Celebrating 30 years: Greater Caldwell Hispanic Chamber honors businesses, community members

Robert Ellis, center, took the Greater Caldwell County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s Masquerade Ball theme seriously, decking himself out in Mardi Gras garb- including a glitterly gold mask- that he left on all night. Photo by Miles Smith/LPR

By Miles Smith
LPR Editor

The Fountains of Lockhart was a packed house Saturday night as the Greater Caldwell County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual banquet, honoring local business leaders and celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Keynote speaker Joe Morin, a retired executive with the Texas Department of Economic Development, said the chamber’s biggest accomplishment was a deceptively difficult one.
“It has survived with flying colors,” Morin said, listing a number of businesses like Compaq and Enron, which, for various reasons, have not weathered the test of time. “It has supported events like Cinco de Mayo and Diez y Seis that bring us food, music and art, and its continued support of education is something we can all be proud of.
“The chamber has a home office now, which is a long way from its humble beginnings where it would move from house to house and the occasional garage.”
Morin said a growing Hispanic population contributed to a strengthening economy.
“If U.S. Hispanics were a country, we’d be the seventh largest economy in the world,” Morin said.
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