Jason Martinez’s career in retailing was taking off in the early 2000s as the Mercedes native returned to the Rio Grande Valley with the recent opening of a Foley’s department store at La Plaza Mall. The McAllen mall went into another gear in that era after landing a big department store from a renowned regional chain with Houston roots. It was in those years that Martinez graduated with a business…
Arturo Leon had never been to the Rio Grande Valley when he came here in 2014 to scout for a place to locate his specialized painting business. He had already been to southern California, where his father lived after relocating from Mexico. Warehouse space there was hard to find and what was available didn’t meet his needs. Visiting the Valley, Leon liked the cultural fit and immediate proximity to Mexico.…
Christina Vasquez in her 15-plus years of being a school counselor believed in getting out of the office. “Be visible, be out there,” Vasquez said, recalling how she greeted students in school hallways. “I always felt that it was important to be out there and to have that visibility with the kids.” Vasquez was initially a teacher before settling into working as a counselor for students at every grade level…
South Padre Island with its soothing feel and leisurely coastal vibe is as good a place as any to start over again. It has been that and more for two massage therapists who came to the Island years ago after divorces required them to start anew. Pippa Brooks tells of coming to South Padre in 2008 with nothing. Fellow therapist Mina Amesquita recalls getting to SPI “with $60 in my…
A stately and historic home on Missouri Avenue in Mercedes needed work after years of neglect. Beyond its then-rough exterior, Dr. Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa and her husband, C.A., saw great potential. Baggerly-Hinojosa was looking for a corporate office for her Leadership Empowerment Group. Hinojosa, a Mercedes native, encouraged his wife to look at the city as a Mid-Valley hub to grow her business. They would settle on 805 S. Missouri –…
Pablo Pena started small with three employees, including himself, his wife and a friend. It was 1964 and the beginnings of Central Plumbing Supply in Weslaco on Kansas Avenue, just adjacent to the city’s iconic Tinaco cement water tower. Pena had worked in the plumbing supply business for a local company that closed when its business affairs weren’t properly managed. Starting his own small business, Pena knew he would do things…
Help Wanted. Now Hiring. Join Our Team. Signs posted at entrances and on marquees of many local businesses share these messages. Employee shortages seem to be affecting most industries, resulting in shorter hours of operation, canceled flights, sections of restaurants closed and rising stress levels. Martha Vela Hinojosa believes she was created for these current times of employers searching for workers. Born and raised in Mission, Hinojosa graduated from Mission…
Hansheng Lei came to the United States from China in 2001 with no idea the endless frontier would lead him to Brownsville. Lei is a professor in the computer science department at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. His academic office on University Boulevard in Brownsville is a handful of blocks away from his business office at a warehouse that’s adjacent to the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates.…
Joseph Duenas sought new experiences after graduating from Mercedes High School in 2006. He joined the Marines. Duenas trained to become an infantryman and did multiple combat tours in Iraq. He would stay on after his military service, working for a security firm contracted by the State Department. “I spent most of my 20s over there,” Duenas said of Iraq. The skills and training learned overseas were put to good…
The Texas Workforce Commission has approved an additional $1 billion in direct support for the Texas child care industry. This increases available funds for the 2022 Child Care Relief Fund to a total of $3.4 billion — with an estimated average award of over $250,000 per provider. In addition to the $1 billion for CCRF, the Commission has also approved an additional $75 million aimed to defray startup costs for…