Historians consider Marcus Aurelius Antoninus “the last of the great emperors of Rome.” I’m not a historian by any stretch of the imagination, so I can’t claim to have the credentials to refute the claim, but I have often questioned this designation of admiration. I credit Marcus Aurelius for many admirable and distinguishable qualities. His self-discipline, adherence to principle, and the wise and fair rule of all Rome during his…
After years of discussion and negotiation, a new merger has created one of the largest independently owned full-service commercial brokerage real estate firms in South Texas. Michael Blum, partner and managing broker of NAI Rio Grande Valley; Charles Mueller, managing partner of Synergis Realty Group, LLC, owner of NAI Rio Grande Valley; and Edward Villarreal, owner of South Texas Commercial Real Estate, recently signed off on the merger that has…
Bridgett Krause believes in the “law of the mirror” as a strategy for personal and professional success. “You must see value in yourself to move forward to achieve personal growth and leadership,” she said during a recent seminar at the McAllen Business Expo. The annual expo was sponsored by the McAllen Chamber of Commerce. Krause and her husband Ryan are international trainers and executive coaches with the John Maxwell Team.…
Looking out over drought-parched ranchlands in 2012, Victoria Cappadona noticed one native type of vegetation holding forth, keeping its green amidst the dryness. It was the mesquite, the indestructible and ubiquitous South Texas tree with its golden string of bean pods hanging down like ribbons. Cappadona, a McAllen native now living in the Linn-San Manuel ranch country of northern Hidalgo County, remarked to her father-in-law about the tenacity of the…
South Texas College is the recipient of a $40,000 grant to scale and sustain learner success for adult Latino students. The Adult Learner 360 Grant comes from the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in partnership with Excelencia in Education. The initiative seeks to provide Hispanic Serving Institutions with tools and support to implement researched-based practices to improve outcomes for adult Latino students. The grant enables STC to participate in a three-year…
“The orchids grow in the woods and they let out their fragrance even if there is no one around to appreciate it. Likewise, men of noble character will not let poverty deter their will to be guided by high principles and morals.” –Confucius Orchids are known for representing things like love, beauty, refinement, thoughtfulness, charm and especially elegance. Pink orchids especially have an association with grace, joy, happiness and femininity.…
From the moment people walked into the Brownsville Event Center for the Business to Botana Expo on Sept. 19, they were surrounded by the sights and smells this event was showcasing. There was no shortage of food booths with everything ranging from Taco Palenque to Bara Exotic Food to Vita Zumo. Free to the public, this popular event drew crowds of all ages. Babies in strollers ate pieces of fruit…
The Texas economy added 32,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in August, which marked 26 consecutive months of employment growth. Over the year, Texas added 394,500 jobs for an annual employment growth rate of 3.2 percent. Private-sector employers added 32,800 positions over the month. Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent in August, down slightly from 4.0 in July 2018. Locally, unemployment rates are also down in Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Brownsville-Harlingen…
South Texas College held a grand opening and building dedication ceremony for its highly anticipated Regional Center for Public Safety Excellence Sept. 18. Helping the college open the facility was Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, delivering the keynote address to a gathering of local, state and federal law enforcement professionals. The new Regional Center intends to make STC the first border community college in the nation to establish integrative training along the…
A new online Master of Accountancy program is now an offering in UTRGV’s Accelerated Online Graduate Programs in the Robert C. Vackar College of Business & Entrepreneurship. The MACC program is for accounting professionals seeking skills and knowledge to advance into a leadership role. It also enables students to satisfy the 150-hour requirement of the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy to sit for the Certified Public Accountant examination. “The online accelerated MACC program…