In May, the first national study on Hispanics and their health was released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The surprising results showed that Hispanics are generally healthier and have a longer life expectancy than non-Hispanic whites, though we do have some areas to grow in.

"Although Hispanics have lower overall drinking rates compared with white non-Hispanics, when they do drink, on average they have higher rates of binge drinking," says Dr. Ken Dominguez, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC and lead author of the report. More surprising news? The study revealed that Hispanics are affected specifically by certain conditions, with high rates of obesity and diabetes contributing to the two leading causes of death: cancer and heart disease. READ MORE AT USATODAY

Chicago, IL — The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) is inviting families across Chicagoland, Northwest Indiana and Southern Wisconsin to register for Scouting on September 17th at an elementary school near them and receive a free model rocket they’ll get to launch at events throughout the region a few weeks later.

The “Blast into Scouting” campaign is aimed at introducing families to the BSA’s positive and fun-focused program called Cub Scouts, which is open to boys in first through fifth grade. In Cub Scouts, boys learn leadership and life skills while participating in adventures ranging from building pinewood derby cars and assembling robots to enjoying the great outdoors and helping others through its strong focus on community service.

“I commend the Boy Scouts of America on its character and its drive to make this valuable program available to every boy. I encourage people to take advantage of this opportunity to join Scouting, as this program is an important asset in improving our communities,” said La Shawn K. Ford, a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and local vice president of membership for the BSA.

Now in its second century of serving youth and families, the BSA is building off its first hundred years by incorporating more science, engineering, and technology-based programs to reach even more young people. Presenting new members with their own rockets and a platform to launch them is just one of many examples of Scouting’s forward- thinking programs.

Regional Scouting Executive Fred Wallace said, “We are thrilled with the support we’ve received from so many schools and educators and are truly indebted to our campaign partners and sponsors; Trails-End Popcorn-a division of Weaver popcorn, and the University of Illinois Chicago, which both recognize the importance of instilling fundamental principles in young people.”

Thousands of BSA volunteers will be in local elementary schools from 7-8 p.m. on September 17th to answer questions, register new members and hand out free model rockets and an invitation to launch them. It costs $32 to join Scouting but all boys can become Scouts regardless of a family’s ability to pay.

Interested families should visit BlastIntoScouting.org to find a local participating school or to register for Scouting online. Those who sign up online by September 17th will also receive a free model rocket.

*Media is invited to the launch parties. Please view the attached flyer for a list of launch times and locations. Contact Marketing and Public Relations Director Kate Jacobs at Kate.Jacobs@Scouting.org if you plan to attend.

The Boy Scouts of America is one of the nation's largest and most prominent values-based youth development organizations. The BSA provides a program for young people that builds character, trains them in the responsibilities of participating citizenship, and develops personal fitness.

For over a century, the BSA has helped build the future leaders of this country by combining educational activities and lifelong values with fun. The Boy Scouts of America believes — and, through over a century of experience, knows — that helping youth is a key to building a more conscientious, responsible, and productive society.

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A Hispanic entrepreneur with humble beginnings has taken the helm as CEO of United Airlines after the head of the airline company was forced to resign on Tuesday.

Oscar Muñoz, a railroad executive and head of United's audit committee, is a trailblazing executive who has twice been named as "100 Most Influential Hispanics" by Hispanic Business magazine.

The California native is the oldest of nine children and has said that he pushed for all siblings to attend and graduate college. Muñoz graduated from the University of Southern California with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and he received a master's in business administration from Pepperdine University. READ MORE ON FOX NEWS LATINO

In 2011, I stressed that mobile was a must for reaching U.S. Hispanics. Back then, few brands were proactively targeting U.S. Hispanics on their mobile devices despite the growing evidence that Hispanics were becoming mobile first consumers.

Today, a mobile strategy is an essential component of any marketing plan striving to connect with the 55 million Hispanics in the U.S. that spend over $1.5 trillion per year.

Here’s why:

1. U.S. Hispanics are mobile dominant

Relative to the general market, U.S. Hispanics have embraced mobile technology at higher rates. It won’t be long before the majority of U.S. Hispanics favor using their smartphones to go online. READ MORE ON MEDIAPOST

Now's the time to focus your efforts.

Recruiting picks up in the fall. Employers are back from vacation mode. They see their end-of-year targets and if they are behind, they have to hire now to hit goal. They have three quarters’ worth of budget data, and if there is salary money still to be allocated, they have to hire now or possibly lose the headcount in the next year. So there are multiple reasons why the fall is a great time to prioritize your job search activity if you’ve slacked off or gotten discouraged during the summer. Here are 4 tips to jump start your job search for the fall season:

Savor the summer

Yes, as people come back to the busy fall they pine for their summer. Use the after-summer glow to engender good feelings... READ MORE AT TIME

White or Asian men are the typical employees in major US technology firms, and this has changed little since the first wave of "diversity reporting" last year.

