[0:14] Is it? Yeah, it is this morning.
[0:16] Good morning. Good morning and
[0:19] welcome to the Virginia
[0:21] minority Business Commission
[0:24] meeting. I am Senator Angela
[0:24] Williams Graves, representing
[0:26] the 21st Senate District in the
[0:27] Commonwealth of Virginia. And
[0:29] it is wonderful to have you all
[0:33] here. We are going to start
[0:34] with introductions, because it
[0:36] has been a minute since we have
[0:39] met, and we have some new
[0:40] members. And so we'll start all
[0:43] the way to my far right and
[0:45] work our way down.
[0:47] >> Hi everyone. I'm Doctor
[0:49] Byron Cherry.
[0:50] >> Thank you. Anything you want
[0:52] to tell us about yourself,
[0:56] Doctor cherry?
[0:58] >> Doctor.
[0:59] >> If it's red is not working.
[1:01] If it's green is on.
[1:03] >> I bought myself a 26 year
[1:06] Army veteran. Retired colonel.
[1:08] I ran a small business for 15
[1:11] years. I sold it last year.
[1:12] This committee is very
[1:14] important to me because many
[1:17] times I try to come up to the
[1:17] Commonwealth and talk business
[1:20] with them and just get blown
[1:21] off every time. So. So this is
[1:23] very important to me. So but
[1:25] the business for 15 years was
[1:27] very successful. We did well in
[1:28] sold it last year. So we're
[1:30] cyber it company up in Northern
[1:33] Virginia. About 150 employees.
[1:36] We did. Yeah. So okay good.
[1:39] >> Good deal. Good deal. Thank
[1:39] you so much. Thank you for
[1:41] being here. And thank you so
[1:43] much for your service to our
[1:43] country.
[1:44] >> Thank you. You're welcome.
[1:45] >> Good morning. I'm Alfreda
[1:47] jarrett Reynolds. I serve as
[1:48] the director of economic
[1:48] development for Brunswick
[1:50] County in Southside Virginia.
[1:52] This is my first meeting. I'm
[1:54] so excited to be here, to have
[1:55] a seat at the table to see how
[1:57] I can add value to the great
[1:59] things that's already happening
[1:59] within this commission.
[2:01] >> Thank you for being here.
[2:03] >> Thank you.
[2:05] >> Good morning. My name is
[2:08] Doctor Trina Coleman and I am
[2:10] the ceo of Coleman
[2:13] Comprehensive Solutions, a
[2:15] small educational and it
[2:18] consulting firm. I am also a
[2:23] physics professor, but my
[2:25] passion is to do the right
[2:27] thing for the right people at
[2:30] the right time. So being on
[2:37] this commission. Cut off, okay,
[2:39] being a member of the Minority
[2:41] Business Commission is very
[2:42] important. I want to help do
[2:44] some great things in the
[2:46] Commonwealth. I want to bring
[2:47] more exposure to this committee.
[2:49] I don't feel like people know
[2:51] we exist. I think we should be
[2:53] interacting with some of the
[2:55] other organizations and
[2:58] entities within the government
[2:59] of the Commonwealth of Virginia,
[3:03] so I am here to shake things up,
[3:06] hopefully. Thank you.
[3:07] >> Good morning y'all. Delegate
[3:09] Michael Fagan's proudly
[3:11] representing House district 97
[3:13] within Virginia Beach. I'm glad
[3:14] that we are. Legislation that
[3:16] we passed a few years ago was
[3:17] able to restart the Minority
[3:18] Business Commission. As someone
[3:21] who just recently closed their
[3:23] first business, I've learned a
[3:25] lot over the past few years of
[3:26] being a small business owner,
[3:28] and I'm glad I'm able to take
[3:30] that and my experiences there
[3:31] and be a valuable, valuable
[3:33] member of this commission and
[3:36] and also serve as the vice
[3:41] chair as well. So.
[3:44] >> Senator Lamont Bagby.
[3:47] >> Representing, doing.
[3:54] >> I'm not doing all that.
[3:56] >> Stephen Hammond. Hammond
[3:58] Group consulting Richmond
[4:01] native been lobbying the last
[4:04] six years now. I started in
[4:05] this under Lamont Bagby's
[4:07] tutelage as his la. So it's
[4:09] cool to be sitting beside him
[4:11] in this capacity. And so if I
[4:12] can do nothing else but that,
[4:15] that's cool in my book.
[4:20] >> Thank you.
[4:23] >> There we go. All right.
[4:24] Hello, I'm Tiffany Boyle,
[4:25] commissioner of revenue for the
[4:27] city of Newport News, also a
[4:28] small business owner,
[4:33] entrepreneur myself.
[4:34] >> Hello, I'm Kimberly Jackson,
[4:36] I'm the ceo of United Community
[4:39] Solutions, a behavioral health
[4:40] practice here in Virginia. And
[4:42] I currently serve on the board
[4:44] of Social Work. And I was just
[4:45] elected to serve as the
[4:49] director at large of S.B. So
[4:50] for the National Board of
[4:52] Social Work.
