2012 Latino - CBJonline.com

January 30, 2012 • An Advertising Supplement to the Los Angeles Business Journal
LATINO
BUSINESS
AWARDS
LETTER
FROM THE
PUBLISHER
PRESENTING SPONSOR:
2012
It is with great pride that we present to you
our third annual celebration of what has
become one of the most dynamic sectors of
business today — the Latino business community of greater Los Angeles!
To get an idea of the impact that Latinoowned and managed organizations are making on our business landscape, you need look no further
than the many success stories that appear across our pages
in the Los Angeles Business Journal. It’s only natural that
we feature a spotlight on these fascinating companies with
great stories and terrific leaders. Whether they are emerging companies, large established business institutions, or
non-profit organizations, each plays a role in helping to
keep the fabric of our collective community strong.
So once again we have scoured through the many great
stories to single out some of the organizations and leaders
in the Latino business community who are setting an
example that all of us doing business in the region can follow. The awards ceremony, along with the special supplement we produce within this paper, sharing our honorees’
terrific success stories and contributions to Los Angeles
business as a whole, has fast become one of our most popular annual events.
This special section you are reading now spotlights the very
special finalists we celebrated at our 2012 Awards luncheon on
Tuesday, January 24th at the Omni Hotel Los Angeles.
This year, six honorees are announced in this section in
six categories – $25+ Million in Gross Revenue; $10-25 Million in Gross Revenue; $2-10 Million in Gross Revenue;
Under $2 Million in Gross Revenue; Nonprofit Award and
our first annual Latino Spirit Award. The Latino Spirit Award
is a special designation created by the Los Angeles Business
Journal to recognize an individual who is a distinctive and
special inspiration to the Latin community of Los Angeles
and beyond. We applaud each of our honorees, as well as the
wonderful collection of finalists, also listed in these pages.
We hope you enjoy this special section, which contains some insights on the creative ways in which some
of LA’s leading Latino businesses have made prestigious
names for themselves.
Special thanks go out this year to our partners in this
endeavor, the Latin Business Association, and to our presenting sponsor, California Bank & Trust. And again, congratulations to all the great Latino businesses in Los Angeles who play such an integral role in our business community as a whole.
Best regards,
Matthew A. Toledo
President and Publisher
GOLD SPONSORS:
• City National Bank
• Lockton Insurance Brokers LLC
• Los Angeles Dodgers
• Moss Adams LLP
COMMUNITY SPONSOR:
• National Latina Business Women
Association - Los Angeles
• Popular Community Bank
• Wells Fargo Bank
This special advertising supplement did not involve the reporting or editing staff of the Los Angeles Business Journal.
24 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
LATINO
BUSINESS
AWARDS
JANUARY 30, 2012
2012 Honorees
F.
GAVIÑA & SONS
Large Private Company
$25+ Million in Gross Revenue
G
& Sons has built its business by understanding the tastes
preferred by various ethnic groups and then tailoring its coffees
to specific markets. But the 264-employee company is far from
a niche player. Starting out making the kind of coffee he and
his family and friends wanted to drink, the company’s late founder,
Francisco Gaviña, sold it in Cuban markets around LA. Gaviña, a former
Cuban national who had left a successful coffee business behind and
moved his family to the US, was working as a dishwasher in LA in 1967.
He started Gaviña & Sons with a roaster bought from Farmer Bros., a Los
Angeles coffee producer, for $500. The company started with all of Francisco’s children pitching in, and more than 40 years later, it’s still a family-run business. They sold $1,000 worth of coffee in their first year,
before realizing that Italians like the same style of coffee, so the family
started selling it in Italian markets. As they began making coffee for all
the different immigrants in L.A., the company started to take off. As consumer tastes have changed over the last two decades, Gaviña & Sons has
been bringing the coffees sold to smaller ethnic stores into larger chain
grocers, alongside its Don Francisco brand made specifically for mainstream grocery stores. The company now sells coffee in 20 states and in
such chains as Ralphs, Wal-Mart, Vons and Safeway. A fifth of its business comes from making and packaging private-label coffees brewed and
sold at McDonald’s, 7-Eleven and Costco stores. And Gaviña & Sons is far
from standing still. The company plans to continue broadening the line
of coffees it sells in grocery stores, both at big-name chains and momand-pop stores.
AVIÑA
Francisco Gaviña
EL
CLASIFICADO
Medium-Sized Private Company
$10 - $25 Million in Gross Revenue
A
lot has sprung from the business plan that Martha de la Torre
first drafted in 1988 and talked her future husband Joe Badame
to invest and fund. El Clasificado was designed to create a marketplace for the Spanish speaking community of Los Angeles
with access to products and services and consumer friendly editorial to
make life easier for recent immigrants like de la Torre’s parents, who
came to the U.S. to find a better way of life. Although mostly a shopper,
El Clasificado always includes editorials on health, education, family
advice, consumer literacy and especially stories about local heroes and
role models. Having served as CFO for La Opinion, de la Torre recognized the need for a free community publication in Spanish especially
with job classifieds and services. With the advent of desktop publishing,
she realized it was possible to launch such a publication with less than a
million dollars in capital. With the help of her husband, family, friends
and some business partners, El Clasificado was launched on May 4,
1988. Today, El Clasificado is a successful multiplatform media company
with anticipated revenues in 2011 of $18.6 million. El Clasificado magazine, reaches 1.5 million Spanish speaking readers in California each
week with over 470,000 copies. Elclasificado.com is the largest online
classified portal for U.S. Latinos with a top 12,000 Quantcast ranking. El
Clasificado continues to buck industry trends by growing and expanding print revenues by over 12% in 2011. But the company is ready for
the future with digital revenues now representing more than 6% of total
revenues. The future looks unlimited with planned new offerings in
online video ads and mobile applications.
