The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Professional Chapter was officially recognized by SHPE National as a professional chapter on February 7, 2003. The chapter was founded by Michael Gutierrez (President 2003 - 2006). Michael was motivated to start a local SHPE chapter at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company (LM Aero) after attending NTCC - Minneapolis as a company recruiter in 2002, and following the HENAAC conference as an award recipient that same year. After the Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter contract award in 2002, there was a large population of Hispanics hiring into LM Aero in Fort Worth and for the first time leaving home to live in a new city. As a result, there were unsystematic Hispanic related activates occurring at LM Aero with no "umbrella" initiative or organization to "own" them. Hispanics had no way of meeting others like them and they had no way of finding people to identify with; thus making assimilation into the community and company very difficult for many. This was the challenge to overcome for ten Hispanic employees who decided that SHPE would serve that purpose. In November of 2002, these ten employees requested that the Equal Employment Opportunity department at LM Aero solicit Hispanic employees to attend a general information meeting to discuss the possibility of forming a SHPE professional chapter at LM Aero. The employees showed a great interest, and with the help of the Region 5 Vice President and the Presidents Council, the by-laws were soon ratified and the chapter was established. Since then, the chapter has established a campaign of giving back to the Fort Worth Hispanic community. The chapter began participating in career day activities, science nights, mentoring, leadership development, professional development, and networking activities and today has created a solid reputation of giving back to the Fort Worth Hispanic Community. The chapter has had 4 presidents since its establishment: Michael Gutierrez (2003-2006), Neftali Ortiz (2006-2008), Pablo Trejo (2008-2011), and James Narey (2011-current). In 2004, SHPE at LM Aero took on the role of managing the Hispanic College Fund (HCF) Golf Tournament and held the 5th annual HCF Golf Tournament at Squaw Creek Golf Course within a six-month period. In that first year the HCF grossed $15k from the golf tournament. The HCF grossed close to $16k and $19k in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In 2010, SHPE at LM Aero became an officially recognized Non-Profit Organization by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by receiving it 501c3 status. SHPE at LM Aero initiated its own scholarship program, and made its first scholarship award in 2011 to two college-bound high school graduating seniors on behalf of SHPE at LM Aero and Lockheed Martin Corporation. As of June 30, 2011, SHPE at LM Aero had 56 paid members. This year SHPE at LM Aero also boasts a diverse group of members with 11% associate members, 13% new college hires, and 12 lifetime members. To realize its vision, SHPE at LM Aero endeavors to:
Leadership,
Education, Accountability, Diversity, Service, Integrity
Community Outreach
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