[4:54] >> Thank you.
[4:56] >> So now that we have all
[4:58] introduced ourselves and.
[4:58] >> Some about you.
[5:01] >> I did in the beginning, I'm
[5:02] Senator Angela Williams Graves,
[5:03] representing the 21st Senate
[5:05] District, where we do good work
[5:07] on your behalf. And I am the
[5:09] more than likely the outgoing
[5:12] chair of this commission. And
[5:15] we will in our next meeting in
[5:18] the spring, reelect elect new
[5:20] officers for this committee and
[5:23] and get some things done. So we
[5:25] will move right into Delegate
[5:27] Fagan's. Did you have any
[5:29] additional remarks that you
[5:31] wanted to make? All right. So
[5:32] thank you all for being here.
[5:36] We need to adopt the electronic
[5:38] meeting policy that has been
[5:40] online and should have been
[5:43] distributed. Is there any
[5:45] anyone that has questions about
[5:47] the electronic meeting policy?
[5:50] Our electronic meeting policy
[5:50] is a little dated, but
[5:51] hopefully we'll be able to
[5:54] bring it along a little bit by
[5:56] little bit into the 21st
[5:59] century. But does anybody have
[6:03] any questions, any issues. All
[6:06] right Michael, is this a voice
[6:08] vote or voice vote. Yes okay.
[6:09] So I need a motion.
[6:12] >> Please move to report second.
[6:16] >> Okay. All in favor I, I any
[6:20] opposed? All right. We're good.
[6:24] All right. And then we have the
[6:27] 2024 executive summary that has
[6:29] we have to move for the
[6:31] adoption of that. All of that
[6:31] information should have been
[6:33] sent to you all so that you
[6:36] could review it from our last
[6:36] meeting. Are there any
[6:37] questions or discussion
[6:42] regarding it? Nope. I need a
[6:43] motion.
[6:44] >> Move to report.
[6:44] >> Second.
[6:46] >> All in favor of the adoption
[6:48] of the 2024 Executive Summary.
[6:50] Say aye.
[6:50] >> Aye.
[6:54] >> Any opposition? All right.
[6:56] The adoption of the 2024
[6:58] executive summary is accepted.
[7:03] And now I am going to actually
[7:05] turn this over to our vice
[7:06] chair, who will probably be our
[7:09] chair next year for a little
[7:12] bit of an outline over the 2026
[7:14] work plan. I will tell you, he
[7:16] is very ambitious in what he
[7:17] wants to do with this
[7:20] commission, so I am proud to
[7:22] allow him this opportunity to
[7:25] turn over priorities for 2026
[7:27] 2027. And for those of you in
[7:29] the public who MAY not be aware,
[7:31] we reelect officers to
[7:33] commissions every two years as
[7:35] the House elections. Its in
[7:37] line with the House elections.
[7:42] So in in 2026, we will come
[7:46] back and we will reelect
[7:47] officers there. So take it away
[7:48] Delegate.
[7:50] >> Thank you, MADAM Chair. So
[7:53] as we move on to 2026 and we
[7:55] have our we have a really
[7:56] ambitious, of course, General
[7:57] Assembly coming up and looking
[8:00] forward to seeing a lot of the
[8:01] legislation that will be coming
[8:03] across from the House and the
[8:04] Senate side. We'll be looking
[8:06] to meet hopefully around APRIL
[8:09] time frame. But additionally,
[8:10] when we're going into 26, one
[8:12] important things is to look at
[8:14] is how we can actually look at,
[8:16] of course, from the contracts
[8:17] and procurements. And so one of
[8:19] the things I would love to make
[8:21] sure we kind of talked about it
[8:23] in the past is being able to
[8:25] get better data on, on, on the
[8:27] procurement and opportunities
[8:28] that are happening, especially
[8:30] at the, at the locality level.
[8:31] And so, for example, what's
[8:33] happening in Hampton Roads,
[8:33] what's happening in Richmond,
[8:35] southwest Virginia, northern
[8:37] Virginia, to make sure that
[8:38] those localities that that
[8:41] state a a goal, you know, if
[8:42] it's 2%, 5%, whatever that goal
[8:44] has stated that to see if
[8:46] they're actually being able to
[8:48] meet those goals from from
[8:49] minority business contracts,
[8:50] additionally strengthening
[8:51] minority business partnerships,
[8:54] we know there are a lot of
[8:55] great minority business
[8:57] partnerships. Some are exist
[8:59] within specific regional
[9:02] chambers, some are exist
[9:03] outside of chambers and are
[9:04] built to really bring those
[9:06] communities up. And so we'll be
[9:08] looking to strengthen those and
[9:09] additionally expanding our our
[9:12] statewide outreach. There's now
[9:14] is is is the perfect time to
[9:16] make sure that we're reaching
[9:18] out to those, those groups and
[9:20] that maybe we haven't had the
[9:22] opportunity to meet with in the
[9:22] past. Maybe those groups have
[9:24] recently started up. And so and
[9:26] additionally, looking at policy
[9:28] changes are going to be some of
[9:30] the final things we kind of
[9:31] look at to see not just going
[9:34] into after post session, but
[9:36] going into 27 as well. A lot of
[9:38] the great work that we do is is
[9:41] also done, is also done outside
[9:42] of our session. And so I'm
[9:44] excited about the work that
[9:45] we're going to get to do next
[9:47] year and looking forward to
[9:48] seeing, not just in terms of
[9:50] the legislation we get to
[9:51] support and pass, but the the
[9:53] initiatives all across the
[9:54] Commonwealth that we can really
[9:57] help to show that Virginia is
[9:58] one of the best places to start
[9:59] a small business, and
[10:01] especially it's a great place
[10:02] if you're a minority business.
