JulyAugust09MYB

July/August 2009

FAN CLUB The FAN club takes place the 3rd Wednesday of every month from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

July 15, 2009 Fabulous 50's Diner 1325 Trinity Drive Los Alamos, NM August 19, 2009 Family Strengths Network 1990 Diamond Drive Los Alamos, NM

BUSINESS BREAKFAST

1st Thursday of every month at UNM-LA 7:15 - 7:30 a.m. -Networking 7:30 - 8:30 a.m. -Program *Special Date & Place* July 8, 2009 Friends of Mesa Public Library 1743 Central Ave Los Alamos, NM August 6, 2009 UNM-LA, John Arrowsmith, Department of Public Utilities Manager on Energy Please contact Katy Korkos at katyk@losalamos.org for info on future topics.

WHAT'S INSIDE:

LACDC

pages 1,2,3

SBDC

pages 4

CHAMBER

pages 5-7

MAINSTREET

pages 8,9

LAMVB

pages 10,11

Event Photos page

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Brain Clouds are Forming A storm of creativity and innovation is bearing down on Los Alamos. Beginning July 17th, Next Big Idea will be inspiring youth, displaying new ideas, and entertaining the public with Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematic feats.

We have invited students from around the state to attend the “STEM Student Day” in Los Alamos on July 17th. Los Alamos MainStreet has lined up discussions about supercomputing, solar energy, and large scale construction projects to name a few. Students will get to meet Scientists and Engineers over lunch and get to know a little more about industries they may be interested in pursuing. The afternoon will be loaded with tours of interesting “STEM” oriented areas around Los Alamos. The students will also receive a free pass to Los Alamos Family YMCA and to the Larry Walkup Aquatic Center.

On Saturday, July 18th Ashley Pond will be bombarded with innovation. UNMLA, EnvironX, SpaNomad, and P&M Signs are just some of the businesses that will be showing off new ideas. Energy Related Devices has gotten involved with providing interactive activities for youth. Atomic History Museum and Santa Fe Children’s Museum will also be entertaining youth with activities they can touch, see, and squish.

This year’s “Next Big Show” will be located at Ashley Pond from 11 am to 3 pm. This year we are featuring a mobile digital theater featuring highly innovative, immersive, and educational programs. The Dome Theater brings the excitement of the museum-quality shows directly to Next Big Idea. The Dome will be presenting a wide range of educational topics, in a state-of-theart mobile digital theater system.

For more information please visit www.NextBigIdeaLA.com or call 505.661.4844

The brain clouds are forming...

Los Alamos, NM

July 17-18

www.NextBigIdeaLA.com Experience a weekend full of hands-on activities, learning and fun to inspire young imaginations.

LACDC News

Did you miss this?

Los Alamos County By the Numbers LACDC has compiled several indicators provide some insight into local economic conditions …

The New Mexico Tax & Revenue Department provides data about reported revenues by New Mexico businesses. The data is categorized by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes to group categories of businesses.

Some observations: • Retail category receipts in Los Alamos were up 7.3% in 2008 over 2007. First quarter 2009 receipts were up 24.5% over the same period in 2008. Total retail receipts reported for Los Alamos in 2008 were $98.4 million.

• Construction category receipts were down 1.9% in 2008 from 2007. Total construction receipts reported for Los Alamos in 2008 were $217.6 million.

• Healthcare provider category receipts in Los Alamos were up 2.4% in 2008 over 2007. First quarter 2009 receipts were up 11.1% over the same period in 2008. Total healthcare provider receipts reported for Los Alamos in 2008 were $104.8 million.

• Admin and Support, Waste Management and Remediation category (the category that LANL falls into) receipts were $2.3 billion in 2008.

Retail data is somewhat encouraging, particularly compared to national reports of shrinking consumer expenditures. Efforts like the Chamber’s “CommunityMatters” initiative started late in 2007 are aimed at promoting local commerce, and local spending has increased since 2007.

