Discover El Paso

DISCOVER
EL PASO
A publication of the City of El Paso
and Destination El Paso

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discover el paso
photography by Heriberto ibarra
Narrative by Maggie asfahani
a publication of the
city of el paso and destination el paso
HpNbooks
a division of lammert incorporated
san antonio, Texas

For over thirty-five years, VIVA El Paso! has been
delighting audiences with a song and dance filled
retelling of El Paso’s dynamic history.
First Edition
Copyright © 2015 HPNbooks
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from
the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to HPNbooks, 11535 Galm Road, Suite 101, San Antonio, Texas, 78254, (800) 749-9790, www.hpnbooks.com.
ISBN: 9781939300959
Library of Congress Card Catalog Number: 2015955700
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Discover El Paso
photographer: Heriberto Ibarra
author: Maggie Asfahani
designer: Glenda Tarazon Krouse
contributing writers for El Paso partners: Maggie Asfahani, Garnette Bane, Joe Goodpasture
HPNbooks
president: Ron Lammert
project manager: Curtis Courtney
administration: Donna M. Mata, Melissa G. Quinn
book sales: Dee Steidle
production: Colin Hart, Evelyn Hart, Tim Lippard,
Christopher D. Sturdevant, Tony Quinn

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coNTeNTs
legacy sponsors
Foreword
introduction
discover our Heritage
discover our economy
discover our places
discover our lifestyles
el paso partners
sponsors
about the photographer
about the author
C O N T E N T S
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Legacy
Sponsors
These companies have made a major contribution to the book as part of our Legacy Program.
This book would not have been possible without their leadership and participation.
These are our top contributors and we thank them for their support.
Cattleman’s Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch
3450 South Fabens Cutoff Road
P. O. Box 1056, Fabens, Texas 79838-1056
915-544-3200
www.cattlemanssteakhouse.com
El Paso Community College
P. O. Box 20500
El Paso, Texas 79998-0500
915-831-2000
www.epcc.edu
Esperanto Developments
211 North Florence, Suite 203
El Paso, Texas, 79901
915-842-9535
www.esperantodevelopments.com
Freeport-McMoRan • El Paso Operations
897 Hawkins Boulevard
El Paso, Texas 79915
915-782-7301
www.fcx.com
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dmDickason Personnel Services
4900 North Mesa
El Paso, Texas 79912
915-532-9400
www.dmDickason.com
Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC
11221 Rojas Drive
El Paso, Texas 79935
915-593-8833
www.ccelp.com
EL Paso International Airport
6701 Convair Road
El Paso, Texas 79925
915-780-4749
www.flyelpaso.com
Butterfield Trail Golf Club
1858 Cottonwoods
El Paso, Texas 79906
915-772-1031
www.butterfieldtrailgolf.com
L E G A C Y S P O N S O R S
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FOREWORD
Bryan Crowe.
El Paso is one of a handful of American cities that has stayed true to itself
and our unique attributes are a source of great pride to locals. Located on
the westernmost tip of Texas where three states and two countries meet,
El Paso’s history dates back more than four centuries. In fact, the First
Thanksgiving in the Southwest was celebrated here on the banks of the
Rio Grande in 1598.
Today, El Paso is the 6th largest city in the state of Texas; 19th largest in
the country; and has been named Safest City in the United States, by CQ Press
for four consecutive years. With a metroplex of more than 2.5 million people,
El Paso is the largest binational metropolitan area in the western hemisphere
and is composed of a variety of nationalities, with cultural influences ranging
from Native American to Spanish and Mexican.
Since our rich history dates back more than 400 years, we are especially lucky to have the
unique opportunity to explore a variety of heritage sites, from pristine churches dating back
to the 1600s along the El Paso Mission Trail to the beautiful home of El Paso’s “First Family,”
The Magoffin Home State Historic Site. We can even visit the grave sites of some of the most
famous gunslingers and outlaws of the wild west at Concordia Cemetery and tour architectural
gems designed by famed architect, Henry C. Trost and view art and artifacts at a variety of worldclass
museums.
We are also the birthplace of the margarita and with dozens of bootmakers and manufacturers
based in El Paso, we can also call ourselves the “Boot Capital of the World.” Some of the most
delicious Mexican food in the United States can also be found here, thanks to generations of
handed-down, authentic recipes that can be sampled in restaurants that have been featured on
national television outlets.
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With an annual average of more than 300 days of sunny weather, El Paso attracts visitors yearround.
