including the Hispanic Council.The Hispanic Council was created to help represent and reflect the community, Torres said. Its mission is, “To Empower Hispanic Businesses, Build Bridges among all Chamber Members and Foster Prosperity in the Fremont and surrounding communities.”Each council has a banquet to celebrate its work in the community and earlier this year the chamber decided to add a Hispanic Business Banquet to the calendar.“The reason behind the banquet … is that we just needed a space and a platform to recognize the amazing things the Latino and Hispanic businesses are doing,” Wilberding said. “When you go and do your research, the percentage of businesses that are owned by Hispanics and Latinos in Nebraska is huge and so to be able to recognize them within that community, but also bring attention and spotlight to this group for people outside of this community is really, really powerful. Because they need to know what’s happening and the importance of businesses that are here in Fremont and around the state.”In Fremont, there are around 40 Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses, and there are businesses in Omaha and Council Bluffs that are also members of the Fremont chamber. Torres said they are a small but mighty team and are doing things that are bringing in people from outside the community.For the Hispanic Business Banquet, the chamber sought out sponsorships for the event and the sponsorships sold out fast.Sponsors include Lincoln Premium Poultry, Christensen Lumber Co., Diers, Los Mezcales Ortiz Mexican Bar and Grill, Allo, Artesan Bread, MaxD Designs, Printing & More, Center for Rural Affairs, Pinnacle Bank, Methodist Fremont Health, Epicentro Tienda Mexicana, Erika Martinez, RVR Bank, Lincoln Federal Savings Bank, FNBO and Fremont Beef Company.“Truly, right off the bat, all the sponsorships sold almost immediately,” Torres said, adding that she asked the big supporters of the Spanish Networking Group first and they jumped at the opportunity. “At one point we were just making up sponsorships because people still wanted to be involved. (What) a beautiful thing!”The awards that will be given during the event will be: Amigo de la comunidad — Fremont Police Lt. Ed Watts; Newcomer — Allo, Paul Heineman; Harmony Catalyst Award — Evelyn Martinez; Trailblazer del año — Dan Moran; and Hispanic Business of the Year — Típico Helado.Watts has been proactive with the Spanish speaking community and the Spanish Networking Group, Wilberding said. Watts connected with Torres and Director of Marketing and Communications Devin Brashear through a chamber event and stepped up and asked how he can support the community, connect with them better and how he can be available as an ally. Staff and members of the chamber have even taken Watts around to the different business so he can connect with owners.Among the many things Moran does, he is a teacher at Washington Elementary and brought the Duel Language Program to Fremont Public Schools. He also offers stickers that businesses can put up in their windows inviting Spanish learners in to practice their Spanish at that business, Torres said.Martinez is a bilingual public healthcare worker. She was one of the first advocates involved in the Spanish Networking group, helping connect people with resources.Allo has been a chamber member for a while, but when Heineman came in, he started participating in the Spanish Networking Group and asked how he and Allo can help the Spanish community. Heineman also brings his Spanish speaking employees with him to the networking meetings, Torres said.The Business of the Year, Típico Helado, is from Omaha but as soon as they came to Fremont, they connected with the chamber to get to know who to connect with in the community and how to be active in the chamber, Torres said. The community loves them, sha added.The Spanish Networking Group and the Hispanic Council is something that makes the Fremont chamber unique, Wilberding said. The chamber is very active and there are also bilingual diplomates, or an ambassador group, that go to businesses to recruit and retain members in the Fremont community.Other chambers have reached out to Fremont to learn about what they are doing and how they are doing it, Torres said.This is a group effort, Torres said. She has support from her boss,and the staff is welcoming and inviting to everyone who walks in the door.Chamber staff speaks, understands or are learning Spanish and if someone can’t understand the visitor, they are not turned away. Staff will help figure it out, Torres said. The last few years, community members will just walk in off the street seeking help with chamber and non-chamber issues.As part of the chamber’s welcoming nature, Director of Marketing and Communications Devin Brashear pointed out that the chamber also hosted a Lotería Night. This was a culturally inclusive event, she said.There was a wide variety of participants including children, adults, those who speak Spanish fluently and those who maybe still need a little practice.“To have that connection, that safe space for everyone to be together, and for people to be genuinely interested in learning more and to be playing this culturally native game … was really cool,” Brashear said.This upcoming year will have a couple more Lotería Night events, and the community is invested in doing more inclusive events.“I think Fremont has always had this Hispanic and Latino community that hasn’t always been celebrated and I think we just have people in positions of power that are like, ‘we’re going to make a change,’ and you can tell that people are very grateful for that, super supportive, and it’s just really nice to finally see that come the floriation,” Torres said.The comradery and coming together with people of the same mindset is really powerful and cool, Wilberding said, and the banquet also gives them the opportunity to connect with some people who don’t come to other chamber events.“That’s what we want to do here at the chamber, we’re here to help,” Wilberding said. “That’s our goal, to help businesses to be their best, grow and be successful. We get to be an arm of that, we get to help with that and when we can’t reach a certain community and help them understand how we can support them, this has been a incredible way to do so.”The dress code for the event is formal encouraged, but not required. There will be a cocktail hour with live music, from a mariachi band, dinner, and a formal program which includes the awards.The banquet is a celebration of culture and different business that are doing incredible things and diversifying what it means to be Fremont, Wilberding said.There is a diversity seen at chamber events which is amazing to see, Torres said.The Spanish Networking Group meets regularly in Fremont. The next meeting is 10-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Christensen Family YMCA Camp, 3402 W. Military Ave.Sponsored by Agri-City Insurance, the presenter is Dan Moran, Fremont Public Schools — Washington Elementary, who will speak about the Duel Language Program at the school. For more information, contact Torres at 402-721-2641 or [email protected].
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