Curves

Venus Transit Authority

There were 29,863 click-thrus from Chamber of Commerce web directories and searches to individual member directory information and web pages during the month of May. Bella Cosa

LACDC collects and analyzes data related to visitors and tourism. Some observations: • Lodger tax proceeds were up 3.5% in 2008 over 2007. Fourth quarter 2008 proceeds were up 24.9% over the same period in 2007 and first quarter proceeds were up 26.5%.

• Visits to attractions (Bandelier, Bradbury Museum, Historical Museum, etc.) so far in 2009 (about 120,000) are at their highest levels since 2006 as we head into the summer.

• Click-thrus from Google and Yahoo advertising to visit.losalamos.com are up 86.7% in the first five months of 2009 over the same period in 2008.

The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions reports unemployment in Los Alamos at the end of the first quarter was 2.8%, up from 2.5% in the same period in 2008.

From the stats above you can see that Los Alamos is unique even in the ecomomic world. We are not following the national economic trend.

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Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

LACDC Feature Sparky's Business Journal As an ongoing series LACDC has created a fictional company that will show examples of utilizing LACDC resources.

After many meetings with our Small Business Development Councilor, Sparky’s is open for business!

The SBDC found us a space in the Downtown area and helped us get ready to open our doors. I had no idea of all the tax numbers and business licenses I would need to have.

Jan 12. Met with Katy at the Chamber of Commerce today.

She showed me all the resources the Chamber has to offer, what they call the 25 Golden Opportunities. Katy scheduled our Ribbon Cutting for Jan. 29. Not only can we use Chamber services, but also the other LACDC services such as LA MainStreet and the Meeting and Visitor Bureau.

The SBDC is offering a customer service workshop in a couple of weeks. My managers and I are going.

Jan. 23 The Customer Service Workshop was great! They gave us some really great tips on how to give “above and beyond” customer service. I think Sparky’s is doing OK, but I really want our service to set us apart from other businesses.

Jan. 29 We had our Ribbon Cutting today, with live music, cool decorations and great food. The turnout was great. I’m so glad the Chamber was able to help us get the word out.

We were even in the Monitor!

Jan. 30 We’re getting ready to do a big Valentine’s Day special. We had a look at fyiLA.com to see what else was going on that day, and posted our event on the calendar. I was amazed to see how full that calendar was- everything from stuff for the kids to what I’d be competing with that same weekend. I am definitely bookmarking this page!

July/August 2009

Feb. 5 Went to the Chamber Business Breakfast this morning. Max Baker talked about the new buildings going up at Airport Basin. I had no idea what to expect, but I enjoyed meeting other business owners in town. I also got to meet Jeremy Varela from LAMainstreet. He told me about the small project grants his program offers. If I can get other businesses to join up with me, we could get money to do some promotions for an event to increase traffic into our businesses.

Feb. 12 I went to the Improving Leadership workshop at the SBDC. Bumped into Venessa who reminded me of some more great workshops coming up, and they’re all free with my Chamber membership.

Feb. 14 Our Valentine’s event was OK, but we could have used better marketing.

Coincidentally, the SBDC is spending the whole month of March on marketing, and they have a Marketing and Promotions Fair where all the people who specialize in that sort of thing will be there.

Mar. 11 The Marketing and Promotions Fair was fabulous!

I learned a lot more about local newspapers, radio, movie screen ads and printing services. Best of all we met a bunch of business owners. When we got to talking with these business owners, they expressed lots of interest in partnering to apply for the MainStreet grant, so it looks like have a great shot at getting some money to help promote our event. And now I know who to contact for the marketing!

This will be a continuing series..... Look for more from Sparky's in upcoming newsletters.

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UNM-LA SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER Summer Workshops

July Los Alamos Area

Garrett Newell

Preparing for Our Future.

Encouraging Youth Entrepreneurship Today.