Outdoor lovers can hike, bike, run and climb in the Franklin Mountains, which happens
to be the largest urban state park in the country. We are also internationally renowned for
rock climbing at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site. Individuals who aren’t into extreme
adventure can take in the sunshine at hundreds of outdoor concerts, festivals and events such
as an El Paso Chihuahuas baseball game, Chalk the Block, El Paso Downtown Street Fest or our
annual Hyundai Sun Bowl; the second oldest collegiate bowl game in the nation.
As we continue to celebrate our existing strengths and accomplishments, we are also in the
midst of unprecedented growth and change largely in part to a $473 million quality of life bond
initiative. Projects include DIGIE, the first and only interactive digital history wall in the U.S.
(one of only two in the world); a children’s museum; Hispanic Cultural Center; and a stateof-the-art
Multipurpose Cultural and Performing Arts Facility. Additionally, the bond will fund
trailheads, city-wide park expansions, competition-style aquatic centers, a myriad of colorful
public art projects, and an impressive $50 million zoo expansion. The bond has also spurred the
private sector to step up and make investments to supplement the municipal projects.
While there is so much to document and showcase in the Sun City, Discover El Paso, will give
you a snapshot of our heritage, faces, lifestyle and some of our biggest economic drivers. If you are
reading this book out of town or in El Paso, I genuinely hope you’ll enjoy it and will be inspired to
either plan a trip or rediscover our incredible history, culture, and exciting new developments! You
can plan your own adventure on visitelpaso.com or by downloading the Official Visit El Paso App.
Bryan Crowe
Quality of Life Managing Director
for the City of El Paso
F O R E W O R D
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INTRODUCTION
El Paso is a city on the move. Diverse and dynamic, the Sun City has always been a melting pot
of culture and tradition. Between the foothills of the majestic Franklin Mountains and the banks of the
Rio Grande, El Paso has, from its early days, always been home to travelers, traders, explorers and those
looking for a better way of life.
El Paso has become increasingly competitive in the global marketplace, bolstered by the city’s unique
geographic location and bicultural workforce. The University of Texas at El Paso, along with the Texas
Tech University Health Sciences Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, provide the region with top-notch
educational facilities that train doctors, engineers and other professionals, who will all contribute to the
future growth of the area.
DISCOVER OUR HERITAGE reflects on El Paso’s truly unique makeup, and the foundational
elements that have given us strength and continue to form our identity. DISCOVER OUR ECONOMY
provides a look into the business of what makes El Paso hum—from our education sector, to the
positive effect Fort Bliss and the military have on our community. DISCOVER OUR PLACES sheds light
on all of our city’s exciting spaces, from the cultural gems of the Plaza Theatre and The Chamizal
National Memorial to the breathtaking flora and fauna of the Desert. DISCOVER OUR LIFESTYLE takes
you on a journey of some of El Paso’s most iconic events, and DISCOVER OUR FACES is a behind-thescenes
glimpse of the cultures and traditions that make El Paso a city like no other.
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discover
our
HeriTage
Nestled on the border of Texas, New Mexico and Mexico,
el paso is a unique metropolis that is not only proud of its
rich heritage, but celebrates it with an insurmountable spirit.
From the Native americans that first called the area home
and the spanish settlers that followed after, to the arrival of
the railroads and the gunslingers of the Wild West, el paso
has always been a city on the rise. over 400 years of history
have intertwined differing cultures and customs into a
vibrant, thriving community that looks toward the future
while leaning upon the foundations laid by the past.
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Above: Buffalo Soldier located at the Buffalo Soldier Gate at Fort Bliss. This statue serves as a monument to the African-American regiments raised during
the Civil War as part of the Union Army. Originally members of the U.S. Cavalry’s 10th Regiment, these troops were given the nickname “Buffalo Soldiers”
by Native Americans. Several of these regiments were garrisoned at Fort Bliss, and were known for their fierce bravery and loyalty.
Tom Lea
Pass of the North, mural, 1938
Oil on canvas, 11’ x 54’
Historic Federal Courthouse, El Paso, Texas
Image courtesy of the Tom Lea Institute
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Right: Ruidoso, New Mexico, just a
two-hour drive from El Paso, is a welcome
respite for those seeking an escape from
the bustle of city life. Hiking, fishing, skiing
and a casino are sure to please
every holidaymaker.
Below: El Paso parades celebrate the unique
culture of our binational community.
