Hispanic Chamber of Commerce reopens services in Ogden

Maxine JohnsonFebruary 6, 2024

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OGDEN — The Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is taking another step in its efforts to relaunch and rebuild trust after almost shutting down completely during the pandemic.

The chamber celebrated the reopening of its operations in Ogden Thursday. The chamber will have a physical presence at Weber State University’s Community Education Center. It plans on slowly rolling out more events and offering the same services it offers in Salt Lake.

The chamber announced plans in January to establish a new board, hire staff, relaunch programs like its high school student scholarship and tackle advocacy work for the Hispanic business community.

Interim board chairman Randal Serr said the chamber hopes to slowly build back in northern Utah without getting ahead of itself.

“At the end of the day, this event is a reopening and is a big first step toward the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce again serving northern Utah,” he said. “It’s another exciting step in the right direction to building back the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.”

The reopening of Ogden operations comes four months after the chamber merged with the American Latino Chamber. Mitchel Garsz Garcia, former chairman of the Latino American Chamber, now heads the chambers’ efforts in Weber County.

Executive Director Juan Pascua said the chamber is grateful for its partnership with Weber State University.

“Our intention is to serve as many Hispanic business people in northern Utah as possible,” he said. “I invite them to take advantage of our services and join the chamber as members so we can work together and help them grow.”

The reopening is much needed for Ogden’s Hispanic community, according to City Councilwoman Arlene Anderson. She said the chamber — in addition to the Suazo Business Center’s Ogden location and available programs there — will elevate Hispanic entrepreneurs in Ogden.

“We are definitely seeing more businesses that are Hispanic-Latino owned,” Anderson said. “And it’s not just about opening their business; it’s about sustainment and supporting these businesses so that they can leave a legacy in our community.”

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Sydnee Chapman Gonzalez is a reporter and recent Utah transplant. She works at the Utah Investigative Journalism Project and was previously at KSL.com and the Wenatchee World in Washington state. Her reporting has focused on marginalized communities, homelessness and local government. She grew up in Arizona and has lived in various parts of Mexico. During her free time, she enjoys hiking, traveling, rock climbing and embroidering.