Varsity Grafix

Graffiti Art T-Shirts

Jared Apodaca

505-852-2042, 505-901-0878

Marissa’s Babysitting

Marissa Pearce

505-310-0008 Marissa_babysitting@yahoo.com

Kyle’s Guns ‘n’ Buns Personal Fitness Trainer

Kyle Pearce 505-310-0009

Silver Hand

Hand-Made Jewelry and Crochet Items

Alyssa Hollowell

505-662-4272 alyssaeho@gmail.com

Garduňo’s Weaving

Hand-Made Weaving, Rugs & Place mats

Ashley Garduňo

505-351-1195, 505-929-4486 ashleyg2012@yahoo.com

CJ’s Technical Support Technology Services Support

Jan Durakiewecz & Casey Mortensen www.cjtechinfo.com cjstechnical@gmail.com 505-672-9516 or 505-412-7740

Can you successfully present your services or products?

Powerful Presentation Skills to Increase Sales 07/16/09 Thursday 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Small Business Center Fee: $25.00

LA Quality Lawn Care

Youth Business Grant Program

505-662-9846 gnewell969@msn.com

Logan’s Yard Work Los Alamos Area

Logan Cunico 505-661-6937

Dom’s Landscape & More

Los Alamos Area

Domenic S. Cunico 505-661-6937

cunicofamily@earthlink.net

Ortega’s Lawn Care Los Alamos Area

Brandyn Ortega 505-412-7160

Varela Yard Cleaning Espaňola Area

Justin Varela

A small business owner must learn how to speak about and present their product or service in a powerful way. In this workshop you will learn how to do a 30 second commercial, put together a presentation for a potential customer and present your product or service to a larger audience. Through the use of lecture, group exercises, and discussion participants will leave this seminar feeling much better about presenting their product or service, no matter what the setting.

Speaker: Rosanne M. Roberts, R.M. Roberts and Associates

August

505-685-0598 justinvarela@yahoo.com

LA Deck Doctor Los Alamos Area

Kurt Schramm

505-661-7226 garryschramm@yahoo.com

Newell’s Firewood Prepare for winter early!

Clay Newell

505-662-9846 cnewell969@msn.com

On behalf of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation and the UNM-LA Small Business Development Center, we would like to extend a large THANK YOU to the following companies and organizations for their support of the 2009 Youth Business Grant Program...

New Mexico Community Foundation and The Consortium of Major LANL Subcontractors Regional Development Corporation Fund, SMPC Architects, SMSI, Plateau Property Management, Los Alamos National Bank, Del Norte Credit Union, Zia Credit Union, Lorraine Hartway, CPA, TRK Management Inc., Neptune & Company, Laboratory Retiree Group, Jeannette Wallace and The CoffeeHouse Cafe

Becoming a Great Boss Improving Your Leadership and Management Skills 08/11/09 Tuesday 1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Small Business Center Fee: $25.00 As a small business owner, your ability to develop and retain high performance teams is crucial. This seminar will help you learn how to increase morale and motivation, reward and retain top performers and become the boss you want to be! Through the use of lecture, group exercises, and discussion, you will leave this seminar more confident in your abilities as a manager and a leader of your small business.

Speaker: Rosanne M. Roberts, R.M. Roberts and Associates

How to register for SBDC workshops!

Please visit the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce www.losalamoschamber.com Click on calendar of events ….then the date of the workshop. You can complete registration and pay by credit card. Any questions?

Call or email Heather Campbell at 505-661-4803 heather@losalamos.org

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Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

Connections July/August 2009

CHAMBER BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Members Work on "Curb Appeal" The focus on curb appeal from the Chamber’s recent community assessment presentation is coinciding with an array of efforts by member businesses and organizations to maintain and improve appearance of business areas. You’ll see signs of this as you travel around the community from the work being done by many individual shopkeepers, to the annual marigold planting by Central Park Square, to the flowering basket displays and other features of the Los Alamos Central Avenue streetscape project being completed by the County.

Los Alamos MainStreet has received very positive feedback about the pedestrian kiosks that have been installed along Central .. another plus for curb appeal in the downtown. The kiosk project has been a story of many member businesses and organizations working together and playing important roles. MainStreet obtained the funding required from a State grant. Los Alamos County acted as the fiscal agent for the grant, handled permitting, project management, and contracting. SG Western and subcontractors Los Alamos Landscaping and Sparkplug Studios got the kiosks designed, fabricated, and installed. The Chamber commissioned the illustration of downtown from local artist Dave Delano and managed the overall process.

