Barbara Jean Garza was in the midst of a lengthy and successful public administration career at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley when a job opportunity arose that piqued her interest.
The Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce was looking to hire a new chief executive officer. Garza’s initial thought was to take a pass on applying for the job but colleagues encouraged her to “throw my name in the hat.”
“It was intriguing to explore how communities, businesses and city government work together,” she said of the 2019 opening in Weslaco.
Going through the interview process, she said, was “eye opening and enlightening,” and when the job was offered, Garza took it. Four years in as the Weslaco chamber’s president and CEO, having gone through a year, 2020, when she said, “the world stopped,” Garza adapted, learned and succeeded. She is now one of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’ 2022 40 Under 40 emerging leaders. The annual recognition program showcases 40 top young leaders in the chamber industry who are making “significant contributions to the communities they serve.”
The national honor surprised and delighted Garza given that she’s still early in her chamber career.
“I’m really grateful to be recognized, being so new to the industry,” she said. “I’m still learning and growing in the industry.”
Helping Businesses Adapt
Garza’s tenure in chamber leadership may be fairly brief thus far, but it has been eventful.
She described an evolution in her chamber organization since her start in 2019. Garza said 2020 was a year where “we had to pivot our services” because of the challenges of that year. The chamber staff under her leadership assisted local small business owners in filling out documents, getting information and helping to complete grant applications with the Small Business Administration.
Local business owners needed immediate help that year, Garza said, as they had to “find ways to adapt to that situation” of 2020. She spoke of having online mixers that year to keep people connected. Teaching some small business owners to conduct meetings remotely and be part of virtual live discussions were other forms of assistance from the chamber two years ago.
“We were there to help them through it,” she said. “I’m proud to say that this community is so resilient. We not only made it through that time period, but we had ribbon cuttings, businesses opening, and we saw local businesses create whole new systems and ways of doing things.”
Since then, the Weslaco market has only continued to see robust growth, even more so, Garza said. New home construction is popping both north of the expressway on busy main street/Texas Boulevard as well as in the southern and western sections of the city. New retailing and restaurants continue to open and are under construction along the expressway between Texas and Airport Drive.
“We’re in an area where people want to be,” Garza said of Weslaco and its ideal Mid-Valley location. “We’re in a premium spot.”
Making An Impact
Joining Garza on this year’s national 40 Under 40 chamber list is Danielle Rodriugez, the director of marketing and programs at the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce.
In 2021, Esmeralda Villarreal, the Brownsville chamber’s chief executive officer, was on the same national chamber association’s list of emerging leaders under the age of 40. Garza said the Rio Grande Valley chamber executives making the national list bodes well for the regional community and is an indication of the rising leadership roles of women in local communities here.
“It puts us on the map a little bit more,” Garza said of the national recognition for the local women. “It’s a powerful message that we are making an impact in our communities.”
