About Us

President’s Message

I am honored to be selected to serve as President of the Hispanic Business Association and to work with such a capable group as the people who serve on its Board. I bring a renewed commitment to maintain our organizational integrity and credibility, to make our mission statement meaningful by building on our accomplishments and by enhancing our outreach efforts to the Hispanic youth in order to build a stronger sense of community for all the citizens of Idaho.

Board of Directors

Sam Haws, HBA's President

Ken Cortez was born in 1962 in San Jose, California, 12 years later relocated to Idaho with his father, Richard Cortez, founder of Metalcraft, Inc. Ken grew up in Meridian, graduated from Meridian High School, and attended Boise State University.

He is currently the President and owner of Metalcraft, Inc. Ken has a uniquely diverse involvement in our community. He volunteers his time as a Little League Umpire at youth baseball and softball games, and is also the Tournament Director for the Jalapeno Open which raises scholarship money for Hispanic students. Ken currently is a member of the Selland College Advisory Board. He also has been appointed to the Commission of Hispanic affairs by Governor Butch Otter as well as a Board Member of Hispanic Business Association.

He is a passionate American who wants to have a positive impact on our youth and community. Ken is bless with an incredible wife and children, and is thankful every day for the opportunity to live watch his family grow in the GREAT STATE OF IDAHO.

John Edwards was raised in Heyburn, Idaho and graduated from Minidoka High School in 1974. After graduation, he went to work for the J.R. Simplot Company at the Heyburn plant and entered the electrical maintenance training program. John has been an electrician for almost 33 years. He started Edwards Electric Inc., an electrical contracting and service company, in 1993. Edwards has been an active member of the Hispanic Business Association (HBA) since 1997 and most recently served as President.

John Edwards also serves on the Boise City Electrical Board. He has been married to his wife, Mary, for 29 years and has two grown children.

Kirby Ortiz is the Co-owner and General Manager of Gem State Communications, a Motorola Two–Way Radio and Wireless Communications dealer.

For over 25 years Gem State has provided wireless communications sales and support to the Public Safety, Healthcare, Industrial and Service Industries of Southwest Idaho and Eastern Oregon.

He was born and spent his formative years in Raton, New Mexico. Upon graduation from Madison Memorial High School in Madison, Ohio, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and served a tour in Vietnam in 1969 as a field radio operator. He graduated from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio in 1976 with a B.S. in Business Administration. From 1983 to 1993 he worked as a sales executive for Motorola Communications and Electronics.

Kirby has served on the board of directors of the HBA since 1993 and has chaired the Scholarship Committee since its first award in 1993.

He also serves on the board of Sage Community Resources and the Governor’s Workforce Development Council as the representative of the HBA.

Kirby and his wife Sara have been married 28 years, have three children (two in college) and have lived in Boise for 27 years. In his spare time his passions are racquetball, reading non-fiction history and spending time in the great Idaho outdoors.

Freddy Rosario was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Naguabo, Puerto Rico. Upon graduation from High School there, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served for 10 years. For his last duty station, he came to Idaho in April 1994 to serve at Mountain Home AFB until separating in 1995. At which time he and his wife decided to stay and make Idaho their home. They moved to Boise, ID in 1998, and finally settled in Meridian, ID in their present home. Freddy has been an employee for the Bureau of Reclamation since 1998, and works at the Centennial Job Corps Center in Nampa, ID as a Computer Services Technical Instructor.

On his spare time, he also runs R. I. Enterprises, a successful Computer Service and Sales Business. His business also develops and hosts web sites for small businesses and non-profit organizations, to include web design, development and hosting from informational to e-commerce web sites for local clients and out of state clients.

Freddy and his wife Sonya celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary in July 2007.

Freddy has been serving on the board of directors for the HBA since 1999. He has also served on several other boards, such as; IMAGE de Idaho and Treasure Valley Community Television, and has been associated with many other organizations in the area.

Alice Mondragón Whitney is a Real Estate Loan Officer for Bank
of the Cascades and a Director/Trainer for the Hispanic Business Training Center. Before joining Bank of the Cascades, Alice managed the Business Development Department for SAGE Community Resources. She worked with women, minority and working poor entrepreneurs to help them develop the necessary skills to be successful in business. Her bilingual abilities have helped her to successfully target Hispanic communities that otherwise might not have been served. Previously, Alice was a commercial and residential banker with Southland Financial and Far West Mortgage. She was also the founding president and owner of the first woman-owned aviation instrument facility on the west coast.

Alice also sits on the Boards for Women Entrepreneurs and Mentoring, the Hispanic Cultural Center of Idaho, is an Advisory Board member for the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), a founding member of the Hispanic Financial Education Coalition and was instrumental in the formation of the Idaho Individual Development Account program for the State of Idaho.

For more information:
Hispanic Business Association
P. O. Box 16262
Boise, ID 83715 US
Email: info@hbaonline.org