Text Box:     Contact:          Meghan Harris Russell                         Executive Director (719) 846-9412   134 West Main Street, Suite 12  Trinidad, CO  81082 ed@tlac.net  §  www.tlac.net

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND GOALS FOR 2007

Trinidad, CO (February 14, 2007) – Trinidad-Las Animas County Economic Development recently welcomed three new Board members and a new slate of officers for 2007.  Incoming Board members include Tyler Erickson, Keri LaPorte, and Jennifer Mathews. 

Tyler Erickson recently moved to Trinidad and served as the CEO of Mt. San Rafael Hospital.  While Tyler brings many years of experience providing leadership for hospital operations, he also brings a wealth of economic development experience to the Board having served as the President of the Montrose Economic Development Council in the 90’s and, more recently, serving on the Board of Directors for the Brazosport Chamber of Commerce (Lake Jackson, TX).  Tyler holds a BA in Hospital Administration from Concordia College and an MBA from Colorado State University.  He and his wife enjoy the atmosphere in smaller communities and the ability to become involved to help make a difference. 

Keri LaPorte moved with her husband to Trinidad two years ago to open Communication Solutions.  The business specializes in two-way communications, but in response to customer demand also offers cellular phones, custom installation, wireless broadband internet, and satellite communications.  Keri grew up in the Walsenburg/LaVeta area so moving to Trinidad was almost like moving home.  Living in the community of Trinidad has been enjoyable for Keri and she wants to keep the economy thriving for years to come so that she and her husband can stay and raise their children in the area.  Keri has a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Colorado State University - Pueblo and looks forward to working for the betterment of the community. 

Jennifer Mathews and her husband relocated to Trinidad in 1997 after more than 25 years in Southern California.  Since arriving in Trinidad, she has served on the E911 Board, the Board for the Las Animas Chapter of Habitat for Humanity which included serving on the Family Selection Committee, and was recently appointed to serve on the Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce Board.  Arriving in Trinidad she worked several temporary jobs, finally landing at Evergreen Resources, which is now Pioneer Natural Resources.  Since her move to Trinidad, she has seen a steady influx of newcomers to the town and her work at Pioneer has given her a good perspective on what people are looking for when they consider relocating to Trinidad.  She would like to see Trinidad continue to grow and become a thriving, vital community with a variety of businesses and opportunities for all. 

These new Board members join existing members Charles Griego, V. James Davis, Donna Haddow, Rosemary Fabec, Kathy Garlutzo, and Nancy Lackey in taking on important economic development issues facing Las Animas County.

Charles Griego has served on the Board since 2005 and was elected this year to serve as President.  Charles is a retired Letter Carrier and was involved with the National Association of Letter Carriers as an officer and served on the Employee Involvement Steering Committee.  After his retirement from the Postal Service, Charles attended the University of Southern Colorado where he earned his BA/BS Degree in Business with an emphasis in accounting.  He was an adjunct instructor of accounting at Trinidad State Junior College and owned and operated an accounting and mortgage business.  Charles is currently employed with the Colorado Department of Labor as an Employment Specialist where he helps veterans find employment and training.

V. James “Jim” Davis continues his adventures with the Economic Development Board, this year elected to serve as Vice-President, after having returned to the Board last year.  Jim was a Board member previously from 1998 through 2002.  Jim and wife, Suzanne, have been residents of Las Animas County since 1996 and property owners since 1992.  His background is in the investment/investment banking field, having spent the past 35 years in that career.  He has owned his own investment banking firm, providing capital formation for public and private corporations, as well as municipalities.  Since moving to Las Animas County, Jim has been active on numerous community committees, has served on the boards of the metropolitan districts of the Santa Fe Trail Ranch and Stone Ridge subdivisions, and is active in ministries for Holy Trinity Parish.