Martha de la Torre
JANUARY 30, 2012
AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
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26 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
LATINO
BUSINESS
AWARDS
JANUARY 30, 2012
2012 Honorees
LENNOVA
Small Private Company
$2 - $10 Million in Gross Revenue
I
2000, entrepreneur Leonard Ortiz, with his two stepsons Jack Tony
Genova and David W. Genova, founded NovaCoat, a general contracting
company specializing in epoxy & urethane protective floor coatings. During its eight years of operations, NovaCoat’s outstanding performance as
a supplier to several of the Southern California Minority Business Development Council’s (SCMBDC) “Fortune-500” member corporations was recognized by winning the prestigious “Supplier of the Year” Award twice. In 2008,
NovaCoat became Lennova, and its excellence was again recognized when it
won the “Small Business of the Year” Award from the 13th Annual Ron
Brown Business Summit of the California Black Chamber of Commerce — all
the more rewarding because Lennova was the first Latin-owned business to
receive this recognition. The following year, Ortiz was named “Small Business
Person of the Year” by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce in partnership
with the U. S. Small Business Administration-Los Angeles District Office. Winning these awards is indicative of Lennova’s growth and success in the protective flooring industry where it often competes against larger and more established companies. Lennova’s ability to consistently meet or exceed customer
expectation by providing quality products and services in a timely and cost
effective manner regardless of technical complexity and other challenges distinguishes it from competitors in the protective floor coating industry and
has been a critical factor in building a solid customer base. The rise of Lennova may be in large part due to Ortiz’s constant belief that success is only
achieved when preparation meets opportunity and that to achieve true success one must stay focused on the goal. Indeed Ortiz’s “never quit” philosophy that has been instilled in all of his colleagues and employees at Lennova
is surely a key to the company’s success.
N
Leonard Ortiz
GENESIS
CONSULTANTS
Under $2 Million in Gross Revenue
G
Consultants is a 100% Latina-owned business specializing in
working with the underserved, uninsured and under-insured
minority communities. This is carried out by educating and
informing these communities of their options for accessible and
affordable healthcare coverage and service options. Community outreach is
implemented by providing health care screenings and information at health
fairs focusing on prevalent conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and
obesity. Another area of expertise Genesis offers is the training and education
of health promoters and community members to properly offer enrollment
opportunities to the uninsured community. With a staff boasting decades of
experience in the healthcare industry, ranging from business administration
and management, program development and implementation, strategic marketing, public relations, public affairs, coalition building, community engagement and grass-roots outreach implementation, Genesis Consultants also
specialize in developing programs and strategies to work with non-profit
organizations in offering coalition building and community engagement
training strategies. These training sessions offer these organizations an opportunity to promote and further expand the respective services offered to benefit not only the non-profit organizations but the communities they serve and
represent throughout California. Genesis Consultants effectively links its
clients with coalitions, affiliations and targeted audiences based on the
clients’ goals and needs, helping expand the message of access to healthcare,
preventive care and health education as a whole. Everyone at Genesis Consultants takes pride in the fact that they have a diverse set of qualifications
and expertise to meet the needs, goals and objectives of their clients, which
in turn provide important health education and services to the community.
Continuing to serve and educate the underserved and hard to reach communities is an ongoing and rewarding mission for Genesis’ staff.
ENESIS
Georgina Maldonado and Rita Cruz Gallego, Principal Partners
JANUARY 30, 2012
AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
“City National believed
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When I came to the U.S., I discovered the
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own business. As my business grew, I needed
to buy a factory and City National helped
me finance a building. City National Bank
always tailors their services to meet my needs.
I use City National for personal and business
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View Lourdes’s complete story at
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©2012 City National Bank
Call (866) 618-5179 or visit cnb.com
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27
28 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
LATINO
BUSINESS
AWARDS
JANUARY 30, 2012
2012 Honorees
PUENTE
LEARNING CENTER
Nonprofit Award
P
Luis Marquez, CEO, Puente Learning Center
Learning Center serves as a bridge to opportunity, helping
children, youth, and adults build strong educational foundations, find meaningful employment, and improve the long-term
quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities. Celebrating its 27th year in 2012, Puente provides education and
workforce training in Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles, two minority communities with high levels of unemployment and poverty, low
levels of educational attainment, and tremendous unrealized potential.
Offering tuition-free, technology-enhanced classroom instruction to
4,100 students annually, Puente has impacted over 85,000 individuals
since its inception. The organization’s multi-generational approach sets
individuals of all ages on the pathway to college and a career. For children and youth, Preschool Readiness and Charter Kindergarten prepare
four- and five-year-olds for academic success, and After School Enrichment and High School Tutorial support youth throughout their elementary and secondary school years. Individuals needing to complete high
school receive personalized support to master key subjects and earn their
diploma through the Adult High School Diploma program, and students
gain stronger and broader options for college through SAT Preparation
classes. In Puente’s largest program, English as a Second Language, 1,330
students progressed toward English-language fluency. Eighty of these
students completed the six-level program, and 553 were promoted by at
least one level. In the last four years, Puente has helped prepare more
than 12,000 men and women to enter the workforce and find meaningful careers so they can support themselves and their families. During the
last academic year, 4,151 residents of Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles moved closer to their educational and career goals with the support
of Puente’s services.
UENTE
JAIME
JARRÍN,
LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Latino Spirit Award
J
AIME Jarrín, “the Spanish Voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers” is among
the most recognizable voices in Spanish language broadcasting and
one of two current Dodger Hall of Fame announcers, alongside Vin
Scully. The Quito, Ecuador native began working for HCJB in his
home country when he was just 16 years old and went on to become the
announcer for the National Congress of Ecuador. He came to the United
States in 1955 and four months later, watched the Dodgers win their first
World Series, which was when he fell in love with baseball. Shortly thereafter, he began working for KWKW in Los Angeles, where he was the news
and sports director when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958. From
1962 to 1984, Jarrín called close to 4,000 consecutive Dodger games spanning 22 seasons, never missing a game. The streak was broken only when
he took charge of all Spanish-language radio coverage and production for
the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Jarrín became a household name
across the country in 1980-81 when he served as the interpreter for Mexican pitching phenom Fernando Valenzuela during a period known as Fernandomania. The left-hander became an analyst in 2003 and continues to
work alongside Jarrín. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of
Fame on July 26, 1998 in Cooperstown, NY as the recipient of the Ford C.
