Foreign Press Center Invasion – A huge success!

During the week of September 17^th, REDCo, in conjunction with its PR firm (DCI) and the Foreign Press Center in Los Angeles hosted a four-day FAM tour for 15 international journalists.  To kick off the tour, the group was treated to a dinner reception at UTEP’s Durham Center, with keynote speakers Mayor John Cook, UTEP President Dr. Diana Natalicio, and me - welcoming the group in typical El Paso fashion.  The remainder of the week included briefings at Fort Bliss, a Border Health Overview at Texas Tech Medical School, a Bi-National Panel Presentation, a historical walking tour of Downtown El Paso, a tour with the Border Patrol and a visit to Las Cruces and the New Mexico Space Port with our economic development partners at MVEDA.   The journalists were exposed to our community partners and learned about a broad spectrum of local initiatives including health care, the human element of illegal and legal immigration, and the balance that immigration and customs agents must strike between the security and commerce needs of the El Paso-Juarez borderplex. 

Within days of the tour wrap up, the results were evident.  Jane Morse, who writes for the State Department’s Office of International Informational Programs in Washington, D.C., posted three articles to the State Department’s website.  One of the articles focuses on border security and commerce in the region and the other highlights medical issues and the Texas Tech health facility. Here are the links:

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=September&x=20070919141136ajesrom0.1910059

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=September&x=20070924141658ajesrom0.7344171

Jane’s third piece is a human interest story, focusing on the complex life of a border patrol agent and the line between law enforcement and the personal side of the immigration issue. You can read the story here:

http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=September&x=20070925164139ajesroM0.1921656

It is rewarding to see solid write-ups on our region on a federal site used by both the domestic and international community as a top information source. 

A fourth submission arrived just last week from Max Akerman of Swiss National Public Radio.  Max, based out of San Fransisco, spent four days in search of sound bytes and his audio recorder ran non-stop during the FAM tour.  The piece is reported in German with clips interspersed from Mayor Cook and others.  The broadcast has not come back from translation services yet, but topics discussed (that we understand) include the prevalence of hispanics in El Paso, the unity between Juarez and El Paso, and the community that bonds the cities together.  We look forward to obtaining more results from the tour in the coming weeks and months and we’ll share those successes with you as they roll in from DCI. 

AUSA – El Paso Boots on the Ground in DC

For the fifth year in a row, REDCo joined with our defense industry consultant (Cypress International), Congressman Reyes, Mayor Cook, the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce and other members of Team El Paso to participate in a series of events surrounding the Association of United States Army’s national convention during the week of October 8^th.  The team, led by REDCo, met with three different defense contractors who are contemplating jobs and investment in our community.  The three companies are evaluating El Paso for a range of opportunities that include engineering and high tech manufacturing.  REDCo also supported the Chamber in briefing high level Army officials about what the community is doing to support the new missions relocating to Fort Bliss. 

Welcome to Luis Ruiz – REDCo’s Research & Marketing Intern

I am pleased to announce that Luis Ruiz has been hired as a Research & Marketing Intern at REDCo.  Currently a full-time Mass Communications/Journalism student at El Paso Community College, Luis has a cumulative GPA of 3.92.  Among his proud academic achievements is being selected to the President’s List for the Fall 2006 and the Spring 2007 semesters, and the National Dean’s List for Spring 2007.  He also participates in the honors program.  Luis is an experienced writer and has had several articles published in local monthly publications El Paso Scene and Verve Magazine.  In fact, Luis recently co-authored a bylined article for “U.S Industry Today” with Manuel Ochoa within his first month on staff.  If you haven’t met Luis and you’re in the Chase Building, please stop by and introduce yourself.   Luis is an asset to our close-knit team and we look forward to watching his talents and skills grow. 

The next Quarterly Investor Briefing will be held Wednesday, October 17th at 4:00pm at the El Paso Club.  We look forward to hosting a special presentation by Richard A.A. Hall, President of Champlain Cable Corporation.  Champlain Cable is a Vermont-based manufacturer of high tech cabling, that chose El Paso this year for its first manufacturing facility outside of their Vermont location.  You will hear how Champlain Cable utilizes a unique technology in their manufacturing process, as well as the reasons they chose to locate in our community.  To R.S.V.P. for the briefing, please email Luis Ruiz at lruiz@elpasoredco.org or call 915-534-0549.  To view the Champlain Cable press announcement from April, please click on the following link.  http://www.elpasoredco.org/PressView.aspx?ID=86