May/June 2012
Mind Your Business
A Publication of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
WHAT’S INSIDE: LACDC
1, 2, 3
SBDC
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CHAMBER
5, 6, 7
MAINSTREET 8, 9 LAMVB
Saturday, June 9th - 10 am to 2 pm
June 9th - is the date to save for the Of course, there are the usual kid activities.
It wouldn’t be a ChamberFest without the giant sand pile, bubble pit and bouncy houses. Many delicious food vendors will We are looking forward to a great event. be there to satisfy any craving you might There will be a plethora of Chamber have. businesses out to meet and greet the public. Most will have some sort of giveaway or Finally, The Nomads will be playing, so be sure to come out and show your support. prize. It will be held downtown on Central, The car show will include classic cars, between 15th and 20th Street. The road is Corvettes, hot rods, motorcycles and closed so feel free to roam the street! much more. There will be a special raffle for a $500 gift certificate for new tires. Be For more information, or to register for sure to visit the information booth in the the event, go to fyiLA.com and click under calendar. See you there! parking lot of the Chamber. Chamber’s annual ChamberFest and Car Show! And it’s FREE to the public!
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FAN Clubs Food & Networking 5:30 pm to 7 pm
May 2 Dance Arts Los Alamos June 20 Betty Ehart Center Contact Katy Korkos 505.661.4816 or email katyk@losalamos.org to promote your business
LACDC News
LACD Steering committee members Kelly Stewart, Marlane Hamilton, and Ken Nebel with “HATS ON” in support of the Los Alamos Creative District.
Los Alamos Creative District (LACD) - Welcoming the world to experience Los Alamos’ unique creativity! At press time for this edition of MYB, Los Alamos County is set to make a decision on April 24th about adoption of the Los Alamos Creative District Plan and boundary.
to assist the ACD’s, and the ability to use provisions of the State’s Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) to aid in implementation of the district.
Adoption would lead to full designation of the district by the State of New Mexico and would kick off consideration by the County over the next 180 days of funding and priorities (no County funding is connected to the decision of whether to adopt the plan).
In other words, retaining the designation will provide a greater range of tools and resources to be put into play to enhance cultural and downtown vitality. The plan establishes goals, strategies, and an implementation in six key areas: *Programming (ongoing activities and events that reflect the cultural identity of the community) *Branding and marketing *Physical development and facilities *Economic development *Management, and *Funding
Lacking adoption, there would still be a variety of the ideas in the plan that would be worked on, but without the organizing framework of the plan and without the State support afforded to New Mexico Arts and Cultural Districts. The State designation brings with it tax advantages for historic properties within the district, a commitment to develop State resources within the economic development, tourism, cultural affairs, and historic preservation departments
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The initial boundary for the district was the subject of considerable discussion. To receive State endorsement of the plan, it was critical to link the boundary to clear strategies Continued on page 3
Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Los Alamos Creative District
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for implementing a cultural district. Without this, the State indicated they would not be willing to accept the plan. The State has fully endorsed the plan that is proceeding for adoption by the County Council. The plan includes the idea that success within the designated boundaries could lead to enlarging the district at a later date if there were a reason to do so.
Los Alamos MainStreet has led the process of applying for the designation, forming a steering committee of stakeholders, and meeting a series of requirements of the State program leading up to developing the plan for the district. A wide variety of organizations and Chamber members have partnered with the initiative including the County itself. A nationally prominent consultant that specializes in cultural planning, the Cultural + Planning Group of San Diego guided the development of the plan under the direction of the steering committee. The consultant was hired using State grant funding obtained by Los Alamos MainStreet. The planning process entailed multiple public meetings and input gathering sessions over the past year and a half. Cultural districts are being implemented throughout the country and are a proven method of increasing tourism traffic and revenues, while simultaneously supporting local economic and cultural development. Districts create a stronger argument for coming downtown, by promoting a stronger mix of local businesses, cultural activities, visitor amenities, and successful urban design. Districts enhance the attraction of a walkable downtown area, so they serve residents as well as visitors, and generate greater synergy among the unique elements of a place. Los Alamos County would be the source of funding to begin the implementation process. Longer term funding sources would be a proposed downtown tax increment development district (TIDD) and a proposed elective 1/16 GRT increment. TIDD resources would be used for physical and facilities improvements. The GRT increment would be used for programming, marketing, and support of cultural organizations. The TIDD would require no change to tax rates nor impose any additional tax burden on local individual taxpayers. The GRT increment could only be established by a successful general referendum indicating support for the initiative.
