Mike Losoya, Jr., General Manager/Owner As a youngster, Mike Losoya, Jr., Owner/General Manager of Mike’s Plumbing & Electrical, Inc., was fascinated with all manner of electronics. “I always had a thing for opening electronic devices, either to make them work again or just to learn about what was inside them,” he said. When he reached high school, he had to choose between electronics or going into the electrical shop class. “I chose the electrical class because it was more of a trade to get into,” he said. “My family had taught us to find something to make a living with, something to support us. I took the class for two years and found I was good at it, and I liked it. I also liked to compete.” Mike won an interschool electrical competition in south Rio Grande Valley which catapulted him to the regional competition in Dallas. There was a…

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Albert, Jr. & Jorge Suarez Co-owners The pandemic hit hard and fast, and restaurants everywhere took a deep, scary dive into territory unknown. Local restaurants struggled to find fresh ideas to continue serving their customers. A true Texans helping Texans company, H-E-B, launched a new program to support restaurants around this great state. Two McAllen restaurants, Koko’s Mexican Restaurant and Salt-New American Table were invited to supply meals from their menus and bring their food fares to various H-E-B stores around the Valley. “We had the opportunity to put eleven plates in H-E-B, fully cooked and microwavable,” said Albert Suarez, Jr., co-owner of Koko’s Mexican Restaurant. “After that program ended, we continued to partner with H-E-B and opened a state-inspected manufacturing plant.” Keeping the operation, a family affair, both Albert and Jorge’s daughters run the plant. It started in seven H-E-B stores, and are currently in 20 stores from Laredo…

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Humberto Tijerina, III Chief Visionary Officer Ever since he was young, Humberto Tijerina, III, Chief Visionary Officer of Tijerina Legal Group PC, his path clearly laid out in front of him. He would be a fighter for the underdog. “I always had an affinity for making sure if somebody was bullied, I would either put a stop to it or help that person not get bullied again,” Tijerina said. Law seemed a natural fit for this man who was always so willing to fight for justice. Choosing the scholarship to Southern Methodist University (SMU) over one to the University of Houston, Tijerina earned his law degree and then began practicing business/corporate law. He first worked for a firm in San Antonio but felt limited with only reading and modifying contracts and with drafting agreements between companies. He missed the people aspect of law. When a friend called and suggested they…

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Martha Garza Owner, Breadsmith After purchasing Breadsmith a few years ago, Martha Garza decided she wanted to get more involved with the community. “I wanted to expand the business and let people learn about us,” Garza said. “Since we are in the bread business, we wanted to help the community have fresh bread every day.” Becoming an Ambassador was her doorway. “I love it. Going to the events gives me the chance to tell people about our business. I love when they ask me to help. I truly feel it’s them helping me get the word out about Breadsmith.” She believes businesses who join the Chamber need to reach out and become active in chamber events. “We always get to meet new people and as a business owner that’s what we’re really about – meeting people and telling them about our business.” Proud of the fact that nothing goes to…

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Frank Parker, Jr. President / CEO   As you drive down the road, have you ever looked at your dashboard and wondered how all its parts came together? Have you ever noticed a cargo container of Mission Wonderful Citrus orange juice trucking on down the road and wondered where in the world it was going? (Check toward the end for the answer.) Have you ever gotten in a convoy with a line of trucks and wondered who figured out how all this stuff was getting moved from point A to point B? One company that has been in the transportation business for 36 years is Parker & Company led by its President/CEO, Frank Parker, Jr. “I’m a third generation Brownsville, Texas, resident,” Parker said. “My dad worked in the ship loading and unloading business at the port. I grew up around the port and understood the international trade early.” After…

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Hershal Patel Co-owner Perspective Hospitality Management Services   1) What is your favorite book? Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. It’s a book about a fugitive from New Zealand/Australia who ends up in India. The way he describes Bombay reformed the way I see India.  2) What is your favorite movie? Hands down, the 007 series.  The one on the top of my list is From Russia with Love. The reason I like the series is because each movie was a guide to the time in which the movie was made. Another reason is one of my favorite cities in the world is Istanbul and a good part of that movie takes place in Istanbul.  3) What was your favorite vacation spot? The greatest place I’ve been to is Istanbul. At the time we went, it was just before some of the civil unrest there but you would never have known.  4)…

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The Texas Festivals and Events Association (TFEA) held the Kaliff Marketing Awards competition this past summer.  The competition recognizes and encourages excellence in festival promotional campaigns. The McAllen Chamber of Commerce entered several categories in the competition to celebrate the success of McAllen’s newest festival MXLAN 2019. The McAllen Chamber and PolluxCastor, the event’s Creative Advertising & Production Company, teamed up to host the event at the McAllen Convention Center. MXLAN is a 5-day event where traditions rarely seen outside the interior of Mexico happen alongside modern artists and revelers honoring their cultural roots. The festival, which included a Mexican arts & crafts mercado, food from Mexico and the Valley, a Mezcal & Tequila event, a Neon Nights 5-k Run, live concerts with music from local and up-and-coming talented musicians, and a dance troupe leading a Calenda-style parade from La Guelaguetza (an indigenous ceremonial celebration that happens once a year…

