The Chamber held its hybrid October Board of Directors meeting on October 28, with Chair of the Board Hope Andrade presiding. The meeting kicked off with a timely presentation on workforce development by Mayor Nirenberg, City Manager Erik Walsh, and Executive Director of the City of San Antonio’s Workforce Development Office Mike Ramsey. Mayor Nirenberg introduced the discussion by reminding board members that Train for Jobs SA was a program set up to help workers displaced by the pandemic build new skills in high-demand career areas, and approximately 12,000 San Antonians expressed interest in the program, with many completing training.
SA Ready to Work, which is the substantial voter-approved workforce development program, is designed to balance the gap between residents’ skills and employers’ needs. To be successful, the City is working to align with current and forecasted workforce needs. Therefore, partnerships with employers will be the key to success for this program. The Mayor asked that employers share open positions, provide feedback on skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and provide internships and on-the-job training.
The Mayor reminded the Board that the SA Ready to Work initiative is built on best practices and is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to enhance the economic mobility of our citizens and build business success.
Mike Ramsey shared the SA Ready to Work program’s guiding principles:
- Focused approach – A strategic program should seek to reduce poverty through targeted solutions for maximum impact.
- Alignment – High-quality training and education, aligned with employer needs, drives long-term success.
- Equity – A workforce program should consider benefits and burdens to historically underserved populations. Additional supports are necessary to afford all residents opportunities to succeed, regardless of their current circumstances.
- Collaboration – Through community collaboration and shared innovations, we can build a stronger, more inclusive workforce ecosystem.
Mike also explained that SA WORX, in partnership with the City of San Antonio, is managing employer engagement outreach and that employer-led efforts will ensure the success of the program. The program’s success also requires dedicated effort from all stakeholders, especially our employers and business community. The City is asking employers and business leaders to pledge their commitment to support the investment in our greatest asset – our people. To assist in these efforts,
they are asking employers to sign the pledge to participate and provide the resources and information to help our residents gain the skills and jobs that will provide them economic mobility. When asked about the number of people the SA Ready to Work program would serve, Mike shared that the plan calls for 5,000 participants in year one; 7,500 in year two; and 10,000 in years three and four.
Finally, City Manager Erik Walsh thanked the Chamber for our support and engagement and promised to come back to a board meeting soon with an update on the program.
Next, the Chamber’s Vice President of Finance Santos Alarcon reviewed the Chamber’s current financial position and presented the Chamber’s 2022 proposed balanced budget. As always, the two largest drivers of revenue are membership and special events. On the expense side, the biggest drivers are salaries and benefits and event expenses. The budget for salaries is increased for 2022 to account for a new position to help the Chamber retain more members. Vice President of Membership Joe Kampa explained that this role would be responsible for engaging with members on a regular basis, encouraging their participation in Chamber events or Councils and Committees, and communicating the value of membership. The Board unanimously adopted the budget.
Dave Petersen, Executive Vice President, presented the Nominating Task Force’s recommendations for 2022 Board Appointees along with our 2022 Chair, Phil Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc. and Frost Bank, and 2022 Chair-Elect, Katie Harvey, Chief Executive Officer of KGBTexas, for approval.
The Board unanimously approved all of those nominees.
As is customary, the meeting wrapped up with the President’s Report. President and CEO Richard Perez began by providing an update on the Chamber’s Vice President of Public Policy position. He has started conducting interviews with some extremely impressive candidates to replace Stephanie Reyes, who left the Chamber at the end of August to lead the Real Estate Council of San Antonio. Richard then called on Cacie Madrid, Assistant Vice President of Public Policy, to give a quick update on the eight proposed amendments to the state Constitution on the November 2 ballot:
- Proposition 1 - Adds professional rodeo charitable foundations that are sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboy’s Association of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association to conduct charitable raffles at rodeo venues.
- Proposition 2 - Provides Texas counties' ability to bond revenue from Texas Reinvestment Zones to build added transportation infrastructure.
- Proposition 3 - Prevents the state from prohibiting or limiting religious services.
- Proposition 4 - Deals with qualifications to run for Justice of the Supreme Court, Court judge of the criminal court of appeals, a justice of court of appeals, and district judge.
- Proposition 5 - Deals with providing additional powers to the state commission on judicial conduct with respect to candidates for judicial office.
- Proposition 6 - Establishes a right for residents of facilities to designate an essential caregiver for in-person visitation.
- Proposition 7 - Transfers a disabled person’s school district homestead tax break to a surviving spouse.
- Proposition 8 - Transfers homestead tax exemptions to the spouse of a service member killed or fatally injured in the line of duty.
Dave Petersen then updated the Board on a Military Affairs issue involving the T-7 and T-38. The Air Force is replacing the T-38, which is a 60-year-old aircraft, with T-7s, which are made by Boeing. Because we have reached moderate non-attainment on air quality in the County, any entity is accountable for not increasing their nitrous oxide emission over previous levels. There is concern that the nitrous oxide emission, which depletes Ozone, will be worse for the T-7 than it is for the T-38. However, there is discussion about whether that is because of the aircraft or how it is operated. In addition, the condition where we have reached non-attainment is largely due to factors outside of Bexar County. We have initiated an effort for a 179-B waiver with the Environment Protection Agency via the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which would not hold Bexar County accountable for the factors outside of the County, making the T-7 emissions a non-issue. He also added that Lieutenant General Webb, Commander, Air Education and Training Command, JBSA-Randolph, had previously expressed a concern about the Texas Army National Guard wanting to relocate helicopters from Ellington Field to Port San Antonio because of corrosion issues and how we needed to understand if that would introduce nitrous oxide that would make the T-7 situation worse. The Texas Army National Guard relayed that the Air Force’s Air Quality Expert has ruled that the helicopters will not be a factor. If we can not get the waiver, there is a way for entities to buy credits from others that have credits.
Richard asked Lori Stinson, Vice President of Military Affairs and Leadership Development, to give an update on Leadership San Antonio.
Lori shared that the LSA Steering Committee is in the process of reviewing the 130 applications we received for LSA46. The next step is to select semi-finalists for interviews on Nov. 17. LSA Co-chairs for 2022 are Stacy Larson, former Frost Bank executive, and Anne-Marie Grube, with Avante Wealth. Lori thanked Board members who took time to write letters of recommendation and for their support in sharing the information about submitting applications.
Richard provided an update on an upcoming event with Spurs’ CEO RC Buford. The breakfast event, which will be held on November 1 at Magnolia Halle, will feature a candid conversation with RC, who will share what is next for the Spurs, the state of the franchise, and what the organization plans to do to remain competitive in the NBA. He will also answer questions from the audience.
Finally, Richard shared two Council Consideration Requests that would directly impact local businesses. Councilman McGee-Rodriguez has filed a Request to expand the City’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance to private businesses, and Councilman Pelaez filed a Request to place domestic violence and human trafficking prevention signage in places of public accommodation. The Chamber will follow these Requests and report back to the Board at future meetings.