May/June 2012
Rose Trujillo Trujillo Farms
Who Are Your Farmers?
by Barbara Mann
The Los Alamos Farmers Market starts its regular season on Thursday, May 3rd. If we are lucky, the Trujillos will be there. Rose Trujillo was one of the original vendors when the market began in the 1970’s - which means she’s been doing this for around 40 years. Rose is a lively woman with a ready smile and feet that can’t stay still when there’s music playing. She still makes the best tamales, and her children (Gloria and Junior) and granddaughters have carried the tradition on. Their farm is the largest on Nambe Pueblo. There they grow the chilis which find their way into delicious dried spice blends and dips, plus award-winning fresh and jarred salsas. You will find all those neatly lined up along one side of the booth, along with small packages of biscochitos and sometimes prune or apricot pies and whatever produce is in season. And don’t forget about the tamales! Come visit with Rose and her family and sample some local history!
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UNMLA Small Business Development Center Spring Workshops @ SBDC 190 Central Park Square
$25 Workshops are FREE to Chamber members if you register at www.losalamoschamber.com. For more details about the workshops, contact Heather Campbell at 661.4803
May 1 Time Management for the Entrepreneur! 1:00 - 4:00pm Fee: $25.00 Speaker: Rosanne Roberts R. M. Roberts and Associates 8 Strong Marketing Messaging that Resonates 1:00 - 4:00pm Fee: $25.00 Speaker: Rubina Cohen, Firefly Innovation Group 10 Information Session for CRS Taxpayers 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. FREE Speakers: Reps from New Mexico Tax & Rev
Another option is to be a mentor to the young entrepreneurs. As a mentor, you would need to be available (usually by phone) to provided your experience and expertise to help these new entrepreneurs succeed. In the past, the time commitment has been around four hours over the course of the summer but the reward lasts a lifetime. If you are not able to be a panelist or mentor, any and all financial support to help us to fund these grants will be greatly appreciated.
Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation in conjunction with UNM-LA Small Business Development Center is providing a unique opportunity to youth in the communities of Los Alamos, Jemez Springs, Espanola and Pojoaque to experience the rewards of starting a new business. The Youth Business Grant Program will provide up to $400 to enterprising young business people, ages 13-19, who want to start a business this summer.
This is a great program to help teach young entrepreneurs about the rewards and struggles of running their own business. It is a great learning opportunity about what it takes to start and run a business. This program helps show youth there is an alternative to a wage or salary job, not just for the summer but for the future. For more information about the program, please visit the website at www.ybgp.org. If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Katie Stavert at (505) 661-4805.
Will You Support the Youth Business Grant Program? This program relies on the support of local business people. We are seeking volunteers to support the program by either being a panelist or a mentor or both. As one of the panelists, you would be interviewing the applicants and evaluating their Mini-Business Plan. The interview days are May 18, 25, 30 and 31. Even if you are not available for all of the days, any time you can donate is greatly appreciated.
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Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Chamber Business Spotlight
We Are Color!
Welcome to the Chamber!
Please welcome these new Chamber members to our organization- they have joined with us to help improve the economic, civic and cultural well-being of our area.
Southwest Office
The Medical Associates of Northern NewMexico is one of the busiest medical practices in the Medical Center, with 10 doctors, 2 Physician Assistants and one Nurse Practicioner. They’ve been very involved and active in the community for many years, and have joined the Chamber to get even more involved.
