PPEP Microbusiness & Housing Development Corp.: PMHDC is celebrating their first Rising Stars Awards Breakfast. Six local owners are being recognized as high-performing small businesses that have demonstrated their sustainability through job creation and retention. Two of those owners β Ezekiel Gebrekidane and Margarita Azamar OβNeill β are being recognized as Rising Star Man and Woman of the Year. The Rising Star award small businesses include the owners of BlackJack Pizza on Broadway, Desert Connections for Affordable Rental Homes, Dillinger Brewing Company, Cesares Electric, Queen Sheeba Eritrean Restaurant, and Everyday Luxury Essentials Express.
Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce: The chamber will be hosting its annual Noche de Exitos Gala on Oct. 20, celebrating businesses, as well as the Hispanic Business Man and Woman of the Year. Manuel Ramos, the retired president of Asarco, has been named the 2018 Hispanic Business Man of the year. Ramos spent his 44-year career working in the metals and minerals industry at Asarco/Americas Mining Corp./Grupo Mexico. IBM Vice President Calline Sanchez was named the 2018 Hispanic Business Woman of the Year. She began her career with IBM in 1999 and is responsible for developing IBMβs overall strategic product direction. Also being honored is Edith Villalobos, the owner of EMV Design and Build, as the chamberβs 2018 Rising Star Entrepreneur. Her company specializes in general contracting and interior design work, both residential and commercial. The 2018 Arizona Corporation of the Year is the Port of Tucson, a full-service inland port, rail yard and intermodal facility southeast of Tucson. The 2018 Mexican Corporation of the Year is Ferromex, a railroad network in Mexico, with more than 6,200 miles of track.
