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Southern New Mexico’s premier leadership program, Leadership Las Cruces, is now accepting applications for the 2012 program and are available by clicking here. Applications for the 2012 class must be received at the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce office, 760 W. Picacho Ave., by 5 p.m. Friday, February 3, 2012.
Leadership Las Cruces, sponsored by Memorial Medical Center, is comprised of nine day-long training sessions held once a month from March through November. Students will have the opportunity to learn about the industries and organizations that make up the economic engine of the Mesilla Valley through presentations, field trips and hands-on experience in areas such as state and local government, health care, community topics, agriculture, education, military and economic development.
Candidates for the Leadership Las Cruces program are selected from professional, educational, governmental, nonprofit and business sectors within the Las Cruces and Doña Ana County area. The class size for each year is limited to 28 participants. An individual must apply in order to participate in the program. The goal of the program is to find individuals who have an interest in becoming more involved with the community and are interested in becoming more effective leaders.
The 2012 Leadership program begins with orientation in March and will continue throughout the year until graduation in November. Classes are generally held between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on the third Friday of each month.
Tuition for the class is $900 and includes all materials, meals and travel. Advance notice will be given of any additional expense. Payment must be received prior to the first session as to ensure participation in the program. Due to advance planning requirements of the program, no refunds will be given after the first program day. Three $600 scholarships are available to applicants from charitable nonprofit organizations and local small businesses.
For additional information, contact Communication and Leadership Director Joel Courtney at 524-1968 or jcourtney@lascruces.org
From AARP The Magazine website. For full article click here
Las Cruces, New Mexico
With the motto "Stay Sunny" — and an average of 350 days a year of sunshine — Las Cruces beckons sun worshippers seeking a retirement locale.
Las Cruces has a small town feel. The four-month Full-Tilt Fiesta Season starts around Labor Day and has several peaks, including construction of the World's Largest Enchilada and the Day of the Dead on November 1.
AARP The Magazine named Las Cruces a "retirement dream town" several years back because of its affordability, weather and recreational resources. It has also been singled out by Hispanic magazine as a livable city for Hispanics.
Las Cruces (population 90,000) is 45 miles north of the Mexican border. Historic Mesilla (2,200), a former stagecoach junction where Billy the Kid was sentenced to hang, is five miles west of Las Cruces.
Unemployment is low — 6.3 percent in October 2011 — but many jobs pay poorly and more than one-fifth of residents live below the poverty line.
A big chunk of downtown Las Cruces was demolished in the 1960s — blame "urban renewal" — so the closest thing the town has to a center are the commercial strips along Telshor Boulevard and Lohman Avenue.
But there is hope: The city is home to New Mexico State University's main campus (NMSU, enrollment 16,200), which supports a fertile arts and music scene. COAS Books, which stocks half a million titles, holds frequent readings and book signings. The Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra, comprised mostly of NMSU students and faculty, performs at Music Center Recital Hall. In Mesilla, restaurants, shops and galleries line the Plaza, which is a National Historic Landmark, and the Fountain Theatre, the oldest theater in New Mexico, screens foreign and alternative films.
Locals also flock to the Wednesday and Saturday farmers' and crafts market, which dates to 1857, and on the last Sunday of each month, cyclists, walkers, joggers, dancers and even weight lifters pack Young Park to burn calories in a ciclovía.
Outside of town huge swaths of public land await: Las Cruces is at the junction of the Chihuahua and Sonora deserts, and the Rockies and Sierra Madre Mountains. The local office of the Bureau of Land Management maintains 45,000 miles of roads and trails that extend all the way to the Arizona border.
The number of doctors and hospital beds per resident is much lower than average but life expectancy is high. Something, no doubt, about all that sunshine.
For the second consecutive year, the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce has held a successful Sky's the Limit fundraising campaign. On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the Chamber celebrated the achievement of the $180,000 income goal for the year.
'I am extremely proud of the work our Chamber's volunteers put forth to help us accomplish the Sky's The Limit goal. When we gathered in November, we set the $180,000 as a stretch goal,' said Bill Connor, Sky's the Limit cam'paign chair. 'To accomplish this says a lot about the support the business community has for the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce.'
Led by Connor and campaign vice-chairs Margie Huerta, Ann Reed, Leslie Cervantes and Nikki MacDonald, more than 70 volunteers on 11 different teams have worked over the past four months to support the Sky's the Limit campaign. The volunteers have sold sponsorships, recruited new members and set up trades for building maintenance, advertisements and giveaways for Chamber members that will help reduce the strain of such costs on the Chamber budget.
'Having over 70 volunteers working on this campaign means that we have members who have a better understanding of the value the Chamber brings to our community. With the successful conclusion of campaign, the Chamber staff and leadership have a good handle on how our programs will be funded and also where the support for those programs are coming from,' Connor said.
Volunteers earned cash incentives for their contributions to the campaign as well as exclusive invitations to campaign reward ses'sions at popular sites throughout the Mesilla Valley. Reward sessions included the Preston Contemporary Art Center, Amaro Winery, Las Cruces Railroad Museum and Allen Theaters Cineport 10.
