Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Spanish wines featured in Thursday charity tasting

A Taste of Spainl’Eté du Vin and Nashville Sister Cities have partnered to create "A Taste of Spain", a wine tasting featuring Spanish wines. One of Nashville's sister cities is Girona, Spain.

The beneficiaries of l’Eté du Vin charity events include the American Cancer Society, Camp Horizon for Children with Cancer, Nashville Memorial Foundation Hope Lodge, Gilda's Club, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, and Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center.

The event is this Thursday, and the cost is $50. Recommendations are required.

Get out the castanets, put on the flamenco music, and celebrate the many Spanish wines that have burst onto the scene in recent years.

Together with the Sister City Program of Nashville, l’Eté du Vin will host.

A Taste of Spain features some of the many and varied wines produced in the more than 50 recognized wine regions of Spain. Special Guests for the event will be producers from the Costa Brava region near Nashville’s Sister City of Girona, Spain.

Vanderbilt Stadium Club
201 25th Avenue South
February 2nd, 2006
6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
$ 50 per person
Reservations required
($25 of which is a tax-deductible
contribution to l’Ete du Vin)

Monday, January 30, 2006

This weekend: Dora the Explorer at TPAC

The Tennessean reports in this story that a live-action version of the popular "Dora the Explorer" children's television show will come to Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center this weekend. The starring role is played by Danay Ferrer, a 30-year-old Cuban actress from Miami.

According to the Nick Jr. web site
, the Dora the Explorer television show "is a half-hour animated children's television series starring a 7-year-old Latina girl and her friends. The show is designed to actively engage preschoolers in a play-along, computer-style adventure. Along the way, kids learn basic Spanish words and phrases, as well as math skills, music, and physical coordination."

Spanish is used in the show because "[e]ducators believe that introducing a second language to a child before the age of 6 or 7 is an important factor in his/her ability to achieve fluency. For many of our preschool viewers, Dora is their first encounter with a foreign language. As such, the show might teach them a little Spanish and make them curious and interested in learning more, or simply make them aware of and comfortable with foreign languages. For our Spanish-speaking preschool viewers, seeing Dora use Spanish might encourage them to take pride in being bilingual."

Friday, January 27, 2006

Barriers to driving documents fuel corruption; federal sting continues

The Tennessean reports in this article that the difficulty of getting driving documents in Tennessee has spawned a system of bribery tied to the Tennessee Department of Motor Vehicles. This week, six people were charged in a criminal sting operation called "Crooked Highway" that targeted a Franklin County driving school that hawked fake documents to ineligible applicants and bribed DMV employees to issue them licenses. Many of the school's victims were immigrants.

"The investigation, dubbed Operation Crooked Highway, has been under way by federal and state agencies for 18 months, Vines said yesterday."

"Federal officials say two immigrants directed people, many immigrants themselves, to Winchester Driving School in Franklin County and paid for fraudulent third-party certification. In turn, the driving school allegedly paid two Department of Motor Vehicle clerks to provide licenses to those certificate holders."

The Nashville City Paper reported on the operation in this article

This same investigation led to charges against two other people in 2005, as mentioned by the Tennessean here.

update: The Associated Press has also published this article which hints that the requirements for obtaining driving documents are strict but that the requirements are easily bypassed. According to this article in the Chattanoogan, some Tennessee state senators are calling for stricter requirements.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Nashville public schools name Hispanic liaison

The Nashville City Paper reports in this article that Nashville's public school system has hired a Hispanic family outreach coordinator. His name is Ruben DePena, and his title is Language Translation Coordinator, but he says, "It's more than a language issue."

"DePena also sees himself as a liaison Nashville's Hispanic community can trust and approach with concerns."

"He is living up to that role by being present at community meetings to answer questions from Spanish-speaking families, according to Metro Foreign Language Coordinator Beckie Gibson."