Opposite: The Tigua Tribe, who founded
the Ysleta Mission in 1682, are the only
Puebloan Tribe still in Texas.
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Above: A mural with a Native American influence
is painted on an exterior wall of the El Segundo
Barrio complex.
Opposite: Matachines, or sword dancers, trace
the heritage of their art to late-1400s Spain.
The dances are meant to hold religious significance,
and often celebrate Christ or the Virgin Mary.
Inhabited first by Native-American groups including the Janos, Sumas, Tiguas and
Apache, El Paso was settled by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. Fertile valleys and
majestic mountains lured these explorers to the area they christened El Paso del
Norte, The Pass of the North—even then, as now, an international crossroads. El Paso
flourished, a hub of commerce, farming and trade on an important trade route.
El Paso only continued to grow and diversify, melding Spanish and Native American
influences and absorbing a new population of immigrants keen to make a better life.
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Opposite: The Aztec Calendar, located in downtown
El Paso, is one of three replicas of the original Aztec
Calendar of ancient Tenochtitlan. Located in Aztec
Calendar Park, the sculpture, made from a cast from
the original calendar housed at National Anthropology
Museum in Mexico City, has been a significant part
of El Paso’s downtown for over fifty years.
Left: Located in Downtown’s Pioneer Plaza,
The Fray Garcia Monument, a fourteen-foot bronze
sculpture created by John Houser, honors the priest
who founded the area’s first mission. The statue,
weighing one and a half tons, is one of the tallest
monuments in Texas.
Below: El Paso’s culture is a melding of Mexican
and Native American influences.
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Chapel La Misión de Corpus Christi de San Antonio de la Ysleta del Sur
was established by Antonio de Otermín and Fray Francisco de Ayetain in 1680.
The Ysleta Mission is recognized as the oldest continuously operating parish in Texas.
The unique culture of the area is reflected in the Ysleta Mission’s chapel,
which celebrates both Native American and Christian traditions.
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The simple austerity of The Ysleta Mission
chapel encourages quiet reflection.
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Above: The interior of Presidio Chapel at San Elizario. The exterior of the chapel is shown at the top of the following page.
Below: Sacred Heart Church or Sagrado Corazón, located in El Paso’s Segundo Barrio, was built in 1892 by Padre Carlos Pinto.
Padre Pinto established two churches with schools: Sacred Heart for Spanish-speaking Catholics and Immaculate Conception for the
Catholics that spoke English. The church continues to be a thriving part of its downtown neighborhood.
The El Paso Mission Trail, located in the
city’s lower valley, features two missions, The
Ysleta Mission and the Socorro Mission, as
well as the San Elizario Chapel. The Ysleta
Mission dates back to the late 1600s, and is
the first and oldest mission established in
the state of Texas and the second-oldest parish
in the United States. Concordia Cemetery,
founded in the 1800s, is the final resting
place of many illustrious El Paso residents,
including the notorious outlaw John Wesley
Hardin, and is also home to the Chinese
Cemetery, a reminder of the influence the
Chinese community had on El Paso’s past.
The Buffalo Soldiers, six African-American
regiments of the U.S. Army that served on
the western frontier from 1866-1901, are also
memorialized at the cemetery, their selfless
contributions echoing through time.
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Above: The Presidio Chapel of San Elizario was founded in 1789 by the Spanish, who established the garrison as a way to defend
against foreign power and Indian raids, as well as to protect trade routes. Located on El Paso’s Historic Mission Trail, the Presidio
Chapel of San Elizario was built in 1877, after a flood destroyed the original building in 1829.
Below: The Socorro Mission, part of El Paso’s Historic Mission Trail, is the second-oldest mission in Texas. Finished in 1691,
the church was rebuilt after floods in 1740 and 1829.
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Lincoln Park, billed as “El Corazón de El Paso”
(The Heart of El Paso), is the hub of El Paso’s vibrant
Chicano community. The park (below) features a
variety of events, including car shows and sports
matches, surrounded by breathtaking murals.
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Beautifully restored buildings and homes, historical churches, missions
and cemeteries are monuments to El Paso’s history. The Magoffin Home,
a Texas Historical Commission property and testament to a pioneering,
multicultural local family committed to service to their country, stands as
a reminder of the multifaceted landscape of the city. El Paso High school,
an architectural gem contributing to El Paso’s beauty and cultural legacy,
is one of the many examples of the mark left on the city by influential
architect Henry C. Trost. Segundo Barrio and Lincoln Park, along with the
city’s downtown area, have always been a hub of culture, heritage and art.
