News (Noticias) for Latinas

LATINA Style Magazine, the premier magazine addressing the needs of established Latina & Women entrepreneurs in the U.S., will celebrate the 2008 LATINA Style Business Series (LSBS) 10 Year Anniversary Tour in Fort Worth, TX, October 22, 2008, from 8:00am to 4:00pm at the Fort Worth Convention Center, 1201 Houston Street, Ft. Worth TX, 76102.

The LATINA Style Business Series is the most successful ongoing business development program for Latina business owners in the nation. Over 18,000 Latina entrepreneurs and professionals have benefited from participating in this exciting and informative one-day business program since it first launched in 1998. The focus of the 2008 Series will be to provide a platform for women business owners who are looking to position their enterprises to succeed at the next level.

The event co-chairs are Lupita Colmenero, President & CEO, el Hispano News, Rosa Navejar, President, Ft. Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and Arcilia Acosta, President & CEO of CARCON Industries and Construction. Ms. Colmenero has served as President of the National Association of Hispanic Publications and is the founder and publisher of el Hispano News. Ms. Navejar has 25 years in the banking industry and has leveraged her business experience to develop programs with the purpose of educating the Hispanic business community. Ms. Acosta’s company specializes in commercial, institutional, and transportation construction and she has also served as Chairman of the Texas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2006 approximately 8.5 million of the 23.5 million total population of the state of Texas are Hispanic. Hispanic entrepreneurs have had a tremendous impact on the Texas economy with well over 300,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in the state generating over 42 Billion dollars in sales annually.

With over 200,000 Hispanics in Fort Worth, Texas, Hispanics represent almost 30% of the 686,000 total population. This translates to over 5,500 Hispanic owned businesses.

The 2008 LSBS title sponsor is Macy’s Inc. The national sponsors include AFLAC, Aetna, Principal Financial Group, Sam’s Club, State Farm Insurance, and Wal-Mart, Inc. Stores. City Sponsors include: Comerica Bank and UnitedHealthcare. The series’ beverage sponsor is PepsiCo and its brands Aquafina and Propel.

In addition, LATINA Style has partnered with the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting (ALPFA) , League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), LatinVision, Latinos in Information and Sciences Technology Association (LISTA), National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP), National Latina Business Women Association (NLBWA), National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), PR Newswire, SCORE, the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) and the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Local Partners include: Accion Texas, Ft. Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, El Hispano News, and CARCON Industries and Construction.

The event includes exhibits and expert presenters who will speak and interact with the audience on the topics of “Securing Capital to Build Capacity,” “Protecting You and Your Investments,” “Successful Marketing Strategies to Sell You and Your Business,” “Technology Solutions to Increase Business Productivity,” and “Latina Entrepreneur Spotlight: Lessons Learned.” We will feature local business leaders and hear first-hand how they were able to find true business success! These women will share the obstacles they have overcome, their secret to work-life balance, and how they stay motivated in their business.

Registration fee includes: dynamic panels, high power networking opportunities in the exhibit area, breakfast, lunch, commemorative gift bag, and a two-year subscription to LATINA Style Magazine, for a tremendous value of only $30! Please R.S.V.P by Wednesday, October 15th. The Series has been featured on Azteca America, NBC News, ABC News, FOX network, Univision, Telemundo, the Dallas Morning News, SBTV and HITN, and in the San Diego Tribune, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Washington Hispanic, El tiempo Latino, El Pregonero.

For more information, sponsorship opportunity or to register for the Fort Worth Business Series visit www.bs.latinastyle.com or call 1-800-651-8083.

LATINA Style Magazine, a lifestyle magazine for the professional Hispanic woman, hosts the LATINA Style Business Series bringing resources to entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs in the local area. “

Yes, she can. Si, ella puede. And she has.
When Sergeant Major Irene Zamora O’Neal joined the United States Marine Corps 23 years ago, she was escaping a lack of opportunities and abject poverty.
Today, she represents the achievements Latinas have made as they move up the ranks in the military into highly-decorated careers, while inspiring others into leadership roles.
O’Neal, a native of San Angelo, Texas, and a Mexican American, said she joined the Marine Corps when she was 17, in search of education and opportunities, and following her brother’s footsteps. He had already been in the Marine Corps for two years. Her father died when she was 10 years old, and her mother struggled financially as a single parent to raise nine children. The family lived in a home with no running water or electricity. College was not an option for O’Neal.

