The Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce held their annual awards banquet on January 23, recognizing businesses, local leaders and volunteers who impact the future of the community.
March of Dimes was named Nonprofit of the Year by the Chamber, an honor Becky Horner, executive director of the March of Dimes, says was received because of the hard work volunteers do within the organization.
“This is a great testament to all the amazing work volunteers have done and all the many volunteer hours put in to help the March of Dimes continue to make a difference in our community,” Becky says. “I am very thankful to them for their dedication to the March of Dimes mission.”
The March of Dimes is the leading non-profit for pregnancy and baby health and each year the organization raises tens of thousands of dollars to keep babies healthy. Their two largest fundraisers are March for Babies and High Heels for High Hopes.
In 2008, the Second Annual High Heels for High Hopes event brought together an elite group of outstanding women in Doña Ana County, nominated for their active community service and leadership within the community, with local salons and media to raise awareness about premature births. In total, the campaign raised $55,000, up from $44,000 raised during 2007’s campaign. The campaign came to a close on November 20, 2008 during a Style Gala Dinner and Silent Auction at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.
“This was a great opportunity to raise awareness while having fun,” Leonard Jimenez, owner of Studio 037 Salon and salon organizer for the event, says. “We raised money and raised awareness in style.”
Kari Mitchell received the Citizen of the Year Award for her efforts in improving economic development in Doña Ana County.
Kari and her husband, Rod, acquired
Las Cruces Machine, Manufacturing and Engineering in 2000. Through her efforts with Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA), Kari helped improve the economic development climate in Doña Ana County, which resulted in record job creation and unemployment from 2004 through 2008.
Kari developed a passion for improving the skills of the local workforce which led her to help create and co-chair the Regional Educational Initiative with Patsy Duran in May 2007. This ultimately led to the creation of The Bridge in October 2008, a formal organization of which she is a founding board member, and its ongoing efforts to improve the linkage of education with the needs of business.
FirstLight Federal Credit Union received the award for Business of the Year. FirstLight has served the community since expanding their charter in 1996. Along with serving the financial needs of their members, FirstLight is a strong community partner.
Mary Beth Reinhart received the award for Volunteer of the Year for her work with Chamber events and White Sands Missile Range (WSMR). Mary Beth retired from WSMR after 37 years of service, but she remains actively involved, serving on the
Chamber board for the past three years as well as the Military Affairs and Events Committees. Recently, she led the Chamber as it took over the annual Thanks Team WSMR event to honor the staff, soldiers and families of White Sands.
Art Haggerton received the Crystal Apple for his work as a language arts teacher at White Sands Middle School. Art works to make the transition for incoming students as simple and accessible as possible. He also spearheads several extracurricular activities, including an end-of-the-year formal dinner/dance, an annual student play and his newest project – a spring semester speech contest.
Kiel Hoffman, a Conquistadore for nine years and Market President for the Las Cruces’ offices of Pioneer Bank, received the Conquistadore of the Year Award. He serves as a member of the Las Cruces Day in Santa Fe Committee and as Logistics Chair. Kiel is in his second year on the Chamber Board of Directors and will serve as Chair in 2010.
Title sponsors for the Annual Awards Banquet were Sitel, Memorial Medical Center, Comcast and Wal-Mart on Walton Boulevard. The gold sponsor was MountainView Regional Medical Center. Award sponsors were Sitel, El Paso Electric, Steinborn Inc. Real Estate, Las Cruces Public Schools, Barnett’s Las Cruces Harley-Davidson, Adventure Travel & Cruise Center and MountainView Regional Medical Center. |
