Letter from the President of the Floresville Chamber of Commerce:

June 20, 2024

As a small business owner, and the 2024/2025 Floresville Chamber President, I am honored to have been elected to this leadership role. I am eager and excited to have the opportunity to work with a board who shares the same vision of members' growth and success, as well as promoting a healthy community environment.

In order to continue our steady growth, we must have a strong sense of community. We are truly fortunate in Floresville to have business owners, city leaders, and citizens who all realize that we share the responsibility of being leaders and creating prosperity within our community.

We are happy to report that 2023 was a prime example of this collective work by our chamber members. We saw an increase of chamber members, community support, and growth awareness. Each membership to the Floresville Chamber of Commerce is vital to the growth of our town. For the 2024/2025 calendar year, it is our goal to have even more active members share their vision. We encourage you to join/rejoin the Chamber of Commerce as we continue to amp up our efforts on behalf of our community.

We look forward to seeing your name on the Chamber roster this year, and would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how we can continue to make Floresville the amazing town we already know it is!

Respectfully,
Dustin K. May

Join the Chamber!

PDF
Become a member and join the Floresville Chamber of Commerce and start networking with other businesses, as well as take advantage of Chamber benefits!

Download "Membership Application New.pdf"

Chamber Goals

  • Increase foot traffic and visibility for our members.
  • Save our members time and money. 
  • Strengthen and grow our community.
Not a Government Agency
The Floresville Chamber of Commerce is not part of the city or county government, although we work closely with those officials in economic development and other areas to improve the business environment and quality of life in the Floresville community.

Expansion and Retention of Businesses
The Floresville Chamber is the initial point of contact for the community’s efforts in retention and expansion of existing businesses.  The Floresville Chamber of Commerce works with existing businesses to remove obstacles for growth.

Member Benefits
When you join the Floresville Chamber of Commerce you will be entitled to an array of benefits
 
  • Website Listing/Free Link: You will be listed in the Member Directory section of this website, which, can include your e-mail address and direct link to your website.
  • Regular Business Referrals: Whenever we receive an inquiry related to your products or services, our staff will include your business information in our referrals.
  • Display of Business Cards & Flyers:  You may place your business cards, brochures and flyers at the Visitor Center.
  • Updates & Invitations:  Your e-mail address will be included in our members list, and you will begin receiving updates on Chamber Events and Invitations to Chamber functions, where you will have an excellent opportunity to promote your business.
  • Quarterly Lunch & Learns:  Lunch n’ Learn Series is an innovative and creative program held on the third Wednesday, quarterly. (Feb.-May-Aug.-Nov.). Chamber members who are experts in their fields are invited to share their expertise with other Chamber members over the lunch hour.  Each luncheon will focus on topics related to professional and personal development.

The “Lunch n’ Learn” Series is held at a location determined by the board of directors, from 11:30 am to 1:00pm.

If you would like to make any announcement regarding your business or up coming event your business may be having, we would be more than happy to accommodate you at the Lunch n’ Learns, please make your request in advance to give adequate time in the program, and to be respective to others and their time.

Why Get Involved with Your Chamber?

Membership in the local chamber offers numerous benefits and keeps business owners on top of important, ever-changing issues and trends within their community and local marketplace.

Memberships brings credibility to your business. Your membership identifies your business as one that has an interest in the community.

Chamber members are businesses and individuals that believe in taking action, rather than sitting on the sidelines. They know that being a member is an investment, not just in their business, but also in their community.

Chambers provide value
We serve as your connection to profit and growth through 3 core values and benefits.
1- Members doing business with members.
2- Our efforts to promote and advocate for our members.
3- Our constant focus to create opportunities for connections, education, visibility and support of our members.

Ways You Can Increase your Visibility in the Community
1- We list your business on our Online Member Directory on our website at www.floresvillechamberofcommerce.com
2- When your business hosts a Ribbon Cutting, it is shared through Facebook, email, and the Newsletter all for FREE!

Showcase Your Business
1- Sponsor a Chamber Event
2- Become a Sponsor at a Chamber Fundraising Event
3 - When your business is holding an event, send us an email or flyer, and we will share this through Facebook, email and our web page.

Members supporting members is a Chamber's philosophy. We encourage our members to look to their fellow Chamber members when they are looking for a place to eat out, needing a haircut, having their vehicle serviced, buying a home, or getting a loan, for example. When we support buying from each other, we invest in each other, keeping our local economy strong.  It's the right thing to do!

Your Local Chamber of Commerce:

A Powerful Tool For Business Growth.

Chambers of commerce are a powerful tool for your business growth-but every business must advertise that it is  member of the local chamber of commerce to reap the results; Business tend to experience more frequent purchases and positive reviews when consumers are aware of that business's active involvement in the local chamber.
A Membership In Your Local Chamber of Commerce is Priceless.

Floresville Chamber of Commerce Bylaws

PDF

Download "BYLAWS.pdf"

History

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Floresville Peanut Festival Parade, 1948
Floresville was named for Don Francisco Flores de Abrego, a rancher who established his ranch about six miles northwest of the current location of Floresville in 1832. In 1833 the nucleus of the present town was founded on land donated by the Flores family; it became the Wilson County seat in 1885.

Flores de Abrego’s ranch followed in a farming and ranching tradition already 100 years old at the time of his settlement. Rancho de las Cabras, or “the goat ranch,” was established near present-day Floresville in the mid- 1700s as a grazing ground for Mission Espada. The rancho was located about 30 miles southeast of Mission Espada, on the San Antonio River, near present-day Floresville.

Rancho de las Cabras was a place to raise cattle to feed the Spanish priests and the Indians who lived at Mission Espada. Missionaries trusted certain Indian vaqueros, or cowboys, to live on the ranch and take care of the animals. These Indian cowboys lived with their wives and children on the ranch. Once a week, seven or eight head of cattle were brought from the ranch to Mission Espada. These were some of the first cattle drives and were quite dangerous due to the hostile Indians along the path. The ranch eventually was shut down because Espada was taken over by the government, relieving the church of the job of feeding the Indians.

Apache raids in the late 1770s caused problems with the rancho system. The Spanish government took over ownership of unbranded cattle in 1778 and in the early 1800s, the rancho lands became the property of the people who had been living there and of new settlers to the area.

All of the animals in the rancho had a different purpose other than meat and there was often a surplus. Oxen plowed, cattle produced hides, soap, grease, and horns for carving and other uses. Horses provided were used for transportation and helped to herd livestock. Cattle, sheep, goats (although there weren’t many) and pigs were food. Sheep provided wool, and goats produced milk.

On September 15, 1995, the National Park Service acquired a small section of the former ranch from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. It is now a a part of San Antonio Missions National Historical Parks. The park service plans to restore the Rancho de las Cabras if they can get the money. In 2015, the United National Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) listed collectively San Antonio's five Spanish collonial missions and the Rancho de las Cabras in Wilson County as a World Heritage Site.

Today, with a growing season of 285 days, Floresville is a marketing point for watermelons, flax, cotton, beef cattle, dairy and poultry products. A huge peanut on the courthouse lawn recognizes the peanut crop grown in the area and the community’s annual Peanut Festival.