Tag Archives: El Paso Chamber of Commerce

The El Paso Museum of History invites the public to view the newest exhibition Powerhouse of the Southwest: 120 Years of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce.

“At EPMH, the El Paso Chamber of Commerce is literally our neighbor—they’re just across the street from us,” said El Paso Museum of History Director Dr. Vladimir von Tsurikov. “For El Paso as a whole, they are a metaphoric neighbor, providing support and leadership to help the city grow. The Chamber has guided El Paso from its days as a frontier town to the thriving borderplex it is today.”

The exhibit is part of the museum’s exhibition series Wall of Giants, a multi-year project that has highlighted influential organizations within the El Paso region.

Powerhouse focuses on the history and major milestones of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, including its founding in the late 1800s and the Chamber’s role in establishing the Star on the Mountain.

The exhibit also draws attention to the Chamber’s role in local and national history such as the meeting between American President William Howard Taft and Mexican President Porfirio Diaz in 1909 that took place at the Chamber.

The exhibit features Chamber members and businesses who have had a lasting impact on the El Paso community.

“We are so excited for this exhibit to celebrate the business community here,” said El Paso Chamber of Commerce President David Jerome. “These past years have been such an exciting time for business in El Paso, and we are looking forward to continuing to grow the Chamber’s legacy in the years to come.”

Powerhouse of the Southwest: 120 Years of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce runs through March 22, 2020.

On Tuesday, officials with Sun Metro announced two new items for the Streetcars: free rides and an app to track the iconic PCC cars.

The new El Paso Streetcar mobile app helps answer the big question “Where is the Streetcar?” The app is designed to help riders plan their trips by providing real-time information on the location of all streetcars in service along the nearly 5-mile route.

“The El Paso Streetcar is delivering industry-leading innovation to its riders coupled with expanded special events programming,” said Sun Metro Director Jay Banasiak.

“As our services grow, we want to offer better digital technology to our residents and visitors to enhance their experience. This new feature will allow passengers to track real-time arrivals and eliminate the guess work of the streetcars’ availability.”

The app is in its Beta testing phase where users can download it and provide feedback and report issues directly through the drop-down menu.

It is free and available from Google Play and the Apple App store.

El Paso Streetcar Mobile App Allows Passengers To:

• Track the real-time location of the Streetcar
• Get real-time arrival information on all 27 stops
• Access announcements on special programming and events
• Receive alerts related to the streetcar’s service
• Highlight favorite pick up locations and stops
• View information about fares, hours of operations and ticket vending location

Additionally, starting June 17, 2019 everyone can hop on the streetcars for free thanks to the El Paso Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Management District, and the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in downtown.

The rides will be free courtesy of these sponsors for the rest of the summer through Labor Day 2019. Until then, riders may continue to purchase tickets by using the farebox inside any streetcar (exact change of $1.50 per ride required), at any of the seven ticket vending machines throughout the route or Sun Metro transit centers.

The hours of operation are: Sunday through Wednesday 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m., and Thursday through Saturday 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.  For more information about El Paso Streetcar, epstreetcar.com or call (915) 212-3333.

For more information on the trolleys, follow them via their Facebook page or via Instagram.

Officials with the City of El Paso announced Tuesday that they have formalized seven (7) partnership agreements with local agencies that support small and minority-owned business development in the El Paso area.

Via a news release, officials shared, “The city intends to support and centralize current and ongoing business and entrepreneurial programs throughout the community.”

In the future, local small and minority-owned businesses will be able to access services and resources to start and grow their businesses from a centralized online resource guide. They will also have access to workshops, webinars and informational sessions through the El Paso Public Library and other City departments.

The resource partners include the Small Business Development Center, Workforce Solutions Borderplex, El Paso Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Paso County, the Hub of Human Innovation and the UTEP Center for Hispanic Entrepreneurship.

The objective of these partnership agreements is to formalize the efforts of these agencies to work together in support of, and to help spur, small and minority-owned business development in the area.

Accelerate EP, led by the City of El Paso’s Economic Development Department, is being funded through a $100,000 grant from the Citi Foundation and Living Cities as part of their City Accelerator Cohort program.

Other City departments involved in the project are Community and Human Development, Public Library, the Performance Office and Purchasing and Strategic Sourcing.

The Citi Foundation and Living Cities has named El Paso as one of five cities selected to participate in the fifth cohort of the City Accelerator program. The fifth cohort for the City Accelerator will focus on strategies cities can employ to build a seamless support system for local businesses to more easily grow and hire more people, with a particular focus on entrepreneurs of color.

Other cities who are part of the cohort include Atlanta, Long Beach, Newark, and Rochester. Throughout the next year, the five-city cohort will work to support individual projects focusing on supporting the growth of local minority-owned businesses through a variety of strategies.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs interested in participating in this program can visit the program’s website or, for more information, those interested in the program can contact Aimee Olivas at (915) 212-1617 or by e-mail OlivasAP@elpasotexas.gov.