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Above: The Buffalo Soldier Memorial at Concordia Cemetery pays tribute
to African-American Soldiers who proudly served and bravely fought
during the Civil War.
Right: Douglass Elementary School, formerly known as Douglass Grammar
and High School, was the first school designated for African-American
students. Named for abolitionist, Frederick Douglass, the school was
opened in 1891 and remained segregated until 1920. Today, the school
serves a predominantly Hispanic population and in April 2015,
received a Texas Historical Commission Marker.
Below: The McCall Neighborhood Center is
the only community center in El Paso, for the
African-American Community. Established in
the former home of Olalee and Marshall McCall
in 1983, the center has a historical Buffalo Soldiers
exhibition, a room dedicated to Douglass School,
and a variety of displays chronicling the history
of African-Americans in El Paso.
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Colorful murals celebrating El Paso’s strong Hispanic roots can be found throughout the city.
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Above: McKelligon Canyon, located on the southeastern side of the Franklin Mountains, is part of the Franklin Mountains State Park.
Visitors can hike, bike or rock climb, or enjoy a live concert or even a movie in the canyon’s 1,500-seat amphitheatre, carved directly
into the canyon’s walls.
Below: The Franklin Mountains are a familiar part of the El Paso landscape, dividing the city geographically and providing a backdrop
to endless hours of fresh-air activity.
Opposite, top: Spanning three to five miles in width and towering over 3,000 feet above sea level, the Franklin Mountains are home to
an array of Chihuahuan Desert plants such as creosote, acacia and yucca. Wildlife, including jackrabbits, roadrunners, and even
mountain lions, grace the mountains’s rolling slopes.
Opposite, bottom: The Franklin Mountains State Park is the largest urban national park in the United States, covering over 24,000 acres.
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El Paso offers a wide range of amenities for those
seeking to conduct business or have a little fun.
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Below: The wide expanse of the city’s beautiful desert landscape.
Opposite: The Organ Mountains, located in southern New Mexico,
are a stunning feature of the local landscape.
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Margarita After a long day hitting the trails, what could be more quenching than a frosty drink?
Every year, restaurants and bars vie for the tile of “Best Margarita,”
ensuring that options abound around every corner.
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Pan dulce, or “sweet bread,” may be traditional
Mexican delicacies, but many El Pasoans
cannot imagine starting their day
without a cup of strong coffee
and a bite (or more) of
these treats.
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Discover
our
economy
el Paso may be known for its warm people and
sunny climate, but as the largest metro area
along the 2,000-mile Texas-mexico border and
home to over seventy Fortune 500 companies,
the sun city is an economic powerhouse as well.
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Top: The star (opposite, top left corner) on the mountain, built in 1940 by El Paso Electric, is 459 feet
long and 278 feet wide, and can be seen from 100 miles in the air and 30 miles on the ground.
Above: Located only six miles east of downtown, the El Paso International Airport serves close to three
million passengers a year. The airport features two air carrier runways and one general aviation runway.
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El Paso is the bootmaking capital of world, and is home to several worldrenowned
brands, including Lucchese and Tony Lama. Other, smaller operations, such as
Rocketbuster Boots, have created custom-crafted wares for celebrities and world leaders alike.
The city’s dynamic economy is directed by the largest volume of
international trade in the world. In 2014 trade flowing through the
El Paso port of entry reached nearly $80 billion. The development of
an integrated international trade region with Ciudad Juárez has been
critical in achieving continued growth, increasing levels of trade while
removing barriers sometimes associated with foreign markets and
leading to a boost in overall prosperity.
The maquiladora program, established by the Mexican government
in an effort to provide jobs along the U.S.-Mexico border, is another
significant source of economic expansion. In El Paso’s sister city Ciudad
Juárez, nearly 350 companies employ over 300,000 people, some of
them from El Paso, in plants manufacturing a variety of goods, including
appliances, electronics, automotive parts and medical supplies.
As the sixth-largest city in Texas and the nineteenth largest in the
U.S., El Paso is a major entry point into the United States and features
a globally competitive, bilingual and bicultural workforce. El Paso is
a top twenty percent U.S. performing economy, with a projected growth
of nearly $30 billion in coming years. In addition, according to a recent
ranking from the Milken Institute, El Paso ranks in the top twenty
of America’s Best Performing Cities for growth in jobs, income and
high-tech GDP—among the 200 largest metros. The Brookings
Institution named El Paso the 175th best-performing metro area in the
world in 2014.
