The Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce held its first Executive Board Meeting of 2024, hosted by Norton Rose Fulbright on January 18, 2024. The meeting was presided over by our 2024 Chair of the Board and Partner, Norton Rose Fulbright, Mario A. Barrera.
The meeting began with opening remarks followed by a brief break for lunch. After the break, the December minutes were approved, and the floor turned to Badger CPA to go over preliminary end of year financials. The floor moved back to Mario who spoke briefly about our exciting volunteer and staff leadership for 2024 and goals he would like to see this year, specifically in Education and Workforce Development and support of the military.
The meeting turned to the Greater San Antonio Chamber’s Annual Gala success and new President and CEO Jeff Webster praised our staff and everyone who attended and noted it as a great event. Jeff moved on to speak about Chamber membership and retention, and Joe Kampa, VP of Membership spoke about the previous year's goals and actuals and where we would like to see our Chamber in the year to come.
Moving forward Jeff spoke about our 45th annual SA to DC fly-in, where members of our business community and elected officials travel to Washington D.C. to advocate for our region’s economic prosperity. Director of Special Events Carolina Calderon and Interim VP of Public Policy Avianca De La O provided an update with attendees and speakers. To learn more about how you can get involved visit http://vovnhi.geef-gas.com/events/2024/02/05/special-events/sa-to-dc-2024/.
Next on the agenda was a discussion about the Greater San Antonio Chamber’s newest Executive Leadership Program. Former Chair of the Board Katie Harvey took time to share her excitement about the program and its leaders Executive VP Dave Petersen and VP of Military Affairs and Leadership Lori Stinson. The Executive Leadership is open to new C-suite executives in the Alamo Region. The program serves as an immersion into the region's challenges and introduces participants to top community leaders and key stakeholders. For more information visit http://vovnhi.geef-gas.com/executive-leadership-program/
Nearing the end of the meeting, Jeff spoke about our thriving social media channels with input from VP of Image and Communications Samantha Rendon who updated everyone on social media numbers and top trending posts. Be sure to follow and like the Greater San Antonio Chamber on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn.
Lastly, Jeff gave his President’s Update, reiterating the importance of the Chamber, our members, and our programs. “We advocate for all business big and small and everything in between, we are the voice of business, period.” Jeff spoke about the successful BizConnect cohort, and the VP of Cybersecurity and Economic Development Jeff Fair chimed in to speak about its graduation and the impact it had on small business.
Wrapping up, Mario reiterated his goal of moving the Chamber to new heights and the appropriateness of adding the GREATER back in our name. The meeting concluded with information for our next meetings and our upcoming Councils and Committees.