By Roberto Hugo Gonzalez
As Originally Published by Texas Border Business newsprint edition.
We are about to end the year 2014 and to me, it just seems unbelievable. This Texas Border Business issue is a collector’s item. We have put together all the Exclusives Stories of 2014; I know that you will enjoy it.
You will have a chance to read about Ricky Ivy, Pueblo Tires; Alan B. White, PlainsCapital Bank; Ryan Vaughan, Rios Boots of Mercedes, and Martin Masso, Boots N Jeans of Weslaco; Jose Mulet, Harlingen Airport; Dora Brown, IBC Bank; David Deanda, Lone Star National Bank; Alma Ortega Johnson, Wells Fargo Bank; Cinthia Esquivel, Body Works Ultra Lipo Clinic; Dr. Jorge Arango, Americare Nursing Services, PLLC; David Armstrong, Core Business Solutions; and Billy Canales, Rio Motor Co.
What makes this issue extra special is the fact that we are featuring McAllen Mayor Jim Darling. He is a professional that has brought tremendous experience to the table. He makes McAllen look great and the future brighter.
As mayor of the City of McAllen, he governs the city gently but with a decisive character.
He is a Vietnam Vet with two tours of duty 1967-1971 USAF SSGT, and a US Navy Reserve 2nd Class Petty Officer 1973-1977.
Mayor Darling was born in Rochester, New York to parents Ralph Darling and Doris Essig. He said, “My mom was divorced and I was raised by my stepdad, John Essig, for 50 years before he passed away.”
Mayor Darling’s ancestors originally came from Germany; he shared with Texas Border Business that his brother Ron Darling had been doing research and found out that his great, great, great grandfather Captain John Darling fought as a captain in the Civil War. “My brother found that out recently so we know that our family has been here quite a while.”
Mayor Darling is an attorney who graduated from Baylor Law School in 1977 and Baylor University in Waco Texas with a BA in Psychology in 1975.
He recalls, “It’s interesting. I had a job in Waco all lined up and everything ready, then at the last minute after I took the bar exam, the gentleman said he was going to hire his partner’s nephew. I didn’t have a job. I looked all over in that city, but I had several job offers and McAllen was one so I drove down here on 281.”
Dive into this story, and find out more about him.
On another matter, Congratulations to R. David Guerra, he is the president and CEO of International Bank of Commerce (IBC). He has been appointed to be the Board Director for Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority. ¡En hora buena!
Michelle Leftwich, McAllen Assistant City Manager, will speak to the McAllen Citizens League at its Noon Luncheon scheduled for Thursday December 11 at The Salvation Army Center on 23rd Street & Pecan.
This is very important because she will discuss the proposed planned community, “Tres Lagos” and the establishment of a Tax Increment Reinstatement Zone, TIRZ, for the development.
The McAllen City Commission adopted a service plan for two tracts of land in its northern extraterritorial jurisdiction and is scheduled to annex the tracts, both of which border Monte Cristo Road, on Jan. 12, 2015. Don’t miss this important meeting open to the public.
In conclusion, we at Texas Border Business would like to extend our very best wishes for a Happy Hanukkah, Joyous Kwanzaa, and a Feliz Navidad this Holiday Season to all our customers and business partners. May you be blessed with a truly healthy and happy New Year in 2015. TBB