Donna Haddow joined the Economic Development Board in 2006 and has recently been elected to serve as Secretary/Treasurer.  Donna has served as the Executive Director of Huerfano/Las Animas Housing Resources, Inc. for the past year.  HLHR is a certified Community Housing Development Organization whose mission is to provide decent, safe, affordable housing for residents of Huerfano and Las Animas Counties.  Prior to taking this position, she served as the Loan Officer for the South Central Council of Governments Housing Rehabilitation Program where she applied for and worked with CDBG funding, Rural Development Housing Preservation grant, Energy Outreach Colorado grant and serviced a $2.7 million dollar loan portfolio.  She also served as Administrative Assistance to the Executive Director of SCCOG for one year.  Before taking the position at COG, she had over 22 years of experience working in various medical offices in the Trinidad area.

Rosemary Fabec has served on the Economic Development Board since 2003.  Rosemary is the retired Business Manager for Trinidad School District #1 and the former Chief Accountant for the City of Trinidad.  She has a degree in Business Administration and is a retired Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  Prior to entering the accounting field, Rosemary ran a corporation serving the aerospace industry in Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma.  As a founding director of Noah's Ark Animal Welfare Association, she has served as its President for several years.  Rosemary also presently assists her husband in property management of their real estate holdings in Trinidad. 

Kathy Garlutzo is a Trinidad native.  Kathy, together with her husband Jim, have owned and operated Elite Jewelers in downtown Trinidad for the past 17 years.  Kathy feels the experience of owning a small, independent business gives a whole new perspective on the importance of developing a wholesome and thriving community.  She feels that her experiences will be able to shed some light on the needs of the community, especially in reviving the downtown Trinidad area.

Nancy Lackey, who is serving as the Chair of Economic Development Board’s Downtown Development Committee, brings 28 years of real estate sales, development, and management experience to the Economic Development Board and is from the Ft. Collins and Denver areas.  While working in Ft. Collins, she concentrated in the residential sales area with emphasis on new subdivision start-ups, executive corporate relocations with companies such as Hewlett Packard, Anheuser Busch, Eastman Kodak and site acquisitions for Taco Bell and Kentucky Fried Chicken.  Her affiliations in the Denver area were with Re/Max of Cherry Creek and Re/Max 3000 as well as a commercial property management company.  She and her team managed nearly one million square feet of office space, including medical facilities and government security areas as well as office space throughout the Denver Metro area.  Nancy is the owner/broker of Sangre de Cristo Properties, in downtown Trinidad, and Mountain Trail Home Sales, located off I-25 at Exit 11, and is a representative for Genesis modular homes.  Nancy’s research of the housing market in this area indicated a shortage of new homes in the $200,000-300,000 dollar price range.  Her newly developed sales center features four models which are open daily and represent only a fraction of the possibilities available.

These nine, dedicated, volunteer Board members for Trinidad-Las Animas County Economic Development are committed to developing and achieving tangible economic development tools and strategies for Las Animas County and the communities therein.  This year’s focus centers on downtown and infrastructure development.  In addition to continued work to diversify the Trinidad Industrial Park, the Board is actively proceeding with the development of a Business Resource Center and Incubator for downtown Trinidad in conjunction with several partners including Trinidad State Junior College, the Trinidad & Las Animas County Chamber of Commerce, and the Small Business Development Center Network (via the Governor’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade), just to name a few.  Economic Development will also be working to perform several surveys this year including an industry gap assessment which will allow the organization to more effectively recruitment businesses to the area.  Additionally, the organization is planning a survey of downtown building owners in order to identify upcoming projects and development for the downtown area.  Economic Development will also be working with downtown building owners to continue offering individual project assistance and State and Federal tax credit applications combined with data collected from the Historic Survey.

These are just some of the items Economic Development is excited to be working on to make 2007 a success for Las Animas County.  However if you would like more information on the Economic Development Board, potential volunteer opportunities, more detail on Economic Development’s 2007 Goals, or specific projects please contact Meghan Harris Russell, Executive Director for Trinidad-Las Animas County Economic Development at (719) 846-9412 or via email at ed@tlac.net.  Visit Trinidad-Las Animas County Economic Development online at www.tlac.net.

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