Jesse Noriega got an official welcome as the new executive director of the Greater Quad Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GQCHCC) on Thursday, April 3.
Hundreds of people attended a mixer event at the Vibrant Arena at The Mark in downtown Moline to meet and greet Mr. Noriega.
“I want to try and bring people together; let them see me and see that I am approachable. … I also want people to have a good time tonight,” the new leader said about the gathering.
Mr. Noriega showed how approachable he is as he spent almost the entire event greeting people, answering questions and getting advice and tips from the crowd.
And the crowd seemed to love what they saw and heard from the new executive director.
“He’s young. He’s got a lot of good ideas and is going to do a lot of good things. … He’s a hell of a guy,” said Silvis Mayor-Elect Robert Cervantes, who was elected on Tuesday, April 1.
In fact, Mr. Cervantes is so impressed with Mr. Noriega and the chamber that he wants the GQCHCC to move to Silvis. And it might happen soon.
The incoming mayor said plans are in the works to move the chamber office from its current location at 709 4th Ave., Moline, to 908 1st Ave., Silvis. That site is currently a vacant storefront that used to be home to QC Custom Tees, according to City of Silvis officials.
Mr. Cervantes said that the potential office move is not a done deal, but it could be finalized within a couple of months.
Many of the guests mixer were more interested in hearing about Mr. Noriega’s plans for the future. During a recent interview with the Quad Cities Regional Business Journal, he outlined many of his goals for the chamber.
Some of them include:
- Recruit more businesses and groups to join the GQCHCC, which currently has about 200 members.
- Increase the chamber’s presence on social media. This includes highlighting the work of the chamber, and spotlighting and promoting local businesses on its social media. Many of those messages can be seen on the chamber’s Facebook page. “We’re trying to facelift everything on social media,” he told the QCBJ.
- Hire more chamber employees. The new executive director recently hired Sebastian Mireles as program and operations manager, and will be hiring a part-time worker. Also, he wants to see new members taking on leadership roles on the board of directors. He said the additional workers will greatly help him. Mr. Noriega added that when Janessa Calderon was GQCHCC’s executive director, she faced the tough task of getting many jobs done without the help of staff. Ms. Calderon resigned from the position last fall.
- The GQCHCC’s annual Gala celebration, which has been held in April in past years, will continue this year. However, it likely will be held in the fall, he added.
- But the “true goal” that is driving the new leader is helping local businesses thrive and expand. Mr. Noriega said he wants to offer his services to help current businesses grow and create new businesses in the region.
Many of the people at the mixer said they agree with those goals and enjoyed getting to know Mr. Noriega. For instance, Alvaro Macias, a vice president with Ascentra Credit Union, said he hopes the new executive director will continue the good work that the chamber has been doing for years with its programs and services. He also wants to see Mr. Noriega be the kind of leader who will get more people involved.
“I hope this can be a chamber that opens the doors for folks who have not been involved,” said Mr. Macias.
In addition to meeting the new executive director, guests also had the chance to meet Mr. Mireles, who has been on the job about three weeks. In that short time, he has been busy doing all the big and small jobs associated with the chamber.
While at the mixer, Mr. Mireles also was promoting the chamber’s next event. That will be a small business marketing seminar held from 5-6:30 p.m. Monday, April 14, at iHeart Media-QC, 3535 E. Kimberly Road, Davenport.
Linda Nelson, IHeart’s senior account manager, will give lessons on how to elevate a company’s marketing plan. Go here to register. There is no fee to attend the seminar.
“I like working with Jesse and working with all the businesses in the community,” said Mr. Mireles.
After sharing information about the seminar, Mr. Mireles was greeted by a friend, Kelly Lao, a vice president at the Putnam Museum in Davenport.
“We’re really excited to work with Jesse and Sebastian. … It’s good to work with the chamber to help people,” she added.
