Volume 15 | February 25, 2019
February News and Updates
Texas LGBT Chambers of Commerce Unite
The Greater Houston LGBT Chamber is proud to partner with three other LGBT chambers in Texas to form a statewide coalition designed to advocate for LGBT-owned and allied businesses.

Founding members of the T exas LGBT Chambers of Commerce are the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce, North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce and San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce. The combined population of the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio metro areas is nearly 19 million — more residents than all but four states. The four chambers combined have more than 1,000 members and growing.

Last week, the Texas LGBT Chambers of Commerce held its first-ever Day at the Texas Capitol. Representatives of the state’s LGBT chambers visited with lawmakers to advocate for business issues important to the LGBT community. Thank you to Representative Celia Israel for presenting the Texas LGBT Chambers with a resolution on the House floor in honor of the Texas LGBT Chambers.

Thank you to our corporate partner, United Airlines for sponsoring the advocacy day along with The Fowler Law Firm. Learn more about the coalition in the press release linked below.

Join Us - 3rd Anniversary Event
February 28: Chamber Happy Hour Celebrating 3rd Anniversary

As we finish out February, the "month of love," join us at the monthly Happy Hour to celebrate the Chamber's 3rd Anniversary! Mix and mingle with fellow Chamber members and guests, exchange business cards and make new business connections. We'll also recognize our 2018 Volunteer of the Year! Thank you to our event sponsors: Waterman Steele Real Estate Advisors , David Alcorta Catering and J&D Entertainment .

Photos from Recent Events
The Chamber has been busy so far in 2019! Check out photos from our recent events.

On January, 16 the Chamber hosted a series of events with our corporate partner and sponsor Comcast featuring military veteran and author Mark David Gibson. Thank you to all who participated!




On January 25, the Chamber proudly "cut the ribbon" on the newest location for our corporate partner Regions Bank. Congratulations to our friends at Regions on the new Northbrook branch!


On January 31, the Chamber co-hosted its monthly happy hour and celebrated the Chinese New Year with corporate partner East West Bank. The January event was co-hosted with our friends at EPAH. Wine was generously provided by Los Pinos Ranch Vineyard.


On February 13, the Chamber hosted Brewing Up Business with our corporate partner Signature Care ER in the Heights. For the month of love...our theme: We LOVE our Allies! Thank you to LGBTQ Allies for your support! Special thank you to one of our newest members, Pheramor , for participating in the event.

Welcome Jonathan Marrs
J onathan came to Houston in June 2013 to help launch the U.S. division of a global energy consulting firm and oversee its United States and Mexico sector. He then went on to start the first U.S. registered apprenticeship programs in IT and Cybersecurity in the states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Jonathan is part of the Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce’s Founding Leadership Council. Learn more about him in his bio linked below. Welcome Jonathan!

New Corporate Partners
The Chamber is excited to welcome two companies that recently joined the Chamber as corporate partners.

Anywhere you find a Regions Bank office in TX, you’ll find knowledgeable professionals to help you take your next step while providing exceptional customer service and financial guidance. They can provide you with a full range of product and services to meet your financial needs, including check cashing and/or Western Union money transfers. Plus with an extensive ATM network, Online Banking and Mobile Banking, you can bank conveniently in TX or just about anywhere else.

SignatureCare Emergency Center ER is a freestanding emergency room with locations in Houston, Mission Bend / Sugar Land, Stafford, College Station and Austin, TX. Additional locations are opening soon in Killeen and Cypress, TX. The ER is open 24/7 and staffed with board-certified physicians and licensed nurses. The Emergency Rooms, located in local neighborhood communities, function like a Hospital ER. We have ambulance service available if you cannot drive.

Learn more about our corporate partners via the link below.

The 9 Online Tools Vital for Small Business Success
When you own a business, it can feel like doing the work of 10 people. Particularly at the start, a business owner can be responsible for managing everything from accounting to travel arrangements to making sales calls. Fortunately, today’s business software can make juggling all these tasks a little bit easier. Check out these tools from our corporate partner Bank of America.

Welcome New Members!
The Chamber is proud to welcome our newest members who joined in recent weeks.  Thank you for supporting the Chamber!

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Many States Still Don't Have Protections for LGBT Workers
Big business started offering protections to LGBTQ workers years ago. The 16th edition of a report by the Human Rights Campaign says a record 609 U.S. businesses earned top ratings last year as a “Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.” But more than half of U.S. states including Texas don’t have laws that specifically bar discrimination against LGBTQ workers.

4 LGBTQ Business and Money Podcasts You're Probably Missing
If you combed the internet for LGBTQ or queer money and business podcasts, you’d be hard-pressed to find enough to populate your phone screen. One might even think the queer community has nothing more to talk about than sex, sexuality and gender, politics and pop-culture. But that's not the case as the writers at Forbes discovered.

Houston Named a Top City for Minority Entrepreneur Success
The Houston area ranks No. 11 in the study, done by lending marketplace LendingTree, with Dallas-Fort Worth at No. 17, Austin at No. 29, and San Antonio at No. 34. In all, the study measures the success of minority entrepreneurs in the country's 50 largest metro areas.

Silver Corporate Partners
Bronze Corporate Partners
Founding Members
Greater Houston LGBT Chamber of Commerce | 832-510-3002 | info@houstonlgbtchamber.com | houstonlgbtchamber.com