The article cites some interesting statistics:

Number of languages spoken by Metro students: 75

Number of translation paraprofessionals employed by Metro for parents, staff and students: 29

Hispanic students as a percentage of the total Metro student population: 11%

Hispanic English language learners ("ELL") as a percentage of the total Metro ELL population: 78%

Hispanic student graduation rate: 40% (lowest in Metro)

Achievement gap between white and Hispanic elementary students in math and language arts: over 10%

"'If we get the parents and the community as a whole to work in unison, I believe we will see better results,' DePena said. 'I would like our students to be able to bridge the achievement gap to unprecedented levels.'"

update: Metro is also producing a new Spanish-language TV spot called "Metro Minutes", according to this article in the Tennessean. “These public service announcements address a range of topics to help parents learn about our schools and the programs (and) services we provide," said DePena.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Hispanic insurance agent Al Cadenas hangs a shingle

The Nashville Business Journal reports in this article that Al Cadenas, a former State Farm agent who focused on the Hispanic community in Nashville, has opened his own insurance agency on Nolensville Road.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Nashville t-shirt line inspires Cuban nostalgia

Los Pollitos DicenAuthor Chantel Acevedo, a first-generation Cuban-American woman, noted in a touching recent blog entry that Nashville entrepreneur Carrie Weir's clothing line Los Pollitos Dicen is a welcome reminder of her Cuban roots, which she wonders how she will pass on to her daughter.

The Los Pollitos Dicen children's clothes feature pictures of baby chicks and phrases borrowed from Spanish-language rhymes and phrases.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Next Thursday: Tango returns

Tango Nashville announced its first Milonga of the new year, next Thursday, January 26:

"Milonga"
(Argentine Tango Dance/Social Gathering)

Thursday, January 26, 2006
7:00 to 9:00 pm
Ibiza Night Club
15128 Old Hickory Blvd., Nashville, TN 37211
(almost corner with Nolensville Pike, in the Hickory Trace Village strip mall where the Sherwin Williams store is).
http://ibizanc.com

Kick off 2006 one more time! Celebrate with us and connect with others! Featuring a 30-minute essentials Argentine Tango class for everyone - newcomers, beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers and students, a great dance floor and atmosphere AND a great selection of Tango music.
Tickets are:
$12 per person for non-Tango Nashville members
$8 per person for Tango Nashville members

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Metro Police Department calls for Spanish-speaking clergy volunteers

Channel 4 reports in this storyt that the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department needs Spanish-speaking clergy to volunteer to assist the community at crime scenes. The clergy do not do police work, but they comfort the public and free up investigators.

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Vanderbilt Kennedy Center needs Spanish-speaking child volunteers for autism video

The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center is creating a video tutorial that will be used to teach clinicians how to screen for autism, and a Spanish-language version will be funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The idea is to promote early recognition and diagnosis of autism in Hispanic communities.

The Center is recruiting young, typically developing Spanish-speaking children to be filmed. Families will be asked to come to one 30-45 minute appointment at Vanderbilt, and they will be reimbursed $100 at the time of appointment.

Here is the text of the announcement:

Does your child look great in front of the camera?

We are making videotape recordings of children that will be used to teach clinicians and other service providers how to screen for autism using the STAT (Screening Tool for Autism in Two-Year-Olds).

The STAT was developed by Dr. Wendy Stone as an interactive, play-based measure looking at dimensions of play, motor imitation, and communication. We are looking for children with and without autism so that we can demonstrate a variety of responses to the STAT. These video recordings will be used on a training CD-ROM and on a secure website that will be available only to qualified trainees. Your child’s identity will be protected, though in some clips his or her first name may be audible. Parents are welcome to observe their child’s filming.

Children who participate in the 45-minute filmed play session will receive a check for $100 as our way of saying thank you.

We are looking for children who:

· Have Autism or PDDNOS and are between the ages of 24 and 36 months
OR
· Have a Developmental Delay and are between the ages of 24 and 36 months
OR
· Have Typical Development and are between the ages of 15 and 30 months.

We particularly invite children from minority backgrounds.


When is the filming?

