Have lunch with seven teams of Wildcats!… Get ready to cheer on the Arizona Wildcats in softball, baseball, tennis, golf and track & field at the upcoming Arizona Athletics Spring Kick-Off Luncheon, held at the Tucson Convention Center. Don’t miss your chance to join student-athletes, cheerleaders, the band, Wilbur and hundreds of Wildcat fans as they hear about the upcoming season from Head Coaches Greg Allen, Tad Berkowitz, Mike Candrea, Fred Harvey, Rick LaRose, Andy Lopez and Vicky Maes. Registration is required by Tuesday, Jan. 30. Tickets are only $40 per Wildcat fan. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. and the program starts at 12 noon! This event is currently sponsored by SCF of Arizona, Lovitt & Touché and Citigroup. The sponsorship deadline is this Friday, Jan. 26, so if you’re interested in promoting your company at this wonderful luncheon, contact Lizet right away at 792-2250 ext. 137.

International trade opportunities available… The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce is working with its international partners to ensure our members have access to markets all over the world. There are a myriad of opportunities coming up in the next few months to get connected with new suppliers and/or buyers. Here are just a few:

Puerto Nuevo mission to Mazatlán – Feb. 8-11 – Augie Garcia, Director of the Puerto Nuevo Office, has joined with the Caballeros del Sol to visit Mazatlán, Sinaloa as part of the corridor development effort his office is pursuing. The purpose of the trip is to:
o Establish a formal corridor alliance with the Port of Mazatlán
o Establish a Sister Cities-type relationship with the City of Mazatlán
o Develop a working relationship with the state of Sinaloa Office of Economic Development
o Promote international passenger train service between Mazatlán and Tucson

There will be several meetings planned with the city and state dignitaries, local businesses and port and railroad management officials. The Caballeros are currently making the travel arrangements which will include hotel accommodations and a chartered, non-stop flight from Tucson to Mazatlán, as well as the return flight. The flight has only 15 seats available, so if you are interested in joining this venture, please call Lisa Cuestas at 791-5199.

Financing development and business opportunities in Mexico and Latin America – March 13 – A one-day seminar/workshop will be held in Tucson on March 13, featuring presentations by senior officials from the Inter-American Development Bank Group (www.iadb.org/projects/index.cfm), headquartered in Washington, D.C. The IADB is the largest international financing institution for Latin America and the Caribbean. It offers long term loans to governments on the order of $6 to $8 billion per year, and loans and equity opportunities to private sector companies in amounts greater than $25 million. Also participating will be the Inter-American Investment Corporation (www.iic.int/home.asp), an independent affiliate of the IADB which offers loans and equity participation to private sector firms in amounts from $100 thousand to $25 million. Separate presentations will focus on the use of remittances to Mexico and other Latin American countries to support business activities, and financing for cross-border, indigenous community and economic development activities. Policies and procedures for accessing loans, grants and guarantees and for receiving guidance on qualifying for equipment and consulting contracts for business activities in Mexico and Latin America will be offered to participating Arizona and Sonora business representatives. Attendees will receive a source book of program descriptions, procedural guidance and organizational contacts. The workshop fee of $100 ($75 prior to Feb. 1) includes catered lunch, the source book and an opportunity to meet individually with experts from the two organizations to discuss your business interests. This event will take place in the Manning House, 450 W. Paseo Redondo, in downtown Tucson, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is being organized by the Washington Liaison Office, LLC (www.wlousa.net), which recently relocated to Tucson after thirty years of international business activities in D.C. and in Europe. Registration can be made by calling 202-429-9770 or 520-299-9152.

2007 Industrial/Construction Expo in Hermosillo – March 21-23 – For our businesses that are interested in pursuing supplier and customer contacts in Mexico, this may well be just the thing. “Expo Industrial 2007″ expects to have over 6,000 qualified visitors with 320 booths available (various sizes and prices), introducing and demonstrating new products and services. There will be opportunities to network with industry experts and colleagues from all over northwestern Mexico, the Pacific Basin and the southwestern United States. This is only the second time the Construction Expo has merged with the Industrial Expo. What a terrific place to make contacts. The Tucson Chamber may organize a tour bus and hotel rooms for Chamber members if the demand is great enough. Call Paula Stuht (792-2250, ext 134) to find out more about these accommodations. For more information on this exciting international opportunity, go to http://www.expoindustrial.net/, or call Rudy Chabolla at 792-0156.

Canadian Trade Mission – June 4-6 (possible) – This trip is designed to bring together potential business collaborations and partnerships. Contact John Grabo (626-2817) or Doug Paterson, Consul & Senior Trade Commissioner for the Government of Canada (602-508-3576), for more information.

Laser Munich 2007 – Summer 2007 – The Arizona Department of Commerce will have a pavilion set up at this bi-annual exposition and plans to have at least eight Arizona optics companies in attendance with hopes of forming alliances and partnerships internationally. If interested in joining this contingent of businesses or in merely attending the conference, please contact John Grabo (626-2817) for more information.

Business Development Committee explores structural change… In its first meeting of the calendar year, the Business Development Committee discussed the possibility of changing the makeup of the group. Because of the ever-widening sphere of work in which this group is engaged, a proposal to change to a task force format was explored. Four task forces have been suggested to better define the functions of the overall committee: 1) Building Bridges to Business (B3); 2) Business Link (if the Chamber decides to take TREO up on the offer to assume the helm of this program); 3) International Business Assistance (expanding Tucson business into global markets); and 4) Downtown Retail Recruitment and Outreach. Final decisions will be made in upcoming meetings, but the Committee viewed the potential of this change as a positive direction in our efforts to assist the businesses in our region.

SAVE THE DATE… The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and United Way’s First Focus on Kids are hosting the second “You’re It” Business Breakfast at Doubletree-Reid Park on March 22. The purpose of the event is to engage and activate business leaders around the importance of early childhood development and readiness. The program will include a dynamic speaker: David Lawrence, former publisher of The Miami Herald and leading expert in the field of early childhood. For more information, contact Melissa Andrews at United Way, 903-9000 ext. 123 or mandrews@unitedwaytucson.org.