By Ruth Ann Ruiz
The Post Newspaper Features Editor
Most luncheons sponsored by Chambers of Commerce (CC), from my experience, have felt upbeat and cheerful, but on Tuesday as I entered Edna’s Room at the 1894 Grand Opera House in Galveston, I sensed a somberness that I had not felt before at a CC luncheon.
The luncheon was planned as the State of Business in Texas & the Gulf Coast by the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce (GRCC) with guest speaker Glenn Hammer, President and CEO of Texas Association of Business.
Congressman Randy Weber opened the luncheon with a heartfelt and longer-than-usual prayer, asking God’s blessings on the victims of the Guadalupe River flood and asking God’s favor as the recovery process continues.
Weber’s prayer and the tragic events in Kerr County, Texas, set the tone for the duration of the luncheon.
Hammer did speak about the state of business in Texas and emphasized the population growth, which was being supported by industry moving to Texas and by current Texas legislative trends that support the infrastructure needed for a growing population.
Ending the somewhat mournful luncheon on a high note, Gina Spagnola, CEO of GRCC, had a surprise for Hammer. Eduardo Hernandez, manager of Texas Surf Museum, entered the room with a surfboard which was presented as a gift to Hammer in honor of his visit to the coastal region of Texas.