Frick Award. Named in honor of the former broadcaster and Commissioner of Baseball, the Frick Award has been given annually since 1978 to a
broadcaster “for major contributions to the game of baseball.”
Jaime Jarrín
JANUARY 30, 2012
AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
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29
30 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
LATINO
BUSINESS
AWARDS
JANUARY 30, 2012
2012 Finalists
Congratulations to each of the following
inspiring finalist organizations listed below,
alphabetically by company name.
ABILITYFIRST
EAST LOS ANGELES CENTER
AbilityFirst is a leading
nonprofit organization
providing programs and
services to children and
adults with physical and
developmental disabilities including autism,
cerebral palsy, and
Down syndrome. EstabMonica
lished in 1926 as the
Alcantar
Crippled Children’s
Society of Southern California, its mission
is to help individuals with disabilities realize their full potential throughout their
lives. In 1999, the organization adopted
the name AbilityFirst to better reflect their
mission, their vision, and their commitment to celebrating the unique abilities of
every individual. Under the leadership of
Monica Alcantar, the East Los Angeles
Center Director, AbilityFirst provides an
oasis of possibility, embracing each individual for what is possible—rather than
for what is not.
ACENTO ADVERTISING
Acento is the 7th largest
independent Hispanic
advertising agency in
the U.S. Headquartered
in Los Angeles, the
agency’s dynamic team
of marketing professionals, who hail from various parts of the U.S,
Roberto
Mexico and Latin AmerOrci
ican countries, drive significant bottom line results for leading
local-based organizations such as Southern
California Edison, Health Net, Albertsons,
Time Warner Cable’s Western Region and
Toshiba. Through its smoking cessation
efforts on behalf of the California Department of Public Health, Acento has literally
helped to extend the lives of Latinos by
reducing the incidences of smoking. The
firm has also helped provide financial education to the Latino population on banking services and well as health insurance
matters and has spearheaded campaigns
that focus on promoting energy conservation, as well as health and nutrition.
ALL ACCESS EVENTS LLC
All Access Events’ great
team has successfully
planned and organized
weddings, quinceaneras,
galas, seminars, training
symposiums, weekend
retreats, fitness boot
camps, holiday award
banquets, CD release
Janet
parties, company
Rodriguez
launch events, book
signings, luncheons, engagement and
birthday parties, showcases, and many
other kinds of events. All events are
designed to be unforgettable occasions
that the clients – often Hispanic families
and organizations – will be able to present
with pride – on empathetic budgets that
won’t break the bank! The All Access team
establishes a reasonable budget and then
everything else is on them. They work
hard to find each and every detail in the
budget allotted and all the client has to do
is look beautiful and show up on their
spectacular day.
AMERICAN VETERAN INC.
American Veteran, Inc.,
is a woman-owned,
minority-owned, and
service-disabled veteran
owned small business
providing construction
and environmental
remediation services.
The company is one of
Maribel
the fastest growing conMena
struction firms in California. The company was founded in 2008
by Maribel Mena, the daughter of Mexican
immigrants and someone who had come
from humble beginnings. Mena is a veteran of the United States Navy and was honorably discharged with a service-connected disability. She currently serves on the
Board of Directors of the Elite Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB)
organization and promotes the advancement and education of fellow veterans.
She has worked in the construction/environmental industry for over 10 years and
is a well-respected member of the construction profession.
ANNA’S CLEANING SERVICE
Anna’s Cleaning Service
was founded in 1999 by
Anna Montiel who had
come to the US in 1985,
young, ambitious and
full of aspirations. As a
mother of 4, she sought
the kind of financial
independence that
Anna
would allow her to
Montiel
stand on her own two
feet. She resolved to start her own business. Determination and perseverance got
her through to where she is today — a
businesswoman in her own right. Anna’s
Cleaning Service handles business professionally, and its namesake continues
learning and growing more every year.
Never forgetting how she began from
scratch, when Anna hires people, she
looks for people who show they have an
interest in learning, and moving forward.
AQUABIO ENVIRONMENTAL
TECHNOLOGIES INC.
As CEO and partner of
AquaBio Environmental
Technologies, Inc. &
AquaBio Aquatic Management Division,
DeAna Vitela-Hayashi
has led her company
through the research,
development, & appliDeAna
cation of non-pathogenVitela-Hayashi
ic microorganisms for
degradation of pollutants. Vitela-Hayashi
and AquaBio’s specialty is waste water
remediation and odor control using Bioremediation, Phyotoremediation, and Biomimicry. Vitela-Hayashi and her team
have consulted & provided expertise, for
environmental, engineering, & remediation firms, municipal & industrial facilities, waste treatment facilities, confined
animal feed operations, landfill, compost,
& greenwaste facilities as well as stormwater retention basins, lakes, & aqua culture
facilities, in both fresh & marine environments. Over the Years, Vitela-Hayashi has
also participated in the research and development of treatment for pollutants in
urban runoff, watershed and municipal &
industrial waste water treatment.
THE BREAD FACTORY
The Bread Factory Artisans Inc., also known as
“Pan Y Leche Bakery,”
located in Wilmington,
is a privately owned
company — owned
51% by Guillermina
Bermudez, President &
CEO and 49% owned by
Guillermina
Henry Bermudez, her
Bermudez
husband and Director of
Operations. In the true spirit of a family
business, the owners also employ their
children, Rosie and Henry Jr., in sales and
marketing positions. The Bread Factory
has 35 employees working around the
clock to fill orders for such wholesale customers as Food for Less and Smart & Final
(the wholesale business generates the
majority of the company’s gross annual
revenues). The Bread Factory also offers a
wide variety of Mexican pastries, cakes,
bread & sandwiches. The owners have
more than 30 years experience as business
owners and also own the building where
they operate their business.
