After developing the Hispanic Business Alliance into an organization that has helped countless small business owners, Price Arredondo announced Wednesday that he is resigning as its director.
Arredondo, 65, has led the organization, which is under the umbrella of the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce, for seven years. The Hispan-ic Business Alliance provides services and support to new and existing busin-esses, mostly owned by Hispanics.
“I got a great opportunity to start the program,” Arredondo said. “I feel it’s time for me to move on to another opportunity.”
Arredondo sent an email to the alliance’s board members Wednesday, notifying them of his intentions to resign in May.
He is going to work for Michael and Lisa Lujan at Mentoring Minds. There, he will work in development and special projects, he said.
He said being director of the Hispanic Business Alliance has been a great experience.
“The big thing I’ll miss is working with the business owners,” Arredondo said, adding that he enjoyed seeing them progress and develop into successful businesses.
He said he will stay active in the organization and help it move forward in any way he can.
Tom Mullins, president and chief executive officer of the Tyler Chamber, said Arredondo breathed life into a concept, creating a program that provides invaluable services to all businesses, but specifically to Hispanic-owned businesses.
Arredondo helps business owners with everything from starting a business and getting financing to helping develop long-term policies, Mullins said. He has also been a spokesperson for a lot of issues in the Hispanic community, he added.
“He’s done an outstanding job,” Mullins said. “Those will be big shoes to fill.”
Mullins said the position reports to him, but the board will have the majority input on the hiring process. He will support their effort and be involved in the final selection.
“They’ll bring somebody into this organization to take it to the next level,” Arredondo said.
Arredondo did a lot of international work in the past when he had his own business, and working for Mentoring Minds will give him an opportunity to do that again, he said, adding that he will be looking at international marketing for the company. “That’s what I enjoy,” he said.
Arredondo grew up in West Texas, joined the Army in 1966 and fought in Vietnam. He graduated from Southwest Texas State University with a degree in political science and earned a master’s degree in public administration from Southern Methodist University.
He has worked for a Del Rio-based regional council of governments, the city of Austin and as small business director for the Austin Chamber of Commerce and for Gov. Bill Clements. Arredondo has owned a small-business consulting firm and a telecommunications business that focused on the wireless industry, doing work in the United States as well as Mexico and South America. He did the latter for 15 years before taking the job in Tyler in 2006.
Two years ago, he started Point 2 Point Video Conferencing, a Tyler business that offers video conferencing services.
Managing Editor Brian Pearson contributed to this report.