Date: Monday, February 6, 2006
Time: 45-minute appointments in the morning or afternoon
Location: Vanderbilt University Village at Vanderbilt, 1500 Pierce Avenue

For additional information, or to schedule your child’s visit, please contact
Amy Swanson, Project Manager, at (615) 322-6533 or amy.r.swanson@vanderbilt.edu

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Martin Luther King, Jr.: a voice for 2006

Martin Luther King, Jr.from Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963:

I am in Birmingham because injustice is here. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. left their villages and carried their "thus saith the Lord" far beyond the boundaries of their home towns, and just as the Apostle Paul left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world, so am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town. Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid.

Moreover, I am cognizant of the interrelatedness of all communities and states. I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere within its bounds.

You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. But your statement, I am sorry to say, fails to express a similar concern for the conditions that brought about the demonstrations. I am sure that none of you would want to rest content with the superficial kind of social analysis that deals merely with effects and does not grapple with underlying causes. It is unfortunate that demonstrations are taking place in Birmingham, but it is even more unfortunate that the city's white power structure left the Negro community with no alternative.

...

Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but, as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups tend to be more immoral than individuals.

We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was "well timed" in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation. For years now I have heard the word "Wait!" It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This "Wait" has almost always meant “Never." We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that "justice too long delayed is justice denied."

We have waited for more than 340 years for our constitutional and God given rights. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. Perhaps it is easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, "Wait." But when you have seen vicious mobs lynch your mothers and fathers at will and drown your sisters and brothers at whim; when you have seen hate filled policemen curse, kick and even kill your black brothers and sisters; when you see the vast majority of your twenty million Negro brothers smothering in an airtight cage of poverty in the midst of an affluent society; when you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six year old daughter why she can't go to the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children, and see ominous clouds of inferiority beginning to form in her little mental sky, and see her beginning to distort her personality by developing an unconscious bitterness toward white people; when you have to concoct an answer for a five year old son who is asking: "Daddy, why do white people treat colored people so mean?"; when you take a cross county drive and find it necessary to sleep night after night in the uncomfortable corners of your automobile because no motel will accept you; when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs."; when you are harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what to expect next, and are plagued with inner fears and outer resentments; when you are forever fighting a degenerating sense of "nobodiness"--then you will understand why we find it difficult to wait. There comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair. I hope, sirs, you can understand our legitimate and unavoidable impatience.

You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, at first glance it may seem rather paradoxical for us consciously to break laws. One may well ask: "How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all." Now, what is the difference between the two? How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law. Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority. Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an "I it" relationship for an "I thou" relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things. Hence segregation is not only politically, economically and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful. Paul Tillich has said that sin is separation. Is not segregation an existential expression of man's tragic separation, his awful estrangement, his terrible sinfulness? Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong.

Let us consider a more concrete example of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. This is difference made legal. By the same token, a just law is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This is sameness made legal.

Let me give another explanation. A law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the legislature of Alabama which set up that state's segregation laws was democratically elected?

...

In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. But be assured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deep disappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love the church. How could I do otherwise? I am in the rather unique position of being the son, the grandson and the great grandson of preachers. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. But, oh! How we have blemished and scarred that body through social neglect and through fear of being nonconformists.

There was a time when the church was very powerful--in the time when the early Christians rejoiced at being deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being "disturbers of the peace" and "outside agitators."' But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were "a colony of heaven," called to obey God rather than man. Small in number, they were big in commitment. They were too God-intoxicated to be "astronomically intimidated." By their effort and example they brought an end to such ancient evils as infanticide and gladiatorial contests.

Things are different now. So often the contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often it is an archdefender of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church's silent--and often even vocal--sanction of things as they are.

But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.

Perhaps I have once again been too optimistic. Is organized religion too inextricably bound to the status quo to save our nation and the world? Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. But again I am thankful to God that some noble souls from the ranks of organized religion have broken loose from the paralyzing chains of conformity and joined us as active partners in the struggle for freedom. They have left their secure congregations and walked the streets of Albany, Georgia, with us. They have gone down the highways of the South on tortuous rides for freedom. Yes, they have gone to jail with us. Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. But they have acted in the faith that right defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. Their witness has been the spiritual salt that has preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times. They have carved a tunnel of hope through the dark mountain of disappointment.

...

