Entrepreneurship

Interview with CiCi Rojas about her experience with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City as well as the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She recalls getting involved with the local chamber while on the board of El Centro and becoming a board member in the 1990s. She discusses the role the chamber played in giving the Hispanic business community a collective voice, her time as vice president of the United States, Dallas, and Kansas City Hispanic chambers, and discusses programs including KC Biz Fest, Hispanic Collaborative, and Fiesta in the Heartland.

Interview with Dos Mundos newspaper founder Clara Reyes about her life and her experience with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. She recalls immigrating to the Kansas City area from Guadalajara, Mexico, to join family, her work in dentistry and real estate, being the niece of Hector Barreto, founder of the local and national Hispanic chambers of commerce. She discusses Barreto's interest in advocating for the Hispanic business community, early members of the chamber, covering chamber activities in Dos Mundos, and Rockhurst and Penn Valley colleges working with the chamber to offer scholarships to minority students. She also discusses Barreto's role in the founding of the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, originally located in Kansas City, and its move to Washington, DC, the local chamber's role in helping small businesses access bank loans and encouraging entrepreneurship, and lists the Kansas City chamber's presidents from its founding to the present.

Interview with restauranteur and community leader Ollie Gates. Gates discusses his early life and family, his father's entry into the the barbecue business by purchasing Ol' Kentuck BBQ at 19th and Vine, their growth and expansion to new locations and bottling sauce for retail sale, Gates' own entry into the nightclub and restaurant business, his family's involvement in the restaurants, and memories of the 18th and Vine neighborhood. He also shares advice for young people and his thoughts on the the impact of conventions on his business, including the then-upcoming Republican National Convention, and thoughts about general economic trends.

Interview with Tom Curigan about his life and his experience with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Greater Kansas City. He discusses his early life and education, becoming involved with the chamber in the early 2000s, and joining the board around 2005, and notes the chamber's work in entrepreneurship and economic development and the ways that it has benefited him personally and professionally.