[10:05] And that's why we want to make
[10:07] sure to attract that and not
[10:07] just attract, but inspired that
[10:10] next generation of
[10:10] entrepreneurship that that
[10:12] maybe just needs a little extra
[10:14] spark. And that's one of the
[10:16] best reasons that I believe
[10:18] this commission is here.
[10:24] >> Any comment question to our
[10:29] legislative work plan for 2026
[10:33] or. Yes, doctor Cherry.
[10:34] >> Thank you. Yes. Again,
[10:36] Delegate Fagan's, I really
[10:38] appreciate those comments and
[10:38] everything. As far as the
[10:40] looking forward to getting the
[10:41] percentage of minority
[10:43] businesses and so forth, share
[10:46] contracts. And I'm going to say
[10:48] this to be very honest, okay? I
[10:50] hope we put some teeth to this
[10:51] stuff, because in Northern
[10:52] Virginia I had a pretty
[10:53] successful company that's
[10:54] photography military. But I
[10:56] can't tell you how many times I
[10:58] met with U.S. Senators Tim
[11:00] Kaine and folks up in Northern
[11:03] Virginia who had these meetings
[11:05] and so forth with mine, with
[11:06] minority businesses. But to me,
[11:10] it was just a pony show because
[11:12] we met with them. It was a
[11:14] group of us met 3 or 4 times.
[11:15] They always called us in, and
[11:17] they met at my location one
[11:18] time. But we go through this
[11:20] rigmarole and sell these things,
[11:23] but nothing ever comes to
[11:25] fruition. And there's hope. And
[11:27] in my I'm prayerful that, you
[11:29] know, based on what you said,
[11:31] Delegate Fagan's what the plan
[11:33] is. I hope we accomplish that
[11:34] as far as spreading out the
[11:36] share of minority businesses
[11:37] and so forth across the
[11:38] Commonwealth, because this is a
[11:40] great state to do business in.
[11:41] And I can say I was in
[11:44] contracting, we did well with
[11:45] employees in eight states, 150
[11:46] employees, but I could never
[11:48] penetrate this state for
[11:51] whatever reason. So, so and I
[11:53] just I'm looking forward to
[11:54] working. I was very excited
[11:55] when I was appointed because
[11:57] this means a lot to me, and I
[12:00] hope we do some great things
[12:00] and put some teeth behind this
[12:04] stuff. Thanks a lot.
[12:11] >> So. I'm going to be reality
[12:16] Roxy, in that we are
[12:17] legislative body and we are
[12:19] legislators. Right. And so and
[12:24] this commission meets outside
[12:24] of our normal legislative
[12:26] session, which this year coming
[12:30] up is 60 days. And we are
[12:34] limited in staff and in funding.
[12:35] There is a small budget that we
[12:39] have as a commission for
[12:40] reimbursement and, you know,
[12:41] stipends for everybody. That
[12:44] comes because your time is
[12:46] valuable. And and what we can
[12:49] do. So if you what I would like
[12:51] folks to keep in mind when we
[12:52] start talking about doing
[12:55] different things throughout the
[12:59] Commonwealth, is that these
[13:01] staff members, when we have
[13:02] commission meetings, we have to
[13:05] have staff and also and whether
[13:07] it's these are Senate staffers,
[13:08] next year will be House
[13:10] staffers. But they also we've
[13:14] got what do we have? Lamont 52,
[13:18] 53 or more commissions that are
[13:23] active that meet outside of
[13:24] session. Right. They are
[13:26] meeting outside of session. And
[13:34] so to so we can put forward.
[13:37] Ideas, potential legislation,
[13:39] acts, ask questions about why
[13:40] different things are happening.
[13:42] But I think one of the things
[13:43] that will be beneficial. So
[13:44] this is the other part of
[13:47] reality, Roxy, is that we have
[13:48] a brand new administration
[13:50] coming in that I believe is
[13:52] very small, business friendly,
[13:55] and sometimes what people
[13:57] really don't understand is how
[13:58] the sausage is made in that we
[14:01] have a great idea for a great
[14:03] new sausage, but it takes all
[14:05] of the pieces of the puzzle of
[14:06] all the different organizations
[14:08] and the administration and the
[14:10] the various departments within
[14:12] the Commonwealth to all come
[14:14] together and make that happen.
