Posts Tagged ‘Paso del Norte Group’

WHAT: Re-Energize the Americas Conference
WHEN: 8 a.m.-9 p.m., Oct. 26; 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Oct. 27
WHERE: El Paso Convention Center, One Civic Center Plaza, El Paso, Texas

Re-Energize the Americas seeks to spur economic development of sustainable energy resources and activities within the West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico area known as the “Paso del Norte” by helping to capitalize on the region’s abundant natural resources, production capacity and distribution networks.

The conference is a collaborative effort among New Mexico State University, The University of Texas at El Paso and the El Paso-based economic development organization the Paso del Norte Group.

On Oct. 26, El Paso Mayor John Cook and Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima will open the conference. In addition, NMSU President Barbara Couture will provide an overview of the energy projects being conducted at the university.

The keynote lunch speaker will be Col. Joseph A. Simonelli Jr., garrison commander at Fort Bliss. At the dinner closing the first day of the conference, Hunter Hunt, president and CEO of Hunt Consolidated Energy, will provide the keynote address.

The Re-Energize the Americas conference coincides with the 18th Annual Border Energy Forum sponsored by the Texas General Land Office, which will be held Oct. 27 and 28 at the same location. The two conferences will hold a joint session on Oct. 27.

To request media credentials by noon Oct. 25, please contact Janet Perez at 575-646-4120 or at perezjm@nmsu.edu.

Release courtesy of the NMSU News Center

WRITER: Janet Perez, 575-646-4120, perezjm@nmsu.edu

CONTACT: Britt Porter, 915-585-8585, bporter@truenorthadvisors.com

New Mexico State University President Barbara Couture, University of Texas at El Paso President Diana Natalicio and Britt Porter of the Paso del Norte Group will be announcing details of the first Re-Energize the Americas conference. The conference will take place Oct. 26-27 at the El Paso Convention Center.

Re-Energize the Americas seeks to spur economic development of sustainable energy resources and activities within the West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Mexico area known as the “Paso del Norte” by helping to capitalize on the region’s abundant natural resources, production capacity and distribution networks.

New Mexico State University’s Re-Energizing America energy conferences provided the framework for this new multinational, multi-partner event. Along with NMSU, the Re-Energize the Americas conference is organized by the University of Texas at El Paso and the El Paso-based economic development organization the Paso del Norte Group. This collaboration among NMSU, UTEP and the Paso del Norte Group increases regional competitiveness and showcases the energy-related research activities of both universities.

The Re-Energize the Americas conference coincides with the 18th Annual Border Energy Forum sponsored by the Texas General Land Office, which will be held Oct. 27 and 28 at the same location. The two conferences will hold a joint session on Oct. 27.

Before and after the press conference, UTEP will offer a tour of its energy facilities. Reserved parking will be available for invited off-campus guests and the media. For more information on parking, contact Alberto Lopez at alopez@utep.edu.

The September Business on the Border Luncheon featured Lisa Munoz from Paso del Norte Group who spoke about OECD’s regional study of the 11 higher educational institutions within the region to include El Paso and Juarez.  Although this study is just getting underway, we hope that it will provide us with a road map of the regional assets and common threads we have between these institutions to help us better identify opportunities for further economic development growth and the skill sets to both serve and attract future industry.  A copy of Lisa’s presentation is attached (Adobe Acrobat -375KB).

In the first month of our fiscal year, as reported August 15th to MVEDA’s Board, MVEDA’s new activity consisted of 10 leads totaling 1,275 jobs and nearly 500,000sf of facility space.  Leads are classified as companies with identifiable project parameters to include real estate and project timelines and who are requesting specific information about the region.  These 10 leads represent 11.2% of all MVEDA lead generation activity for the past fiscal year so in terms of building out our future pipeline of new project opportunities, we feel we started the fiscal year on the right foot.  As you can see from the accompanying chart, 40% of all new leads fall within the renewable energy industry, all solar energy related.  It is important that we concentrate on lead activity because this defines our opportunities for job creation 12 to 18 months out.

At the August 15^th board meeting, MVEDA reported forty (40) active prospects totaling 3,158 jobs.  Prospects are defined as companies who have toured the region to include local industries considering expansion.  Of this group, MVEDA has defined 8 top prospects who we are actively working with on a regular basis and who we have determined are close to making decisions, whether that is in Dona Ana County or somewhere else.  As we track lead generation for job creation 12 to 18 months out, our prospect activity is meant to track potential new job creation within the current fiscal year.

MVEDA has also participated in two prospect missions with the New Mexico Partnership;  one to the New England region where 15 companies were visited and more recently to the San Francisco/Bay area where we met with 12 companies.  Of the 12 companies we met with in the Bay Area, 10 were solar manufacturing companies and almost all foresaw the potential of projects in the next 12 to 18 months.

I believe that even in this economic climate, we are off to a great start on our marketing and lead generation efforts and we continue to develop the building blocks for future economic development growth to occur.  We hope to see you at our next Business on the Border Luncheon, October 6, 2009.

The September meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum will be held on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Day’s Inn Columbus Conference Center, 901 Avenida de Mesilla.  The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet, followed by an update by MVEDA staff.

Lisa Colquitt-Muñoz, Regional Coordinator for the Paso del Norte Group, will present an update on an on-going review of the region’s Higher Education Institutions on behalf of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD).  The purpose of the study is to understand and strengthen the role these institutions in the economic, cultural and social development of the region.  The Paso del Norte region is one of 12 regions from around the world selected to participate in this study.

Regional partners in the study include representatives from higher education, the private sector and non-governmental organizations from Cd. Juarez, El Paso and Las Cruces.  Las Cruces is represented by Garrey Carruthers, Margie Huerta, Vickie Galindo, Davin Lopez, and Patsy Duran.

For more information about the study, please refer to the OECD page on the Paso del Norte Group’s web site.

Luncheon cost is $15.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. The meeting is open to the public and reservations are not required.