Texas Border Business
The Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce was pleased to host ECISD teacher Blanca Valadez as an extern with the Academic Leadership Alliance (ALA), a program in which school district employees across the Rio Grande Valley go out into the workforce for a two-week externship. At the end of the two week period, the program participants create a lesson plan for their students to teach them about different industries and professions. ALA is a partnership through the McAllen EDC, Region One Education Service Center, RGV Lead and Workforce Solutions.
In addition to observing and participating in the daily Chamber operations, Blanca had a specific project to work on. The project entailed canvassing a specific section of Weslaco to determine the number of businesses and the current chamber members in that area. Additionally, Ms. Valadez assisted in developing a report of local and state CVB activities that could be replicated in Weslaco.
“I enjoyed the variety of activities,” remarked Blanca. “I met with a US Census Bureau representative, sat in a phone conference with the Texas Birding Association, toured a state park, attended a ribbon cutting, and met with the Weslaco EDC.”
“It was a pleasure to host Mrs. Valadez at the Weslaco Chamber,” remarked Weslaco Chamber President/CEO Barbara Garza. “She was eager to learn about the work being done in Weslaco and took no hesitation to jump into her assignments.”
Garza also went on to explain the necessity of programs like the ALA.
“We are grateful to the organizations who make this program happen and for the opportunity to partner with the ALA initiative,” Garza added. “As an advocate for business in our community, we feel it is critical to connect education and workforce in order prepare the next generations of business and community leaders.”
The Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce would like to thank RGV Lead and all partnering entities for the opportunity to host our ALA extern. In addition, the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce would like to thank Blanca Valadez for her participation and enthusiasm.
For more information on the Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce, visit www.weslaco.com.
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