SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas - Elizabeth Suarez, president of McAllen Economic Development Corporation, says she does not want to have to follow her counterpart in Brownsville, Gilberto Salinas, again.
Suarez made that clear when both gave presentations at the “State of the Regional Workforce Conference.” They were asked to speak on “Regional Economic Development Spotlight: Growth, Investment & Opportunity.”
Salinas, president of Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corporation, went first. He spoke for 20-plus minutes and promoted the tens of billions of dollars of investment coming to his part of the Rio Grande Valley.
Suarez had to follow that. She spoke for 10-plus minutes and promoted the tens of millions of dollars of investment coming to her part of the Valley.
So, billions of dollars for the Lower Valley, millions for the Upper Valley.
“Next time, I go before Gilbert,” Suarez quipped, as her powerpoint presentation was being loaded.
The program notes for the presentations by Salinas and Suarez read: "This session will provide a reegional look at the economic development activity shaping Brownsville and McAllen. Each leader will share updates on new and expanding companies, major investments and projects, emergying industries, and the opportunites these developments are bringing to their communities. The discussion will also highlight what this growth means for jobs, talent needs, and the future workforce of the Rio Grande Valley."
Suarez was not the only Upper Valley leader impressed with what is happening in the Lower Valley.
Jaime Longoria, executive director of Hidalgo County’s Community Service Agency, said he was blown away by what is happening at the Port of Brownsville.
“This has been an eye opener for me in terms of seeing the extent of the LNG project and what it means to the region. And I think of myself as someone that would sort of be in the know. I do not make my way to Cameron County as often as I would like,” Longoria said.
The “State of the Regional Workforce Conference” was co-hosted by Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley and Workforce Solutions Cameron. Longoria praised the two groups for staging the event.
“I think sessions like this are so important… we need to be more strategic from a region-wide perspective,” Longoria said.
Daniel Rivera, executive director of Elsa Economic Development Corporation, said the leadership in Elsa needs to know more about projects such as the new shipyard Saronic Technologies is building at the Port of Brownsville.
“If I go to the council members in Elsa, or the teachers in Elsa and the community in Elsa, and I say, hey, what are we doing to prepare for Saronic and for the other things happening at the Port of Brownsville, they do not have a clue what I'm talking about. And it is kind of my job to tell them,” Rivera said.
“But they are still focused on very traditional CTE (career and technology education) programs, things that would have been in high school 10 years ago, 15 years ago. But our whole region is changing, and they (Elsa leaders) are not being looped in. My question is, how do we make sure that every community knows what's happening across the region?”
Omar Guevara, an ambassador for RioPlex, said more news media outlets need to be covering events such as “State of the Regional Workforce Conference.”
“It is great to have Steve (Taylor) and the Rio Grande Guardian here. But why aren't the other media outlets here? Why aren't they visiting with folks and learning about what we're talking about in this room? Because yes, we can all say and agree, we need to collaborate with the school districts and educational institutions, but this is a room full of people that are busy. We need to use those media outlets to get the word out, and maybe next time an event that happens like this, invite those school districts to be present.”
Guevara added: “Hopefully we can open this up to more media and more news outlets next time around so that they're as informed as we are and learn what we have learned today. And Steve, thank you so much for being here and always being involved in the community. We appreciate that.”
Editor’s Note: Other news media outlets were invited by Workforce Solutions Lower Rio Grande Valley and Workforce Solutions Cameron to attend the conference.