With a population of more than 850,000 living in El Paso County
and 2.5 million residing in the greater El Paso region, the city has
positioned itself as a leader in various sectors. Our economy is driven
by government agencies and the military, as well as by the education,
healthcare and service sectors.
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Above and opposite: Fort Bliss, which
began as a Cavalry post in 1848, is a
major contributor to the El Paso economy.
Fort Bliss covers 1,700 square miles over
1.12 million acres of land.
Fort Bliss, the second largest military
installation of the U.S. Army and an integral
part of El Paso since 1848, employs nearly
62,000 civilian and military personnel and
creates $4 billion in labor income. Since
2005, the Department of Defense has invested
more than $6 billion in the expansion of the
base, including the modernization of Army
training facilities and ranges, new lifestyle
amenities such as green housing communities
and an open-air shopping center, as well as
$1 billion in upgrades to William Beaumont
Army Medical Center. White Sands Missile
Range and Holloman Air Force Base, although
regional, provide further economic support to
the area.
In addition to the strong military presence
in the city, El Paso also serves as a base of
operations to many federal government agencies,
including U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, the Drug Enforcement Agency and
the Immigration and Naturalization Service,
providing a significant area of employment
and job growth in the region.
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Opposite, top: Interstate 10, one of El Paso’s main arteries, stretches from Jacksonville, Florida, to Los Angeles, California.
Opposite, bottom: In 2014, over 19 million people crossed the international bridges between El Paso and Juárez.
Sun Metro Brio’s sixty-foot articulated buses feature Wi-Fi and bike racks, making commuting across town a breeze.
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The economic growth of the region is supported by train operations, which interchange
with Mexican railways and connect the east and west coasts of the United States.
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El Paso neighbor Juárez, Mexico, is a vital player
in the Borderland’s economic development.
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The education sector in El Paso is also strong.
Recent reports show that The University of Texas
at El Paso has contributed $1.4 billion to the local
economy, and provides more than 6,500 jobs.
The three school districts in the region, El Paso
Independent School District, Ysleta Independent
School District and Socorro Independent School
District, are some of the largest employers in the
area, providing jobs for nearly 20,000 people.
El Paso is also home to the first four-year
medical school on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center
Paul L. Foster School of Medicine is not only
providing El Pasoans high quality healthcare—
the facility will also be at the forefront of
research addressing problems endemic to the
border region, which will create a national
impact. In addition, the school is expected to
improve the El Paso economy by more that $1.3
billion. The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
not only provides jobs to the community,
but will be educating generations of doctors,
positively impacting society for years to come.
The University of Texas at El Paso, formerly the Texas State
School of Mines and Metallurgy, has been a vital part of the
El Paso community since 1914. Ranked in 2014 as one of
Washington Monthly magazine’s top ten universities in the
nation, UTEP provides a top-notch education to one of the
world’s largest binational communities.
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Above: The University of Texas at El Paso’s Centennial Plaza, a project that was
two-years-in-the-making, is the crown jewel of the University’s 100th Anniversary
Celebration in 2014.
Right: The hand-carved and hand-painted lhakhang is a centennial celebration gift
from the people of Bhutan to UTEP. First assembled at the Smithsonian Folklife
Festival in 2008, it is now the focal point of the university’s Centennial Plaza.
Below: The University of Texas at El Paso’s campus is composed of beautiful
Bhutanese Architecture.
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The 93,000 square foot Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine campus opened its doors in
January of 2006. This particular campus is focused on and dedicated to better understanding Hispanic and border health issues.
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Below: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine.
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Discover
our
places
el paso has always been a place where diverse communities
come to celebrate the area’s unrivaled culture. locals and
visitors alike enjoy a range of landmarks and sites, all providing
a variety of options for entertainment, education and leisure.
Whatever the activity, it is sure to take place against the scenic
and rugged beauty of chiseled mountains and the abundant
allure emanating from the ocotillos, creosote and golden
eagles of the chihuahuan Desert and the call of the bullfrogs
of the rio Bosque Wetlands.
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The Guadalupe Mountains stretch from Guadalupe Peak,
the highest point in Texas, into New Mexico.
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Opposite page: The Chihuahuan Desert is the largest desert in North America, it straddles the
U.S.-Mexico border.
Above: The National Border Patrol Museum takes visitors on a journey of the U.S. Border Patrol.
