Members of Monmouth County’s Latino business community will meet Sunday for a luncheon sponsored by the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Monmouth County Inc.
The meeting will take place at Manhattan Steak House on Route 35 north in Ocean from 1-4 p.m. Guest speaker will be Juan Frette, chairman of Monmouth County chapter 36 of the Senior Corps of Retired Executives, who will speak on "El Empresario en el Siglo XXI," or "The Businessman in the Twenty-First Century."
Founded a year ago, the Latino Chamber of Commerce has about 80 business and professional members drawn from towns throughout the county who share a similar experience, explained Ambar Abelar, a Long Branch attorney who is president of the chamber.
"All the business owners in the group are self-made immigrants and that is the distinct characteristic," said Abelar, who immigrated to the area from Uruguay and earned a law degree at Seton Hall University.
"That is the bond not found in more formal chambers of commerce," he explained. "We have the immigrant experience in common and the same language and none of us has taken over the business from our ancestors. That is a bond as well."
A mainstay of the downtown Long Branch business community, barber Dimas Montalvo is looked on as the group’s founding father and advisor.
"He’s the one who said, ‘Today at five o’clock we’re going to have a meeting,’ " said Abelar.
The group meets monthly at the Long Branch Board of Education offices at 540 Broadway, as well as meeting informally at local restaurants.
The chamber’s mission is to create a network of Latino merchants and service providers and to provide educational seminars for members, he said.
In addition to Abelar, officers are Alberto Moreno, vice president; Alicia Soto, secretary; Herman Vera, treasurer; and Luis Navarro, executive director.
Supporters of the chamber will be recognized at the luncheon. In addition to Frette, who has advised the group during its first year, certificates of recognition will go to the owners of restaurants that have provided meeting space as well as to a Board of Education representative.
According to Abelar, Latino businesses are relative newcomers and face many of the same challenges as other small businesses — obtaining financing to sustain growth and formulating a business plan.
"No one in this chamber is well established," he explained. "So growth is an issue. All the businesses associated with the chamber were started no longer than 10 years ago. The overarching issues is growing the business. We all founded a business and we all share this common issue."
For more information about the Latino Chamber of Commerce of Monmouth County call (732) 229-1980.
— Gloria Stravelli