Employee Joseph Quiros shows off his pizza and the attractive storefront where he works at Papa Murphy’s Take & Bake Pizza at the Hilltop Shopping Center. Photo by Carol A. Clark/Monitor (by permission)

US Navy Selects Vista Control System Product The United States Navy has selected the Vsystem machine control environment for machinery monitoring of the surface fleet, including the new DDG-100 Zumwalt-class destroyer. Vsystem is a product of Vista Control Systems of Los Alamos.

Any ship in operation generates A destroyer of the type that will use the Vsystem software. an enormous amount of data.

Vsystem can easily handle the demands of modern technological warfare. In addition, Vsystem licenses are all unlimited tag licenses making the system much more user friendly.

July/August 2009

Vista Control Systems, headquartered in Los Alamos, New Mexico, is a provider of process control software tools to the automotive, aerospace, metals, petrochemical, oil and gas, power generation, and research industries.

Vista Control Systems 2101 Trinity Drive 505.662.2484

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Connections

Chamber News

Member opportunities Taking advantage of your member benefits- ECTown The Chamber’s contract with ECTown to supply our News” on the Los Alamos Chamber website. When it’s database management system has many free features all over and you find yourself with many more shoes that are just waiting to be used by our members. We than you started with, place a classified ad to reunite have a series of linked websites and portals that are them with their former owners. populated with And while you’re the information logged on, see if you submit, so any of the upcoming your business or workshops at the organization is Small Business easily found by Center appeal to anyone looking you- your Chamber at the Visit.Los membership means Alamos or Los that most of the Alamos Chamber workshops are free. websites or looking All of them are short at the fyiLA portal. and to the point, and Our arrangement you can easily recoup with ECTown the cost of Chamber allows members to submit their own press releases and membership if you take just a few throughout the year. classified ads, which then appear both on fyiLA and on There are many more benefits included with the Chamber’s website. membership; to find out more about them, call Katy To submit a classified ad, whether it be for “help Korkos, member services coordinator, at 661-4816. wanted” or “space for rent” or your next big sale, all you have to do is log-in on the Chamber’s website, go to the Classified Ads link in the Member’s Area, and type in your ad.

If you’re trying to schedule an event and want to avoid a conflict with other events, check out fyiLA’s “Events” category. You’ll see a calendar with listings for everything from sockhops to baroque orchestra concerts, all laid out in calendar format.

When you find the perfect time for your own event, you can simply log-on using the button in the lower left hand corner of the calendar page and click on “Submit New Event,” adding the place, time, cost and the things that make yours unique.

The next step might be to write a press release about it, which will show up under “News” on fyiLA, and under “Chamber 6

Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS! Business Name

Address

Contact Name

KinAestheticWind, Inc. 4004 Trinity Dr. Los Alamos NM 87544 Michael Ham Beverly A Ramsey P O Box 4817 Los Alamos NM 87544 Beverly Ramsey Hope Pregnancy Center 1183 Diamond Dr Ste E Los Alamos NM 87544Sarah Taylor The Parker Financial Consulting 121 Sandoval Street Santa Fe NM 87505 Cathy Rocke Los Alamos Landscaping & More 2126 B 34th Street Los Alamos NM 87544 Craig Wehner High Flyers Gymnastics PO Box 1473 Los Alamos NM 87544 David Vosburgh Adelante Consulting, Inc. P.O. Box 24065 Santa Fe NM 87502 Virginia Smith Mountain Engraving 190 Central Park Square, Ste 111 LA NM 87544Roger Felthauser Environx, LLC 4750 Quemazon Los Alamos NM 87544 David Vosburgh Farm Bureau Financial Services 6330 Riverside Plaza Ln. NW Alb, NM 87120 Al Aglialoro Monavie Distribution 3402 Urban St. Los Alamos NM 87544 Herbert Fry