Solutions Inc. Dr. Khalsa has an established acupuncture practice in Espanola, and has recently expanded his practice to Los Alamos. His office is in the upper part of Mari Mac, on the same strip as Curves. The Relay for Life is an annual walk to raise funds and awareness for the American Cancer Society. It will take place on June 15 and June 16. They are looking for sponsors, teams and committee members to help with the event. LA Guild of the Santa Fe Opera This is the oldest Santa Fe Opera Guild in the statefounded to support the Santa Fe Opera in the same year as the Opera was founded, 1957. Provides support for the Santa Fe Opera through educational and community outreach fundraising.
Print shop-quality color, without the print shop If your work demands the bestpossible color print quality, Southwest Office Solutions Offers a variety of Xerox Color Phaser Printers. With the winning combination of consistently superior image quality and professional-level color-matching technologies, no other color printer line gives creative professionals the freedom to produce more customer-facing collaterals in-house.
Comcast Business Class - This is the arm of Comcast that serves business with telephone systems, internet and cable services. Kenny’s North Carolina Barbecue. “Come and get it while it’s hot” is Kenny’s motto. Serving breakfast and lunch from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m inside UNM-LA, 4000 University Drive, across Diamond from the high school. May/June 2012
Tracy Maddox-Agent Owner Southwest Office Solutions
Los Alamos-Santa Fe 1789 Central Ave. Ste. 4 Los Alamos, NM 87544 505.661.2554 Albuquerque 8500 Menual NE Ste. A145 Albuquerque, NM 87112 505.338.2627 www.sos-nm.com
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Chamber News
FAN44 to Offer Members a New Networking Option
What if the Chamber could: …offer increased opportunity for members and their employees to network and connect with other members and their employees? …provide routine opportunities to network in small groups in a structure that makes participation very simple and easy, and to maximize networking that systematically mixes people? …facilitate new connections and new potential relationships through a systematic process? …support our member eateries?
Many of our members routinely take advantage of the networking opportunities offered by Food and Networking (FAN) meetings held throughout the year as well as networking opportunities through committee participation, business breakfasts, ribbon cuttings, and other Chamber events. But larger events certainly are not every member’s preferred venue for networking. To provide an opportunity for regular, small group networking, the Chamber will be offering a new benefit in the near future called FAN For Four (FAN44). FAN44 will schedule participants affiliated with four member businesses to meet for Friday lunch at a member eatery to network and get to learn about each other. The eatery will have a table reserved, and will provide separate checks (everyone pays their own way). Participants can be managers, employees, volunteers, and/or board members
of Chamber member businesses and organizations. The program is designed to schedule participants for a lunch on the second and fourth Fridays each month and to mix up the foursomes and the restaurant assignments to maximize variety. The groups are scheduled automatically so no effort is required on the part of participants. It will be easy to opt out for a given week in the event of schedule conflicts. The program may begin as soon as June. Does this sound interesting to you? We would like to hear from you about your questions and interest. Email fan44@losalamos.org to express interest or request more information.
Economic well-being by Katy Korkos
What’s it going to take to reach our goal of a vibrant community through a flourishing economy? It’s just like that old saying about advertising: “About half of all your advertizing dollars are well-spent, you just don’t know which half.” In our case, we know that all of the time we spend supporting existing businesses is time well spent - those are the businesses and people who already have shown their commitment to the community. The Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation staff, including us here at the Chamber, spends quite a bit of time on projects that we aren’t sure are going to pay off, but we think they’re vital to the effort. We’re calling our legislators on behalf of lab contractors who have lost work from the CMRR project, and we’re talking to the County’s broadband people about the usefulness of community-wide broadband, and we’re going to meetings to
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review the sign code to make sure that input we gave a few years ago hasn’t gotten lost. We sit on the White Rock master plan committee, in the hopes that our presence there is a constant reminder that the projects need to be good for the business community. We’ve engaged with the Quality New Mexico people and helped to make it easier for the Quality principles and programs to reach Los Alamos. We’re pursuing the Creative District plan and looking forward to the day when the County Council adopts the plan. We’re working with the committee to bring development to the Trinity site, and we’ve proposed two separate plans for additional development in downtown Los Alamos- a commercial condo development and the Place project. What these projects have in common is their ability to make a lasting impact on the economic well-being of our community. What the Commerce and Development Corporation can do is turn a great idea into a project with tangible results. Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Welcome New Members!
