Author Archives: Chris Ardis

Chris Ardis is a retired teacher. She is a freelance writer, editor, and social media manager and works with Tony Roma's and Macaroni Grill to help schools and nonprofit organizations raise money. Chris is also an education blogger, and you can her blog at the link below. You can reach her at cardis1022@aol.com.

Unwavering Support Connects To Promising Career

Education Featured News Comments

Brownsville resident Oscar Castillo had a job at the Brownsville South Padre Island International Airport working as a cashier for the parking vendor, earning $10 an hour. He knew he needed to develop his skillset if he ever hoped to be independent and financially secure, so he enrolled in the electrical program at Texas Southmost College. At TSC, Castillo heard about Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, a nonprofit organization…

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Grant Addresses RGV’s Nursing Shortage

Education Healthcare News Comments
Members of the VIDA team display a symbolic $3 million check representing the organization’s Nursing Expansion Grant Award from the U.S. Department of Labor. (Courtesy)

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced that it had selected 25 organizations to receive grants totaling $78 million to “develop professional pathways to nursing.”  The list of recipients includes only one organization in Texas. It’s the Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement, which is based in Mercedes. A grant of $3 million was awarded to VIDA to help train and develop more nursing professionals in the Rio Grande Valley. …

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Nurse’s Healing Opens Doors

Community e-Brief Features Education Featured News Comments
Stephanie Johnson

Throughout life, we all make choices. We also face barriers on the way to goals. As Stephanie Johnson looks back on the point where she turned her life around, she sees the two intersecting. “I made choices that put barriers in my way,” said Johnson. Born in Minnesota, Johnson and her family moved around the Midwest throughout her childhood, making their way to Texas when she was 10, first to…

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National Vendor Finds Home In McAllen

News Transportation & Travel Comments

Bags checked? Done. Boarding pass and identification ready to show at the gate?  Yep. Cell phone? Check. A good book to read on the flight? Got it. Then you get through security, find a seat near your gate, and take out that book, only to realize you left your reading glasses at home. Airport concessions to the rescue. Travelers at the McAllen International Airport can find an assortment of reading glasses at…

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Reaching A Greater Goal With VIDA

e-Brief Features Education Featured Healthcare News Non-Profit Comments
Victoria Rivera

In fourth grade, Victoria Rivera moved in with her grandparents. Despite financial struggles, they provided their granddaughter with a home, stability and love.  In 2017, Rivera graduated from Brownsville Early College High School. She took advantage of the opportunity to take college courses while in high school, graduating with a high-school diploma and dual-enrollment credit from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.  Unlike many high-school graduates today, Rivera did…

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Brewing Up A Dream In McAllen

Food & Entertainment News Comments
Howling Rabbits branding is on the beer glasses, the swinging kitchen door, the bathroom wallpaper and the outdoor patio mural.

Andrew Crowe enjoyed his first craft beer at Roosevelt’s at 7 on Main Street in McAllen. Crowe was a home brewer and envisioned partnering with a friend to someday open his own brewery. It could be a place where family and friends could gather. Crowe’s friend changed course and became a firefighter while Crowe went on to work at Roosevelt’s. He would eventually decide to apply for a two-year brewing…

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Long, Winding Road Leads To A New VIDA

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Comments
Marvelia Saldana

Sometimes a path is straight and narrow; other times it can be winding, making the journey longer but allowing us to see sites and have experiences we would otherwise have missed. Such was the path for Brownsville resident Marvelia Saldana. Being a military wife meant “bouncing around from one state to another,” according to Saldana. With four small children, she didn’t have the time — or, likely, the energy —…

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McAllen Program For Deaf Serves RGV Students

Education News Comments
Todd Miller, assistant superintendent of human resources, and Dr. Sandra Pitchford, director of special education teaching and learning, try out the new audiometric suite. (Photo McAllen ISD Marketing and Communications Department)

The McAllen Independent School District is the home of the Regional Day School Program for The Deaf and has long played a key role in the education of hard-of-hearing students.  The McAllen program got its start in 1979 as the Regional School for the Deaf. An Easter Seals donation came to the program in the form of an audiometric booth for conducting student audiological examinations. On March 24, McAllen’s regional…

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Two VIDA Boosts Help Further Nurse’s Career

Community e-Brief Features Featured News Non-Profit Comments
Donna Jo Pena

When Donna Jo Pena applied to Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement in late 2021, it wasn’t déjà vu that came over her. Rather, she experienced actual memories from 2004-2005 when VIDA played a significant role in helping her become a licensed vocational nurse. VIDA, a nonprofit organization serving the Rio Grande Valley for over 25 years, provides financial assistance and support services, removing the barriers that often prevent Valley…

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Theater Awards Recognize Youth & Arts

Arts Community News Comments
Cheers ring out from start to finish of the Palm Awards Nomination Breakfast March 9 in McAllen.

An exciting announcement rang out across Facebook and YouTube in early March as this year’s nominees were selected for the fifth annual Palm Awards. The nominees were selected from 19 plays and 21 musicals performed at Rio Grande Valley-area high schools. The Palms first rolled out the red carpet in 2017. The awards are the brainchild of former Pharr-San Juan-Alamo theater directors Michael Alebis and Gilbert Zepeda Jr.  Alebis and…

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