[14:18] And they all have competing
[14:18] priorities that are important.
[14:20] I've often said to folks I've
[14:23] met with several, I mean, the
[14:23] entire time that I've met with
[14:24] members or constituents,
[14:26] whether it's a constituent or
[14:28] constituent group or an
[14:31] organization, I have never left
[14:32] a meeting feeling like my time
[14:35] was wasted, feeling like my
[14:37] time was like that was a whole
[14:39] waste of my 30 minutes. I'm
[14:39] never going to get back. Never
[14:41] left there feeling that way
[14:42] because everybody comes. If
[14:44] they come here, if they come to
[14:46] us, they're at a point where
[14:48] they need real help or they
[14:49] have real issues, or they're
[14:50] looking for real solutions and
[14:55] not fluff. And so I just want
[14:57] to just kind of let folks know
[15:01] we're part time, and we have to
[15:01] be here with the meetings too.
[15:03] Right. And so and everybody
[15:05] else works. And so if we can
[15:08] put together a framework that
[15:10] in conversations with and
[15:12] meetings with whoever the
[15:14] Secretary will be, that we will
[15:16] more than likely deal with in
[15:17] these different areas that
[15:18] affect the Minority Business
[15:20] Commission, let them know what
[15:22] it is that we see as priorities
[15:23] and what we want to accomplish.
[15:24] And working with the
[15:26] administration who actually
[15:27] does work full time and
[15:28] actually is here every day of
[15:30] the week. Right. And they do
[15:32] this for a living, right? We
[15:34] can I think we can move the
[15:37] needle forward. So just kind of
[15:38] we're not a chamber and we're
[15:41] not a separate organization
[15:44] that has, you know, the we're
[15:48] not that we're legislators, but
[15:49] we are legislators with a lot
[15:51] of power. We are legislators in
[15:55] the majority. And we which
[15:57] means something, which means a
[15:59] lot, right? We and so we're
[16:03] able to put forth a work plan
[16:06] and agenda, priorities and work
[16:07] with the administration. And I
[16:09] believe that through those
[16:12] channels, we can get a lot of
[16:14] things done. So hopefully that
[16:18] helps to kind of. Get a little
[16:20] bit of level of expectation in
[16:23] what we can do and the things
[16:25] that are really beyond our
[16:26] purview that fall into the
[16:27] administrative work that is
[16:31] actually done every single day.
[16:33] Yeah, yeah. Yes.
[16:36] >> Thank you. So, MADAM Chair,
[16:38] what I think I heard you say
[16:43] was we have influence more so
[16:47] than we have power or resources.
[16:50] So I think that the best thing
[16:52] that this commission should be
[16:54] able to do in the short term is
[16:58] come up with a framework to use
[17:00] our influence, not only here in
[17:03] Richmond, but in our respective
[17:05] locales that we come from. With
[17:09] the support of this commission.
[17:12] So if we can come to some
[17:15] synergistic relationship type
[17:18] activities, I think that we can
[17:20] make this presence of this
[17:22] commission known. I know we
[17:23] have a lot of boards and
[17:26] commissions, some of them about
[17:28] eclipse or some, you know, some
[17:32] of them, they're important, I
[17:35] suspect. But this one is really,
[17:36] really, really important in
[17:38] comparison to some of the other
[17:40] ones. And I say that with all
[17:43] sincerity. So I just want to go
[17:46] on the record and say that
[17:46] influence is important. And if
[17:50] we can wrangle that in
[17:51] collectively and individually,
[17:53] then I think that we can help
[17:56] our soon to be chair air quotes.
[17:59] We haven't voted yet with his
[18:01] vision as well.
[18:01] >> Absolutely.
[18:04] >> And I think that was very
[18:06] well said. Thank you. Thank you.
[18:08] Any other comments questions
[18:10] speak now or forever hold your
[18:14] peace. All right. So now we are
[18:19] going to have a presentation by
[18:21] Patricia Bracknell, the founder
[18:23] and ceo of the chamber for
[18:25] Hispanic Progress. And what I
[18:29] can tell you is that she is
[18:31] absolutely amazing. She. Yes.
[18:35] There you go. She is a one
[18:38] woman show all by herself. I
[18:40] every that's that that is
[18:43] amazing. She's she's she's in
[18:45] Hampton Roads but she is
[18:46] everywhere. She's she's very
[18:49] active, very much an advocate
[18:52] for the Hispanic community, but
[18:54] also the Hispanic community as
[18:55] it pertains to them being a
[18:58] part of the fiber of the entire
[19:00] community, not just on an
[19:03] island or in a silo, but she is
[19:06] just an amazing person, an
[19:07] amazing human being. And so
[19:09] thank you so much for being
[19:13] here with us. And we are going
[19:16] to work on the okay.