Phone

940-390-1598 505-690-3690 505-662-2300 505-946-5905 505-662-6234 505-500-5699 505-866-5076 505-661-4870 505-400-2478 505-890-1110x13 505-470-8095

Type of Business

Non-Profit Organizations Gifts & Art Individual Rate (non-business) Not-For-Profit & Government Banks & Financial Services Contractors, Engineers, Architects Non-Profit Organizations Technical Services & Technology Specialty Business Member Contractors, Engineers, Architect Insurance Business Member Health Products

Chamber Member Anniversaries May

Business Name

Kiwanis Club of Los Alamos Title Guaranty & Insurance Co. Virtual Los Alamos LANL Community Programs Office Burns and Roe Enterprises, Inc. Los Alamos County Government Templeton Design & Custom Homes LLC. Sage Cottage Montessori School Los Alamos Retirement Communities Los Alamos Fitness Center Pajarito Environmental Education Center Quizno's Atomic City Cleaning North Wind, Inc. Smith's Food & Drug Los Alamos Concert Association Royal Crest Manufactured Home Community Arbonne Intl, Pam Houghteling, Ind. Fund Raising Solutions, LLC EMV Studios L A Handy Gal, LLC COMPA Industries, Inc Los Alamos Youth Soccer League Mandy Marksteiner Writing and Editing Bennett Design LLC

Date Joined 1978 1984 1995 1996 1997 1997 1997 2001 2002 2003 2003 2003 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006 2006 2007 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008 2008

June

Business Name

Polk Oil Company Gordons' Concerts Primak Builders Los Alamos Chiropractic Adobe Pines Bed & Breakfast Frances Berting Stewart Central Title, LLC Waddell & Reed Lynn M. Finnegan, P.A..

Names & Numbers Telephone Directory Eye Associates of New Mexico J. Robert Oppenheimer Memorial Bella Cosa Flowers, Gifts, & Events River Mediation Services Digital Publications, LLC Assets in Action Los Alamos Orthodontics

! s n o i t a l u t a r g n Co

Date Joined 1980 1993 1995 1997 1998 1998 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2005 2007 2007 2007 2008

Is your business celebrating an ANNIVERSARY or GRAND OPENING? The Chamber wants to help you celebrate!

Call or e-mail today for more information on how we can help.

Katy Korkos:(505)662-4816 katyk@losalamos.org

July/August 2009

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MainStreet News For more information on the MainStreet Program please contact: Jeremy Varela. Phone: 505.661.4844 E-mail: jvarela@losalamos.org www.LAmainstreet.com

The Chamber? No, we are MainStreet "I often finding myself explaining Los Alamos MainStreet to folks as they assume everything MainStreet does is a Chamber activity."

Los Alamos MainStreet was established in 1996 and utilizes resources provided by the state-wide program New Mexico MainStreet. The New Mexico MainStreet program is housed in the state’s Jeremy Varela Economic Development Department.

Los Alamos MainStreet was recognized as a top program in New Mexico in 2007.

You can see some of the resources we have used from the state program in downtown today. Los Alamos County’s streetscape project was partly funded by a Capital Outlay Grant obtained through NM MainStreet. The Grant was also used for the design and installation of the information kiosks. Banners, flags and a wireless speaker system were also purchased with this grant money.

Los Alamos MainStreet organizes four community events throughout the year which are: • Next Big Idea • Fair & Rodeo Parade • MainStreet’s Halloweekend (Trick or Treat on MainStreet) • WinterFest LA MainStreet also helps funding for small projects which promote businesses and bring people to the downtown area.

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Small Projects Grants The small projects grants are offered on the fiscal year starting in June. The grants support events that bring people to the downtown or give people reasons for visiting downtown businesses.

The grants are distributed as a reimbursement for strictly promotional and advertising costs. This last year we funded projects such as: • Ruby K's Yum Run • Festival of Chocolate • Family Festival • The Farmer's Market • The Empty Bowl Project • Relay for Life These are just six of the fourteen projects that were funded.

Request for proposals are sent out in July and January. If you would like more information about applying for this grant please contact Jeremy Varela Website The Los Alamos MainStreet website is www.LAmainstreet.com.

