I can’t believe another year has passed for HPGM. I am so extremely proud of all that we’ve accomplished in the past six years and am thankful to be on this journey with you. Muchas gracias to all sponsors, members, volunteers, and everyone in between for making HPGM so successful. We’ve made significant strides toward our vision to be the leading national organization providing resources and opportunities to Hispanic professionals. Yet there is still so much opportunity.

It’s been a difficult but exciting year for the organization, as it was for many for- and not-for-profits. Even through this challenging landscape, we were able to focus on the long-term growth of the organization and we’re encouraged with the direction we’re headed. We spent many hours developing a comprehensive strategic plan that will help drive growth as well as sustain the best practices we’ve already developed. We are quite proud of our vision and are confident that we have built an organization that can survive any economic climate.

Board development has also been a major focus for us this year as it has become crucial to the operation of our organization. By creating a working matrix, we have been able to fill the gaps of our board needs and have created a solid backbone for HPGM.

In addition, we formally welcomed a new partnership with Marquette University and expanded our relationship with Cardinal Stritch. A special thank you to those two organizations for finding the value in HPGM, especially when budgets are tight and dollars are few. These partnerships have greatly improved the quality of our Leadership seminars and increased support of HPGM events across the board which has given us the opportunity to improve our offerings and grow the attendance numbers. It’s thanks to all of our sponsors that we can offer superior tools to more Hispanic professionals. Sponsors, we can’t thank you enough.

While our organization continues to grow, we haven’t reached nearly all of the Hispanic professionals that live in this area. This year we will continue to strengthen our marketing and communications efforts to expand our message into the community and increase brand awareness of HPGM. You can help by becoming an HPGM ambassador in your community. Tell your friends, tell your colleagues, tell your family.

Looking ahead, I see great opportunity and growth for HPGM. Increasing strategic partnerships is crucial to continuing this momentum. These partnerships will aid in the direction of our strategic plan and will provide the financial strength needed to sustain the high level of programming we’ve established while working through these difficult economic times.

Thank you again for all you do to make HPGM best in class. It’s an exciting time to be part of this organization and I look forward to another fun, rewarding year.

Gilbert Llanas, HPGM President
Northwestern Mutual