The Chamber held its April Board of Directors meeting on Thursday, April 28th, with Chair of the Board Phil Green, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Cullen/Frost Bankers, Inc., welcoming members of the board who attended in person and virtually. Following approval of the February meeting minutes, Phil introduced special guest Lisa Campos, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and Athletic Director at UTSA, who updated the Board on UTSA’s growing sports programs and the visibility they bring to San Antonio. Lisa also discussed the new $40M Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence, which includes academic spaces, a sports medicine center, strength and conditioning center, and two parallel football practice fields. The facility, which houses all intercollegiate athletes, opened last August.
Because of the football program’s great success last season, Lisa said that other institutions were very interested in the recruitment of Head Football Coach Jeff Traylor. However, because Coach Traylor believes in our city and community, UTSA was able to secure a 10-year contract with him. Lisa went on to discuss their conference realignment and transition to the American Athletic Conference, which will increase attendance, endowments, and provide continued alignment with other Texas schools. She also shared that UTSA has launched a $70M campaign and has raised $31 million to date. In closing, Lisa reinforced the need to continue recruiting the best staff and coaches and shared that currently, their student athletes have an 82% graduation rate and are invested in our community, having contributed 5,715 hours of community service.
Following Lisa’s presentation, the Chamber’s Vice President of Finance Santos Alarcon reviewed the Chamber’s financials through the end of March, stressing that the Chamber financial stability as we continue to grow membership and transition back to in-person events.
Next, Phil reported that the Governance Task Force continues the work the Board approved on January 27 to review the Chamber’s governance structure. The next step is to determine recommendations designed to modernize our structure, with the goal of expanding the Chamber’s voice and making the institution more effective. The Chamber’s Executive Vice President Dave Petersen presented an analysis of the practices in use at many of the Metro 8 Chambers, which represent the business sectors of the eight largest metropolitan cities in Texas. Dave shared best practices to help guide our thinking. Common themes for the Metro 8 Chambers are very large advisory boards and smaller Executive Committees that essentially guide the work and focus of the Chambers. Phil shared that the goal of a proposed new governance structure is to amplify the voice of the Chamber as the voice of business in our community. He further touched on his theme during our December Gala that business is a force for good, and it deserves the strongest voice and support possible. The board unanimously approved allowing the Task Force to continue to work out the details of a proposed new governance structure, including implementation, processes, and a communications plan.
Finally, during his President’s update, Chamber President and CEO Richard Perez discussed fundraising for the 2022 Bond Package and the importance of the business community’s contributions to date.