Chamber Reaches Out to Valley Latinos With Expo

After 14 years, Ernie Pineda’s dream of bridging the gap between big business and the Valley’s huge Latino population is moving a step closer to reality.

On Aug. 23, the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce will sponsor the Valley’s first Latino Consumer Expo, largely due to Pineda’s drive to reach a segment of the population often overlooked by business-boosting groups and blue-chip companies alike.

When he moved to the Valley in 1983, Pineda looked for a Latino chamber of commerce and was surprised to find none in a region teeming with minority-owned businesses.

He joined the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce and eventually become one of three Latinos serving on the group’s 22-member board of directors.

Nevertheless, he wanted more Latinos to become part of the chamber, which provides networking opportunities, business counseling and other key services.

Although Latinos are the largest ethnic minority in the communities of Van Nuys, North Hills and Panorama City, they are still sorely underrepresented in the business association, he said.

“We want to make the chamber more reflective of the demographics of our community,” said Pineda, 35, who immigrated from El Salvador in 1976.

At the suggestion of the chamber’s then-President Kenneth R. Gerston, Pineda co-founded the Latino Business Development Committee with Eduardo Estrada, another board member.

“The issue had been on the table for many years,” Gerston said. “It was time for people to wake up. We don’t live in a little white bubble.”

The group now has 20 members and meets on a monthly basis. The committee will sponsor the Latino Consumer Expo at the Panorama Mall in Panorama City.

Estrada hopes the event will encourage more minorities to become members of the Mid Valley Chamber of Commerce as well as provide a venue for mainstream companies to introduce their products and services to the Latino community.

“It’s purpose is to be a catalyst for future business activity,” said Estrada. “In short, the event will result in new customers and revenue for businesses and greater choices and lower prices for consumers.”

More than 45 exhibitors and 5,000 consumers are expected to attend the event, said the chamber’s executive director, Nancy Hoffman.

“The response to the event has been overwhelming,” she said. “All the booths were immediately sold out, and we have a waiting list of people still trying to get in.”

Valley Councilman Richard Alarcon and Assemblyman Tony Cardenas (D-Sylmar) are scheduled to speak at the event.