Business Name Medical Associates of No.NewMexico Khalsa Acupuncture ACS Relay for Life LA Guild of the Santa Fe Opera Comcast Business Services Kenny’s North Carolina Barbecue
May
Contact Name Dr. Carolyn Linnebur Seva Khalsa John Hofmann Dr. Mary Cummings Charles Petit Kenny Miller
Type of Business Health & Medical Health & Medical Health & Medical Non-profit or Club Business Services Dining & Treats
Chamber Member Anniversaries
Business Name
A.D.A.P.T. and Recover AAA New Mexico Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine, American Legion, Post 90 Automotive Collision Experts BAC Enterprises, Inc. CAFE-The CoffeeHouse Cafe CASA, First Judicial District Cottonwood Technology Group DorMoni’s Hair Studio Boutique Energy Related Devices Film Festival at Home Foot and Ankle Associates Georgina Williams Hilltop House Spa Hope Fellowship Hope Pregnancy Center Lorraine Hartway, CPA Los Alamos Little Theatre Los Alamos Retired & Seniors Org (LARSO) MOSAIC Architectural Solutions Mountain Canine Corps Search and Rescue New Mexico Dance Theater Party to Go! Pueblo Electric Quemazon Communities Master Association Ruby K’s Bagel Cafe TOTH Episcopal Church Yours Truly Diana’s Zia Credit Union
May/June 2012
Phone 505-661-8900 505-661-9620 505-930-1200 505-672-3102 505-271-3740 505-661-4682
Date Joined 2011 2002 2004 2011 2011 2000 2004 2006 2006 2011 1998 2004 2007 2011 2007 2006 2009 1989 2011 2000 1998 2010 2005 2008 2000 2004 2005 2002 2002 1997
June
Business Name
Date Joined
Adelante Consulting, Inc. Casa De Luz Apartments CHRISTUS St. Vincent Regional Medical Ctr Enrique Posada D.D.S. Enterprise Computing Systems Farm Bureau Financial Services First Baptist Church of Los Alamos Hampton Inn & Suites HDR Constructors High Flyers Gymnastics Hollywood Roofing Home Run Pizza Hot Rocks Java Cafe KRSN AM 1490 Los Alamos Council on Cancer Los Alamos Properties - Ina Acomb Los Alamos Safety & Environment Los Alamos Sister Cities Initiative Los Alamos Sportsmans Club Navarro Research and Engineering P. Reid Griffith, P.A. Real Estate Associates PVW Rotary Club of Los Alamos Sage Cottage Montessori School SAV Associated Services SMSI Son-Shine Art Southwest Office Solutions Terranear PMC The Education Plan Vista Control Systems
2009 2003 2011 2000 2010 2009 2008 2004 2011 2009 2010 1997 1999 2006 2009 1998 2000 2005 1999 2010 1999 2011 2005 2010 2008 2008 2008 2007 2010 2011 1989
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MainStreet News & Events May 11th - Golf Tournie - Los Alamos Golf Course
LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP for the Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament to benefit United Way of Northern New Mexico! This year’s tournie will be held at the beautiful Black Mesa Golf Course - shot gun start 1 pm. We want people who play golf to participate ensured that this Tournament will be the best ever! You need not be a Chamber member to play. Special Auction Item - 5 day stay at Park City, Utah! What a fabulous trip! But you can only play golf in this tournament to be eligible for this vacation! Contact Suzette Fox at 661-4844 or email suzette@losalamos.org
August 11th - Fair & Rodeo Parade
Save the Date for Fair & Rodeo Weekend - August 10-12! If you would like to participate in the Parade, go to www.fyiLA.com under events to register. The more the merrier! Parade starts at 10 am on Central Avenue. Be sure to participate in all the events for the weekend including: County Fair Exhibits at Mesa Public Library, Festival and Fair at Ashley Pond, Arts and Crafts Show at Fuller Lodge, LA Concert Series, Dinner at Posse Lodge and the Rodeo of course.
