Latino Breakfast, Tuesdsay, Dec. 5th at Cha Cha's

Top Row: LULAC President Rosa Rosales, (former guest speaker) LULAC Treasurer Jaime Martinez
3rd Row: Jaime Martinez & Ciro Rodriguez
4th Row: Ernest Martinez, Gordon Harman (former guest speaker)
5th Row: Latino Breakfast Founder Joe Solis



You are invited to the 12th Latino Breakfast Club meeting of 2006. Networking with a Latino Flair!Everybody is Welcome! (Just like Fiesta Week)

• When: December 5th, 2006 (Tuesday)
• Location: Cha-Cha’s Restaurant, 2026 Babcock,
• Time: 7:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
• Cost: Free (Breakfast courtesy of Cha- Cha’s)
• Speaker: David Spencer, CEO, Mandelbrot- Ventures
• R.S.V.P. today: Joe Solis, SolisJoe@sbcglobal.net
  

The Latino Breakfast Club is a Virtual Networking Organization. There are no membership dues, bureaucracy, committee assignments, organizational duties, or fees to pay.

Our sponsors include Cha Cha's Fine Mexican Cuisine, Matterhorn Capital Management, LLC and Assurant Health Insurance by Joe Solis/Luxor Insurance Services.

The following article appeared in a recent issue of the San Antonio Business Journal. The piece is by Andi Rodriguez.

Local small business owner Joe Solis is intent on connecting San Antonio through good old-fashioned virtual grassroots networking. Virtual? That's right. The Latino Breakfast Club exists without dues, without staff and without paper -- and it's succeeding.

Of course everyone knows there's no such thing as a free lunch, but the fine print doesn't mention anything about breakfast. "It costs nothing to be a part of our group. Everyone is welcome and there are no duties, no obligations," Solis says.

"We come together to network, to learn about each other and our community." Breakfast has been complimentary courtesy of Cha Cha's Mexican Cuisine on Babcock, since the groups' inception.

Recently celebrating their first year anniversary, the Latino Breakfast Club has grown from 30 to over 500 members in the last 10 months and boasts an average monthly attendance of around 100, says Solis.

"It's still growing," he adds, "Thanks to word of mouth and the Internet." What began as a "social experiment" has burgeoned into what might be a template for a completely new kind of association. By fusing laissez-faire fellowship with the clean efficient communication and organizational power of the Internet, members bypass traditional organization "politics" and have the option to participate, as they feel fit.

Solis compares it to Linux software, free and available to everyone. "That's what gives it power," he says. Solis is serious about offering the opportunity for San Antonians to connect with each other and to issues that affect them. The Latino Breakfast Club does not have goals and objectives, but rather serves as a portal to members, offering them knowledge and networking opportunities.

Meetings, which begin at 7:30, run just over an hour and feature a brief social period followed by guest speakers. Topics vary thanks to business and community leaders and the list has been consistently stellar.

Breakfast Club guest lecturer "alums" include LULAC National President Rosa Rosales, philanthropist Gordon Hartman, entrepreneur Hope Andrade and ad guru Lionel Sosa. "It's grown organically and I'm really proud of that," Solis says.

"There's great potential." Solis muses about expanding the concept into other continents, utilizing Web pages and blogs to connect people via a loose collaboration of networks.

"The challenge," he adds, "will be to let it grow freely while reflecting the wants and needs of the members."

For more information, email: solisjoe@sbcglobal.net. Andi Rodriguez is a San Antonio-based free-lance writer and public relations professional. She can be contacted at andimediamarketing@sbcglobal.net.