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Dayton chamber plans June visit to Cuba

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A santera looks back while crossing the street where a wall is covered with a mural of the Cuban flag and an image of Cuba's revolutionary hero Ernesto

AP Photo/Franklin Reyes A santera looks back while crossing the street where a wall is covered with a mural of the Cuban flag and an image of Cuba's revolutionary hero Ernesto "Che" Guevara in Havana, Cuba, Friday Jan. 27, 2012. Dayton chamber members have visited emerging markets such as China in 2010, India last year, and are planning a trip to Brazil in April. But organizers think the Dayton chamber will be the first Ohio chamber to visit Cuba, which for 50 years has been the subject of a U.S. trade embargo.

Visitors hope to make connections to prepare for changing market.

By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 2:44 PM Thursday, February 9, 2012

The Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce is taking a trip to Cuba to lay the groundwork for what organizers hope will one day be a different relationship between Cuba and the United States.

The trip is planned for June 7-15, made possible by a license purchased from the U.S. Department of Treasury by Chamber Explorations, a Redondo Beach, Calif.-based organizer of chamber business trips.

Dayton chamber members have visited emerging markets such as China in 2010, India last year, and are planning a trip to Brazil in April. But organizers think the Dayton chamber will be the first Ohio chamber to visit Cuba, which for 50 years has been the subject of a U.S. trade embargo.

“When the opportunity came up for us to do it, we jumped on it,” said Chris Kershner, the chamber’s vice president for public policy and economic development.

Stephanie Precht, chamber director of public policy and economic development and the tour’s coordinator, said the embargo remains in place and is “significant.” Dayton entrepreneurs won’t be able to visit Cuba and immediately open a manufacturing shop or business office, she said.

But the hope is that Dayton visitors will be able to make connections and start what could be enduring relationships. Much of the rest of the world does business with Cuba, Precht said.

“All signs are pointing to the fact that that (Cuban) market is going to change in the next five years or so,” she said.

Carla Rivero Palm, a Cuban-American Washington Twp. resident, has never been to the country her parents left in the late 1950s. A contract administrator for UES Inc., Palm wants to see and learn more the country that she has heard so much about.

“We still can’t believe it,” Palm said about her family’s reaction to the news she was visiting Cuba. “We’re just so excited.”

The cost for the nine-day trip is $3,299 for chamber members and $3,499 for nonmembers. The registration deadline is Feb. 28. As of Wednesday afternoon, 10 seats remained for the 30-seat trip, Kershner said.

To register or for information, contact Precht at sprecht @dacc.org or (937) 226-8277.

Contact this reporter at  (937) 225-2390 or tgnau @DaytonDailyNews.com.

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