Businesses, community recognized at chamber banquet
For the second year in a row, Navin Buxani will serve as chairman of the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
The director of operations at Holiday Inn Express has been a member of the Mission Chamber of Commerce since 2006. In that time, he said he’s been fortunate enough to meet members who have been long time supporters of the Chamber and learn about the organization’s history. He hopes to continue building the membership and adding even more programs and services for the community.
“When people from outside the area think of Mission and the rest of the Valley, they don’t necessarily view us in the best light,” Buxani said. “But let me tell you, unequivocally, that we have some very innovative and progressive people in this city’s management.”
Buxani singled out Mayor Norberto “Beto” Salinas and his achievement of lowering taxes. He acknowledged Alex Meade, CEO of Mission Economic Development Corporation, for the Code the Town initiative – a program where students learn computer programming.
“I would be extremely remiss if I didn’t mention the city council and all of the city’s employees, along with, most importantly, all of you guys — the citizens and the business leaders of Mission,” Buxani said. “You guys are helping Mission reach its true potential.”
The Mission Chamber connects businesses with customers, promoting community and providing networking opportunities. Some events include the quarterly Buenas Tardes Luncheon, Mega Winter Texan Fiesta and the Mission Community Health Fair – a 20-year partnership between the chamber, Mission Regional Medical Center and the city of Mission.
New in the proposed line-up of chamber events is the Leads Over Lunch. LOL is a referral group intended to be an additional resource for the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce members and prospective members.
“Our vision is that the greater Mission Chamber of Commerce will always contribute to the recognition of this community as growing and as business friendly,” George Myers, the Chamber president and CEO, said.
Myers noted that Mission was recently recognized by Wallet Hub’s 2015 study on cities with the fastest growing economies as No. 1 in small cities in most growth category. The city was ranked fourth overall.
Myers also recognized and awarded the Business Partner of the Year and the Business Leader of the Year.
Serving almost 16,000 students and employing almost 2,300 people with an operating budget of more than $200,000,000, Mission CISD was selected as the Business Partner of the Year.
Accepting the award, Superintendent Ricardo Lopez said, “I’ve never met a community that embraces each other as much as Mission does. We are always searching for partners and this is really humbling to be seen as a partner in this great city.”
Bert Ogden was selected as the Business Leader of the Year. The family-owned and operated business sets the benchmark standards for all auto dealerships and exceptional customer service and state-of-the-art facilities, according to Myers. They’re the Valley’s largest auto group with 19 different franchises out of 15 different locations and have been in operation for nearly 50 years.
“As we begin our new business year, we do so with pride,” Myers said. “Our community’s becoming known as one that provides assistance to businesses as they begin, as develop, as they grow, as they expand here in Mission.”