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Beauty of the
Chihuahuan Desert
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A river blesses the
Chihuahuan Desert
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Left: The Rio Grande, known as the Rio Bravo in Mexico, delineates a natural
border between the U.S. and its southern neighbor.
The Rio Grande River is a major touchstone for the
community, marking the international boundary with
Mexico and playing an important role in the economy
and history of the area. The Chamizal National Memorial,
built to commemorate the peaceful resolution of a border
dispute with Mexico after flooding altered the natural
border, is a monument to diplomacy. The memorial also
houses only one of two theatres under the National Park
Service, and is home to the Siglo de Oro Drama Festival,
a world-renowned international drama festival.
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Tom Lea Park, at the top of Scenic Drive,
provides a panoramic view of El Paso.
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Below: The Plaza Hotel, completed in 1930,
was originally a Hilton. Elizabeth Taylor is
reported to have stayed in a rooftop penthouse
there during her brief marriage to Nicky Hilton.
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Opposite, top and above: The first suburban community in El Paso,
Kern Place is one of El Paso’s oldest and most historic neighborhoods.
Right: Trost & Trost Architects, active in the early 1900s, left their
distinctive mark on many of El Paso’s most treasured buildings.
El Paso boasts an ever growing downtown, marked by an
impressive skyline and a multicultural mix unique to the city.
This is where the old and new rub shoulders as comfortable
old friends, rather than jostle for dominance. In 2012, El Paso
voters approved half a billion dollars in quality of life bond
projects, which include colorful pedestrian pathways, major
improvements to parks, libraries, and museums as well as the
only TouchCity Digital History Wall in the United States.
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Above and right: The Plaza Theatre, located in downtown, was completed in 1930. The theatre, built in the Spanish Colonial Revival Style, closed
in 1974, but was brought back to life with the help of the El Paso Community Foundation in 2006. The theatre features a night sky, complete with stars.
Below: The Abraham Chavez Theatre is named after Maestro Abraham Chavez, former music director and conductor of the El Paso Symphony
Orchestra. The 2,500-seat theatre showcases events from stage productions and dance performances to well-known acts such as The Killers and Hozier.
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The El Paso Symphony Orchestra draws large crowds
and enjoys popular support in the community.
Theatres, arenas and outdoor spaces make up a large part of El Paso’s identity. Hiking, biking and other
outdoor pursuits take place in the foothills of the Franklin Mountains, and the Abraham Chavez Theatre
provides an intimate space for concerts and performances. The Plaza Theatre, a recently refurbished Spanish
Colonial revival-style theatre, has been restored to its original splendor and now hosts Broadway shows and
a yearly classic film festival. For those content to enjoy the city’s mild evenings in a more open setting,
McKelligon Canyon’s outdoor amphitheater is a welcome spot to catch a show, and UTEP’s Sun Bowl
Stadium is home to not only collegiate football, but impressive, large-scale concerts, monster trucks and
other sporting events. The El Paso Zoo and Butterfield Trail Golf Club also provide a welcoming place to
relax and reconnect with friends and family while taking advantage of one of El Paso’s many cloudless days.
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The El Paso Museum of Art.
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The Last Conquistador, by sculptor John Houser,
welcomes travelers to El Paso International Airport.
The twelve-foot tall statue of Spanish explorer
Juan de Oñate is the largest bronze equestrian
statue in the world.
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Below: Downtown El Paso, now going through major
revitalization, is the hub of a thriving and dynamic city.
Opposite, top: Pride Square Entertainment District,
located downtown, is the hub of El Paso’s gay community.
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This page: The award-winning Southwest University Park, home of The El Paso Chihuahuas, is only one of the
many places El Pasoans and visitors alike can enjoy the city’s outstanding amenities. Southwest University Park
not only features America’s favorite pastime—it is a wonderful place to spend the day with the family.
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Above: University of Texas at El Paso—Sun Bowl Stadium.
Left: The Wyler Aerial Tramway takes visitors to Ranger Peak,
5,632 feet above sea level.
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Opposite page: El Paso’s valleys are bursting with
crops such as corn, cotton, tomatoes and chiles.
Above: West Texas cotton, which accounts for
almost a third of the world’s cotton production,
thrives in El Paso’s valleys.
Right and below: Zin Valle Vineyards, El Paso’s
only winery, offers different varietals from their
estate, and often features festivals, events and
tastings at their grounds.
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Pecans are a major crop in the area.
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Above: Highway 28, which connects El Paso to Las Cruces, is a favored route into New Mexico. Leafy pecans provide a welcome shade on the journey.