CALIFORNIA COACH
AUTO BODY INC.
California Coach Auto
Body, Inc. was founded
in 1987 and has provided tow service for Freeway Service Patrol for
the County of Los Angeles since 1993. The company leads the way with
over 50 tow service
Andrew
units and one super
Lujan
Heavy Duty Rotator for
those big rig tow recoveries on the LA freeways. California Coach has a combined
staff of over 70 employees in administration, auto estimating, body, paint,
mechanical repair and tow service technicians. Founder Andrew Lujan and his staff
effectively managed over 5.6 million in
combined annual sales in 2010 with low
loss histories, excellent customer service,
quality contractual relations with over 9
government agencies, excellent employment compensation and tested tow/storage polices.
CAMELO JELLO
Camelo Jello is a family owned business
since 2007. Marisol Camelo established
the company along
with her husband and
three daughters and the
family has been working hard for years at
making their business a
success. At the heart of
the business is the family’s homemade style
Marisol
Jello snacks — Mexican
Camelo
style! The Camelos
decided to bring out their roots by providing people with delicious flavors that send
the taste buds back to Mexico and a world
of unique Jello snacks and treats. The family started off in a small kitchen location,
selling their product to people they knew.
As the years have gone by, Camelo Jello
has grown and the Camelo family has
been able to reach out to local markets,
restaurants, and vendors – all while maintaining their original sales base to people
out of a small shop.
CORDOBA CORPORATION
Cordoba Corporation is
a nationally recognized
engineering and construction management
firm based in Los Angeles and founded by
entrepreneur George
Pla. For nearly 30 years,
Pla has provided the
George
leadership and vision to
Pla
grow Cordoba into one
of the top civil engineering and construction management firms providing services
to large public infrastructure projects
throughout the Western United States.
Cordoba is currently ranked by Hispanic
Business Magazine as one of the top ten service providers in California, one of the top
fifty high tech companies in the country
and one of the fastest growing private
companies according to the Los Angeles
Business Journal.
DUGALLY OBERFELD
Mauricio Oberfeld emigrated to Los Angeles
from Mexico City,
Mexico. He went to
school at USC and
graduated in Architecture and Design. Since
then, Oberfeld has
accomplished the goal
Mauricio
of many Latinos, to
Oberfeld
succeed and to do
everything with heart. For the last 15
years, through his firm, Dugally Oberfeld, Oberfeld has developed, built and
designed many buildings within both
the public and private sector. Dugally
Oberefeld buildings designed by MauricioOberfeld have been showcased in
magazines such as Architecture and
Design, luxe, Home Design, the Los Angeles Times and others. The firm has been
recognized by the President of Mexico
and other Mexican Authorities, as well as
authorities here in the US.
Continued on page 32
JANUARY 30, 2012
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32 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
JANUARY 30, 2012
LATINO BUSINESS AWARDS 2012
Continued from page 30
ISI TRANSLATION SERVICES
DURA FLOORING INC.
With his parents’ own
immigrant experience in
mind, George Rimalower
founded ISI Translation
Services, Inc., in 1982. ISI
has grown steadily since
inception, achieving
record sales and robust
growth even in the midst
George
of a recession. ISI was
Rimalower
one of the first language
services companies to address the special
linguistic and cultural needs of both nonand limited English-proficient communities
of the United States. ISI is based in North
Hollywood and employs 20 staffers at its
headquarters and another 700 translators
and interpreters around the world. Most of
ISI’s staff is proficient not only in foreign
languages, but also in the specific terminology of each industry. In 2011, ISI saw its
revenue increase by 60 percent, a staff
expansion, a move to larger offices and a
larger client roster.
Dura Flooring, Inc. has been in business
for 25 years and has been serving the
Latino community with quality customer service and quality flooring. Dura
Flooring also provides quality flooring
installation with highly experienced
installers. Dura Flooring, Inc.’s staff is
100% Latino, giving the company an
edge when attending to an almost 80%
Latino based clientele. Dura Flooring is
also a direct to trade retailer selling all
flooring materials direct to installers. In
the past two years Dura Flooring has
received growing attention from local
and national general contractors. The
company has also been able to retain all
employees during this challenging economy and has not had any layoffs.
EAST VALLEY COMMUNITY
HEALTH CENTER INC.
The East Valley Community Health Center,
Inc. is a one-stop health
care provider for the
uninsured and underserved communities of
Los Angeles, offering a
range of medical services such as adult famiAlicia
ly practice, pediatric
Mardini
care, women’s health,
HIV/AIDS care, dental, mental and prenatal/postnatal care. In fidelity to their mission, the staff at EVCHC also provides
nutrition, care coordination, case management and pharmacy services. Annually,
EVCHC averages 100,000 clinical contacts
for 33,000 patients. The health centers
have become a tremendous source of assistance for the Latino populations in areas
they serve. Eighty-one percent of the
patients given quality medical care at
EVCHC are Latino. The multicultural and
bilingual staff of East Valley is sensitive to
the needs of the population they serve,
making significant inroads in the treatment of diabetes and hypertension.
ECO-RICO ENTERTAINMENT LLC
Giselle Achecar is the creator of EcoRico, an ecolifestyle brand and multimedia company, which
includes the online sensation EcoRico cooking
show, EcoSexy video tips
and the personal success
program “Marry Your
Giselle
Passion with Your PurAchecar
pose.” The EcoRico cooking show is now seen on over 150 online
outlets. Giselle’s videos, recipes and blog
appear weekly on the front page of Latino
Voices on the Huffington Post. EcoRico currently has four content license partners –
ifood.tv, UrbanoTV, FilmOn and Mi Casa
Broadcasting. The show appears in 3 million
homes through Comcast in Houston, Texas
with expansion to 20 more national markets planned in the next year.
