By Samantha Roberts

On Friday, Sept. 16, a common topic of discussion was addressed at the White House – jobs. But participants of the discussion were not as common; instead, they were “Champions of Change,” selected members of the southwest handpicked to talk about the status of jobs. Among those champions was Las Crucen John Muñoz, site director of Las Cruces Sitel and president of the Hispano Chamber of Commerce de Las Cruces. Muñoz was nominated by Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima to be selected as a Champion of Change.

“Being nominated by Mayor Miyagishima in a pool of many other talented business leaders here and across the southwest and then being recognized as a handful of Champion of Change and finding out that the interview I did in DC with Fox TV had over 130,000 audience views has my head spinning,” Muñoz said. “Friends and colleagues around the U.S. have called or written saying he saw an article or an interview. I am amazed at the support and well-wishes.”

Muñoz said a plethora of emotions were running through him. “I was scared and surprised, but mostly honored,” Muñoz said. “The real folks that deserve the recognition are the staff members at Sitel – my Sitel family – board members of the Hispano chamber and members of the community.”

At the White House, Muñoz and other champions from San Diego to Laredo, Texas, met with various members of the Obama administration to highlight some of the good things that were happening in the Southwest border region.

“A few initiatives in Las Cruces really caught interest in the White House,” Muñoz said. “Events such as the Reverse Trade Mission and the Small Business Lending Fair, they saw these as new and innovative initiatives that were pushing job creation and sustainability. “It was an incredible experience to share economic development best practices with administration officials and with a handful of leaders from the Southwest.”

Another attention-getter in Washington, D.C., has been the Hispano chamber’s website, bi-monthly publication El Próspero and TV show – the BNC that aims to promote local businesses and nonprofits.

Though Muñoz said he was interested in programs going on in other parts of the country, such as work with San Diego school systems, he said he was especially proud to share the work being done in southern New Mexico.

“I think North America does almost $1 billion a day in trade with Mexico,” Muñoz said. “It makes sense that we leverage this to the benefit of southern New Mexico and find cutting edge ways to be more competitive. There is so much more to this emerging area of our country. Partners such as Doña Ana Community College, The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, The Bridge of Southern New Mexico and Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance have been great resources to Sitel and to the Hispano Chamber. Beyond that, our community has been our bedrock. Sitel remains active in our community because we have been given so much.”

As another topic of discussion, Muñoz said he was able to go into detail about the growth at Sitel and the company’s contribution to job growth. “Sitel focuses on optimal results and strong customer service,” he said. “And because of the hard work, results and consistently high quality, we have produced in Las Cruces we have been able to grow into new ventures and new jobs.”

Since March, Muñoz said the company has promoted more than a dozen local Sitel employees to leadership and support positions as well as hire more than 100 new people.

“And we are not done yet,” Muñoz added. “I have seen new entrants to the workplace; single parents and second and third career employees learn life and business skills over the past five years. Since we employ hundreds of people, I get a bird’s-eye view of the mosaic of people from all walks of life and ages.”

In addition to the economics of the discussion, Muñoz said he was also proud to talk about the natural benefits Las Cruces has to offer, such as the Organ Mountains and sunny skies. “Pristine wild lands, our majestic mountains, great weather and friendly Southwest hospitality make this a great region to do business, to live and to raise a family,” Muñoz said. “In the midst of hard times, there is still a frontier, can-do attitude not waiting for things to get better or to happen. Instead, New Mexicans are making things happen.”

As for the future of southern New Mexico, Muñoz said he is hopeful the unemployed can find work. “Putting Americans back to work is critical – it’s job No. 1. We can work with our community leaders and with the Hispano Chamber and other partners and our local businesses to make this happen. In the sessions, we would able to identify some potential resources, which may help us create additional jobs in southern New Mexico. Entrepreneurs and business people by design or, by choice, make things happen.”

During the recruitment drive, Sitel will seek both English and Spanish-speaking associates. Sitel provides personalized customer care and the newly hired Las Cruces associates will provide inbound customer care support. Currently the Las Cruces location handles calls for DIRECTV.

This is the second time in less than a month the company announced an increase in hiring in Las Cruces. “Since last month, Sitel has announced two expansions for different accounts and we continue to see growth into the new year,” said John Munoz, site director.

The company reports that prospective applicants should apply online in Sitel’s “Careers” section at sitel.com as soon as possible for immediate consideration.

We started 2009 with what I believe were a greater amount of “unknowns” than “knowns”;  fears following a stock market crash, government bailouts, mass foreclosures, growing unemployment rates, and discussions of a recession was the topic of many conversations.   These were the challenges over the past year that all communities, businesses, and economic development agencies had to deal with, not just MVEDA.  As a region, Dona Ana County was not immune to this crisis.  We began the year at 5.5% unemployment and ended the year hovering around 7%.  However, compared to a 7.8% unemployment rate at the State level and a 9.4% rate at the national level (as of November), Dona Ana County actually fared pretty well.  And although we experienced the loss of a large employer with the Frontier Airlines’ reservation center closing here in Las Cruces, we were also balanced by increases in hiring by other service centers including Sitel, CyraCom, and Convergys.  We also experienced some decline in production/manufacturing jobs and the loss of Multi-Plastics.  However, we also experienced an unprecedented level of interest by companies in the emerging alternative energy sector which has led to some key opportunities; earlier in the year eSolar and NRG Energy announced a 92 megawatt solar project for Santa Teresa and earlier today, Johnson Plate and Tower announced their plans to build a wind tower manufacturing facility, also in Santa Teresa.    Sapphire Energy has invested $8 million in its research and development facility at the Las Cruces West Mesa Industrial Park and will invest another $100 million in Southern New Mexico to produce biofuel from algae.  Along with other alternative energy groups who have identified the region for their projects, Dona Ana County could realize up to 200 new jobs and up to $300 million dollars in new capital investments in the years to come as a result of 2009 activity.

At MVEDA, we enter 2010 optimistically.  After dropping out of the top five rankings of the best performing small cities by Forbes and the Milken Institute between 2002 and 2006, the Las Cruces NM MSA has again made the list of the Milken Institute’s top ten “Best Performing Small Cities.”  As Spaceport America comes on-line and if some of the other projects in our pipeline materialize, it should lead to regaining a top five position in the near future.

But we also realize that we have not yet fully escaped the economic crisis of the past year.  We know that economists are now beginning to talk about a recovery.  We know the current holiday shopping season experienced a 3.5% increase over last year’s holiday season illustrating an increase in consumer confidence.  We know from reports that foreclosure numbers will decrease from the levels experienced in 2008 and 2009.   We also know we have a pipeline of projects and companies that we are working with who are considering the region for growth.  We know that there is a growing alternative energy industry with its eyes on New Mexico and that MVEDA has been aggressive in gathering the attention of this industry.  But we also know that we still have a lot more to do.   But at least we enter the New Year with a few more “knowns” than the “unknowns” of 2009.