One day the South will recognize its real heroes. They will be the James Merediths, with the noble sense of purpose that enables them to face jeering and hostile mobs, and with the agonizing loneliness that characterizes the life of the pioneer. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: "My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest." They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience' sake. One day the South will know that when these disinherited children of God sat down at lunch counters, they were in reality standing up for what is best in the American dream and for the most sacred values in our Judaeo Christian heritage, thereby bringing our nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the founding fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

...

I hope this letter finds you strong in the faith. I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother. Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Unbeaten Cumberland U. women's basketball team has Brazilian flair

The Tennessean reports in this article that the women's basketball team of Cumberland University has a few international students, including three from Brazil. The team plays Trevecca Nazarene tonight in Lebanon.

"The mishmash of international players, combined with mostly players from the Midstate, has proven to be a winning blend. Cumberland is 14-0 and ranked 10th nationally in the NAIA."

"The postgame, when teams typical exchange courtesies, ought to be interesting. Fernandes is from Brazil, where hugging's as common as shaking hands."

"'I am always trying to hug everybody, even people I've just met because that's the way it is in my culture,' [player Juliana] Fernandes said. 'People look at me like I'm crazy. Now I'm learning how to approach people. I know who I can hug and who I should just shake hands with.'"

"Being forced to learn English ... has turned out to be beneficial ... for all of the international players, according to Kari Maddux, a sophomore from Hendersonville (Tennessee, that is)."

"'At first, we were like, 'Oh no, how are we going to communicate with each other?'' Maddux said. 'But now they communicate more in English than we do on the court. The players from the other countries do a better job of actually talking on the court. I think it's because once they learn the language, they consider it something that can help them, whereas we just take it for granted.'"

Brazil is not included in some definitions of "hispanic," which focuses on Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, because Brazilians speak Portuguese and trace their colonial roots to Portugal. Brazil is the largest of all the South American countries, and its population represents half of South America.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Hospitality study: labor supply is greatest concern, immigration is part of solution

Jeff Coy of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants writes in this article that the tight labor supply is the greatest threat facing the hospitality industry, and that net immigration levels serve as a buffer to protect the U.S. from other factors which would otherwise constrict supply. Coy also cites an anecdote about tough competition for hospitality employees in Nashville.

“'In Nashville, a new general manager of major chain hotel sent a truck to a competitor’s property. On the side of the truck was a sign offering cash bonuses to employees willing to come to work for him. On the inside of the truck was a man handing out applications. At the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, the average housekeeper accumulated almost 500 hours of overtime last year. When Disney Hotels was recruiting workers for its hotels and restaurants in Orlando, company representatives traveled to Pittsburgh, Rochester NY and San Juan, Puerto Rico offering $1500 relocation bonuses and a $100 airline ticket to anyone who would work for Disney for at least one year,' according to Valerie Ferguson, former chairman of AH&LA, the trade association of the nation’s $93 billion dollar lodging industry in her testimony to US House Committee on Education and the Workforce."

"In the 21st century, the world economy is a service-economy. Services require people. Therefore, any worker shortages have a greater impact on the service industries, such as hospitality, leisure, recreation, childcare, healthcare, assisted living, long term care and other personal services. The number of available jobs in the USA is projected to increase by 22 million by 2010. Yet the labor force is projected to increase by only 17 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The US hospitality and leisure industry is expected to grow by 2.1 million jobs between 2002 and 2012 (17.8 percent) which represents a faster increase than the 14.8 percent job growth for all industries."

"When you first delve into the Shrinking Labor Force issue, you quickly realize it is not the problem of just one occupation or one industry or even one country. It is not the problem of just the advanced nations, but rather it is a global problem that affects almost all of the major countries of the world. Why is this? What are the causes of a shrinking labor supply in so many countries?

* Fewer babies born
* People living longer
* Slowing population growth rate
* Aging of the population
* Fewer persons in the working-age group
* Fewer working-age persons participating in the labor force
* Geographical separation of jobs and workers
* Net immigration"

"The United States can maintain a fairly brisk growth in its labor supply over the next 50 years without any change in its current levels of fertility, immigration and labor force participation. Even if the United States fertility rate were to fall from 2.1 to 1.8, the USA labor force would continue to grow, although at a considerably slower rate after 2015. If this relatively favorable future is cause for concern, other countries face a more serious situation."