But since enlisting in military service, O’Neal has never looked back.

“You hear about the band of brothers, I also call it the band of sisters,” said O’Neal. “The Marines are a family. Unless you have been in the Marine Corps, you can’t understand the type of bond and respect and pride that we hold. There is an opportunity for growth and for family. I love it.”

O’Neal rose through the ranks of the Marine Corps, including promotions to Drill Instructor, Senior Drill Instructor and Series Gunnery Sergeant. While serving as drill instructor, she received the Marine Corps League’s “Drill Instructor of the Year” Award.

The 41-year-old O’Neal is one of two Latinas to ascend to the highest position for Marine Corps enlisted personnel. She was promoted to her present rank in January 2006, and since 2007 has served as the Sergeant Major at Marine Helicopter Training Squadron-164, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. As the senior enlisted adviser to the commanding officer at Camp Pendleton in California, O’Neal is responsible for about 900 Marines.

In March 2008, she was recognized as the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Senior Enlisted Woman of the Year.

By contrast, the highest-ranking Latina officer in the Marine Corps is Brigadier General Angela Salinas, who oversees the training of over 18,000 recruits.

Serving her country has gone hand-in-hand with serving her community, no matter where in the world she has lived.

Throughout her career, O’Neal has emphasized community involvement whether delivering “Meals on Wheels” to the elderly and disabled or building a children’s playground in Port Royal, South Carolina.

While stationed in Okinawa, Japan, she visited orphanages in Pattaya Beach, Thailand, to play with the children there and help with maintenance of the grounds.

As the Battalion Sergeant Major for Combat Service Support Battalion-1 for Operation Iraqi Freedom, she took care of her own Marine family by organizing the receipt of care packages for more than 1,000 Marines from her unit while deployed in Iraq in 2003.

“I think a majority of us do community service because we want to,” she said. “We are not asking for anything in return. It is the way I was brought up, never to ask for anything. I know that if I help someone, somewhere, somehow that person will do it for someone else.”

O’Neal said she never considered herself a role model, despite some of her groundbreaking achievements. Her personal awards include, the Meritorious Service Medal with gold star, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with three gold stars in lieu of fourth award, Air Force Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.

Her Marine Corps career has been challenging, but not because she was a woman or Latina, she said. Difficulties arose, but she said as she developed and matured throughout her career, the mutual respect also grew. But one thing the 5′2″ O’Neal insists is that the physical aspects of being a Marine have never been tough. “I always said that I can do anything a man can do, but even better,” she added.

After serving on active duty for more than two decades, O’Neal said now she recognizes the impact she has had on other female Marines as a mentor and leader and has learned to embrace the role model label.

“I always tell women Marines, you are a direct reflection of me, and I know I represent them very well,” said O’Neal. “A lot of them say they look up to me, and it makes me feel even better that people want to grow up to be like me.”

A mother of three, O’Neal said she hopes to continue inspiring young people, especially Latinas.

Still, it’s lonely at the top, a fact she is reminded of more often when she is the only woman present at meetings of senior officials.

“The Marine Corps is a macho organization,” said Fernando Rey, the chief executive officer of Heroes and Heritage, which presented O’Neal with an award this summer. “It is 10 times more difficult to succeed in the Marine Corps than in the Army or Air Force. It is rare for a woman to get to that point where she is. I admire her.”

For her volunteer work and for the inspiration she provides to Latino youth about leadership, patriotism and education, the Heroes and Heritage organization honored O’Neal with a medal and crystal trophy at the National Council of La Raza’s 2008 annual conference held in July at San Diego, California.

She said it was an emotional moment receiving the award during a luncheon attended by her husband of 20 years, Master Gunnery Sergeant Anthony O’Neal, her peers and predecessors, and community leaders, activists and elected officials.

“It was an overwhelming honor to be recognized not only for my military service, but as a woman and a Hispanic, and to be in the presence of other people that were doing so much for their community,” O’Neal said. “It was like the Who’s Who of the Hispanic community [at the 40th anniversary conference]. I was really proud to be there.”

Since 2006, Heroes and Heritage, a non-profit, veterans and community outreach organization, has recognized the contributions of Latino service men and women to the military and their community. The group’s priority is to honor Latino World War II veterans, a group often overlooked in the history of the war and a group that is rapidly dying.

Rey said this year the organization chose to honor a female Marine who had also done outstanding work in the community.

