Van Horn community leaders host economic development delegation

Members of the delegation were given a tour of Van Horn, CCAISD, and Blue Origin on Wednesday, March 4. -Photo by Pam Baugh
Members of the delegation were given a tour of Van Horn, CCAISD, and Blue Origin on Wednesday, March 4. -Photo by Pam Baugh

Last week, a delegation of economic development experts arrived in Van Horn to visit with Van Horn’s Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and tour CCAISD and Blue Origin. The delegation included Tony Ramirez, Vice President of Economic Development at Borderplex Alliance; Kassandra Huhn, Vice President of Workforce Development and Analytics at Borderplex Alliance; Andrea Hutchins, Economic Development Director of El Paso County; Jessica Herrera, Economic Development Director of El Paso City; and Chandra Eggemeyer, Economic Development Specialist at the Office of Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

This visit represented an important first step in strengthening ties between Van Horn and El Paso. EDC representatives Lisa Cottrell, Ben File, Dan Baeza, and Karolyne Carloss kicked the visit off with a lunch for the delegation and exchanged ideas on how the EDC can better diversify the region’s economy and attract new business opportunities to the area. The delegation of experts was generous with their time and knowledge, and made themselves available to continue mentoring Van Horn’s EDC leaders as they work to expand economic development opportunities in Van Horn and Culberson County.

Superintendent Ken Baugh led the delegation through a tour of CCAISD’s new PK-12 campus and presented on the many rigorous educational programs the school is investing in. Sondra McCoy, Director of Academic Programs, presented on the Early College High School programs and Brock Tyrell, Athletic Director and Welding Instructor, introduced our welding certification programs and gave the guests an opportunity to try their hand at virtual welding. The guests were impressed with CCAISD’s commitment to providing a wide breadth and depth of programs to its students, despite its small size and rural location.

Following the tour of CCAISD, Eduardo “Eddie” Seyffert hosted the delegation for a tour of Blue Origin. The Economic Development Directors of El Paso City and El Paso County were excited to discuss the potential of space tourism in the region, and offered their expertise and resources to help Blue Origin and Van Horn plan for future tourism on the horizon.

Van Horn EDC meetings are open to the public and occur monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of every month in the Van Horn Convention Center at 6:30 p.m. If you are interested in participating in or contributing to the Van Horn EDC, you are highly encouraged to reach out to Becky Brewster (EDC President) or Ben File (EDC Vice President), or solicit information from Karolyne Carloss at [email protected].

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