ENDPAK PACKAGING
INCORPORATED
Endpak Packaging Inc. was formed by
Edgar
Garcia
Carlos
Garcia
brothers Edgar and Carlos Garcia under
difficult circumstances. Back in 1993,
Carlos, a Plant Manager for a paper bag
manufacturing company and Edgar, a
Finance Director for a Teledyne Industries subsidiary, were without work. The
brothers joined their talents and decided
to launch their own paper bag company.
Armed with 1 machine, $100,000 of
their own money and a solid business
plan, the Garcia brothers were able to
secure a $150,000 SBA loan and began
their operation in January 1993. Their
solid growth strategies paid off with sales
of just over $1,000,000 by the end of
their first year. What started as a 4
employee organization with $40,000 in
monthly sales, has grown to a company
with over 100 employees and
$19,600,000 in annual sales.
LAW OFFICES OF
JUAN J. DOMINGUEZ
In 1998, an experienced executive from
the technology manufacturing industry,
Jorge Ramirez, founded Heateflex Corporation and completed the purchase of Integrated Circuit Development Corporation
through a management led buyout. Heateflex Corporation provides ultra-pure fluid
heaters and wet process equipment to
high technology manufacturing companies. Its products are shipped to its customers worldwide, most of which are well
recognized makers of semiconductors, disk
drives, medical devices, and solar cells. In
November of 2010, the company acquired
Safna. Now operating as a division of
Heateflex, Safna offers industrial water filters and heat exchangers. Ramirez was
recently granted a U.S. patent for coinventing a Method and System for Reducing
Deionized Water Consumption, with two
additional patent applications pending.
After getting his law
degree in 1987, Cuban
immigrant Juan J.
Dominguez decided to
open his own law practice Under “Juan J.
Dominguez, A Professional Law Corporation.” Since opening the
Juan J.
practice, Dominguez
Dominguez
has become a wellknown and respected attorney in the Latino community, frequently appearing on
both television and radio, informing the
public regarding the law and individual
rights. Dominguez has been successful
winning many big cases and has recovered
over $200 million to injured clients in personal injury cases. The firm gives back to
the community through sponsorship of
several local organizations, including providing support to groups such as A Place
Called Home, a safe haven for underserved
youth in South Central Los Angeles and
many other worthy organizations.
HM CARPET INC.
LATIN BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
HM Carpet, Inc. is a
Latino-owned business
that has been growing
since 1982. The company started as a two-person crew in Huntington
Park; no bank financing, no private investors
— just sweat equity and
Hector
determination. After a
Montealegre
few years, HM Carpet
decided to expand, and continued their
floor covering endeavors in Gardena. Fast
forward to the present date, HM Carpet is
at the forefront of floor covering services,
epitomized by generating $11 million in
revenue for 2011. Boasting a personnel of
24 employees and more than 15 parttime employees and independent contractors, HM Carpet’s mantra is simple,
dedicated to offering customers competitive pricing, forming high company
standards, and most importantly, professional customer service.
The Latin Business Association (LBA) is one of
the most influential
business associations in
the United States. The
LBA represents the business interests of over
700,000 Latino-owned
businesses in California
Ruben
and is the premier and
Guerra
largest Latin business
organization in the nation. Since its inception in 1976, the LBA’s mission has been
to “Build Economic Wealth and Opportunity” for Latino and minority-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. In doing so, the
LBA has become the voice of Latino business, receiving significant national and
international recognition. The LBA is a
relationship-driven organization. Meeting
other members proves to be an investment of each member’s time that yields
dividends for years to come. Participation
in LBA programs, events and member
HEATEFLEX CORPORATION
business functions translates to valuable
business opportunities and enhances the
growth of member businesses.
LATINO DIABETES ASSOCIATION
The Latino Diabetes
Association is a nonprofit organization committed to delivering culturally relevant diabetes
prevention information
and self- management
education to the Latino
community. The organiRandy
zation’s vision stateMuñoz
ment that is applied to
all of its activities is to reduce and prevent
diabetes in the Latino community by
addressing health disparities through a
culturally sensitive grassroots approach. It
is the LDA’s basic belief that through credible, persuasive, timely information coupled with education and emotional support, a person may successfully modify
their lifestyle to prevent the onset of diabetes or manage the impact of this often
misunderstood and poorly managed disease. The leadership of the organization
also believes that it is the right of all people to live in healthy and safe neighborhoods and have access to quality health
care, medications, and wellness programs.
LOS DEFENSORES
In 1984, Maryann Walker Aguirre founded Los
Defensores, which has
helped thousands of
Latino families throughout California access
quality legal representation for 27 years. Los
Defensores is a network
Maryann Walker of attorneys dedicated
Aguirre
to helping Latinos in
need of legal help, especially in cases of
auto and work accidents, social security
disability, and other challenging situations. Los Defensores has grown to a network of over 100 law firms throughout
California and will expand nationally this
year. The success of Los Defensores
prompted the creation of a second cooperative legal network called 1-800-THELAW2, which serves second and third generation Latinos as well as English speaking
consumers. For the past four years, Walker
Aguirre has served as the on-camera
spokesperson for the brand, appearing in
more than 50 television commercials.
MADALYN’S CUPCAKES
Known as a purveyor of
“some of the best cupcakes in the world…at
an affordable price,”
Madalyn’s Cupcakes is a
business that Kris Lara
started on his own, and
it has grown over the
past two years due to
Kris Lara
his hard work, uniquely
delicious cupcakes, and
help from the Latin Business Association
(LBA), which has taken the time to guide
him along the way. Growing up, Lara was
constantly around the aroma of baked
goods due to his mother’s love of baking.
