Posts Tagged ‘Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce’

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin, by Samantha Roberts

Union Pacific, which recently began construction of an all-new rail facility outside Santa Teresa, announced a $100,000 donation to Doña Ana Community College as part of Las Cruces Day in Santa Fe during a press conference Monday, Jan. 30, at the Roundhouse in Santa Fe.

The donation, which Zoe Richmond, UP director of public affairs, said was given to DACC to use as the institution sees fit. However, the underlying message at the press conference was creating jobs to sustain UP’s new intermodal facility.

“Doña Ana Community College is excited to be the recipient of such generosity from Union Pacific,” said DACC President Margie Huerta. “We plan to use the funds for scholarships and workforce development to ensure our students have the knowledge needed to qualify for the jobs this new facility will bring to the region.”

There were several key players who helped make the donation a possibility, including Sens. Cynthia Nava and Mary Kay Papen, Rep. Mary Helen Garcia and New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Designate Jon Barela as well as Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance CEO Davin Lopez and Border Industrial Association Executive Director Jerry Pacheco and Juan Massey.

“Union Pacific and Doña Ana Community College is an example of a great private-public partnership,” Lopez said. “We are proud to be a part of this.”

“Right now, we are moving 4.1 million cubic yards of dirt,” Richmond said about developments in Santa Teresa. “We hope this donation strengthens our long-term commitment to southern New Mexico.”

As another part of Union Pacific’s commitment to grow New Mexico, Richmond said seven of the 10 subcontractors working on the project are from New Mexico, which translates to 66 percent of $40 million that has been spent in the Land of Enchantment. The intermodal facility is expected to be completed by 2015, bringing in 600 permanent high-paying jobs.

“The average employee will be making $100,000 in wages and benefits,” Richmond said. “We like to say where we have rails, we have ties.” Richmond said UP chose DACC as a recipient because “DACC is a neighbor” and she is looking forward to a good working relationship with the community college.

“Thank you for your generosity,” Huerta said during the press conference. “The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce as well as many others have given their help and been so supportive – Davin Lopez, Jerry Pacheco, Juan Massey, (Rep.) Terry McMillan.

“Donations like this will have an immediate impact on southern New Mexico. Developing the workforce in southern New Mexico is critical, and this gift of $100,000 is a huge investment and will yield positive return. “In Doña Ana County, we work with a collaborative spirit to improve the community.”

Nava, former superintendent of Gadsden Independent School District, said the example set in southern New Mexico is remarkable. “The rest of the state should listen,” Nava said. “I fought to get Union Pacific here, and I will fight to hold them accountable to their promises. This check is a great start, and it is about jobs, economic development and the opportunity for students to succeed.”

To help bring UP to southern New Mexico, Gov. Susana Martinez signed into law in 2011 a bill granting Union Pacific a locomotive fuel tax deduction that allowed the company to move forward with an investment of $400 million in the construction of a 2,200-acre rail facility west of the Santa Teresa Airport, which will include fueling facilities, crew change buildings, locomotive inspection tracks, an intermodal ramp and a switching yard.

“This new facility will strengthen our long-term commitment to deliver premium service to our customers,” said Scott Moore, vice president of public affairs for Union Pacific. “Upon completion of this new infrastructure, New Mexico will take its place among the leaders in the goods movement industry.”

A key player in getting the locomotive fuel tax deduction bill passed was Barela. When the bill was passed, Barela called it “a cornerstone to creating jobs in southern New Mexico.”

“Doña Ana County has great potential and thank you to our great corporate neighbor – UP,” Barela said. “The facility is a solid anchor project on the entire Mexico border – all 2,000 miles of it.”

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin, by Todd G. Dickson

With Virgin Galactic developing its spaceliner and new launch testing at Spaceport America, the first jobs created by the spaceport are coming, members of a panel said.  At the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce community update forum Tuesday, Jan. 10, at the Doña Ana County Government Center, Wayne Savage of the chamber’s spaceport committee said the forum was about making Spaceport America bring about the promise of jobs. We’re beginning to see things take place, and we’re seeing opportunities show up, and that’s what we’re here for,” Savage said.

Chad Rabon of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) said the first phase of construction on the $209 million spaceport between Las Cruces and Truth or Consequences is almost complete. To get Spaceport America ready for business with a runway, vertical launch area, several support facilities and the terminal hangar for its anchor tenant Virgin Galactic. NMSA is now starting the spaceport’s second construction phase, which Rabon said includes paving the southern road leading to the complex. It was recently announced that the surfacing of the already wide and well-grated county road won’t require time-consuming environmental studies.

Spaceport America operations are located the Lewis Cain Ranch and is surrounded by similar desert range ranches 45 miles north of Las Cruces.

The next construction phase includes adding more pads and support facilities to the spaceport’s vertical area, Robin said. NMSA is currently accepting bids on contracts to provide information technology and space operations support.

Already, activity at NMSU is picking up for research and development of new systems, such as reusable rocket boosters, with Lockheed Martin winning an Air Force contract to test its design for such a system at Spaceport America.