At this site you will find information about projects, upcoming events and registering for events.

Summer Camps at Little Forest Playschool for 4-6 year olds Cooking Camp July 6-10 San Ildefonso Style Pottery Camp July 13-17 Super Sleuth Science Camp July 20-24 Art Campy with Lyndzi (Painting and Printing) August 3-7

Each camp runs for one week from 1-4 each afternoon. Call 662-5895 or see www.LittleForestPlayschool.com for more info.

Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

MainStreet News For more information on the MainStreet Program please contact: Jeremy Varela Phone: 505.661.4844 E-mail: jvarela@losalamos.org www.LAmainstreet.com

Fair & Rodeo Parade YEEE-HAW! It's Rodeo time again!

Los Alamos MainStreet is managing the parade. This year's theme is "Reflections of the Past, Windows to the Future." Who is going to make a best float this year? Last year Del Norte Credit Union took home "Best Parade Float" honors with their old west facade. Del Norte really gears up to put their best foot forward when it comes to parades. Can your organization take the bragging rights for the 2009 parade?

The judges judge the floats on creativity and conveying the theme.

The parade begins at 10 am and line up begins a 8 am at the Canyon Complex at the corner of 4th and Central Avenue. Los Alamos MainStreet provides breakfast treats and coffee for parade particpants.

An average of about 500 people come to the parade every year. This is a great opportunity to gain some visibility.

Mark Your Calendars!

LA County Fair & Rodeo Parade August 8th 2009 Central Avenue

Jeremy Varela 505.661.4844 or jvarela@losalamos.com www.LAmainstreet.com to Sign Up

We can help you by finding exactly what you need for all of your document needs

Products Available Copiers Printers Fax Machines Wide Format Engineering Machines

Services Available Digital Scanning and Archiving Various Document Production

Agent Owner-Tracy Kitts 1789 Central Ave. Ste. 4 Los Alamos, NM 87544 (505) 661-2554

July/August 2009

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Go to fyiLA.com for a complete and detailed list of events.

July 2009

Wildlife Tour on the Caldera ~ Every Weekend Outdoors Farmers' Market ~ Every Thursday 3 2009 Summer Concert Series: Danny Santos 4 5k Fun Run 4 Kiwanis Annual 4th of July Celebration 6 Archaeology Van Tour on the Caldera 7,23 Sunrise on the Caldera 7,9 Astronomy Program: StarLab Show 8 Movies in the Park: Tale of Despereaux 10 2009 Summer Concert Series: Balla Kouyate 11,12 Mountain Biking Trail Rides 11 Longview Self Storage Arts, Crafts & Market 12 37th Annual Tour de Los Alamos 14,16 Astronomy Program: Telescope Workshop 15 Movies in the Park: Kung Fu Panda 17 2009 Summer Concert Series: Steve Poltz 17,18 Next Big Idea! Festival of Discovery, Invention and Innovation 18 60th Anniversary Tour: Span th County - Part II 18 Bike and Hike Days 21,23 Astronomy Program: SUN Days 22 Movies in the Park: Journey to the Center of the Earth 24 2009 Summer Concert Series: Jimmy Sadler 25 Championship Golf Tournamnet 25 Missoula Theater: Robin Hood 25 Mud Vollyball Tournament 25,26 Mountain Biking Trail Rides 28,30 Astronomy Program: StarLab Show 29 Movies in the Park: Coraline 31 Opening Art Reception: Local Impressionism 31 2009 Summer Concert Series: Ray Wylie Hubbard