Lara’s inherited love of baking and his
Continued on page 34
JANUARY 30, 2012
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34 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
JANUARY 30, 2012
LATINO BUSINESS AWARDS 2012
Continued from page 32
THE MERUELO GROUP
desire to start to start his own business led
to the creation of his business. Lara chose
to offer not just a basic cupcake, but cupcakes that would have unique moussebased frosting, rich ingredients, and
moist, delicious cupcakes at the
“gourmet” level.
In 1986, Alex Meruelo
established a fast food
pizza restaurant, La
Pizza Loca. By focusing
attention on the needs
of the Hispanic community, Meruelo grew that
business into a mature
company with over 50
Alex
franchised and compaMeruelo
ny owned outlets serving Latino communities throughout
Southern California. Meruelo has invested
extensively in residential and commercial
real estate throughout Southern California, again primarily in Hispanic neighborhoods. Since 1999, Meruelo has focused
his endeavors on the construction industry through Meruelo Enterprises, Inc. on
major private and public construction projects. With major recent investments
under his belt such as Fuji Food Products,
Grande Sierra Resort and Casino and
KWHY-TV under his belt, the sky seems
the limit for Meruelo!
MAIN STREET PERSONAL
FINANCE COMPANY
Main Street Personal
Finance Company is led
by its CEO, Manny Marrero, who was born in
Cuba in 1957. Marrero
joined Main St. Personal
Finance approximately
three years ago and significantly increased revManny
enues in his first year at
Marrero
the helm of the Company. He has improved operating efficiency,
system capabilities, collection processes
and reduced collection losses, while
achieving record profits. Cash flow profits
have improved from eight million dollars
to fifteen million dollars at the operating
level during historically poor economic
times. He has built and developed a strong
senior and junior management team and
has great banking relationships, with debt
provider, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
MGO
Certified public accounting and business
management firm Macias Gini & O’Connell (MGO) has become one of the top
Latino business in Greater Los Angeles.
The firm consistently demonstrates both
excellence in service and a passionate
commitment to diversity in the region. MGO
maintains a reputation
for providing responsive, quality services to
clients ranging from
startups to middle-market public and private
companies, Hollywood
Kenneth
celebrities, the world’s
Macias
largest public pension
system and California’s largest local governments. Founded in 1987, the firm has
offices throughout California and a staff
of over 200 professionals. Kenneth
Macias, CPA is MGO’s founder and
chairman of the board of partners. He
established the firm in 1987 and built it
over the past 25 years in an environment
that has always had under-representation
of minorities.
the past two years,
NLBWA-LA has worked
diligently to develop an
infrastructure that is
both effective and efficient. The organization
also developed a foundation so that sponsors
and members will
Cecilia
receive the highest level
Mota
of value possible.
NLBWA-LA gives its members access to
the largest network of Latina business
women in the nation.
NOPALTILLA LLC
Against a backdrop of
rampant diabetes
among the Latino community, Nopaltilla LLC
is dedicated to manufacturing and distributing a
new nopal (prickly pear
cactus) corn tortilla or
“Nopal-(tor)tilla” that
Alonso
significantly reduces a
Arellano
person’s glycemic level
as compared to the traditional corn tortilla.
Reducing the glycemic level or blood sugars is a critical step in reducing the risk of
diabetes and/or managing the disease in
those who already have it. Also, Nopaltilla
is 100% organically grown and contains no
preservatives with 50% less calories.
Nopaltilla is already conducting community outreach to neighborhood-based non-
NATIONAL LATINA BUSINESS
WOMEN ASSOCIATION –
LOS ANGELES
The National Latina Business Women
Association, Los Angeles (NLBWA-LA)
was created and launched in July of 2003
to meet the needs of the growing ranks of
Latina entrepreneurs, executives and professionals from the Greater Los Angeles
area. The organization mission is to
encourage Latinas to develop their business and professional skills and to meet
their career goals through education,
business referrals and networking. Over
JOIN THE REVOLUTION
Elkins Kalt Weintraub
Reuben Gartside llp
warmly congratulates
Martha De La Torre and Joe Badame
of El Clasificado
&
Manny Marrero
of Main Street Personal Finance Company
as well as all of the Finalists
in the 2012 Latino Business Awards
877- 597- 4607 JetSuite.com/Biz
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Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside LLP
2049 Century Park East, Suite 2700,
Los Angeles, California 90067-3202
Telephone: 310.746.4400 Facsimile 310.746.4499
www.elkinskalt.com
JANUARY 30, 2012
AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
35
LATINO BUSINESS AWARDS 2012
profit, Latino Health Providers to integrate
nopal-based products into the diets of
patients at high-risk of developing diabetes. Also, it is reaching out to non-profit
groups involved in treating autism, obesity
and related health disorders.
PAISANO MEAT INCORPORATED
Paisano Meat Inc., is a food supplier
based in Gardena. It was founded by Jose
Lopez over 25 years ago. He incorporated
the business in 2003. The company provides beef, pork, and related food items
such as cheese to retail food markets,
restaurants, caterers and “food trucks”
throughout Southern California. As
Paisano Meat serves a niche market that
is primarily Hispanic, it is commonly
referred to as a “carniceria.”
for foster youth, Youth Workforce Services, Family Support Services, Mental
Health Services and after-school programs.
Today, Para Los Ninos’ combined direct
and indirect services benefit 20,000 children, youth and their families throughout
Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties.
And these clients live on the margins of
our society. Para Los Niños staff members
strive on a daily basis to combat illiteracy
and stop the cycle of poverty.
POMONA QUALITY FOAM INC.