Workforce data provided by companies was global regarding gender and limited to the United States regarding ethnicity.
GOOGLE was overall 70 percent male in January 2015, a make-up unchanged from the previous year. When it came to purely technology jobs, the percentage of men rose to 82.

Some 60 percent of Google employees were white, while about 31 percent were said to be Asian.
The Internet giant stepped up recruitment of blacks and Hispanics last year, but their share of the workforce remained unchanged at two and three percent respectively. Google said that it has ramped up university recruitment and is devoting $150 million this year to improving diversity.

APPLE increased last year's hiring of women, blacks and Hispanics by more than 50 percent, adding a total of 15,900 positions in a new record for the world's biggest technology company, according to chief executive Tim Cook, who maintained that there was "a lot more work to be done." READ MORE AT PHYS.ORG

Women, blacks, Asians and Hispanics have built up substantial positions as business owners in several sectors of the U.S. economy. But based on revenue, those businesses are on average considerably smaller than white- or male-owned firms, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Overall, men owned more than half of the nation’s 27.6 million firms in 2012, according to preliminary results from the Survey of Business Owners, and women owned more than 9.9 million businesses, about 36% of the total. The remaining 10% of firms were either jointly owned by men and women or could not be categorized by gender because they were publicly traded companies or have... READ MORE AT PEW RESEARCH CENTER

Have you put your job search on hold for the summer? As kids return to school and hiring managers end their vacations, it's time to get your hunt into high gear. Here are six things you should be doing, especially at this time of year:

1. Treat every day as a new opportunity for a fresh start. If you are looking backward with a tinge of guilt for sitting at the beach when you know you could have been working more productively to advance your career, give yourself permission to let it go. Recognize that every day presents new opportunities, and resolve to put in maximum effort from today onward.

2. Get support from your family. As schedules move into fall mode, this is a good time for a family conversation about your own needs for time to concentrate on getting a job. READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Networking is a critical and noteworthy skill that is overlooked by many professionals until they are seeking another job. ButWaiting until you want to change jobs or have been laid off is often too late, and many of your contacts, whether they are ones you met in person or online through LinkedIn or Facebook, might take offense.

Viewing networking as a reciprocal relationship is paramount, because individuals need to offer insight or provide contacts in their network to others instead of relying on making a request, said Robin Marks, associate director for the counseling and programming team at the University of Delaware in Newark.

Networking relationships should be cultivated “all the time,” because even if you are not searching actively for a job, as you develop relationships you also find mentors and people who are familiar with your industry, trends and professional organizations, she said. READ MORE AT THE STREET

If the U.S. Hispanic market were its own country, the nation would rank as the 13th largest global economy, said Emmanuel Laroche, vice-president of marketing and consumer insights, North America, for Symrise, Inc., Teterboro, N.J.

Mr. Laroche served as the leadoff presenter at the 2015 “Sabor in America,” a symposium sponsored by Symrise to offer insights into the Latino influence in food and beverage markets. The event was held in July to coincide with the Institute of Food Technologists’ annual meeting and food exposition in Chicago. In his talk, Mr. Laroche melded data about Hispanics with insights and questions about how food and beverage companies should think about the changing demographic environment. READ MORE AT FOOD BUSINESS NEWS

If you're a recent graduate or returning to the workforce, you should consider brushing up on your networking skills.

At networking events, remember that you're all in the same boat. Everyone is there specifically to network. They all have the same goals as you: to find people with whom they can potentially craft win-win partnerships. Use this concept to boost your confidence.

Dress for success. When you RSVP for an event, inquire about the dress code if that information has not been provided. Make sure to wear professional-looking clothing.

Talk to the man or woman in the mirror. Before you attend a networking event, practice introducing yourself in front of a mirror. Enunciate your name loudly and slowly enough that people can hear it clearly. Smile as you speak. Before you enter the event space, do a final check of your appearance. READ MORE AT TribLIVE

Earning a college degree is supposed to be a pathway to higher wages, greater wealth and protection from economic shocks. But for millions of African American and Hispanic graduates, higher education has failed to serve as a buffer against financial crises.

A new study from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis found that while college-educated African Americans and Hispanics had more assets than those without degrees, grads typically fared worse in the face of financial turmoil.

College graduation and home ownership rates among both of those minority groups have soared during the past two decades, delivering more African American and Hispanic families into the middle class. Yet a crippling economic recession erased much of those gains for many families, who remain mired in debt and struggling to reverse the devastation. READ MORE AT WASHINGTON POST

Businesses owned by women in Texas are growing at more than twice the rate of all firms nationwide. While visiting the Big Apple last month, I was proud to note that Texas already beats New York — not only in the number of women-owned businesses, but also in the revenue and jobs they create.