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Butterfield Trail Golf Club, a premium golf course designed
by the world-renowned Tom Fazio, is the perfect place to spend
a leisurely day. The historic Butterfield Trail dates back to 1858,
when the Butterfield Overland Mail Company used it as a route.
The original trail still runs through the golf course.
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other area attractions include the
majestic underground wonders of carlsbad caverns, winter skiing
in ruidoso, and sand surfing at White sands Missile range,
all a short jaunt into New Mexico.
Above and opposite: Carlsbad Caverns National Park, located in southeastern New Mexico, is nestled in the desert landscape
of the Guadalupe Mountains. Over 400,000 visitors a year trek to the caves to enjoy the awe-inspiring underground formations,
and during summer evenings, to witness the sight of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats exiting the cave in search of food.
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Above: The village of Mesilla, New Mexico, at the doorway of Las Cruces,
is a popular day trip from El Paso.
Right: The Basilica of San Albino, located in Old Mesilla’s plaza, was
established by order of the Mexican government in 1851.
Below: Billy the Kid was once jailed in Mesilla. The jail is now a gift shop.
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This page: The white gypsum dunes of White Sands National Monument stretch over 275 square miles of the New Mexico
Desert, only an hour and a half away from El Paso. Visitors enjoy full moon nights and can even sled on the sand.
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This page: Only ninety miles from El Paso, Cloudcroft, New Mexico,
is a quaint, quiet paradise that offers a spectacular natural setting.
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Above and below: Ruidoso, New Mexico, only a two-hour
drive away from El Paso, offers picturesque views and a
variety of outdoor activities, including skiing and fishing.
Left: Ruidoso is home to the Mescalero Tribe.
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Discover
our
lifestyles
Have you ever watched a movie in an outdoor amphitheater, or
enjoyed a concert while lying on a blanket under a starry night sky?
in el Paso, you can do all that and more.
Opposite, top: Although El Paso is a dynamic city on the move, culture and tradition hold a sacred place in the community’s heart.
Opposite, bottom: El Paso’s lively Oktoberfest celebrations trace their roots back to the German Air Force’s presence in the city.
The German Air Force Command for the United States and Canada was housed at Fort Bliss from 1956 until 2013, when a
reorganization of the German military moved operations to Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. El Paso is also
home to a thriving German population, which keeps Bavarian traditions alive.
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there is never a dull moment in the sun city!
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Above: Part of Chalk the Block 2015, Maximo Gonzales’
colorful installation Walk Among Worlds featured hundreds
of inflatable balls that took over Arts Festival Plaza.
Left: Chalk the Block gives young and old visitors alike an
opportunity to make their mark.
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Left: This little guy takes the opportunity to cool
off during one of El Paso’s 300 days of sunshine.
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El Pasoans and visitors alike enjoy the diverse range of activities and recreational
opportunities the city has to offer, from sports, arts and music to cultural events and
museums. No matter the season, the calendar is brimming with Broadway shows,
concerts, festivals and celebrations of all kinds.
The arts flourish in the Sun City.
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VIVA! El Paso showcases El Paso’s rich history through song
and dance. The popular summer event has been performed
in McKelligon Canyon Amphitheatre for nearly forty years.
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Looking to enjoy the area’s perfect weather without too much exertion?
A variety of festivals and events are sure to lure those who are looking for a relaxing way to
pass the time. McKelligon Canyon, which is cut deep into the flank of the mountainside, is a
destination on its own. With summer evening concerts, like Cool Canyon Nights, and Movies in
the Canyon, there is something for everyone to enjoy. The canyon is also home to VIVA! El Paso,
a dance and musical extravaganza that tells the story of the region’s history. Wine festivals, beer
fests, farmer’s markets and more round out the fun. Neon Desert, the region’s premiere music
festival; Alfresco! Fridays and Music Under the Stars serve up multi-genre musical entertainment;
and Chalk the Block and Downtown Kidspalooza captivate the entire family.
The Chamizal National Memorial, part of the National Park Service, was built to commemorate the peaceful settlement of a
100-year border dispute between the United States and Mexico. The Chamizal National Memorial is home to such events as
Music Under the Stars and the internationally acclaimed Siglo de Oro Drama Festival.
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Left: El Pasoans come together for Chalk the Block,
an annual downtown arts festival which features
interactive exhibits, temporary sidewalk murals
and art installations.