PARA LOS NIÑOS
Para Los Niños was
organized in response to
the need of the children
living on Skid Row. A
former false eyelash factory came to life with
the presence of 45
happy children—eager
for a chance to learn
Giselle
and to succeed. Over
Acevedo
the next 30 years, Para
Los Niños expanded its offerings beyond
Early Childhood Services to include Charter Schools, Youth Development Services
Armida
Campos
Salvador
Gonzalez
Pomona Quality Foam Inc. is an organization specializing in foam cutting services.
It purchases bulk foam and cuts it according to customer specifications. The company’s customers are mainly furniture and
auto seat manufacturers in the US. The
company is a family owned and operated
business started in 1983 by Salvador E.
Gonzales and Armida N. Campos. Both
moved to the US in the late sixties from
El-Chante, a small rural farming village of
2,500 people in the state of Jalisco, Mexi-
co. Armed with the desire to realize the
American dream, Armida and Salvador,
started working out of a garage – and grew
the company to what is now a $6,000,000
business employing 16 people.
PORTO’S BAKERY
Porto’s Bakery’s roots can
be traced back to the year
1960, when the Porto
family
immigrated from their
home in Manzanillo,
Cuba. Finding themselves out of work in Los
Angeles, Rosa Porto,
Raul
always a talented cake
Porto
maker with a passion for
baking, entrenched herself in perfecting her
recipes and began selling her delicious cakes
to friends and neighbors not realizing that
she was also building herself a loyal customer base. Rosa continued on with her cake
business and when their home could no
longer accommodate the increased demand,
opened a little 300-square foot bakery on
Sunset Blvd, in the Echo Park area. The years
proved Rosa’s formula successful. With the
entire family’s effort, expansion to a 20,000square foot facility took place in the 1990’s.
PROAMÉRICA BANK
Proamérica Bank was formed to serve the Los
Angeles business community and ultimately
to become the leading financial services
provider for Latino entrepreneurs. As the first Latino-formed business bank
to debut in downtown
Los Angeles in the past 35
years, Proamérica Bank is
dedicated to building
family wealth by empowering entrepreneurs with
Maria
the requisite financial serContreras-Sweet vices and capital infusion
for the success of their small to mid-size businesses. To better serve Latino clients,
Proamérica Bank provides bicultural service,
not just bilingual service, financial education
and empowerment for both clients and
future clients, as well as a conservative, yet
flexible credit culture. Proamérica Bank works
to be a family-legacy driven organization,
building relationships on service and trust.
PROMOSHOP INC.
PromoShop Inc. has
grown from a small
entrepreneurial organization to a well-respected
corporation in the promotional products and
services arena. PromoShop Inc. ranks in the
top 1% of all promotions
Memo
companies in the United
Kahan
States and is a top 40
member in ASI (Advertising Specialty Industry) by dollar volume. Founder Memo
Kahan entered the promotional products
Continued on page 36
Let others argue whether
the economy has turned the
corner.
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›‘—”•—……‡••‹•Œ—•–ƒ•‹’‘”–ƒ–ƒ•›‘—”…‘’ƒ›ǯ•Ǥ
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Acumen. Agility. Answers.
Assurance, tax, and consulting services offered through Moss Adams LLP. Investment advisory
and personal financial planning services offered through Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC.
Investment banking and strategic advisory services offered through Moss Adams Capital LLC.
36 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
JANUARY 30, 2012
LATINO BUSINESS AWARDS 2012
Continued from page 35
industry in 1990, learning the supply side of
his industry and earning a loyal client base.
He opened PromoShop in 1998 and focused
on organically developing a team. As PromoShop grew, he put together a top tier
executive team able to grow the business
into one of the premier promotional agencies in the United States by focusing on servicing the needs of complex clients while
offering boutique style creativity.
ROLY’S TRUCKING INC.
Roly’s Trucking Inc. is a licensed and
bonded freight shipping and trucking
company running freight hauling business
from Irwindale to points all over the United States. The company was founded by
Cuban immigrant Rolando Garcia, who,
onvce receiving his commercial driver’s
license in the mid-90’s, started working as
a driver. With a keen entrepreneurial spirit, Garcia took out a loan, purchased his
own truck, and formed Roly’s Trucking
Inc. in 1997. Working hard to build his
business, the company soon grew from a
one-truck operation to a fleet of trucks,
and in 2003, the company opened a fully
staffed operational terminal facility with
15,000 feet of warehouse space. With $25
million in revenue in 2011 and steady
growth continuing, the sky seems the
limit for this American dream story.
SABER ES PODER INC.
Saber es Poder (“SEP”) is a
Spanish-language media
company, focused on
empowering the lives of
Latinos through a trusted
brand that is an established resource to the
community. Through its
multiple platform netRaul Lomeli
works, SEP delivers educaAzoubel
tional content on relevant
topics that improve people’s lives. In 2005, the
company founders discovered that in order to
build a social enterprise it had to be sustained
by an innovative business model. They envisioned a multiple touch point network that
would consist of video, print, digital, mobile,
and events—to carry SEP’s mission of informing, connecting, and empowering Latinos
with information and solutions to help
advance their lives. Their vision became a reality and SEP was re-born as the Latino Empowerment Nework, allowing the company to
reach and positively impact over eight million
Latino community members and generate
over one billion impressions annually.
SAZON LATIN FUSION
Claudia Quihuis started
her Sazon Latin Fusion
restaurant with two
investors who bailed out
once the economy began
to falter in 2008. Quihuis’
mother gave her the
strength to go on with her
dream. About one and a
Claudia
half years ago, Quihuis
Quihuis
lost her mother to cancer.
At that time, Quihuis was 70 lbs. overweight
and with a cholesterol through the roof and
borderline diabetes. Her mother had inspired
her to continue the fight to bring healthy
Latin food to her community – meaning
home-style cooked meals made with love.
Practicing what she preaches, Quihuis has
now lost those 70 lbs. and dropped her cholesterol to normal and works each day to
feed her customers delicious meals that
enable them to do the same.
