By: Jesus Nava, IHN President,   

Finance Director/Treasurer, City of Burlingame, CA   

 

 

My how the world changes. Six months ago Latinos were being rounded up and deported and now young Latinos are applying for federal deferred action and work permits. "Dos mio!" I even read in the Arizona Republic that young undocumented immigrants who receive work permits will be eligible to pay in-state tuition at Maricopa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. What must Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Arizona Governor Brewster think about that? A couple of well-known Spanish phrases come to mind that accurately describe my personal sentiments on the matter. However as president I must rise above the fray and think only presidential thoughts.

 

For me, letting undocumented Latinos pay in-state tuition is a no-brainer. An upsurge in young Latinos attending college is good for the nation. It is also good for the IHN. It helps us achieve two of our objectives, those being: "promote the local government profession among the Hispanic population" and "encourage continued education and training in public administration." In order for the IHN to do both, we must first get Latinos to graduate from college. Then we need to get them into public administration graduate programs and into a local government career.

 

Deferred action and work permits that allow young Latinos to attend college is a start.

 

The country is also in the midst of a presidential contest that will determine the future of the nation for years to come. And by some miracle Latinos may decide who wins. Is it Karma or divine intervention that Latinos are now a group to be "courted" by both the President and his contender?

 

Whatever the source of Latinos' current good standing in the U.S. it is important to recognize that we are now in a position to assume and assert our rightful place in American society. The anti-Latino shouts in America have subsided for the moment and we must take advantage of this window of opportunity to be heard.

 

As Latinos we must advocate and promote an agenda that guarantees social, economic and political gains. In my opinion the most important three things to push for are: access to a quality education; reliable, well-paying employment opportunities and the right to vote without infringement. Now is the time to get commitments on these items from politicians seeking the Latino vote because their attention will not be there after the election.

 

Most important don't forget to actually vote in the upcoming election. And make sure you nag your family and neighbors to do the same. In fact, Latino election fiestas should be organized in homes and neighborhoods throughout the nation. The price of admission would be your "I voted" sticker.

By: Nachie Marquez, IHN Board Member and Chair of Communications Committee, Director of Communications and Public Affairs, City of Chandler, AZ

 

Do you enjoy writing? Do you dabble in the social media arena? How about creating or working on websites? Or, do you like to work with outstanding professionals? If you said yes to any one of these questions, we have the perfect IHN Committee for you to join!

 

The International Hispanic Network's (IHN) Communications Committee is comprised of some very talented and dynamic members whose responsibility is to promote IHN through various outreach efforts, including: media - radio, television, newspapers and magazines, Internet - Web and Social Media , and printed publications - Noticias Newsletter.

 

The committee members are: Angelita Marchante (Noticias Newsletter Editor), from the City of National City, California; Niki Tapia, City of Chandler, Arizona; George Flores, City of Buckeye, Arizona; Rod Alcazar, ICMA-RC, Washington, D.C.; Rolando Bono, Retired City Manager, City of San Antonio; Liz Garcia, Retired, City of San Antonio; and myself!

 

The Communications Committee has been hard at work helping to promote the IHN organization. This past year, we produced bi-monthly editions of IHN's Noticias Newsletter, assisted with the launch of IHN's new website, created IHN's Facebook Page, produced the IHN Corporate Partners Brochure, and drafted IHN's Social Media Policy.

 

The Committee is very interested in recruiting new IHN members to help us continue communicating all the great things that are happening with IHN. The Communications Committee meets via a conference call that is held the second Thursday of every month at 9:00 a.m. Arizona Time (MST). We try to keep the meetings to one hour and members are provided with a free toll-free conference call number.

 

If you are interested in joining this wonderful committee, please e-mail me at: nachie.marquez@chandleraz.gov or you can call me directly at 480-782-2232.

 

And remember, to "like us" on Facebook at www.facebook.com/IHNOnline!   

Investing Spotlight: Several Layers of Diversification

 

Diversifying your investments among various asset classes, sectors and investment styles may improve your chances of reaching your financial goals while reducing the risk of a bad investment derailing those goals.

 

The first layer of diversification, called the "asset allocation," relates to the types of investments in your portfolio, such as stock funds, bond funds, cash equivalents (i.e., stable value or money market funds) and other asset classes such as real estate. These asset classes tend to perform better than one another at different times, so investing in multiple asset classes often can reduce the variability of returns and may improve long-term performance.

 

You never know which asset class, sector or fund is going to do best and which will lag or even lose money. The behavior of stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 index over the past two years illustrates how much the performance of each type of company can vary from year to year. The total return for the large-company S&P 500 index (including dividends), increased by 17.22 percent for the 12 months ending April 30, 2011 ("prior period"), but rose just 4.76 percent in the 12 months ending April 30, 2012 ("current period"). And there were big variations in performance within the index. Companies in the energy sector gained 35.86 percent for the prior period, but lost 9.11 percent in the current period. The sector that did best last year may (or may not) be the one that does the worst the following year.¹

 

Since different sectors tend to perform better in different types of economic situations, you can generally reduce your risk by investing in the mutual funds that invest in various types of companies. Still, it's important to remember that diversification does not protect an investor from market risks and does not assure a profit.

 

It can also help to vary the size of the companies, investing some money in large-company funds and some in small-company funds, for example. You can diversify further by investing in international funds, since at times foreign markets perform differently than U.S. markets.

 

It's important to consider asset allocation and diversification when saving for retirement, and to adjust your portfolio over time. If you invest in a target-date fund,² professional fund managers select a portfolio of investments to match your timeframe, and gradually change your investments to become more conservative as your retirement date gets closer. They generally start by investing more money in stock funds, if you have more than a decade before retirement, because stock funds have tended to perform best over the long run but also have exhibited the most volatility from year to year. As you get closer to your goal, they generally shift the investments to bonds or cash equivalents, which tend to be more conservative. Your investing decisions should be based on your overall goals, personal situation, and risk tolerance.