August 2009

Wildlife Tour on the Caldera ~ Every Weekend Outdoors Farmers' Market ~ Every Thursday 1,15 Bike and Hike Days 3 Obsidian Quarries Van Tour on the Caldera 5 Movies in the Park: Hotel for Dogs 7-9 Los Alamos County Fair and Rodeo 7 2009 LA County Fair Concert: The Persuasions 8 Fair & Rodeo Parade 8 2009 LA County Fair Concert: Julie Stewart 8 2009 LA County Fair Concert: LA Big Band 8 2009 LA County Fair Concert: South by Southwest 8 Longview Self Storage Arts, Crafts & Market 10 Sunrise on the Caldera 12 Lecture: New Mexico's New Deal 14 2009 LA Summer Concert-Devon Allman's Honey Tribe 15 McGladrey Team Golf Tournament 15 Los Alamos Triathlon 16 16th Annual Kids Triathlon 20 Archaeology Van Tour on the Caldera 21 2009 LA Summer Concert- The Derailers 21,22 Astronomy on the Caldera 22,23 Mountain Biking Trail Rides 23,30 Mushrooms of the Caldera Van Tour 28 Art on the Caldera 28 2009 LA County Summer Concert Series – Band of Heathens 29 Bike and Hike Days 29 Geology Van Tour on the Caldera 30 Field House Van Tour on the Valles Caldera

White Rock Tourist Information Center Spotlight...

Betty (Béto) Carlson has lived in Los Alamos since

1976. She is one of the longest serving staff at the White Rock Tourist Information Center (WRTIC). She and her husband Randy have one daughter, Kimberly, who is married with three children: Victor, 12, Joshua, 10, and Kayla, 5, in Albuquerque. Béto was born in Boise, Idaho in 1945. Her family moved on to Seattle for 2 years, then Pendleton, OR. In the spring of 1950, they settled in Albuquerque.

On a ski trip in Feb, 1970, Béto met her future husband, Randy, at the top of Snowmass-at-Aspen. They married in November and had their daughter in 1972. They continue to be avid skiers and have annual ski trips at various ski areas. Pajarito Ski Mountain is their favorite.

Béto and family ended up in Los Alamos in 1976 when Randy was Beto Carlson offered a job at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory with the Helios Laser Fusion Project. They moved to White Rock over the 4th of July weekend that year and have been there since. Although Randy retired from the Laboratory 6 years ago, he still independently consults and

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travels to the University of Illinois at Chicago. Béto and Randy are avid travelers and in the last few years have been to Alaska, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, England several times, and Africa. Other travels include almost all the National Parks, including those in Canada, and many in the west are visited yearly. This is why they no longer have pets - too much traveling!

In 1978, Béto began working part-time with the technical programs at UNM-LA. She held other staff positions within different departments of the campus in Continuing Education and Instruction. After spending more than 13 years working at UNM-LA, Béto felt it was time for something different. She says she noticed the little charming "adobe" building in White Rock on State Road 4 and thought it would be a great place to volunteer. Béto volunteered for two months beginning in 1992 and was then hired on as part of the staff. She says it’s the "perfect place" to work.

As all staff and volunteers who are "people" persons, she likes meeting people from all walks of life and helping with tourists’ itineraries.

Béto's favorite “visitor story" is as follows: The visitor asked “Are we in Colorado yet?” Béto politely and graciously “bit her tongue” and continued to listen to their intended trip interests. They said they had “landed at the Albuquerque airport with no itinerary in mind and just started driving north." Béto laid out a two-week plan and sent them Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation

The LAMVB, a program of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation, operates the Visitor Center in Los Alamos and the White Rock Tourist & Information Center (WRTIC). The LAMVB also produces and distributes advertising and marketing materials such as the Los Alamos Visitor Guide. We also maintain the online visitor guide at visit.losalamos.com.

Who is LAMVB? The Los Alamos Meeting and Visitor Bureau (LAMVB) is a program of the Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation (LACDC).

LAMVB was established in 1999 to provide a better identity as an assistant to Los Alamos businesses and organizations. We serve visitors to our County as well as provide direct services to visiting individuals and groups We have displays at about twenty high traffic locations throughout the community that provide information about current events and distribute visitor guides. We also assist the Mainstreet Program in maintaining the new pedistrian kiosks set at key downtown locations.

We also work closely with them on MainStreet events such as The Fair & Rodeo Parade, Trick or Treat on MainStreet, WinterFest and the newest Signature event, Then Next Big Idea. With the help of many volunteers we are able to help MainStreet with these events as well as run the visitor centers during these events.

