Tim Piller has spent his entire career in aerospace. In 1984, with a degree in industrial technology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, he joined Martin Marietta, which became Lockheed Martin and, in 2006, United Launch Alliance, the nation’s premier space launch company. In the Valley since 2002, Piller was ULA’s manager of production for the rocket builders until he was appointed ULA Site Lead last year. Q You and your…
An hour before passengers come on board the 48-foot sailing catamaran Southern Wave, Chef Diego is preparing green and red peppers and side dishes for fajitas under a canopy on the stern. Hostess Samantha is setting a table, while acoustic guitarist Terry McIntyre arranges his mike and amp. John Ferrone, owner of the South Padre Island business, stops by to check on the crew before the next stream of passengers…
Hunting outfitter Adam Batot knew putting three unique but related businesses under one roof would benefit them all. As head of Double Shot Outfitters, he’d guided hunters in Texas and around the world: New Zealand, Canada, Colorado and Africa. “When we’d get done with a hunt here, we’d go visit Trey Mitchell (of Mitchell’s Wild Game Processing) and drop off the meat, and then go to Kevin Wick’s (Buckshot Taxidermy…
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…