“She exemplifies [the award for valor and patriotism] because of her service to the Marine Corps, and while there she helped poor people in every community that she was stationed at and on her off-duty hours,” Rey said.

O’Neal’s presence at the conference, as well as when she is in uniform, delivers a message loud and clear: Yes, there are women, and Latinas in the Marine Corps, and yes, in high-ranking positions. And you can do it too.

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Latina achievement and leadership was the focus of the days activities at the 5th Annual National LATINA Symposium. The event, organized by LATINA Style Magazine, was held on September 5, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.

The event chair was Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; she congratulated and thanked all attendees for their achievements in her welcome letter in the program. The event began with a ceremonial breakfast following a series of workshops that allowed participants to learn about issues such as: advancing Latinas in the workplace, successful leadership, applying military skills to everyday life, entrepreneurship, business, political leadership, professional development and balancing health, career and personal life.

The panel “Secrets of Successful Leadership: Translating Power into action” was moderated by Anna Escobedo Cabral, U.S. Treasurer. The panelists included: Brigadier General Angela Salinas, U.S. Marine Corps, Diana Rael, Multicultural Director-Northeast Zone, State Farm Insurance, and Lourdes Hassler, CEO, National Society of Hispanic MBAs. Speakers shared their insights on how to effectively impact their community and how communicating ideas inspire others. They also shared their experiences, achievements and how to become strong Latina leaders. The panel “Discipline, Commitment, Courage: Applying military skills to everyday life” featured Captain Kathlene Contres, Commandant of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, U.S. Navy, Colonel Lisa Firmin, Commander, Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 842, U.S. Air Force, Lieutenant Commander Patricia T. Mitroswki, Response Department Head for Sector Baltimore, U.S. Coast Guard, Major Lina M. Dowing, U.S. Marine Corps, and Lieutenant Kim Cota-Robles, Diversity Directorate, U.S. Navy. Their discussion included issues such as transferring military skills to civilian life, their motivation to enlist in the service, and experiences navigating through a male dominated environment. The “Achieving your Potential” panel featured Carmen Bauza, VP/DMM Confections/Front End Impulse, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Jenifer Sevilla-Korn, U.S Department of Justice, Cristina Lopez, President, National Hispana Leadership Institute, and Anne Alonzo, Vice President, Corporate & Legal Affairs, Kraft Foods. Their conversation presented advice on achieving success while balancing career, family, personal life and civic participation,

The National LATINA Symposium culminated with the “Distinguished Service Awards Luncheon”. Keynote speaker Colonel Lisa Firmin, U.S Air Force gave an uplifting speech that touched upon her personal experiences of being a woman in the military and the importance of education for Latinos. An awards ceremony followed honoring 10 Latinas representing each branch of the Armed Forces and Fourth Estate Agencies.

Among the criteria used to select the honorees was: embodying qualities that are at the core of the service’s mission, being well respected by their superiors and peers as leaders and upstanding servicewomen, assisting in creating opportunities and careers that support and contribute to the advancement of Hispanic Americans toward senior level positions, displaying exceptional character and representing the Hispanic community with dignity and pride. The following Latinas were recognized this year: Sergeant First Class Dolores Rivera U.S. Army, Shirley A. Hill U.S Army, Lieutenant Leticia Soto, U.S. Navy, Esther Thatcher, U.S. Navy, Master Sergeant Morayma M. Rodriguez U.S. Marine Corps, Staff Sergeant Joanna E. Vasquez U.S. Air Force, Dr. Maria-Paz U. Smith, Commander U.S. Coast Guard, Lieutenant Colonel Kimberly Derouen, National Guard Bureau, Colonel Madeline Lopez, Defense Logistics Agency and Maria Castillo, Defense logistics Agency.

The event was sponsored by the State Farm Insurance, U.S. Department of Defense, Shell Oil Company, United Healthcare-AARP Health, The U.S. Navy, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Exxon Mobil, The Hershey Company, PepsiCo, HITN, with the partnership of Washington Hispanic, El Pregonero, El Tiempo Latino, Telemundo WZGS Washington DC, Maryland Public Television, The George Washington University, The Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation.

Launched in 1994 by the late Anna Maria Arias, LATINA Style is the first organization with its flagship national magazine dedicated to the needs and concerns of the contemporary professional and entrepreneur Latina in the U.S. Arias’ legacy continues through LATINA Style Magazine and its events empowering women.

For more information visit www.latinastyle.com or call 703-312-0904 or tolls free 1-800-651-8083. “