WASHINGTON, DC ¬– The Latino Coalition’s Small Business Week events – its participation in America’s Small Business Summit, an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, held May 21-22, and its Annual Economic Summit, held May 23 – were enormous successes by all measures.

The Latino Coalition, the leading Latino non-profit small business organization founded in 1995 with a commitment of “building communities and partnerships for a stronger America,” brought together policy-makers, political leaders, leading national and international business figures, hundreds of business delegates from throughout the United States as well as international small business delegations from Mexico, Colombia and Bolivia.

Continuing its tradition as an organization that attracts a who’s who of people impacting the future of business in America, The Latino Coalition heard from former Massachusetts Governor and presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who delivered a major education speech, and Senator Marco Rubio, on the state of the Latino community and the U.S. business environment. The Annual Economic Summit, held at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building, generated more than 50 million media impressions and was covered live by CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN and was featured on the NBC Nightly News and in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times and by dozens of other media organizations.

“Our Small Business event was an overwhelming success and reflects the type of impact The Latino Coalition is going to have for our members in the coming months and years,” said Hector Barreto, former Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration and Chairman of The Latino Coalition. “We are proud of our organization’s rapid growth, its impact on our members as well as the strength of our partnerships and corporate supporters who invest in TLC and provide significant opportunities for our members.”

This year’s events were sponsored by leading corporations with a strong commitment to the success of Latino small businesses including: Walmart, AlvaradoSmith, PayProBusiness, MasterCard, Google, Dun and Bradstreet, PG&E, AT&T, Intuit, Institute for Legal Reform; Verizon, The Coca-Cola Company, SuccessED, Conexion, Tributo, News Eagle 360 and American Beverage Association and media partners Latin Business Today, CapitalWirePR and El Clasificado.

Each year The Latino Coalition is a partner in the America’s Small Business Summit – an event organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – that is focused on business-to-business procurement matches and small business education. Held at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, the event featured corporate leaders including Rosalind G. Brewer, President and CEO of Sam’s Club; Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO of FedEx Corporation; as well as Karen Mills, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, author and entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and Vanessa O’Connell, Small Business Editor of The Wall Street Journal.

These annual Small Business Week events are part of The Latino Coalition’s continued focus on providing small businesses with the keys to success including access to “The Four C’s” – capital, capacity, contracting and reducing cost.