¹The performance data quoted in this article represents past performance. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.   ²Target-date funds are not a complete solution for all of your retirement savings needs. An investment in the target-date funds includes the risk of loss, including near, at or after the target date of the fund. There is no guarantee that the fund will provide adequate income at and through an investor's retirement. Selecting the fund does not guarantee that you will have adequate savings for retirement.

 

This article is intended for educational purposes only and is not to be construed or relied upon as investment advice. Except as expressly permitted by ICMA-RC, reproduction or redistribution of this content in its entirety or any portion thereof, is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of ICMA-RC. For more information, contact ICMA-RC at 777 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4240. 800-669-7400. Copyright © 2009 ICMA-RC. All rights reserved.

Member Spotlight: Nachie Marquez  

       

City of Chandler Communications Director Nachie Marquez was appointed to the board of the International Hispanic Network (IHN). She was recognized and seated during IHN's International conference in San Antonio, Texas last week. During this one-year appointment, Marquez will chair the Communications Committee and serve with government leaders from across the country.

 

The International Hispanic Network (IHN) is the leading support organization for Hispanic local government professionals. Established by the International City-County Management Association (ICMA) in 1991, the IHN provides specialized services and support to Hispanic local government professionals and through them to the broader Hispanic community. 

 

Marquez was named the first Communications and Public Affairs Director for the City of Chandler in September 2000, where she oversees the Mayor and City Council office, Public Information and Video Production offices, Web coordination, publications, graphic design, print, mail and graphics, as well as having the responsibility of enhancing Chandler's image locally, regionally and nationally.

 

Her accomplishments include serving as the Super Bowl Coordinator for Super Bowl XXX, which was played at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona and receiving the 2007 Valle del Sol's Profile of Success Exemplary Leadership Award.

 

Marquez is a life member of the ASU Alumni Association, as well as a member of the Public Relations Society of America-Phoenix Chapter, the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA), ASU's President's Minority Advisory Council and serves on the National Hispanic American Educational Fund Awards Committee.

 

She has two sons, Derek and Taylor, with her husband of 27 years, Dr. Juan Marquez.

www.loopcap.com

 

IHN is proud to welcome Loop Capital Markets as IHN's newest Corporate Partner to join in 2012! Loop Capital Markets joined IHN's Corporate Partners Program at the Amigos/Amigas Level. IHN wishes to express its gratitude to Frank Reed and Loop Capital Markets for their support of both IHN and IHN's 2012 Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX.  

 

Loop Capital has been in operation since 1997, and is a global investment services firm that provides investment banking, brokerage and investment management services. With offices in 23 cities throughout the United States, they serve clients from the corporate, institutional and governmental sectors. Their motto is "Putting client needs at the center of everything we do." Composed of three primary entities, Loop Capital Markets is one of these entities. An agile, fast growing investment bank and broker dealer, their services include: corporate investment banking; public finance; sales and trading; transition management; and risk management.  

 

IHN's Corporate Partners Program provides a series of corporate sponsorship opportunities for members of the private sector who wish to collaborate with IHN and its membership. For more details and information about the IHN Corporate Partners Program, contact IHN's Executive Director, Julie C.T. Hernandez, at jcthernandez@ihnonline.org or visit the IHN website at www.ihnonline.org.

 

Please join with the IHN Board of Directors in thanking IHN's Corporate Partners!

City of San Antonio Comprehensive Neighborhood Sweeps Initiative

 By:Joe Angelo, Interim Director, San Antonio Animal Care Services    

 

More and more, governmental agencies are challenged to deliver services in a way that embraces both efficiency and efficacy. It's a difficult task made easier through innovative collaboration. The City of San Antonio's Animal Care Services Department has initiated such a partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio to encourage greater community awareness of responsible pet ownership. The Comprehensive Neighborhood Sweeps Initiative uses a data driven process to deploy "street teams" to identified areas with the highest concentration of stray animals and bite cases. Graduate students from the University's College of Public Policy coordinate volunteers to engage targeted communities "door-to-door" with educational materials and resources including low cost pet licensing, vaccination and spay/neuter opportunities. Following the educational outreach, animal care officers pick up strays and issue citations through neighborhood enforcement sweeps. Working with U.T.S.A, the department conducts ongoing analysis to measure the impact of previous sweeps and to identify future target areas. This strategy ensures program efficacy by increasing the reliability of the data used to generate program maps. Prior to this collaboration, Animal Care Services assigned teams to conduct monthly sweeps with varying degrees of success. While this process ensured City-wide coverage, it did not effectively address those areas that posed the greatest risk to the health and safety of the community. Partnering with the University of Texas at San Antonio, Animal Care Services has enhanced the process of improving the quality of life in local neighborhoods, resulting in happier pets...and people. 

The Town of Golden Beach is achieving another milestone breaking ground on its Center Island and Navona Avenue Bridge Renovation Projects. Coming on the heels of the closing of a nearly 35 million dollar Capital Improvement Project, the Town proceeds with another overhaul that will improve the aesthetics of the Town as well as the quality of life of its residents.

The $9.6 million project was heavily subsidized by grants awarded from the State of Florida, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Miami-Dade County. In garnering these funds Town Manager Alexander Diaz kept costs low for the Town's residents and allowed for the project to begin with ease. None of this could have been accomplished without the foresight of the Mayor and Town Council and the dedication and commitment of all of the Town's staff under the direction of Town Manager Alexander Diaz.

Member News & Notes