Our partnership with the city has grown exponentially. Indeed, today it's stronger than it ever has been, and together, we have built a program of work that has made a true impact, one that delivers real results for our small business community.
This past year, we hosted more than 58 programs, over 360 chamber activities and events. We welcomed over 65,000 participants across all of our initiatives. We also launched new quarterly campaigns, investing nearly $100,000 in member marketing efforts that generated meaningful results for the small business community.
And these ideas and these campaigns and the vision for the work that we focused on this year really came from our engagement with Ike. His real interest is using city dollars to promote our community and to continue to invest in small business and in industry. in a world where both industry and small business face obstacles almost at every single turn, it really is refreshing to have in Isaac a leader who focuses on solutions and building pathways for success, for every single chamber member and every EDC partner who we work with.
And while I think it's safe to say that the honeymoon for Ike is over, officially, it's been a year, we're genuinely excited for the work that continues ahead and for what we're doing to build success in McAllen. This is what true leadership looks like.
Editor's Note: The above commentary was provided by Elizabeth Suarez, who leads the McAllen Chamber of Commerce and the McAllen Economic Development Corporation. The "Ike" and "Isaac" Suarez refers to is Isaac 'Ike' Tawil, city manger for McAllen. Suarez made her comments as she introduced Tawil at a McAllen Chamber held Oct. 21, 2025.