[19:18] >> All right.
[19:19] >> Well, thank you so much for
[19:21] that introduction. And thank
[19:22] you so much for the invitation
[19:25] and for the work that each one
[19:27] of you is doing and, and
[19:30] bringing forward that small
[19:32] businesses. So with that, good
[19:34] morning. My name is
[19:35] Patricia Bregno, chair
[19:37] Graves vice chair. Thank
[19:39] you so much. And members of
[19:40] the commission for having
[19:43] me this morning. I'm the
[19:44] founder of the chamber for
[19:45] Hispanic Progress. It is an
[19:47] honor to provide this
[19:49] update on the state of the
[19:51] Latino businesses and the
[19:51] economic conditions
[19:53] affecting our community
[19:55] across Hampton Roads in the
[19:57] Commonwealth. As a good
[20:00] military spouse, I always
[20:01] start with the end at front.
[20:04] So if you're taking
[20:05] something out of this
[20:05] conversation with me today,
[20:07] please take the following
[20:09] statement and then we'll
[20:13] get into something else. We
[20:14] need to acknowledge the
[20:19] ongoing Aids, the Ice raids,
[20:20] and enforcement actions
[20:21] currently impacting
[20:23] Virginia immigrants
[20:25] neighborhoods. These
[20:26] actions are creating
[20:28] immediate spread of
[20:29] disruption to our economic
[20:31] ecosystem. Workers are
[20:34] afraid to leave their homes.
[20:35] Businesses are certainly
[20:37] short staffed. Parents fear
[20:41] dropping children at school.
[20:43] Consumer spending drops
[20:46] when families are afraid to
[20:51] be in public projects, and
[20:52] delays an entire sector,
[20:54] losing critical workforce
[20:57] stability. For us, this
[21:02] environment. MISS Graves, and
[21:05] everyone here has jeopardized
[21:07] and his jeopardizing the
[21:08] economic growth,
[21:11] interruption, supply chains,
[21:12] destabilizing our
[21:14] communities and economic
[21:20] welfare in our in Virginia.
[21:22] My organization continues
[21:23] to respond to these
[21:25] challenges through our
[21:26] mission to strengthen the
[21:28] Latino economic engine of
[21:30] Virginia by supporting
[21:31] entrepreneurs, stabilizing
[21:33] families, increasing
[21:34] financial capabilities, and
[21:36] building pathways to long
[21:38] term communities to prosper.
[21:40] So with that, we're going
[21:43] to get into my short
[21:44] presentation. I didn't want
[21:46] to put the slides up
[21:47] because that takes a lot
[21:49] more. So I'm going to walk
[21:51] you through this as fast as
[21:53] I can. Who are we? Who is
[21:55] the chamber for Hispanic
[21:58] Progress? The chp fills a
[22:00] critical regional need as a
[22:01] trusted, bilingual,
[22:04] culturally competent
[22:05] institution serving
[22:07] Hispanic Latino
[22:09] professionals and
[22:10] immigrants and minority
[22:12] communities. And when I say
[22:14] minority communities, we
[22:16] have been connecting and
[22:18] and enhancing relationships
[22:20] with a lot of our growing
[22:20] African community in
[22:22] Hampton Roads. So they
[22:25] identify a lot with with
[22:27] our the way we look and the
[22:28] way we think and the way
[22:30] that we do. So we are
[22:31] expanding those services
[22:33] for communities that have
[22:36] not yet organized. And so
[22:38] we focus on business,
[22:39] economic development,
[22:41] supporting Latino entrepreneurs
[22:43] through training, planning and
[22:46] navigation of the integration
[22:47] of the economic system in
[22:50] Virginia is training community
[22:53] wealth and workforce mobility.
[22:54] Leadership is also one of our
[22:56] biggest points in community
[22:57] empowerment that helps us
[23:00] elevate the Latino
[23:05] representation. Continuing with
[23:07] connecting residents to legal,
[23:09] health and financial
[23:11] resources, policy and
[23:13] systems advocacy is
[23:13] something that we're
[23:15] working very hard to
[23:16] integrate to, to bring the
[23:18] voice of the communities up
[23:20] to Richmond, Creciendo
[23:22] Juntos are growing together
[23:24] is our business development
[23:26] series, and we enhance
[23:28] those services with helping
[23:31] our new entrepreneurs as
[23:34] basic systems, as helping
[23:34] them business, writing
[23:37] their business plans.