Sunday, January 8, 2006

Anti-immigrant climate stigmatizes and radicalizes in Denmark

DenmarkThe new year 2006 is expected to be filled with hot political talk on immigration. The hot talk itself may backfire and throw the U.S. into turmoil, if Denmark is any guide. The New York Times reports in this article of Denmark's "intensifying anti-immigrant climate that is stigmatizing minorities and radicalizing young Muslims."

Friday, January 6, 2006

Three Kings Day brings sweets and reminders of the continuing Christmas story

At a time when most Nashville businesses have taken down their Christmas decorations and wrapped up the holiday sales season, the Tennessean reports in this article that the holiday season is not over for some Hispanic businesses. Pastry and party sales are up in anticipation of the Christian holiday Three Kings Day, which is popular in Mexico and across Latin America and also celebrated here in Middle Tennessee.

"This morning, many children in Mexico and Mexican immigrants in the United States will awake hoping they received gifts overnight."

"To them, this is the El Dia de Reyes, the Day of the Three Kings celebration, a joyous cultural and religious observance that commemorates the biblical story of the Magi, or wise men, who traveled from different nations to Bethlehem bearing gifts for the newborn Jesus."

"As part of the festivities, family and friends will eat Rosca de Reyes, a traditional ring-shaped bread, and tamales with hot chocolate."

"By Wednesday afternoon, orders for the ring-shaped bread had picked up at Aurora Bakery, an international bakery on Nolensville Road."

"Ivette Miranda, whose father owns Variedades Latinas, a party shop on Nolensville Road, said in El Salvador families have a special meal together on Jan. 6 but usually exchange fewer gifts than other families."

"But there is a cultural sway in the United States among Mexican children toward Dec. 25 being the time for gift exchanges, said Maricruz Figueroa, who works for Hispanic ministry at St. Edward Catholic Church on Thompson Lane in Nashville."

"'In the Southwest, it is big and I know families celebrate as a way to hold on to traditions they had in Mexico. I do not think children complain about getting gifts in December and in January.'"

Thursday, January 5, 2006

Nashville company debuts Hispanic employee benefit enrollment service

Nashville-based Cornerstone Enrollment Services announced in this press release the debut of Hispanic Enrollment Service, designed to more successfully enroll Hispanic employees in employee benefit programs.

Until now, a “Hispanic enrollment” meant simply hiring some bilingual enrollers. But the actual enrollment is the result of a benefit communications process that determines employee interest and participation in the enrollment.

A study of barriers to health coverage for Hispanic workers concludes, “The benefit materials are many times not written in Spanish, making it very difficult for non-English speaking employees to have access to this information, which affects the number of new hires that enroll and participate in such programs.” (Snapshot in Time Close-Up, State Public Policy Group, 2000)

In response to this pressing need, Cornerstone Enrollment Services announces its comprehensive, turnkey Hispanic Enrollment Service.

Cornerstone provides a turnkey Spanish-language enrollment, providing all the materials and services — not just bilingual enrollers — necessary for a successful enrollment:

-- Customized pre-enrollment communication materials in Spanish, including paycheck inserts, product brochures & information, flyers & posters, personalized benefit statements, group presentation materials, and one-on-one marketing materials;
-- Bilingual presentations for group meetings;
-- Bilingual career benefit counselors;
-- Insurance policies in Spanish (certain carriers only).

"In order for many Hispanic employees to understand the benefits being offered during an enrollment, pre-communication materials in Spanish are essential," said Sylvia Tellez, the bilingual Director of Hispanic Enrollment Services for Cornerstone. "Unless they know what benefits the enrollment is providing, Hispanics tend not to participate, even when bilingual benefit counselors are provided."

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

New Year's Resolution for Hispanic businesses: break into Music City Future 50

In September, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce announced its list of 2005's fastest-growing private companies in Middle Tennessee. None of the owners or chief decision-makers were Hispanic.

According to this article in the Tennessean, nominations for 2006 will be solicited this summer.
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