SENSIS
With offices in both Los
Angeles and Washington D.C., Sensis is a fullservice advertising
agency using digital
thinking to reach the
multicultural mainstream. Services
include full spectrum
Jose
campaigns, digital
Villa
advertising, mobile,
social media, brand development, website
design, and application development.
Clients include The US Coast Guard Academy, The US Army, United Healthcare,
Sempra Energy, and The Trevor Project
among others. New clients include Hispanicize (a robust web platform for
brands, marketing agencies, non-profit
organizations and government organizations to connect with Latino bloggers and
social media influencers), FEMA’s
Ready.gov (a part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency), the US
Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and
US Department of Homeland Security’s
Citizenship and Immigration Services
(Office of Citizenship).
SIGUE CORPORATION
Headquartered in Sylmar, Sigue Corporation
was founded 15 years
ago by Guillermo (Bill)
de la Viña for the purpose of providing more
service oriented and
more economical
money transfer services
Guillermo
for the underserved
de la Viña
immigrant workers from
Mexico. Since that time, the company has
grown to be the fourth largest company in
the global industry. With the acquisition
of Coinstar Money Transfer in 2011, Sigue
now operates in 49 states in the U.S. and
approximately 145 countries around the
world. While the majority of Sigue wire
transfers still go to Mexico, the company
now has major channels to Europe, Africa,
Asia and a number of Hispanic countries
in South and Central America. Sigue has a
dozen offices around the world and conducts wire transfers through its network of
tens of thousands of retail senders, as well
as payers in receiving countries.
SOUTH CENTRAL
FAMILY HEALTH CENTER
South Central Family
Health Center (SCFHC)
is a not-for-profit
health care provider
and has been in business for 30 years providing quality care for
the residents of South
Los Angeles. EstabRichard
lished in 1981, the
Veloz
organization has made
significant strides in its development,
particularly in its last ten years under
Continued on page 38
JANUARY 30, 2012
AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
We know a good
investment when we
see one.
That’s why we’re a proud sponsor
of NLBWA - LA
Lisa Evans is pleased to support the important work of
National Latina Business Women Association - Los
Angeles. A strong partnership in making our community
a better place to live and work.
Lisa M Evans
Financial Advisor
CA# 0D56938
The Beer Financial Group
nmfn.com/lisaevans
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37
38 AN ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE LOS ANGELES BUSINESS JOURNAL
JANUARY 30, 2012
LATINO BUSINESS AWARDS 2012
Continued from page 36
current CEO Richard Veloz’s direction.
As the landscape of community health
care changes with the advent of health
care reform, SCFHC is embracing a future
filled with innovation and change for
improved efficiency and quality of life. A
Federally Qualified Health Center,
SCFHC provides services to the uninsured residents of this medically underserved area. This status allows SCFHC to
receive reimbursement for a broad range
of primary care services, including preventive care, pediatric care, women’s and
men’s care, among others.
THE PRINTING CONNECTION
Henry
Steenackers
Henry Steenackers,
whose parents are of
Belgian descent, was
born and raised in
Argentina and came to
the United States in his
teens. He started his
printing business at the
age of 21 in Burbank in
1983 as a printing broker. In just a few short
years, he purchased some printing and
bindery equipment and moved from
North Hollywood to Van Nuys. Since
then, his company The Printing Connection has grown dramatically, requiring
Steenackers to grow his equipment list and
expand and add to the building, which he
now owns. He has a wide client base and
his passion for providing his clients with a
shared dedication for mutual success with
long standing accounts.
completely renovated and seismically
resistant. Tower founder and Mexican
born immigrant, Nato Flores has built up
his company to become one of the leading
construction entities in the very competitive Los Angeles construction environment. He was elected to the Associated
General Contractors of California Board of
Directors. He is also a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
gent and contract employment are among
the first to grow out of the recession, Vaco
is helping to restore the Southern California
economy in a very direct way by helping to
lower unemployment, and placing good
people affected by the downturn back to
work with their client companies.
VPE PUBLIC RELATIONS
VACO LOS ANGELES LLC
TOWER GENERAL CONTRACTORS
Based in Sun Valley,
Tower General Contractors specializes in projects in education,
health-care/biomedical,
entertainment, retail,
industrial, government
and defense industries.
The company has been
Nato
responsible for some of
Flores
the most complex and
high profile projects in the region such as
the Columbia Space Shuttle Museum,
Beverly Hills City Hall, Gibson Amphitheater and Huntington Hospital. The most
recent example is the completion of the
LAX Theme Building, which has been
Vaco Los Angeles LLC is
a consulting and executive search firm cofounded six years ago by
Frances Moreno for the
placement of CPAs,
MBAs and IT professionals in the Greater Los
Angeles marketplace.
Frances
Vaco, under Moreno’s
Moreno
stewardship not only
puts thousands of people to work, the company also provides a shining model for how
to attract and retain excellent employees,
regularly being honored as Los Angeles’
Best Company to Work For. Moreno grew
Vaco from zero to $20 million in revenues
since its inception in 2006. Since contin-
John
Echeveste
Patricia
Perez
VPE Public Relations, formerly known as
Valencia, Pérez & Echeveste, was founded in
1988. The agency was created primarily to
serve the needs of the growing Hispanic market. In 1990, the agency acquired its first
statewide account representing Bank of
America; and in 1993 acquired its first
national account, winning the McDonald’s
national Hispanic assignment, which it has
successfully handled now for almost 20 years.
For information on sponsoring the
2013 Latino Business Awards, call 323.549.5225
A Leader and an Inspiration to Our Community,
We congratulate Mr. Alex Meruelo (Meruelo Group)
for being our favorite finalist for the Latino Business Awards!
Siempre Con Usted Sr. Meruelo,
¡Arriba y Adelante!
From the Law Office of Daniel J. Bramzon & Associates, P.C.
Serving Our Distinguished Latino Clientele For More Than A Decade