Agriculture accounts for just over $1 billion dollars of the Valley’s economy, according to economists at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service in Weslaco. That is about 2% of the four-county total of $53 billion, but agriculture remains a vital and diversified industry which is the most widespread in terms of land use. Agriculture is an industry where so many things are out of the producers’ control, that farmers…
During Norma Trevino’s 20-plus years in corporate America, she had never considered becoming a business owner. But in 2011, when Trevino came to participate in the Ladies Kingfisher Tournament held in August, she spotted a For Sale sign on BadaBing Bagels. “I was a customer of the bagel shop when it first opened in Port Isabel. I started talking to my sister about buying it and moving to the island,”…
Last year, Ron Pitcock acquired the Hobby Town franchise rights south of San Antonio to give himself something to do in retirement. Pitcock had earlier built the nation’s third largest cable modem company which had attracted investors such as Bill Gates, Paul Allen and John Chambers. He took High Speed Access Corp. public during the dot com boom and left the business. He and his wife Patti built a South…
Jonathan Hess and Sindy Buezo-Hess intend to make their Hess Modeling Agency at the Studio on Broadway the go-to casting agency for deep south Texas. After three years in business, they are supplying models and actors for regional commercials, promotional events and photo shoots in the Valley, San Antonio and beyond. To develop the talent pool, the couple established the Studio on Broadway with artistic and performing arts instruction in…
In one sense, the Rio Grande Valley has long had food trucks, if you count ice cream trucks, portable raspas stands and the food sellers who wheel into festivals and market days. But the national trend for food trucks has finally taken root here, proven by the six-spot McAllen Food Park which opened in June with the support of the McAllen CVB and Chamber of Commerce. At least 75 compact…
Have you wandered around a parking lot trying to remember where you parked your car? Think about being in a large parking lot and trying to find a car that is not yours. As President and CEO of Vally Park USA Corporation, Paul Petit has given considerable thought over the past 34 years to the logistics of parking a stranger’s car so it can be found rapidly. Petit founded his…
When it’s hot outside, it’s smart to find activities indoors. This summer you and your kids have plenty of options to keep cool while having fun, learning new skills or honing existing talents. You can exercise your minds and bodies as you build self-confidence and muscles. Besides year-round activity venues, kids’ camps and programs abound along with several open to adults. Let longer daylight hours tempt you into pursuing a…
Twelve years ago, after Jorge Cuellar was laid off from a surveying job with a construction company, he began working with a friend doing deliveries. Within three months, Cuellar realized he could start his own business making and distributing Mexican cookies and sweets in the Valley. He named the company the Debby & Abby Factory, after his two young daughters. Today, Cuellar delivers packaged shortbread cookies with coconut (hojarascas), empanadas and…
When you have good employees, you do not want to lose them. Like any personal or professional relationship, you have to work on it. You have to pay attention to their needs to keep them content and motivated. Here are five ways to sustain and strengthen those relationships. Say thank you. Yes, they are paid for their work. But complimenting someone on good work or acknowledging that they came in…
Are you ready for the Rio Grande Valley to become the epicenter of a space-based Silicon Valley? That’s a highly likely future, according to presenters at the first STARGATE Talk. The stars are, in fact, aligning to make the area near the SpaceX facility into a research and commercialization hub with a business incubator only two miles from the launch site. SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and…