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“Comfort, Quality, and Value . . . Every Time!” Dusty & Gail Cyphers, Co-owners Snow! After 100 years, snow fell in the Valley in 2004 and heaters were having problems all. When we wondered, “Who’re we going to call?” the answer was simply, “Why, Cytech Heating & Cooling, L.C., of course.” “It was probably the coolest thing our team has done,” began Dusty Cyphers, co-owner of Cytech Heating & Cooling, L.C. “It was Christmas Eve, and everybody was cold. We ended up running calls until about one o’clock Christmas morning. Everyone pulled their weight. I did not lose one person. Everybody who called in with a problem was taken care of.” Both Dusty and Gail grew up in the Houston area, even attending the same high school for six months without really noticing each other. During her senior year a mutual friend introduced them, love blossomed, and they were married…

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Co-owner, Kumori & Mori 1) What is your favorite book? The DaVinci Code. It involves a lot of things I’m familiar with through my study of history and religion. I found it very interesting. 2) What is your favorite movie? My favorite movies are Braveheart and The Notebook. I love the action in Braveheart and the storyline. The Notebook is a wonderful story of a couple in love, what they went through, and how they end up together. That emotion is incredible when you find your loved one and stay together your whole life with all the things you go through. At the end of their life, they even died in the same bed together. What else could you ask for in a relationship? 3) What was your favorite vacation spot? That would be Italy because the culture is so unique. You can walk through the whole city enjoying the…

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Co-Owners, On Guard Sanitation & Valley Draft Services What does a severely dyslexic high school dropout do with his life? He uses his skills of engineering and vision to design some of the most intricate draft beer systems in the United States. Along the way, Karl Kaiser, co-owner of On Guard Sanitation & Valley Draft Services married a smart beauty, Angie, who gladly took on the responsibilities of co-owning the business, and they traveled the country installing draft beer systems. That is, until they came to McAllen. Here they found a place they were needed – no draft beer system service company here – and decided to settle down. Then they found the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and they found a family. Becoming Ambassadors, they felt at home. “We joined to network and meet people,” said Kaiser. “I like feeding off the other Ambassadors’ knowledge. We enjoy seeing people’s businesses…

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Mario Luis Guerra, Sr. Mario Luis Guerra Jr. Co-Owners     Do you remember what it was that made you take that right path rather than the left path in your life, the one that changed your course? For Mario L. Guerra, Jr., co-owner of Starr Home Health Agency, that time would have been the early 90s while he was a business major in college. “My mom, a registered nurse, was working for a home health care agency when the industry was barely getting started,” Guerra said. “There were only two or three large agencies in the area at the time. We got together and asked ourselves the question: Why don’t we take a crack at this?” After graduation he returned to the Valley, and by July of 1993 the business was up and running. Now over 27 years old, it has always been a family-owned business. Guerra even met…

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CEO Rio Grande Regional Hospital, HCA Gulf Coast Division President   1) What is your favorite book? 100 Years of Solitude, written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I learned a lot from this very interesting novel. 2) What is your favorite movie? My all time favorite movie is “Under the Tuscan Sun” with Diane Lane. I love Italian architecture, art, and food so a movie based in Italy was bound to be my favorite. 3) What was your favorite vacation spot? My husband and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary a few years ago. We decided to take a cruise to Greece, which is now one of our favorite vacation spots. The cruise started in Venice, then Italy, and then made its way to Santorini. What an amazing experience! 4) What is your life’s  motto? “When life gets too hard to stand . . . kneel.” 5) Where were you born?…

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Branch Manager Falcon Bank Lupita Rodriguez, branch manager for Falcon Bank, always wanted to work in a bank. “My dad had me involved in his sales business at a very early age,” Rodriguez smiled, recalling 13 years of living in Guanajuato with her family. “I would go to the bank and do his transactions which always fascinated me,” she said. Mentioning that much later to a friend in McAllen got her a job at Texas State Bank,  learning the business for six years before moving to Falcon Bank. She has been there for almost 13 years. “Falcon Bank has given me the opportunity to work for and serve our customers in both the retail and international sides, which I’ve enjoyed very much. It’s been a great learning opportunity,” Rodriguez said. Enjoying involvement with the community was her reason to become an Ambassador. She had already volunteered on the Candlelight Posada…

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ELVIA AND Jesus Saenz Owners of Saenz Pharmacies Keeping up with the changing world of pharmacies is quite the job: keeping up with new medicines, new routines, and new government requirements. Jesus Saenz, registered pharmacist for Saenz Pharmacy, loves his work despite the thousands of hours it takes to stay atop the pharmaceutical world. “It’s a profession that’s very rewarding because we see our patients more than they see their doctors,” Saenz said. “They call us for any little thing, and we’ll make time for them. The fact is pharmacists are in the top of the most trusted professions.” However, Saenz Pharmacy almost never happened. “I was going to be a math teacher,” he said. “When I went to UT with my brother, who was a chemistry major and then got into pharmacy school. He suggested I try it out, so I joined the pre-pharmacy fraternity and before I knew…

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Owner, OH KAY’S! uptown on tenth 1) What is your favorite book? The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I’ve enjoyed all the novels and books I’ve read about WWII. I feel a real sense of compassion towards the people who went through that. I went to Normandy in France. As I learn about them, I do not know how these people survived. 2) What is your favorite movie? Same Time, Next Year. There’s another one I just love with Diane Keaton, Something’s Gotta Give. 3) What was your favorite vacation spot? I guess France because I love the history and the people have always been so friendly. I spent about 10 days in Paris, then a few weeks in the south of France and it’s so beautiful there. I just love it. 4) What is your life’s motto? I never thought about it in terms of words. I’m a hard worker.…

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