Sept. 14th - STEM Student Day - 4 pm to 7 pm Sept. 15th - Next Big Idea - 11 am to 3 pm - Fuller Lodge
SAVE THE DATES! STEM student day won’t want to be missed...or The Next Big Idea’s Showcase of Ideas - A Festival of Discovery, Invention and Innovation! • Hands on Activities - Kids Discovery Zone •
Music/Food/Technology/Arts
A family-friendly event designed to inspire illuminate and educate through science, technology, arts, food and music! To be an exhibitor, register at www.nextbigideala.com
National MainStreet Conference - Baltimore, MD
March 30 - April 4th was the dates of the National MainStreet Conference in Baltimore, MD. What a great place to visit! They have three different MainStreet Programs there. The conference was a great opportunity to network with other MainStreet Programs around the nation and see what is working for them. I must admit our Los Alamos MainStreet Program is leaps and bounds among others out there. We should be really proud of the accomplishments of our local MainStreet... “More people downtown, more of the time.”
For more information on the MainStreet Program please contact: Suzette Fox 505.661.4844 E-mail: suzette@losalamos.org www.LAmainstreet.com
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Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Los Alamos MainStreet Improves Curb Appeal Los Alamos MainStreet was successful in pursuing funding from Los Alamos County to use for matching funds grants to downtown businesses for curb appeal. With this funding, potentially ten MainStreet businesses can apply for curb appeal grants. Have you noticed the changes to places such as the YMCA, LA Fitness, REA, Finishing Touch, Dr. Lee Acupuncture, BiLingual Montessori School, Pet Pangaea, ReMax, and Southwest Office Solutions to name a few? All of these businesses have previously applied and received curb appeal grants. “This award helped us address a muchneeded landscape issue on the corner of our property. Assistance positively impacts our ability to use operating funds in other much needed areas, such as scholarships for our after school or camp programs, or for maintenance and equipment in the facility,� said Linda Daly, Executive Director of the YMCA. The Curb Appeal Program has been a proven success and is destined to become a staple in the community.
The Finishing Touch Storefront
This round of grants is available until late May. Contact Katie Stavert at 505-6614805 or email: Katie@losalamos.org
MainStreet Small Projects Grants still available
About $3,000 is still available for Small Project Grants to be used for marketing of events and promotions in the MainStreet District. Up to $1,000 matching grants will be given away. Events must be held by June 1, 2012. Contact Suzette Fox for more details at suzette@losalamos.org or 505-661-4844. May/June 2012
Tracy Maddox, Owner of Southwest Office Solutions
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LAMVB News
2012 Calendar of Events
May 1 2 3 4,5 11,12 18,19 5 8 10 10 10,17 24,31 11 12 13 16 18 18-20 18 19 24 25 26 31
June
PEEC presents Quiet, Gentle Walk LAAC Brown Bag Performance Mesa Public Library FREE Film Series Los Alamos Little Theatre Presents Cowboy Poet LAAC’s Spring Arts & Crafts Fair - Fuller Lodge lawn Los Alamos Historical Society Lecture Fairy Tale Film Series- Hansel and Gretel/UNM-LA Wildflower Walk with PEEC LA MainStreet’s Farmers Market @ Mesa Public Library parking lot Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament/Black Mesa PEEC’s Natural Wonders of LA - Cave of the Winds LACA’s - St. Lawrence String Quartet PEEC’s Bandelier Talk: Take a Walk on the Wild Side Fuller Lodge Art Ctr Art Opening Reception/Naked Kite Festival @ Overlook Park/WhiteRock LA Summer Concert Series @ Overlook Park Tiho Dimitrov Band plus DK & the Affordables High Altitude Athletics’ Jemez Mountain Trail Runs Authors Speak Series’ - Frances Levine, PhD @ Mesa Public Library LA Summer Concert Series - The Red Elvises @ Ashley Pond LAAC’s Guitars @ the Lodge PEEC Class - Intermediate Nature Photography
1 2 4 5 5 7 7,14 21 8 8,9 9 9 10 11-15 12 15 16 16 17 19 21 22
