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…
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…
Roel Villanueva was enthralled with fireworks as a boy growing up in Mercedes. The Mexican-style palomas were his favorites, the triangle shaped firework known for packing a punch with their concentrated amounts of gunpowder and being loud enough to trigger car alarms in neighborhoods. Villanueva was just shy of 10 years of age when he didn’t flee the scene fast enough from a paloma ready to go off. It went…
Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement is one of 57 nonprofits chosen as grant partners through a Texas Mutual Insurance Company development and safety training grant cycle focused on fortifying businesses to strengthen the state’s economy. These grants are part of Texas Mutual’s larger commitment of $8 million in grant funding to nonprofit organizations across the state in two categories — generational learning for working families, and workforce development and…
Luis Saldana was coming to the end of a three decades-long career with the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service when a job offer came along involving the leadership of a historic organization in his hometown. Saldana’s fellow board members of the Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show approached him in early 2023 with the possibility of the general manager leadership post. Saldana grew up the son of an agricultural education instructor…
Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement has received a $60,000 grant from Methodist Healthcare Ministries. This contribution will allow VIDA to expand its impact and continue its essential efforts in advancing career training opportunities for allied health professionals. The grant acknowledges the pivotal role of community organizations in driving positive transformation, addressing influential factors impacting health such as socio-economic challenges, and fostering avenues for economic advancement. “We are immensely grateful…
Samuel Arguelles had excellent role models and grew up witnessing the importance of higher education. Unfortunately, that provides no guarantee. “I am a second-generation college student; however, I lost my parents at a very young age and have been trying so hard to make them proud,” Arguellas said. His parents passed away from different forms of cancer, his dad while working on a PhD and his mom while working on…
The Mid-Valley has a new healthcare option with Knapp Medical Center extending urgent care at a Mercedes clinic it jointly operates with the UTRGV School of Medicine. Knapp Medical of Weslaco recently added urgent care to the services offered at the UT Health RGV/Knapp Family Health Center at Expressway 83 and North Mile 2 W Road. A wide range of essential medical services are offered by UTRGV staff during daytime…
The Rio Grande Valley Livestock Show & Rodeo is billed as the region’s single largest event in drawing over 300,000 visitors to the yearly celebration. The 2024 edition is a special one in what RGV Livestock Show leadership is calling the event’s Diamond Anniversary. The 85th annual show will take place from March 7-17 of next year in Mercedes, its historical home and where it got started downtown in 1939.…
Black cats, ghosts, and witches’ brew. Your favorite little ghosts and goblins are invited to Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets for a spooky fun Halloween Bash on Oct. 28. Children of all ages are encouraged to sport their best Halloween costumes to haunt Rio Grande Valley Premium Outlets in search of candy from retailers throughout the center. The Halloween celebration will feature music, family-friendly activities, complimentary snow cones, a balloon artist, face…