Hector Rocha is a Millennial-aged business owner who is representative of a new generation of leadership in Mercedes.

The owner of Brighthill Insurance is also the new president of the Mercedes Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors. He succeeds Fred Gonzalez, a longtime community leader who led chamber efforts for years as well as presiding over the board of the Mercedes Economic Development Corporation. Gonzalez saw the need for a younger generation to step up and take the lead of local civic organizations such as the chamber.

In Rocha, Gonzalez and the other chamber board members saw a local business owner who was ready to engage in those efforts.

“It wasn’t something I was aiming for,” Rocha said. “There was a call and I was willing to do it.”

From his insurance offices on Vermont Avenue in Mercedes, Rocha outlined the chamber’s priorities and the importance of connecting Millennials and younger generations to community life in a Mid-Valley city on the rise.

“We’re seeing the older generations retiring and they were more likely to participate (in the community),” he said. “There is a need for a younger demographic to participate and learn more about the community.”

Making An Impact

Rocha became a chamber director in 2020 and over the last five years saw the level of engagement by the organization in the community.

The Mercedes chamber is an active organization and its board officers are often seen around town wearing blue coats at groundbreakings and at ribbon cuttings for new businesses. The chamber organizes major community projects like the Texas Street Festival on Labor Day weekend and the Miss Mercedes Pageant. Both events raise funds for the chamber’s operations as it does not receive city funding.

Another major chamber endeavor yearly is providing scholarships for the graduating seniors of Mercedes-area high schools. It all goes to show, Rocha said, the varied activities the Mercedes chamber is involved in sponsoring and organizing.

“You get involved in an organization like the chamber and you see the impact it has in the community,” he said. “The fundraising for scholarships, promoting local businesses, and all of the events in Mercedes. Weattempt to bring awareness in the community as to what we do and promote the city in helping to see the kind of growth Mercedes is experiencing.”

Seeing Opportunities

Rocha like other Mercedes community leaders is bullish on the city’s growth and potential.

The open land along Expressway 83 is a key element in that growth as is the city’s willingness to work with developers. The effectiveness the economic development corporation has shown to tell the city’s story and its ideal location in the heart of the Rio Grande Valley has been demonstrated many times in recent years. The most recent example was the recent announcement of a major retail development to be built adjacent to the Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets.

“The Mid-Valley with all of the undeveloped land along the expressway is seeing new opportunities,” Rocha said. “Mercedes is in a prime position to take advantage of it. The growth we have been seeing is something that we will continue to experience and more of it is coming pretty quickly.”

Meanwhile, with an eye toward encouraging volunteerism among youth, Rocha expressed interest in working with area high schools to develop ambassador programs where students can get involved in community activities. It will be a challenge, he said, to do so since younger generations have become attached to electronic devices and interacting via social media and less toward in-person communication.

With a younger generation coming forward to lead in Mercedes, that endeavor will hopefully get a new focus as Rocha and others reach out to connect the city’s youth to their community.

-         Ric Cavazos