LA Summer Concert Series SummerFest at Pajarito Mountain Henry C. Finney: Images from the Fire Gate Poems @ Mesa Public Library PEEC’s Summer Family Evenings:Taxidermy Museum PEEC presents Transit of Venus Viewing Mesa Public Library 2012 FREE Film Series LA Farmers Market at Mesa Public Library parking lot LA Summer Concert Series - Greg Abate with the Pete Amahl Trio- – location TBA Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce presents Chamberfest weekend in downtown Los Alamos LA Summer Concert Series at the LA ChamberFest – Nomads Valles Caldera’s Run the Caldera Full/Half Marathon PEEC’s Mountain Hawk’s Medicine School/the Jemez PEEC’s Nature Odyssey, Super Sleuths Valles Caldera PEEC’s Summer Family Evenings: Owls LA Summer Concert Series - The Police Experience Relay for Life at Ashley Pond PEEC’s Hike to Guaje Canyon Overlook Tour de Los Alamos/downtown Los Alamos PEEC’s Summer Family Evenings: Critters PEEC’s Wildflower Walk LA Summer Concert Series – Guy Forsyth Band
N2NM by Claire Roybal Looking for a way to cross-promote events, activities and attractions? Check out the N2NM, a social network collaboration campaign. The goals of this project are to build your social networks and generate referrals to your social networks, attractions, and events.
Go to:.
for a complete and detailed list of events.
How it works? Individuals will be able to download the N2NM app on their Smartphone’s and track how N2NM they are by “checking in”, “blogging”, “tweeting” or “sharing” participating partners events, activities and attractions. Users will receive information about partner events, activities and attractions throughout the state and even be able to earn points on how often they are participating. If you have an attraction, event, or activity and would like to partner with us on this campaign contact Claire Roybal at 661.4836 or email her at claire@losalamos.org
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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.
Bandelier shuttle drivers trained as ambassadors
Atomic City Transit drivers got oriented to Los Alamos and White Rock through the visitors eyes on Saturday, April 14, when representatives from the Chamber of Commerce and the Meeting and Visitor Bureau conducted a special training for 35 Transit employees. Those shuttle drivers will be the first point of contact for a visitor to the area, and we wanted them to know about the wide range of businesses and services that are available in the community, so their training included going inside several businesses in addition to the visitor centers and the museums. The County has approved the operation of shuttles to and from Bandelier, operated by Atomic City Transit, seven days a week, for May through October beginning June 1, for three years. Bandelier National Monument requested help from the County to accommodate visitors after they lost nearly half of their parking spots in the wake of flooding after the Las Conchas fire. On an average day in peak tourist season, Bandelier sees 275 to 350 cars.
Visitors can now book their lodging directly from our website by Cindy Whiting There is a new way for visitors to book a room. We now have lodging booking engine capability on visit.losalamos.com. What that means is that now travelers can go to the website, click on “Plan your visit,” plug in their stay dates and browse through our local hotel sites to pick where they would like to stay while here in Los Alamos. Check it out!
Brian Kelley by Cindy Whiting You name it, he’ll do it. That’s Brian Kelley! Brian is this month’s volunteer extraordinaire! Brian is always accompanied by Athena his 14 month old daughter. She is probably the most patient baby I have ever seen...and she really enjoys her snacks! Anyway, Brian has helped a great deal around the Visitor’s Center and Chamber office from heavy lifting to IT work that would normally cost the company a lot of money. Brian is always so polite and helpful, which I didn’t realize I valued so much until he started volunteering here. May/June 2012
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PRSRT STD U.S. Postage
PAID
LOS ALAMOS, NM
Permit No. 152
P.O.BOX 460 LOS ALAMOS, NM 87544
Marketing & Promotions Fair was a HUGE success!
Newsletter Managing Editor: Suzette Fox - 505.661.4844 email:suzette@losalamos.org Contributions by: Suzette Fox, Kevin Holsapple, Katy Korkos, Claire Roybal, Cindy Whiting