Archive for June, 2010
MVEDA Announces Four Additional New Partners
Private sector funding from the businesses and organizations throughout the New Mexico Borderplex is a mainstay of MVEDA’s ability to continue in its mission of creating new employment opportunities for area residents. MVEDA is proud to announce four new Partners for the second quarter: Action Equipment Rental; Gerald A. Martin, LTD; Ibarbo Consulting Group, LLC; and Sunland Nursery Company.
Action Equipment Rental is the largest independently-owned New Mexico rental equipment supplier. Joseph Muench and his management team have over 100 combined years of equipment rental experience. Action Equipment Rental has a huge selection of the finest brand name rental equipment in their heavy equipment, construction machinery, power tools, and party and event equipment inventory.
Gerald A. Martin, LTD provides Owner’s Representative Program Management, Project Management, and Construction Management Services for a wide range of clientele that includes public and private agencies and organizations. Under the leadership of company President Fred Gorenz, Gerald Martin Construction is managing the construction locally of Spaceport America and the new Las Cruces high school.
Ibarbo Consulting Group, LLC is a minority-owned Limited Liability Company focused on improving people’s quality of life through business development and job creation. President Peter R. Ibarbo formed the group to provide specialized business support services and business outreach. Associate members of the group include Tara Lucero and Armando Martinez.
Sunland Nursery Company provides all types of plants acclimated for the arid southwest and inter-mountain regions. Their trade area includes Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Utah. They are located 5.5 miles south of Las Cruces, NM off Highway 478 at 620 W. Richardson Road. Lance Harkey is the general manager.
MVEDA’s Partners are linked from MVEDA’s website and are listed in the on-line Business Resource Guide.
Governor Bill Richardson Announces Rick Homans as Spaceport Executive Director
Release courtesy of the Governor’s Office
June 15, 2010
Gilbert Gallegos (505) 476-2217
Governor Bill Richardson today announced that Rick Homans will become the permanent Executive
Rick Homans
Director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority as of July 1. Homans will step down from his position as Secretary of the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.
Governor Richardson also announced that he has appointed Duffy Rodriguez to become the new Secretary of the Taxation and Revenue Department. Rodriguez has 30 years of government experience, most recently serving a dual role as Deputy Cabinet Secretary for Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer for the NM Department of Health.
“Spaceport America will soon be moving from a major construction project to an operational spaceport, launching humans into sub-orbit, and Rick has the project background, knowledge of the issues, and relationships with the many government and business partners,” Governor Richardson said. “This appointment assures we have the continuity we need to ensure the success of Spaceport America.”
The Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority met today in Truth or Consequences and voted unanimously to hire Homans. He will be based in Las Cruces.
Homans served as the first chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority from 2005 to 2007, and was briefly its executive director in 2007. Homans served as Secretary of Economic Development from 2003 through 2007, and Secretary of Taxation and Revenue from 2008 through the present. Governor Richardson appointed Homans in April to serve as Interim Executive Director and as Chairman of the Board, in addition to his job as Secretary of TRD.
Governor Richardson said Rodriguez’s vast experience in government will allow her to hit the ground running at the Taxation & Revenue Department.
Rodriguez, a graduate of Smith College, has served in state government and worked for or with every Governor since Governor Jerry Apodaca. Her experience includes leading management and performance analyses of state agencies for Governor Garrey Carruthers and serving as the State Budget Director under Governor Gary Johnson. She also worked for the House Appropriations and Finance Committee as well as serving twice as a principal analyst with the bipartisan Legislative Finance Committee. She has a strong finance and budget background, is well versed with the revenue forecasting process and is very familiar with all of the operations of Taxation & Revenue Department from her previous legislative and executive work.
