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COPYRIGHT 2005 The Miami Herald
Byline: Jim Wyss
Aug. 29--For the last three years, the National Minority Chamber of Commerce has worked out of small offices tucked away in two Miami-Dade Office Depot stores.
Newcomers to a terrain crowded with chambers, the four-person organization has struggled to find funding, recognition and respect. Other better established organizations have criticized the group for charging for some of its events. But as National Director Doug Mayorga says, without independent financing, "we can't live on air."
Despite its struggles, the Minority Chamber claims to have attracted 341 paying members and an impressive advisory board, including representatives from Wal-Mart, Office Depot and Alta Graphics.
Over the next few months, the organization is hoping an aggressive expansion plan -- two new chapters in South Florida and the launching of a national magazine -- will give it the visibility it needs to be a bigger player in the world of small business.
Mayorga, born in Nicaragua and raised in Puerto Rico, talked to the...
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