​Mrs. Margie Montez, Del Rio’s International Bridge Superintendent, is the driving force behind the City of Del Rio’s International Bridge, our “Golden Goose” with a Yearly  Revenue of $7.5 Million  a year .  Margie was born and raised in Del Rio, Texas. Her parents are Jose and Susana Rubio.  Margie and her husband Joe have 4 children (Selena, Jose-Rene,  Ricardo, and Joel). Margie graduated from Del Rio High School, and in 1985 started working for the City of Del Rio. Her first job was at the Utility Billing Department. She started as a billing clerk and climbed the career ladder to become the Utilities’ Billing Department Supervisor.  She states that those 22 years of customer service experience served her well and prepared her for her next position with the City of Del Rio. In 2004 she was transferred to the International Bridge where she served as Interim Bridge Superintendent; in 2005, she was selected as the International Bridge Superintendent.  As the  Bridge Superintendent, she feels that it is extremely important to provide the best customer service possible to her customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A smooth running operation of the toll booth plaza is essential to United States and International travelers crossing the border into Mexico, as well as providing safety and security to her employees and customers alike.
   As the Superintendent of this important operation, she manages an Operating Budget of $938,004 dollars.  She faces many daily challenges; however, the most recent one has been overseeing the relocation of the toll booth plaza, which is long overdue. This project has been in the planning process for years.  When the Del Rio Port of Entry (POE) was relocated, the city realized that there was a need for the toll plaza to be adjacent to the POE for safety and security reasons. This project is now becoming a reality.  The new toll booth plaza, a new bridge operations office building, along with the latest technology on line services for pre-paid customers’ accounts should be ready this summer. The new state of the art and latest technology system is also long overdue.  It will provide better service, accountability and accuracy for pre-paid customers and management. This new system is expected to go live by June 2017.  Margie’s goal is to insure a smooth transition to the new system and Toll Booth Plaza. On the team is her able assistant, Mr. Joe Rivera, Assistant Bridge Superintendent and a staff of 14 employees who maintain and provide services 24 hours, 7 days a week.
   The Del Rio Chamber and Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce are anxiously awaiting the ribbon cutting upon the completion of this important project.

​Del Rio Hispanic Chamber members attend the TAMACC Quarterly meeting in McAllen, Texas.
President Otila Gonzalez, Secretary Dora Alcala, and assistant Judith Montalvo traveled to McAllen Texas February 16 through 17th to attend the Quarterly Board of Directors’ meeting of TAMACC.  The leadership of TAMACC in partnership with the Rio Grande Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in McAllen and the Camaraderie de Comercio International presented a jam packed agenda of seven workshop sessions on Friday.  1. How to do Business in the U. S., TAx Tips and New Laws for Small Businesses, Immigration Update Under Trump Administration, Benefits of Certification of HUB and Women-Owned Businesses, Chamber Master Program, How to increase Your Membership through Benefits and, Understanding the Structure of a Chamber, Role and Responsibilities of Board of Directors. These sessions share information that is beneficial for all members.  I encourage more business owners and Directors to attend at least one meeting a year and we must make an effort to open our doors to TAMACC by planning to host one of these meetings in Del Rio.
Saturday’s 9:00 AM to1:30 PM meeting of the Board of Directors’ robust agenda included discussion of opposition of the 20% Tax Proposal on Mexican Imports and tentative plans for a Legislative Reception to be scheduled, to the upcoming BusinessConvention and Expo in the Fall scheduled to be hosted by the Irving Texas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Otila Gonzalez - President

​Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Secretary, Ms. Dora Alcala, was recently installed as the new President of the local chapter of the International Good Neighbor Council.  Mrs. Estela Naranjo, International President of the organization, came in from San Antonio, Texas to do the honors.  The installation ceremony was held at the Sunblossom Room of Ramada Inn, with Mr. Joel Langston serving as Master of Ceremonies and attended by a capacity number of supporters and invited guests that included representation from Laughlin A.F.B, IGNC officials from Monterrey, Mexico, members and guests.  Mr. Alfredo Diaz,of Monterrey, Mexico and president of the organization in Mexico was in attendance as was the Vice President Ms. Trinidad Ibarra who resides in Eagle Pass.
The Local IGNC plays a central role in the October activities of Fiesta de Amistad in our community, as they are the organizers of the Abrazo Ceremony and the International Parade.  Throughout the year, this organization promotes friendship and goodwill between our sister cities and between the US and Mexico.  Their work is to share similarities and to celebrate differences, a task that they do well.
Otila Gonzalez - President

​DRHCC is proud to introduce our new Director of Women’s Issues, Xochitl Arteaga. Mrs. Arteaga joined us from Housing Authority of the City of Del Rio, she currently serves as the Resident Service Aide and has been with the agency for 2yrs. Arteaga has a Bachelors Degree on International Business and has 12 yrs experience in the Automotive Business, she also served 2yrs as an English teacher in Cd. Acuña. She is the Co-President of the Tri-National Health Council (Del Rio-Cd. Acuña-Guatemala) whose vision is to maintain epidemiological surveillance and carry out actions aimed at the physical, mental and social well-being of this border population. Some projects are to organize events during the year to prevent, inform and educate about health demands for the community. “Working with the community has given me the satisfaction of incorporating service in my life and making a difference in my community. I am honored to serve as a DWI for the DRHCC, it has been a great experience so far and I’d like to thank everyone for the opportunity to let me serve you. I will do my best to perform and represent DHCC as best as possible”.

The January 12, 2017 Membership meeting of the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce was hosted  by the City of Del Rio.  The presentations by the City Manager Mr. Henry Arredondo and the Honorable Mayor Robert Garza were well received by those in attendance.  An overview of all major projects presently in progress is an indication of the positive development that is taking place in our community.  Mayor Garza also spoke of the importance and the impact that having commercial air service out of Del Rio has for attracting potential businesses and commercial enterprises.
As a Chamber of Commerce, we understand the need for improvement projects that make our community attractive to commercial as well as to residential growth.  As individual citizens, our power and responsibility are to support progressive municipal undertakings and realize that today’s inconveniences represent improvements for tomorrow.