[23:39] Contratos con proposito is
[23:41] a purpose of the business
[23:42] contracts, where we teach
[23:44] them how they can protect
[23:46] their work and their
[23:46] services and their
[23:48] companies. Sometimes a free
[23:52] cost financial literacy is
[23:54] a program that we are
[23:58] launching in 2026, where we
[23:59] have a trusted resources for
[24:02] the community to learn to build
[24:04] wealth and services and
[24:07] financial growth for their for
[24:10] their small companies. Our
[24:13] annual Latino Business Expo
[24:13] is launching in 2026. It
[24:15] will be the first one in
[24:18] the Hampton Roads area. I'm
[24:20] sure there is one when when
[24:22] I talk about these projects,
[24:23] I want you to expand your
[24:26] vision to the similar
[24:30] amount in population of
[24:33] Latinos in Hampton Roads to
[24:37] Alexandria. We're competitive.
[24:40] We are that force. We are and
[24:44] have the same voting. I guess
[24:47] power without without using
[24:50] that word too seriously. In
[24:54] Hampton Roads. The Latino
[24:58] gdp in the country is now
[25:01] $4.1 trillion, which is
[25:03] it's so empowering to for
[25:06] you to think that if you if
[25:08] we don't care about the ice
[25:10] and the current practices
[25:13] of immigration as a human
[25:15] aspect, we added care as an
[25:17] economic engine and how
[25:19] this is going to affect
[25:23] each one of us in this room.
[25:26] Latino growth, Latino gdp
[25:27] growth 2.5 times faster than
[25:31] the us economy. So that
[25:33] economy compares us to the
[25:34] fifth largest economy in
[25:37] the world. If you measure
[25:38] that independently. So
[25:41] that's the empowerment that
[25:43] you have as a part of your
[25:45] embedded communities. It's
[25:47] this power of purchasing,
[25:48] the power of creating
[25:50] businesses and the power of
[25:56] growing. Latino communities.
[25:58] Bring the power in Virginia.
[26:01] And the aspect of not a
[26:03] single we're not, we're not
[26:04] we don't believe we're
[26:05] better than anybody. We're
[26:07] just numbers don't lie. So
[26:09] we're presenting numbers.
[26:13] Latinos make up 11.2% of
[26:14] Virginia's population.
[26:16] Nearly 1 million residents.
[26:18] Hispanic owned businesses
[26:20] contribute $6.3 billion
[26:22] annually to Virginia's economy.
[26:26] Virginia is home is home to
[26:29] approximately 19,000 Latino
[26:31] owned business. And we're
[26:32] growing every day. We're trying
[26:36] to bring those what I call
[26:38] Facebook economies and small
[26:40] businesses. We're trying to
[26:41] integrate them, to bring them
[26:43] into a formal setting of a
[26:45] business. So hopefully we're
[26:47] that number will increase by
[26:49] the end of this year. Latino
[26:51] owned businesses are growing
[26:54] 34% faster than non-Latino
[26:58] firms. Latino households
[27:01] generate 3030 billion
[27:02] emergency powers across the
[27:05] state. That's an enormous
[27:09] amount of resources and tax
[27:12] generating. Income for the
[27:14] state. Latinos are
[27:15] essential to Virginia
[27:16] workforce and construction,
[27:19] trades, logistics, food service,
[27:21] childcare, hospitality, which
[27:23] affects a lot of our Hampton
[27:28] Roads area in healthcare
[27:30] supporting roles. And this is
[27:33] just on the on the on the labor
[27:35] and services area. I don't know
[27:38] if you guys know this, but
[27:39] Hampton Roads contains one
[27:41] of the fastest growing
[27:42] Latino populations in the
[27:44] Commonwealth, and we're
[27:47] growing. And with that,
[27:49] Newport News is our growing,
[27:50] our fastest growing
[27:52] community. So get ready for
[28:00] us. More than 3500 Latino
[28:01] owned businesses in the
[28:03] metro area are. This is
[28:06] some indicators of how the
[28:07] construction in the trades,
[28:09] in the logistics, in the
[28:10] warehouse and the child
[28:11] care and all of that
[28:14] contributes to the daily
[28:16] empowerment of the Virginia
[28:20] Economic infrastructure. We
[28:22] have a growth of Latino. And
[28:24] this is very interesting that I
[28:25] found out through a lot of my
[28:28] research, is that Latino grown
[28:29] and professional in high school
[28:32] jobs, Latinos are increasingly
[28:34] present in professional,
[28:36] technical and high skill
[28:39] occupations. Under health
[28:41] care, about 7% of the
[28:43] physicians in Virginia now
[28:45] are Latinos. And we need
[28:48] more because our population
[28:51] is growing. And nurses,
[28:53] even though our current
[28:57] administration is taking
[28:59] some of that away,
[28:59] physician assistants,
[29:03] mental health professionals,
[29:05] lawyers, Latinos represent 8%
[29:08] of all attorneys in the United
[29:10] States. We need more more
[29:11] immigration law, more
[29:16] family law. I want to close
[29:22] a little bit with a. A call
[29:25] in, in a lot of the
[29:25] vulnerability of the
[29:27] community that is the my
[29:29] community is experiencing right
[29:31] now, and that is in the
[29:33] resources and in the capability
[29:35] and the networks that each one
[29:38] of you have in your respective
[29:40] areas to think about the ways
[29:42] that things are progressing
[29:46] right now for us and in not
[29:48] just in Hampton Roads and not
[29:53] just in Virginia, but I, I need
[29:55] you guys to see us as that
[29:58] engine that we are. And we're
[30:00] not longer we're not longer a
[30:03] backdrop. And it's it's why I'm
[30:06] here. And I'm so happy that
[30:07] this space has been open for me,
[30:10] because in the last three weeks
[30:13] we have had business closing in
[30:15] Virginia Beach and in and in
[30:19] Norfolk due to the Ice raids.