We operate two Visitor Center’s: one in Los Alamos and the other in White Rock. We distribute visitor guides throughout the community, State, and to requesters all over the world.

We make thousands of referrals per year to local businesses, organizations, and attractions.

Group from Germany taking in the New Mexico sun and information from the Visitor Center

The website visit.losalamos.com is our online visitor guide which contains an extensive calendar

on their way with the needed maps, suggestions, and tips. They stayed in town for several days exploring our little neck of the woods before continuing north.

Béto envisions the ideal tourist center in White Rock as follows: "To me the ideal White Rock Tourist Information Center should be noticeable to the drive-by tourists with ample room for ease of entering and exiting for any and all vehicles. Often, in poorly designed parking lots, RV vehicles pulling an additional vehicle cannot back up. The center would provide accurate and brief information of the Los Alamos area and surrounding environs."

Her observations over the years are that tourists driving by on State Road 4 are focused on getting to Bandelier National Monument and/ or the Jemez Mountain National Scenic Byway. Tourists see the signs for the visitor center and stop in for better guidance and assurance that they are on the right road. The TIC staff provides information with excellent maps and knowledge of Los Alamos County. They strongly encourage visitors to head up to Los Alamos at the end of their visit to Bandelier and enjoy the Los Alamos attractions, restaurants, retail establishments, and friendly residents. Béto sees the WRTIC as a vital piece in promoting the viability and sustainability of the Los Alamos community. That's why she touts Los Alamos and White Rock and since as a whole, little is known about Los Alamos besides its atomic history, July/August 2009

of events, a local business directory, maps, and photos. We also produce a monthly “e-advisory” to visitor/tourism business interests to provide timely information about upcoming events and a monthly “e-feature” when there is a significant event or activities taking place.

Some of the many other activities of the LAMVB program include: • ASSISTING GROUPS Providing them with customized e-welcomes and hand outs.

We also able assist tour and event planners in coordinating their events by providing information about local attractions and

service providers.

• MEETING FACILITY REFERRALS Providing Information on available meeting facilities in hotels and other venues.

• HOUSING REFERRALS Providing referrals to hotel and bed & breakfast properties

matched to visitor requirements.

• TRANSPORTATION Providing information about air and local ground transportation service for public use.

• DESTINATION INFORMATION Providing an assortment of informational brochures on the Los Alamos and the Northern New Mexico region.

• LOCAL PUBLICITY Providing a local media list is available for your use in contacting newspaper, radio and television sources.

• COMMUNITY RELATIONS Providing a link to local officials, agencies, businesses, or

organizations on behalf of groups.

she talks about its natural beauty.

In her other life Béto completed an Associates Degree at Santa Fe Community College in American Sign Language in 1995. In 2002, she started working as a guide with the Bradbury Science Museum for a few years. This was the only time when she held two part time jobs concurrently. During the laboratory’s transition of eliminating contractors, sadly she and others were laid off. Two months later she was actually asked to return but decided to stay with the only one job and position she really loved the most - working at the WRTIC, which she hopes will be "FOREVER." In addition to skiing (her vehicle license plates read "SKI4EVR” and LIV4SKI), and traveling, Béto's hobbies and favorite activities include reading, calligraphy, painting, movies, tending her flower gardens, swimming, friends and family outings.

Béto is kind, generous, outgoing, and the very best proofreader/editor the Los Alamos Meeting and Visitor Bureau could ask for. She makes sure the award winning Los Alamos Visitor Guide is the highest quality.

She's asked every year by the County to do the final proofread and she always finds needed corrections and improvements. We dedicate the Visitor Guide to you Béto!

- Thank you

11

Thank You Sponsors!

Newsletter Managing Editor: Jeremy Varela- please call 661-4844 for comments and information.

Contributions by: Venessa De Los Santos, Katy Korkos, Kevin Holsapple, Chelo Rojas, Claire Roybal, Jeremy Varela

PRSRT STD U.S. Postage

PAID

P.O. Box 460 Los Alamos, NM 87544

LOS ALAMOS, NM

Permit No. 152