Editorial: A challenge for Dallas Hispanic chamber
The Dallas Morning News
The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is one of those great legacy organizations known more for its pioneering history than for modern-day accomplishments. When it marks its diamond jubilee in just three years, its iconic status will be burnished even more.
Unfortunately, the status as the region’s longest-reigning Latino business group is not enough to guarantee success. Even defenders of the chamber acknowledge privately that the business group has at times strayed from its mission and not done nearly enough to retain and boost its membership. The proliferation of other Hispanic chambers is often, and accurately, cited as evidence of dysfunction.
When David L. Gonzales abruptly resigned last week as chief executive, questions about the chamber’s current and future stability were inevitable. Gonzales, who had impressive credentials, was hired after a tumultuous and lengthy national search that included a very public split within the chamber’s board.
Gonzales and the board’s chairman, Angel L. Reyes III, did their best to allay any concerns over the sudden departure, which occurred less than a year after the chief executive was named with great fanfare. The strategy was to declare mission accomplished, a very hard sell given the shockingly short tenure. Not surprisingly, the many detractors of the chamber were quick to offer theories on what may have gone wrong and why.
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