[30:21] And this is going to continue
[30:23] to happen in our economies that
[30:25] are going to suffer. And so we
[30:28] got to be proactive and not
[30:32] reactive. And we still have
[30:36] three more years to endure
[30:40] whatever is coming our way. And
[30:43] so if I'm here, I'm I'm a face
[30:45] of someone of a resource to all
[30:47] of you. And if there's
[30:49] anything that we can do to,
[30:51] you know, help me, help you
[30:54] to help me, that is that is
[30:59] how I want to make this
[31:01] conversation. So with that in
[31:04] mind, thank you for the
[31:06] opportunity to present this
[31:08] report. Chp looks forward
[31:10] to organizing and ongoing
[31:12] partnerships with all of
[31:13] you in mostly with the
[31:15] Virginia minority Business
[31:16] Commission, as we work together
[31:18] to build a stronger and more
[31:21] inclusive and more prosperous
[31:23] Commonwealth in Virginia. So if
[31:24] there's any questions, is
[31:27] anything that I can help you
[31:29] clarify? Sure.
[31:32] >> MADAM Chair. I'm sorry,
[31:34] MADAM Chair. Forgive me. Just.
[31:37] Did you say you had 19,000
[31:37] Latino businesses in
[31:39] Commonwealth? Wow. That's
[31:41] impressive. That's all. Thank
[31:45] you. That's pretty. Pretty.
[31:46] >> Thank you, MADAM Chair.
[31:49] First. Of course. I definitely
[31:51] would like to echo our chairs.
[31:53] Comments. Patricia, you have
[31:55] been a fierce advocate, not
[31:57] just in Virginia Beach, Norfolk,
[31:59] all across Hampton Roads, and
[32:02] not just in the business state.
[32:04] You have continually advocated
[32:05] for the Hispanic Latino
[32:07] community in Hampton Roads and
[32:08] across the Commonwealth. And I
[32:10] just want to say thank you for
[32:11] coming up here and providing
[32:13] this. Second, I'd like to ask
[32:16] and in terms of what have you
[32:17] seen as maybe the successes or
[32:20] what can the Commonwealth do in
[32:23] a, in a better capacity moving
[32:24] into the future from seeing
[32:26] this? The individuals that are
[32:28] within the community that start
[32:30] their business on Facebook or
[32:31] garage and or in a garage and
[32:34] have a great idea and want to
[32:35] have that turn into a
[32:36] legitimate business, that what
[32:38] have you seen that has worked
[32:40] and what what are some of the
[32:42] things that the Commonwealth
[32:44] could do better to, to help out
[32:45] those those entrepreneurs that
[32:46] are that have that spark and
[32:49] want to grow it from an idea to
[32:50] a business?
[32:52] >> Yes. So thank you for that
[32:53] question. And and the
[32:58] opportunity to address it. I'm
[32:59] going to break it out because
[33:01] there's so many needs in the
[33:04] community because it's a very
[33:06] it's a very resilient community.
[33:06] But it's also they're trying to
[33:09] do things right and opening
[33:11] spaces for them to do business
[33:14] right is very important. Okay.
[33:16] For example, some certified
[33:20] businesses, we cannot get a lot
[33:21] a high percentage of our
[33:24] businesses to be certified
[33:26] because you have to be a us
[33:28] citizen. And sometimes they're
[33:30] they're legal residents, but
[33:32] they haven't gone through the
[33:34] process of becoming citizens.
[33:38] And so if the state can come
[33:40] with a program that we can
[33:42] change that to bring those
[33:43] communities forward, and I'm
[33:44] just not speaking for the
[33:46] Latino community. It's across
[33:48] all the all the immigrant
[33:51] communities. And in Virginia,
[33:52] it's important that we we take
[33:58] a look at that again. Access to
[34:02] financial assistance and
[34:03] financial literacy for business
[34:05] and business development and
[34:07] growth is very important. And
[34:08] what's more important is
[34:10] legislation that allows
[34:14] those members that have
[34:16] Itins to become part of
[34:21] that development, because
[34:24] if I did not have it was
[34:26] not a us citizen, and I
[34:28] wanted to open a business
[34:30] and I wanted to do it right,
[34:34] I can go and obtain it from
[34:37] the irs and proceed to pay
[34:39] the taxes and proceed to do
[34:40] everything. But sometimes the
[34:43] distinctions between the itins
[34:47] and the the citizenship, even
[34:49] though they're both paying
[34:53] taxes at the same rate, it's
[34:55] illogical when they don't both
[34:57] have the same access to
[35:02] business loans or do
[35:04] opportunities that the other
[35:09] ones do. So that is to there
[35:10] are very important they come to
[35:12] mind right now. And I think
[35:13] those are two that the
[35:15] Commission can really take a
[35:19] look at and work towards making
[35:22] some of those changes.