Realtor Monica McNabb of San Marcos knew she needed additional capital to reach the next level, but finding a lender willing to lend to a young startup was a challenge.

Now a successful real estate broker and owner of McNabb & Co., recognized as an Emerging Business of the Year by the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce, Monica is celebrating six years in business along with her team of 14 agents. A mother of two girls, Monica also teaches entrepreneurship and real estate finance at the McCoy College of Business Administration at Texas State University, hoping to inspire more young women to join the 825,400 women business owners in Texas. READ MORE AT SETEXASRECORD

Whether you're just starting out in your career or you're looking to move on from your current position, finding the right job isn't always easy.

If you're fortunate enough to have multiple job offers to choose from, it can be challenging and stressful to decide which one is the right fit, especially with all the different factors that go into each job offer. From salary and benefits to company culture and career advancement possibilities, there's a lot to consider.

So, how do you choose the right job without worrying if you've made the wrong decision? READ MORE AT BUSINESS NEWS DAILY

Amazing news on this year's Women's Equality Day: The number of companies owned by Latinas has soared in the past several years, despite the fact that the overall growth rate of new businesses has stalled.

The number of companies owned by Latinas rose 87 percent between 2007 and 2012 to 1.48 million, WSJ reports. Business owned by African-American women increased by 68 percent during the same period, and Asian women saw a 44 percent growth.

Overall, the total number of U.S. companies increased by two percent, and the number of women-owned businesses rose 27 percent during the same period.

Some believe that the numbers increased so dramatically because women of color had a bigger necessity to start their own businesses because of job losses during the recession. READ MORE AT LATINA

The rate of Hispanic homeownership in the U.S. is dwindling in comparison to the rate of Hispanic population growth.

Despite being 17 percent of the country’s current population, Hispanic homeownership is at an all-time low, reaching a rate of 45.4 percent in 2014, a decline from 46.1 percent in 2013, according to the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate and the Pew Research Center.

Hispanics consecutively made up more than half of the U.S. population growth from 2000 to 2010 and growth is expected to double in the next 20 to 30 years, according to a 2014 report by the State of Hispanic Homeownership.
As a result, Hispanics are expected to account for the largest share of household growth. READ MORE AT FIUSM

“When people say, ‘networking’, they’re really talking about meeting new people who working in the same industry that they do. In normal parlance, this could be called, ‘making friends’,” she wrote, adding that having good connections is critical in any profession.

Making use of natural opportunities to connect with people can be easier than you think.
Start Internally

Networking with your colleagues is easily overlooked, but in some ways is the most efficient way of networking. READ MORE AT AUSTRALASIAN LAWYER

A new poll finds African-American and Hispanic millennials are just as technologically connected and likely to get news through social media as regularly as their white counterparts, further narrowing the risk of people of color being left behind technologically.

Overall, 57 percent of millennials say they get news and information from Facebook at least once a day, and 81 percent say they get it from Facebook at least once a week. The poll also found that Hispanics and African-Americans are just as likely as any millennials to have a paid news subscription.

There was little differentiation between racial groups getting news from Facebook, the poll found. But about half of African-American millennials said they comment on news stories posted to Facebook, compared to about 3 in 10 whites and Hispanics.

The findings suggest that, despite fears that millennials — those 18-34 years old — may not be going to traditional sources for news, they are clearly getting news from social media. READ MORE AT U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT

Hispanics have grown steadily more confident in their personal finances over the past year, as well as the U.S. economy as a whole, according to a new survey by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative.

When Hispanics were asked about their current personal finances, 62 percent reported they are better off than a year ago, up from 45 percent in August 2014. In addition, when asked their perceptions of personal finances a year from now, 72 percent of Hispanics surveyed expect their financial situation to be better in 2016, up from 50 percent in August 2014.

Optimism toward business conditions also improved as the percentage of those who expect the country to experience good times financially in the next 12 months rose to 54 percent in July compared to 40 percent in August 2014. READ MORE AT ORLANDO BUSINESS JOURNAL

DISCUSSION PANELISTS

Ozzie Guillen JR, Marketing & Recruiting Manager, Latino Market, New York Life Chicago

Born in Las Vegas Nevada and raised in Caracas Venezuela. Ozzie graduated from Colombia College. Prior to beginning a career in New York Life Ozzie worked in Sports Marketing Media and entertainment. Ozzie entered the financial services industry in 2013 as an Agent. Ozzie then came to New York Life in 2014 as the Senior Director of Marketing. He specializes in recruiting the Latino Market.