Local Artist Provides Artwork to Virgin Galactic
Article courtesy of the New Mexico Amigos
Las Cruces, New Mexico artist, Virginia Maria Romero, was commissioned to provide the gift presented to Virgin Galactic representatives, by the New Mexico Amigos, during the Amigos recent tour of Virgin 
Galactic’s facility at the Mojave Spaceport in California. The New Mexico Amigos, made up of civic and business leaders from around the state, serve as official goodwill ambassadors for New Mexico.
An image of Romero’s painting Blast Off which she completed in 2007; depicting a spaceship taking off from the New Mexico desert inspired by the news of a New Mexico Spaceport, along with an authorized photo of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, and Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic, were used to create a tile mural by her and her Arte de Romero business partner.
A New Mexico Amigo, Governor Bill Richardson, presented Romero’s artwork to representatives of Virgin Galactic during the tour. For further information contact New Mexico Amigos, Mike Pemberton: mpemberton@nmamigos.com
Is Selling To The Government Right For Your Business?
The New Mexico Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) 
has scheduled three seminars in Las Cruces to aid local businesses in doing business with the government. All seminars will be held at the Dona Ana Community College Workforce Development Center, 2345 East Nevada Avenue.
- June 23, 2010 – Government Contracting 101Workshop; 10:00 am – noon
This informative workshop will introduce local business owners to government contracting and provide valuable information on resources available to help them to market their product/service to the government. There is no fee for this workshop. Please register for this free workshop by calling William P. Hett-Dobricky at (575)528-7431 or by e-mail: william.hettdobricky@sfcc.edu.
- June 28, 2010 – Wide Are Work Flow – Receipts and Acceptance; 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Wide Area Work Flow – Receipts and Acceptance (WAWF-RA) is a Paperless Contracting DoD-wide application designed to eliminate paper from the receipts and acceptance process of the DoD contracting lifecycle. The goal is to enable authorized Defense contractors and DoD personnel the ability to create invoices and receiving reports and access contract related documents. Businesses must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (CCR) to gain access to these applications. The fee for this training session is $140 per person. Seating is limited to 20 attendees so please register by calling Barbara Sinha at (800) 281-7232 or by e-mail: barbara.sinha@sfcc.edu.
- July 13, 2010 – Federal Government Accounting Practices Seminar – 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
This daylong and informative seminar introduces business owners and accountants to the methods and processes of government contract accounting. Topics include establishing a government compliant accounting system, developing a government rate, the government audit process, and more. The fee for this training session is $119 per person. Please register for this training session by calling Barbara Sinha at (800) 281-7232 or by e-mail: barbara.sinha@sfcc.edu.
For more information about the services available from the Procurement Technical Assistance Program contact:
William Hett-Dobricky, PTAP Advisor
2345 E Nevada Ave, Suite #101, Las Cruces, NM 88001
(575) 528-7431
Lean Manufacturing 101 for Job Shops
The New Mexico Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NMMEP) invites you to attend a workshop to reduce manufacturing costs.
July 21, 2010
Location: Dona Ana Community College Workforce Center
2345 E Nevada Ave, Las Cruces, New Mexico
8am Registration
8:30am-3:00pm Workshop (Lunch included)
Who should attend? Everyone who is involved in producing a product — all levels of the company will benefit and be able to apply the Lean Manufacturing to reduce product costs.
You will see results!
• Ways to work smarter, not harder, and get more done
• Proven Lean Manufacturing techniques to reduce costs through
O Increased efficiency
O Better utilization of resources
O Improved productivity
O Reduced overtime
• How to identify and eliminate the 8 types of non-value added activities (wastes) to save time and money
• How to immediately apply Lean principles in your facility
No charge for attending – The tuition ($350) is subsidized by New Mexico Small Business Assistance for qualified companies. Eligibility confirmation is required prior to the workshop.
Space is limited. Register before July 7, 2010 by calling Jeff Abrams (575)642-3577 or via email: jeffa@newmexicomep.org.
*Must be a NM manufacturer meeting U.S. Small Business Administration requirements for small business.