[35:23] >> Right.
[35:25] >> You know, I just want to
[35:33] say that. I really
[35:37] apologize for the way that
[35:41] the us administration is
[35:45] treating minorities and
[35:46] immigrants in, in this
[35:49] country. It breaks my heart
[35:51] whenever I see and hear about
[35:53] the different things that are
[35:54] happening with Ice raids and
[35:57] how folks are being treated for
[36:00] for no reason at all, just
[36:02] because they might look
[36:05] different or sound different,
[36:06] and without taking into
[36:08] consideration any respect of
[36:11] what their legal status MAY or
[36:13] MAY not be, of what due process
[36:15] is supposed to look like in
[36:16] this country. For everyone
[36:18] who's who's on American soil.
[36:21] And that is not happening. And
[36:23] it is creating unfortunately,
[36:25] this us versus them kind of
[36:28] mentality among some folks. But
[36:30] I think that if we stick
[36:34] together as minorities, all
[36:35] minorities, and we pool our
[36:38] resources together, that we
[36:39] will ultimately be stronger
[36:42] together than we ever could be
[36:44] separately. And you reminded us
[36:45] that we got three more years of
[36:48] this nonsense, but okay. It's
[36:50] it's yeah, it's been nine
[36:56] months of dog years, so yeah.
[36:59] >> MADAM Chair, if I MAY, is
[37:02] this very important that this
[37:06] disruption of the economy is
[37:09] creating is resulting in the
[37:12] least responsible residents of
[37:15] our Commonwealth, in their
[37:18] children? We have parents that
[37:20] are terrified of taking their
[37:23] children to school, because
[37:24] that's where parents are being
[37:27] picked up from the school drop
[37:30] off lane. And so now kids are
[37:33] not going to school. The school
[37:37] districts are coming after them
[37:39] because they're not sending
[37:41] their kids to school. But the
[37:42] school districts are not
[37:43] reacting to the needs.
[37:47] They're not being honest
[37:47] about what's happening. And
[37:49] so they're not giving them
[37:50] the opportunity to have
[37:52] online classes. I mean,
[37:54] this is a man created Covid
[37:59] for us, and they're still
[38:01] with the conceptual
[38:03] learning that we did
[38:04] through the health crisis.
[38:06] This is this is a health
[38:08] human crisis for us. And so
[38:11] there are so many aspects
[38:13] of these practices that are
[38:15] creating in the economic
[38:17] side and the human side, in
[38:21] the legal side. So I invite
[38:23] all of you to learn a
[38:24] little bit more about what
[38:24] my community is going
[38:29] through and think outside
[38:32] the box and stand in my
[38:32] shoes for one minute and
[38:37] just see the need, the need.
[38:40] And we have a power. We we
[38:44] have a power to vote. We
[38:46] have a power to elect those
[38:48] that support us.
[38:49] >> Absolutely.
[38:53] >> Any other comments?
[38:59] >> Is. Okay? Is any part of
[39:00] your presentation? Are you
[39:02] able to send us that so we can
[39:03] get it up? Okay, great. I'll
[39:05] get Michael to get with you
[39:08] after and then we can get what
[39:09] whatever you approve. For us to
[39:11] be able to upload publicly that
[39:15] we can share to, to.
[39:19] >> Target on my back already.
[39:21] >> Well, we got your back. We
[39:22] got your back. Thank you so
[39:24] much. Thank you for being here.
[39:26] All right. Do we have any
[39:29] public comment? Any public
[39:30] comment? All right. No public
[39:32] comment. All right. Well, that
[39:33] being said, thank you all again
[39:35] for being here. I hope you had
[39:38] a great Thanksgiving. I hope if
[39:38] you're celebrating Christmas,
[39:40] you have a great Christmas,
[39:40] Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, whatever it
[39:42] is that you celebrate, I hope
[39:44] that you enjoy it to the
[39:45] fullest and that we will see
[39:48] you around. The Capitol session
[39:49] starts on JANUARY the 14th, and
[39:51] we will be going all the way
[39:53] through MARCH the 14th or the
[39:55] 15th, whatever day that is on
[39:56] that Saturday. And so if you
[39:58] all have any issues, questions
[39:58] or concerns, please feel free
[40:00] to reach out. Thank you all for
[40:03] your service. And on that I
[40:03] need a motion to adjourn.
[40:06] >> Move to adjourn. Second.
[40:09] >> We are adjourned. Thank you.