NMSA’s Aaron Prescott said Armadillo Aerospace has tested more traditional rocket prototypes with three launches since May. Also, Boeing will test a helicopter avionics system at the spaceport, he said. The new construction will provide a second pad for vertical launches and rollback shelter for these kinds of tests, Prescott said. The current Spaceport America vertical launch facility was developed for UP Aerospace that has been launching sounding rockets since 2006 to send a variety of small payloads into suborbital space.

With the State Legislature about to start its new session, Prescott mentioned spaceport supporters are pushing for refining the 2010 law that protects companies such as Virgin Galactic from lawsuits as something goes wrong with a flight carrying passengers. The informed consent legislation didn’t extend those protections to suppliers of the spaceship companies, but competing states have passed protections granting protections to support industries.  “It doesn’t help us very much to protect the operator, but not the supplier,” Prescott said. “This is key for Spaceport America to remain competitive with other states.”

Mark Butler of Virgin Galactic, who moved from England to New Mexico, said the company is making progress on the safety and flight testing of its prototype of the kind of thrilling but- upscale suborbital flights it plans to give passengers for $200,000 a ride.  The craft that will carry the six-passenger spaceship to 50,000 feet for midair launches, the White Knight 2, has completed about 80 flights reaching important altitude and duration goals, Butler said.

Testing has begun with Spaceship 2 more than 15 “captive carry” flights and 16 release and- glide tests, Butler said. The hybrid engine – the world’s largest such engines – is being tested, he said, and the company won’t start taking passengers into space until the system performs safely, he said.  “We are now pushing the envelope on that system,” Butler said. “Yes, this is rocket science, so it takes a while. … This kind of thing does take a long time, and this is the first time this is being done so we are going to take the time to do it right.”

Butler reported that five Virgin Galactic staff members are now using office space in Las Cruces.  Once the flights begin on a regular basis, Butler said Virgin is going to need human resources and financial people, all the normal behind-the-scenes people. Also, there will be people hired to provide a variety of customer services, he said.  The space business goes beyond needing engineers and other technical staff, but also hospitality and other support staff, Butler said. Virgin does intend to buy local supplies as much as possible, he said.

“It’s important for us to get our supply chain to New Mexico,” Butler said.  With $60 million in deposits and more than 500 signed up as future astronauts, Virgin has “a hugely busy year ahead of us,” he said. To work for Virgin, Butler recommended patience and persistence.

Meanwhile, Fiore Industries won the contract for providing protective services to the spaceport, including security, EMS, fire protection and hazardous materials control. Fiore’s Tim Zagorski said the company is hiring people with local experience and subcontracted with local entities such Sierra Vista Hospital and the Las Cruces-based Zia Engineering “We strongly believe in local economic development,” he said “ We even rent power generators from a local company and buy fuel locally.”

Fiore will be looking to buy fire equipment, EMS vehicles and equipment in the near future, he said, and the company is seeking applicants for security guards, firefighters and EMTs. The company will need 15 security guards and 15 firefighters/EMTs, along with some office and compliance support, he said.

Also at the forum was Paul Schmidt of EASI, general services contractor, that will be running spaceport functions, such as water and wastewater, fuel depot operations, electrical systems, roads and grounds upkeep, runway maintenance, generator maintenance and repair, janitorial services, pest control and even HazMat clean-up and removal.

Spaceport Community Forum – Save the Date!

Activity at Spaceport America in 2012 will be up over 2011, and new opportunities for local businesses will be available.  On Tuesday, January 10, 2012, Spaceport America, Virgin Galactic, and key site operations contractors will provide a briefing on upcoming activities as the Commercial Space Committee of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce sponsors the first Spaceport Community Forum of the year.  The meeting will be held from 5:30 – 7:00pm at the Dona Ana County Government Center at 845 N. Motel Blvd in Las Cruces, in the main Commission Chambers.

Representatives from Fiore Industries, Enterprise Advisory Services Inc. (EASi), and Follow The Sun Tours will be on hand to share their roles at Spaceport America, talk about upcoming contract opportunities, and how to engage their procurement processes.  Program updates for 2012 will be provided by the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and Virgin Galactic representatives.  Information will also be presented on other local and statewide procurement registration databases to assist local businesses in identifying opportunities for growing in 2012.

A “business card” drawing will be held to give away four tours passes to Spaceport America with Follow The Sun Tours, operators of the “Spaceport Preview Tours”.  For more information, contact the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce at 575-524-1968.

Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

By Todd G. Dickson

Technology is increasingly more common in the battlefield while the future of government funding is becoming more unknown, said White Sands Missile Range’s new Commander Col. John Ferrari.

Speaking at the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce annual military update luncheon Thursday, Dec. 15, Ferrari said the range’s people are working to keep the range a key player in conducting tests of the new technology while becoming a more efficient military installation.

Ferrari, who became the range’s commander Aug. 18, said it’s all the skilled and creative people who will be making the range successful in meeting the new objectives and roles. He also acknowledged the strong support the range gets from the local population. “In the end, it’s all about people,” Ferrari said. “It’s the people of New Mexico and the people of this community that allow us to complete our national security mission.”

