PACC-DC Board Member Named “Entrepreneur of the Year” 

Washington, DC, October 17, 2006-Today the Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of the Metropolitan Washington, DC Area Inc. (PACC-DC) announces the Asian American Business Roundtable (AABR) has named Board Member Chris J. Baltazar and his company Filnet “Entrepreneur of the Year.” AABR will formally bestow honors to recipients at its 2006 Dinner-Awards Night in Rockville on November 10, 2006.  AABR accepts nominations of companies, large and small, from anywhere in the country.  Criteria for nomination include the size of the company (i.e., number of employees), annual sale, percentage of growth revenue in 2005 and 2006 versus 2003 and 2004, and projection for further growth. 

“I speak on behalf of all PACC-DC staff and members when I say that Chris Baltazar and Filnet are well deserving of the Asian American Business Roundtable Award for Entrepreneur of the Year,” says PACC-DC President Mitzi Pickard.  “Over the past year, Chris’ diligence, tenacity, persistence and hard-work have pushed PACC-DC and his own company Filnet to unprecedented levels of excellence.”

Since its founding in 1996, Filnet has followed a national trend of notable growth among Asian owned businesses.  According to a recent US Census Bureau report, Asian business enterprises grew at a faster pace than the national average.  In fact, the Bureau noted that Asian American businesses generated over $325 billion in 2002.

Filnet’s success is nothing short of the American Dream.   As the son of working class parents, Mr. Baltazar immigrated to the United States from the Philippines when he was twelve years old.   At age 20, he launched Filnet, a web development company based on his vision “to provide better user interfaces that incorporate design and functionality on the web.”  Today, Filnet has grown into a full service IT firm with revenues in the millions. 

About AABR

The Asian American Business Roundtable (AABR) was established in 1989 to help Asian and other minority-owned businesses access federal procurement, expand their market base with the Federal Government as well as the commercial sector by providing information that is accurate and timely to enable them to make informed decisions beneficial to their companies. 

About PACC-DC

The mission of PACC-DC is to develop programs and seminars that will have a positive impact on the business community; foster open and consistent communications; support and augment membership; and foster community outreach initiatives that benefit the entire region. PACC-DC also seeks to strengthen Filipino American entrepreneurship and business development activities in the greater metropolitan Washington, DC area. The Chamber also envisions becoming a meaningful force in the growth and development of communities within the region.

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