Category Archives: Industry

Does Your Nonprofit Need a Website?

e-Brief Features Events Featured News Non-Profit Technology Comments

Local nonprofits in need of a website may apply until May 27 to have a WordPress website created specifically for them. The charity hackaton do_action takes place June 22-23, allowing the RGV community to create websites for local nonprofit organizations. Created by CodeRGV and the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, the hackathon, providing five nonprofits with completed websites. The 24-hour event will be a platform for participants to works as teams, bringing unique…

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Building ‘Soft Skills’ for Success

Education Events News Technology Comments
UTRGV students collaborate on last-minute details during the GreenpowerUSA South Texas Electric Car Competition. (Courtesy)

Public-private collaborations to build a workforce for the future have picked up speed in recent years amidst growing concerns that some skills needed to prosper are lagging behind advancements in technology. Electric cars whizzing around at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour offer a recent example of how some young people in the Rio Grande Valley are looking forward. Thirty-one teams representing middle schools, high schools and colleges…

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Historic Valley Funeral Homes

News Professional Services Comments
Raymondville’s David Wittenbach now operates one of the oldest family-owned funeral homes in the Rio Grande Valley. (VBR)

Most funeral homes in the Rio Grande Valley are located in the more heavily populated cities like Brownsville, McAllen and Harlingen, with many of them owned by large corporations. But a few are still family-owned and operated. The small Willacy County city of Raymondville has two of them, down from three just a few years ago. Duddlesten Funeral Home and Good Shepard Funeral Home are both located along West Hidalgo…

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Island Native Surfs to Success

News Recreation & Tourism Retail Comments
Island Native Surf Shop owner Kerry Schwartz stands among some of the surfboards he sells. (VBR)

Kerry Schwartz discovered surfing at a young age growing up in the Rio Grande Valley. “Surfing was always my passion,” he said. “I even had a little surf shop in Brownsville in the 60s when I was just a teenager.” Today he owns and operates Island Native Surf Shop on South Padre Island, which he opened in 2003 when he retired. After college Schwartz lived in the Houston area where…

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IT Marketer Boosts Family Business

News Technology Comments
Andy Crockett handles website and social media marketing for the family business, gift fruit shipper Crockett Farms. (Courtesy)

Once upon a time, a small business’s IT person installed new systems and programs, trained staff to navigate them and fixed glitches. But that’s so 20 years ago. “Marketing has changed so much, especially for anyone like us who markets nationally. If you don’t stay on top of marketing trends, you lose market share,” said Terrie Crockett, who with her husband Allan runs the gift fruit shipper Crockett Farms. “There’s…

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Deal Advances $1.6 Billion Port Steel Mill

e-Brief Features Manufacturing/Industrial News Comments
Big River Steel was the first to have a steel mill to achieve the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. The Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners recently signed an option agreement to lease for the company to build another LEED-certified plant at the Port of Brownsville. (photo Big River Steel)

On Tuesday, the Brownsville Navigation District Board of Commissioners signed an option agreement for Big River Steel LLC to build a $1.6 billion plant at the Port of Brownsville. The agreement covers up to 800 acres of property. This will enable the steel-maker to develop a LEED-certified steel manufacturing plant, as well as storage and a distribution facility.  “This is good news for Brownsville and the result of hard work by many…

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UTRGV Receives Grant for Latina STEM

Education Featured Manufacturing/Industrial News Technology Comments
Latinas in STEM

The National Science Foundation has awarded the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley a $249,992 grant for the NSF INCLUDES Symposium for ADVANCING STEM Latinas in Academic Careers. The federal funds will be made available to UTRGV on Aug. 1. The funding allows UTRGV to place emphasis on increasing the number of Latinas in STEM workforce areas. The NSF symposium will provide a national platform to  discuss and address the issues that affect…

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Keeping Business Energy Efficiency on PACE

e-Brief Features Events News Real Estate Comments
PACE

Area businesses who have an interest in Property Assessed Clean Energy are invited to attend an information session April 23 at the Port Isabel-San Benito Navigation District. During this time, PACE Executive Director Charlene Heydinger will discuss how property owners can upgrade their buildings and conserve energy while also saving money. Financing options are available for industrial property owners and multifamily property owners as well as commercial property owners. Industrial Property Owners The Texas…

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Women in Technology Explores Career Paths

Education Events Featured Food & Entertainment Manufacturing/Industrial Comments
South Texas College's Women in Technology takes place April 19. (photo STC)

The Women in Technology event takes place April 19 at the South Texas College Technology Campus Atrium, highlight careers in technology considered as non-traditional for females. The event will include information booths from programs in the Business, Public Safety, and Technology divisions. This includes Fire Science, Police Academy, Engineering Design, Culinary Arts and Construction. STC Information Technology Program instructor and event organizer Angelita Teniente says events like this are crucial for women who…

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Local Partnership Seeks to Close Tech Gap

Education News Technology Comments
(photo Valley Technical Academy)

Valley Technical Academy and Woz U are working together via an online learning portal to address the diversity gap in tech employment when it comes to Hispanics. According to Valley Technical Academy, only seven percent of the tech sector is comprised of Hispanics. Through this partnership, the Mission-based center will provide Woz U’s tech-based curriculum in immersive education sprint formats. This format enables students to learn skills required to enter a…

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