UHV SBDC client receives award from H-E-B

Sara Vela, owner of Vela Farms in Victoria, is awarded an honorary belt buckle on Friday at the University of Houston-Victoria by representatives from H-E-B’s corporate office for reaching $1 million in sales in H-E-B grocery stores. Vela has worked with the UHV Small Business Development Center throughout the process of starting and expanding her business. Her products, including jams and jellies, have been sold in H-E-B stores since 2015. Pictured from left are Joe Farias, Victoria H-E-B Plus! store leader; Gary Chumchal, Victoria H-E-B Plus! produce manager; UHV SBDC Director Lindsay Young; Donald Jirkovsky, UHV SBDC business advisor; Vela; Tessa Benavides, H-E-B specialist in diversity and inclusion and supplier diversity; and Jody Hall, H-E-B vice president of sourcing.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.