Lourdes Martinez, General Manager, Colonial Life

Lourdes Martinez has been in the insurance industry for 17 years. She is the founder of Agsant Group Inc. since 2009 and represents Colonial Life, which is a company that works directly with businesses to help with the attraction and retention of key employees as well as help them navigate through the obstacles they face with the new laws and regulations of the health care reform. Because of the ten years of experience with Colonial Life, she was chosen to represent the Hispanic Industry in the Midwest region. Currently with Colonial Life she has been awarded the Achieving Continuous Excellence Award, Leaders Conference Qualifier as well as Silver Premium Pacesetter Award. She enjoys being a part of the community and to spend quality time with her family and friends.

George Burciaga, CEO, elevate DIGITAL

Born in Chicago’s Pilsen community, George is no stranger to struggle, adapting and overcoming obstacles. In fact, he leverages this skill set in today’s business practice.

George Burciaga launched his most recent technology firm, elevate DIGITAL in 2012. elevate is transforming consumer communication at street-level with its “Citizen Mobility Experience”, a platform which provides an eco-system of content, messaging, services, and predictive data across connected SMART devices. The platform engages users by touch, digital content, sensoring, and enabling Cities to connect everyone. Elevate’s technology is being deployed across the country and has secured partnerships with global technology partners and Fortune 500 clients.

Burciaga started his career while at DePaul University, where he developed and implemented BIOS correction software with clients like BMO/Nesbitt and licensed the technology to Microsoft. George is also the founder and CEO of smarTECHS.net, a Chicago-based national IT firm specializing in application, infrastructure and project management development for clients in both private and public sector. This firm played a significant role in the redevelopment of New Orleans after Katrina, the first City of Chicago Digital-Divide plan (recognized by Washington) and the participation in the elevate Miami project. Burciaga was honored in Washington by two U.S. Presidents as a National Technology Business leader and received the Inc. 5000 award as well.

An active civic leader, Burciaga has a strong commitment to community service and development. He started the “Follow Me” program, in which he visits Chicago-area high schools and encourages students to attend college. Burciaga also participates in the annual Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center’s “Future Founders” program.Burciaga was also selected to serve as a Chicago United board member, and is a current member of the Economic Club of Chicago, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and several other national advisory councils.
Raised by his grandparents in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and attending Chicago Public Schools, Burciaga found himself in a position to become innovative by necessity. He is the first college graduate in his family and currently resides in the Chicago area with his wife, Trina, and their three children Sofia, Giana, and Lorenzo.

Jenny Sepulveda, CEO & Managing Broker, Luxe Marketing & Sales

Luxe Marketing is Jenny Sepulveda's most recent business venture - an all-inclusive marketing, branding, recruiting and business development firm committed to providing elegant and effective cross-industry service. The firm will also act as a recruiter for real estate companies.

Luxe Marketing has access to talent in a wide variety of industries, from real estate to digital marketing to art & design. By mobilizing its diverse team of professionals, Luxe Marketing can develop complete marketing packages that present your business or event perfectly.

Jenny Sepulveda is an unstoppable force in the world of real estate and philanthropy. Jenny started her career as a real estate agent with Koenig & Strey Gold Coast and after five years began her career in management with prestigious real estate firms serving as a managing broker. She has proven her ability to grow a company, and has recruited, trained, and coached over 200 employees into becoming successful sales agents. Chicago Agent Magazine identified Jenny as a real estate powerhouse in their 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 “Who’s Who in Real Estate” issues. She decided to embark in her vision of opening a boutique firm that feels as cozy as your living room, a place where agents have the choice to work in a living room environment, a café bar area or in a traditional desk environment. It’s an experience for the agent who wants an environment that not only focuses on real estate but balancing your life with a wellness department. Starting her career in a boutique environment office, she realized that was the kind of office she wanted but with a new spin on real estate.

Mario Farfan, Assistant Vice President, Small Business Banking, Barrington Bank & Trust

Mario Farfan is an Assistant Vice President of small business banking at Barrington Bank & Trust. Mario focuses on building relationships with businesses in Palatine, Barrington, and Hoffman Estates. He is dedicated to meeting potential clients, helping them grow and become profitable. Mario joined Wintrust in 2014 and was previously a branch manager at PNC for six years. He is a graduate of DeVry University and lives with his family in Gilberts, IL.

MODERATOR

Ruth Diaz, Reporter, EYC News

Ruth Diaz is an international latina model & entertainer TV reporter that has worked in Paraguay, London, Miami, LA, Las Vegas, NY and Chicago. She was the main model for La Tan and Beaute Ultrasonic by America Beauty Elite, Vision Latina Magazine Chicago and Nescafe Paraguay. She appeared on the 5th season in Nuestra Belleza Latina 2011 in the USA and later the next year in Protagonistas, both Shows aired national in the U.S. on Univision Network. Ruth Diaz models for Latino Fashion Week in Chicago each year starting 2010. Reports for Chicago 3 Media, Vida Mujer Telemundo Chicago & Las Vegas. Currently, Ruth is an independent entertainment TV reporter for Azteca Chicago. READ MORE

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