Texas Border Business
McAllen, Texas – Rose Benavidez says priorities in her third term will focus on aligning new programming with the necessary training for current workforce demands.
Initiatives including STC’s pilot program for a free healthcare clinic at the Mid-Valley Campus are programs she said she would like to replicate in Starr County.
STC held an oath of office ceremony for Benavidez, trustee for the college’s District 1 on May 24. Benavidez’s district encompasses all of Starr County along with all of its communities.
Addressing a packed house attended by leaders from the college, administrators, staff, and family, Benavidez said the work on behalf of the community continues. Along with her supporters, she said she created a campaign built on promoting a better future and healing the community.
“We launched a campaign that was about a better future that was about healing a community and doing it in a way that would bring more opportunity,” Benavidez told attendees and supporters. “As in most small communities, politics can take a toll on personal and professional relationships, and I think we went through a very trying primary election in March.
“We have all now started to find a way to work together and ensure that the interests in Starr County are what we are all working towards,” Benavidez said.
Starr County Judge Eloy Vera conducted the oath of office. In attendance at the ceremony were STC Trustees Dr. Alejo Salinas, Gary Gurwitz, Paul Rodriguez, Roy de Leon, and newly elected trustee Victoria Cantu.
“We pledged to every person who wanted to join our campaign that we would look beyond any issue or obstacle or differences and find a way for us to always put progress before politics,” Benavidez said.
Originally selected to continue in her father’s place on the STC Board of Trustees after he passed away in March 2009, Benavidez has served on the board since November of that year. An advocate for her constituents in Starr County, Benavidez was re-elected to a second term in May 2012.
STC trustees serve for six-year terms.
During her second term, Benavidez chaired the Board during its November 2013 Bond and Maintenance Tax Election, and through her constituents in Starr County and their strong support, was instrumental in seeing the bond and the maintenance tax increase approved.
In addition to Chairing the Board, Benavidez has served on the Facilities Committee since December 2009 and the Finance and Human Resources Committee since July 2010.
Benavidez also serves on the Board of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT), and represents the ACCT’s Western Region, advocating on a national level for the needs and interests of community colleges. She recently completed her term as Chair of ACCT’s Board Diversity Committee.
In her working life, she currently serves as President of the Starr County Industrial Foundation, a non-profit organization founded and supported by local government and business leaders committed to developing the local economy.
“This campaign served as a mechanism for us to find a united front, and to understand that in this community people value higher education and who their representative is,” Benavidez said. “People in Starr County have always known that for our community to thrive, we have to do it together, and we did.”
