Category Archives: Professional Services

Barber Passes ‘Goodness’ Back To Community

News Professional Services Comments
James Horta had a varied working background before opening his barber shop in downtown Mercedes.

James Horta is a barber with a flair and a commitment in giving back to his community. Horta’s glow-in-the-dark shop in downtown Mercedes is adorned with deco-style posters that illuminate and feature a cast of characters from Albert Einstein and Albert Hitchcock to racecar driver Jeff Gordon. There’s also plenty of memorabilia to be found, especially items featuring his beloved Dallas Cowboys. The barber’s affinity for pop culture is reflected…

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Pooches Goes ‘From Ground Up’ To Success

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Dogs are always welcome at Pooches Corner in Harlingen. (Courtesy)

El Paso native Michelle Franco-Mar fell in love in the aughts and moved to the Rio Grande Valley in 2009. “I married a Valley boy,” Franco-Mar said of her husband, Greg, who is from Brownsville.  Once here, the former newspaper graphic artist sized up her job possibilities, and wondered, “What can I do here?” Her new husband, an accountant, advised Michelle to do something she liked and to think about…

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Therapist Uses Music To Heal & Treat Patients

Healthcare News Professional Services Comments
Guitars are among the instruments available at the RGV Music Therapy and Wellness Center.

Marisa de Leon was a child of music growing up, playing piano and then the viola in her high school orchestra. Music, she says, was her “safe space.” It was during her high school years when de Leon saw a “60 Minutes” report featuring the recovery of former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords from a gunshot wound to the head. In early 2011, Giffords of Arizona survived an assassination attempt in…

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Young Entrepreneur ‘Ruffin It’ Out

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Cuddles are one key ingredient to great care at the Ruffin’ It Pet Resort in Harlingen. (Courtesy)

At age 21, Holly Hargrove had already earned a licensed vocational nursing degree to go with an associate of applied science degree in business management.  The latter came from Texas State Technical College in Harlingen. The LVN nursing degree was achieved during Hargrove’s high school years at the Harlingen School of Health Professions. Hargrove has an appreciation for the healthcare field and is proud to have earned her nursing degree.…

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McAllen Mechanic Gets ‘Second Chance’

Featured News Professional Services Comments
Joe Rodriguez and Cris Moreno work side by side as foreman and owner of Cris Auto Service in McAllen.

A mid-summer day in 2022 started out like any other for Cris Moreno and was supposed to conclude with a joyful night out with his mother and an uncle and aunt visiting from California. It was during that outing when another vehicle slammed into Moreno’s GMC truck. He was badly injured and rushed to DHR Health hospital in Edinburg. Moreno is a mechanic who has owned and operated an auto…

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Photographer Reaches For The Sky

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Love is in the air for a couple photographed by Jackie Valdez near the floodway in Mercedes.

Jackie Valdez‘s photographs feature the faces of the Rio Grande Valley. There are teenage girls wearing cowboy hats enjoying the sights and sounds of the Rio Grande Livestock Show in Mercedes. High school bands marching down streets in parades and across football fields make up another colorful portion of her South Texas portfolio. Freshly graduated students in portraits look hopeful and happy in Valdez’s portrait work as they look off…

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Buckeye Brings Gift Of Music to RGV

Arts News Professional Services Comments
The South Texas Academy of Music teaches its student musical skills and highlights the need for teamwork. (Courtesy)

Nick Dozer grew up a metal rocker and a buckeye in the rolling hills of southern Ohio. Dozer considers himself part of Buckeye Nation, as in Ohio State University football lore, but these days he finds himself in the Rio Grande Valley. He met a Valley girl while living in Nashville where both he and Dina Obrego were what he called “musicnaries.” It was ministry through music as Dozer and…

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Young Entrepreneur Building Presence

News Professional Services Retail Comments

Nayelli Valdemar is a one-woman shop for now, a young mother who has aligned her personal values with a passion to run “a business I know inside out.” Only 25, with the energy of a budding entrepreneur, Valdemar embodies her motto, uno solo puede. “One can do it” is a general translation and is reflective of the work ethic demonstrated recently at her Funky Flower Shop in Mercedes, just a…

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StartUp Events Feature Local Entrepreneurs

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BCIC CEO Cori Pena makes a check presentation to one winner at a recent StartUp Texas event. (Courtesy)

The 36,000-square-foot eBridge Center in downtown Brownsville was envisioned as a space where aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners could experiment and test new ideas. After a year of operations on East Adams Street, eBridge is proving to be just that and more. Its StartUp Texas innovation competitions feature enterprising businesses from a variety of industries representing food, research and emerging technologies. Just in recent months, presenters offered judges in…

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Beach Picnics Give SPI New Experience

Featured News Professional Services Comments

Growing up the daughter of a restaurateur taught Nadia Turner the importance of customer service and accommodating a client’s wishes. The family’s 5,000-square-foot Ann’s Restaurant in San Juan was a popular spot for local residents and Winter Texans in celebrating birthday parties and anniversaries. Turner has stayed in the hospitality business and branched out recently into a new realm of services. SPI Luxury Beach Picnics By Nadia is a far…

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