New nonprofit seeks to organize Puerto Rican professionals in South Florida

Calixto García Vélez, First Bank; 100x35@305 founding members Iván Tort, Yania Olabarrieta, Virginia Moreno, Rene Zayas-Freiría; and Hernando J. Novoa, First Bank.

A new nonprofit initiative, titled 100x35@305, celebrated its first networking event this past Wednesday, October 3, 2018 in Miami, Florida. The entity was founded back in May by Ivan Tort, Yania Olabarrieta, Rene Zayas-Freiría and Virginia Moreno

More than 120 guests gathered at Morton's The Steakhouse in Brickell, including local business leaders, entrepreneurs, and professionals in diverse business practices connected and reconnected with new and old acquaintances. The event was supported by iconic Puerto Rican brands such as DON Q RUM, MEDALLA LIGHT BEER and FIRST BANK, and others such as MORTON'S, CCOMGROUP Inc. and CREED. 

Yania Olabarrieta said, "100x35@305 makes a reference to Puerto Rico's dimensions —100 miles by 35 miles approximately— and with the addition of one of Miami's iconic area codes @305 it reinforces the welcoming spirit and continued unity of Puerto Ricans that have been in Miami for a while with the professionals that have recently relocated to the city after Hurricane Maria." 

Rene Zayas-Freiría also commented, "Since Maria, there have been approximately 140,000 Puerto Ricans that have relocated to the mainland with most having done so in Florida. I am one of them and I hope that everyone can benefit from these networking activities, reach out and learn more about each other through this support network."

100x35@305 is a community of Puerto Rican professional leaders that wish to interact with like-minded individuals to establish and maintain meaningful social and professional connections.