Along with WSMR, neighboring Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo and Fort Bliss in El Paso are seeing their missions change and expand. “We’re going to change, because we have to change, because the world around us is changing, too,” he said. High-tech testing will continue to be WSMR’s main mission, he said, and so the base as an organization is looking for ways it can continue to offer value and find new funding. At its current level of operations, he said, WSMR’s contribution to the local economy is estimated to be worth about $1.8 million a day.

NewTec, a company that provides technical support to the range, alone employs about 520 people, said Charles Garcia, company president and CEO. Personnel at WSMR also provide important analysis for the government, especially in the area of countering attacks and protecting systems and weapons from the effects of attacks, he said. That work includes testing building construction and materials to be able to withstand an explosion or finding new methods to detect bombs, he said.

The base has a strong medical community for the more than 900 employees, Ferrari said, who are not only there for the soldiers and the families stationed at the base, but they play a key role in occupational safety along with caring for those who may get injured in testing activities. He said the medical personnel also provide services to local veterans. The range is home to the Navy’s only commissioned naval vessel on land for testing systems before they actually go to sea, he said.

One of the most recent and significant changes for the base has been the addition of the 2nd Engineers Battalion, most of whom have just come back from Afghanistan. Members of the battalion have the dangerous job in war to find and disable or contain improvised explosive devices. Ferrari remarked that most of the battalion is made up of young soldiers who volunteered for the service knowing they would certainly go to war and perform a hazardous job. They do that dangerous work because they trust the technology and engineering, he said.

“We’re creating those systems that they’re entrusting their lives with,” Ferrari said The main base covers 3,200 square miles of land, but “that’s not even enough to do what we do” he said, so a few times a year, the range must ask surrounding ranchers for their help when the testing requires 5,000 square miles. “We’re even doing tests up in Cloudcroft,” Ferrari said. “That’s why we appreciate the graciousness of the people of New Mexico.”

Where much of the past testing has been on missile systems, much of the future testing will be on the reliability of electronic technology in the field and protecting them from being jammed or disabled, Ferrari said. That also includes communications, which is critical to systems such as GPS, he said.

WSMR has a tradition of excellence it must maintain as it adjusts to the changing “fiscal environment,” he said. “We have to protect that brand image,” Ferrari said “We do things here that can’t be done anyplace else, anywhere.”

Besides improving general efficiency, WSMR is training existing employees to be less specialized, he said. The challenge, he said, is to break the military paradigm of caring too much about organizational structure and focusing on accomplishing the mission with the workforce on-hand. That makes the quality of local education even more critical, he said. “We’ll get through this difficult financial environment together, because we will not get through this separate from each other,” Ferrari said.

New Mexico Public Education Department Secretary-Designate Hanna Skandera and New Mexico Higher Education Department Cabinet Secretary Dr. Jose Z. Garcia will be the featured presenters at the January MVEDA Business in the Borderplex luncheon. The luncheon will be held on Tuesday, January 3, 2012 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, 705 S. Telshor. The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet.

MVEDA, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, the Hispano Chamber de Las Cruces, and the Bridge of Southern New Mexico are pleased to kick-off 2012 by co-hosting a conversation with the Cabinet Secretaries on their work in building a strong, well-prepared workforce.

Secretary Skandera

Previously, Skandera served as Florida’s Deputy Commissioner of Education under former Governor Jeb Bush, working to advance middle and high school reforms that instituted greater accountability, incentives for high performance and the end of social promotion. Her work led to scores that improved dramatically across ethnic groups, with Hispanic students outperforming all students in 31 other states. Florida has been recognized nationally as one of the only states to narrow the achievement gap for poor and minority students. She also served as a senior policy advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Education and as former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Undersecretary for Education.

Secretary Garcia

Jose Z. Garcia has been on the faculty at New Mexico State University for more than three decades.  He has conducted research and lectured throughout Latin America, specializing in questions of political instability.  Dr. Garcia directed the Center for Latin American and Border Studies at NMSU for 13 years.  In recent years his research has focused on the U.S.-Mexico border.  He is one of the founding members of the Paso del Norte Water Task Force, a non-governmental, tri-state, bi-national organization created in the late 1990s, grouping together irrigation district and water utilities managers with environmental groups, citizens, and academics, to stimulate greater cooperation toward more efficient regional water management in the Paso del Norte region.  Dr. Garcia was chair of the organization from 2010-2011.  He has also taught a course in New Mexico politics for many years.  After receiving a BA from Occidental College, Dr. Garcia was awarded a Fulbright fellowship to Ecuador.  He received an MA from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a PhD from the University of New Mexico.

The vital link between education and workforce and economic development has been highlighted by The Bridge of Southern New Mexico.  The Bridge is working alongside Secretary Skandera and Secretary Garcia to create stronger linkages from public education to post-secondary education to give New Mexico a prosperous, sustainable future for business by building a strong, well-prepared workforce.

Luncheon cost is $20.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. Due to space limitations, reservations are required. Please confirm your attendance no later than Thursday, December 29^th by sending an email to rsvp@mveda.com or by calling the office at (575) 525-2852. The meeting is open to the public.