'Obviously, the money raised will help ensure that the events, programs and programs can continue and grow. I think the grow part is the important part. Over the past few years, the leadership at the Chamber of Commerce has been able to add more opportunities and chances for our business community to get the word out that "Business is good in Las Cruces,' Connor said.
'This marks the second year in a row that we have made our Sky's the Limit fundraising goal,' said Jim Berry, Chamber president/CEO. 'This success justifies the Chamber's decision to pursue the Total Resource Campaign and makes the Chamber optimistic about securing future funding.'
Every volunteer was an essential member of the team ensuring the future success of the Chamber, though several teams and individuals went above and beyond in their funds raised. The top producing teams were the Las Cruces Bulletin, Las Cruces Sun-News, The Winners, Power Pink and the Conquistadore Red Team. The top individual producers were John Hummer, Kiel Hoffman, Jaylene Watkins, Leslie Cervantes, Richard Haas, Jaki McCollum and Dawson Dinsmore, all of whom have won a two-day trip to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
The Chamber held the first Total Resource Campaign with the assistance of Fremont Development Group, which is led by Chairman Jerry Bartles, former director of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, the largest in the United States. Bartles developed the pro'gram during his time with the Atlanta Chamber and has successfully used the campaign style to raise incremental money for more than 70 chambers around the country.
Although the fundraising campaign has ended, there are still numerous opportunities for members to market their businesses through the Chamber, including sponsorships and advertisements. For more information, visit http://lascruces2010.fremontdevelopment.com. The 2010 campaign has officially ended, but planning is now beginning for the 2011 Sky's the Limit. Any members interested in participating in the 2011 campaign, contact Chamber Revenue Development Director Alesia Dutton at 524-1968 or adutton@lascruces.org.
The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce's Membership Update Luncheon series will kick off with the annual Medical Update Luncheon sponsored by Comcast from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 17, at the Ramada Palms de Las Cruces, 201 E. University Ave.
Speakers for the event include Kevin Burgess, CEO of Mesilla Valley Hospital; Suzanne Quillen, CEO of Advanced Care Hospital of Southern New Mexico; and Pamela Schultz, RN, Interim Director of the New Mexico State University School of Nursing, all of which will talk about the current issues facing the medical community. Dr. Catherine Torres, recently nominated New Mexico Secretary of Health, has been invited to serve as keynote speaker.
Torres is a practicing pediatrician at the Rio Grande Medical Group in Las Cruces.In addition, Dr. Torres has served on both the U.S. - Mexico Border Health Commission and the New Mexico - Sonora Commission. Torres also served on the Medical Advisory Committee of the Doña Ana County Detention Center and chaired the New Mexico Border Health Advisory Committee. She earned her B.S. and M.D. from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
The Membership Update Luncheon series consists of six luncheons on key sectors of the Las Cruces economy throughout the year. Other luncheons in the series will cover education, military, city and county government and an address from the governor. The next in the series will be the Spaceport Update Luncheon on April 21.
The Medical Update Luncheon is sponsored by Comcast, Memorial Medical Center, Mesilla Valley Hospital and Good Samaritan Society - Las Cruces. Media sponsors are Las Cruces Bulletin and Las Cruces Sun-News. Other sponsorship opportunities are still available for the event. For more information on sponsorships, contact Alesia Dutton, Chamber Revenue Development Director, at 524-1968 or adutton@lascruces.org.
Tickets to the Medical Update Luncheon are $20 for members or $40 for non-members. For reservations, contact the Chamber office at 524-1968 or relo@lascruces.org or register online at www.lascruces.org.
Bill Allen has accepted the position of CEO/President of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce. Allen most recently served as the executive director of the chamber of commerce in Royal Oak, Mich., a suburb outside of Detroit.
"Bill has experience with a chamber similar to ours and numerous successes in growing that chamber and expanding the offerings to the membership, which were very intriguing to the Board of Directors," said Kiel Hoffman, chair of the Chamber Board of Directors.
"I'm looking forward to coming to a community that has economic diversity and is growing at the same time," Allen said. "I'm also looking forward to enjoying the Mesilla Valley's wonderful climate and beautiful environment."
The Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce is the third largest in the state of New Mexico with nearly 1,000 members. The Chamber focuses on business advocacy with state and local elected officials, business education and networking for members.
"I'm excited to work with the already established Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce and help it continue to grow," Allen said. "I plan to help the Chamber grow its membership and look for opportunities to add more value to a business's membership in the chamber of commerce."
Allen holds a master's degree in business administration and a bachelor's degree accounting from Northwood University in Midland, Mich. He has a diverse experience in both small and large private industries, including a strong financial background.
Hoffman added that Allen came from a wide field of great applicants with a great amount of experience. "We feel that Bill is a part of the future of Las Cruces, and we are excited to have him join us in that journey," he said.
Allen will join the Chamber staff in November. Meetings with members of the community will be scheduled following his arrival in Las Cruces.