Opposite, top: Over the course of a weekend,
tens of thousands of visitors of all ages enjoy
Chalk the Block’s festivities.
Below and opposite bottom: Bazaar amusement
rides glow in the dark.
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Opposite, top: Neon Desert Music Festival is El Paso’s premiere music event dedicated to indie rock, hip-hop, rock en español and more.
Opposite, bottom: Named one of the top music festivals to go too before you die, Sun City Music Festival attracts world-renowned electronic
dance music artists, and draws in fans from around the globe.
Above: Alfresco! Fridays is one of El Paso’s premiere summer events, showcasing a variety of local bands and kicking off the weekends with
a fun, high-spirited yet casual vibe.
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Above: The KLAQ Balloonfest, a three-day festival spanning Memorial
Day Weekend, features live shows and endless entertainment.
Opposite, clockwise starting from the top:
Visitors take an opportunity to feed the giraffes at the El Paso Zoo. The
Zoo offers educational events and animal interactions throughout the year.
The El Paso Zoo offers many exciting programs, including live animal
encounters, behind the scenes tours and even sleepovers at the zoo.
The El Paso Zoo, situated on thirty-five acres of green space, is not only
a home to exotic animals such as the Sumatran orangutan and ocelot,
but features a wide array of educational activities for the whole family.
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This page: The El Paso Puzzler Mountain Bike Race is a fifty-mile endurance race over rocky
Chihuahuan Desert terrain. Hundreds of participants brave three courses during the race.
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Above: El Paso Critical Mass is a monthly event meant to increase the visibility of bicyclists.
Cyclists meet to reclaim the streets in a fun, spontaneous ride.
All the action is not just taking place in the city’s arenas and stadiums—
El Paso’s average of almost 300 sunny days a year means ample opportunities
for outdoor adventures. Hike trails dense with desert vegetation, or look out for
the delicate whirling wings of the hummingbirds. Hueco Tanks State Park and
Historic Site offers world-class rock climbing, as well as the chance to see over
3,000 ancient paintings etched into the niches and shelters of the boulders.
The Michelob Ultra El Paso Marathon, a qualifier for the Boston Marathon,
takes place in El Paso, as does the Mighty Mujer Triathlon, an all-female race.
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El Paso’s binational culture strongly influences local cuisine.
El Paso has become a thriving melting pot, with an explosion of
area restaurants showcasing menus from around the globe.
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Left: Roasted jalapeños and tomatoes are
the fundamental building blocks of salsa,
El Pasoans’ favorite condiment.
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The sports scene in El Paso is thriving, prompted by the enthusiasm and
support of the city’s fans. Southwest University Park, winner of Ballpark of the
Year, hosts the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas in front of sell-out crowds, and the
championship El Paso Rhinos raise the roof when they take the ice at the El Paso
County Coliseum. The University of Texas at El Paso, home of the Division I
NCAA Miners, brings in football fans to Sun Bowl Stadium, and to the Don
Haskins Center for basketball. El Paso is also host to the Hyundai Sun Bowl,
the second oldest college bowl game in the country.
Left: El Paso is proud to have the only NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Trophy in the state of Texas.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UTEP ATHLETICS.
Below: UTEP’s Don Haskins Center is home to the Miners’ Basketball teams and also plays host to concerts,
comedy shows and other popular events such as Cirque du Soleil.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UTEP ATHLETICS/IVAN PIERRE AGUIRRE.
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High school football is a West Texas mainstay,
and El Paso is no exception. Football season finds fans
all over the city cheering on their favorite teams.
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For those content to enjoy the city’s mild evenings in a more open setting,
Cohen Stadium is a welcome spot to catch a show, and impressive large-scale
concerts, monster trucks and other sporting events.
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Above: The Plaza Theatre was brought back to life with the help of the El Paso Community Foundation in 2006.
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Museums, including the El Paso Museum of Art,
Tigua Indian Cultural Center and War Eagles Museum,
are some of the area’s best-kept treasures, giving insight
into a unique, multicultural and vibrant city.
Left: The beautiful Scottish Rite Temple, home of the
Freemasons, has been a downtown fixture since 1923.
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Above: The El Paso Museum of Art, situated in the heart of downtown El Paso, houses
a permanent collection of over 6,000 works of art. The El Paso Museum of Art or EPMA also
features a rotating roster of visiting films, exhibitions, lectures, concerts and other programs.
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Right: Residents outdo
themselves with brightly lit
Christmas displays, underlining
the festivity of the season.
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Left: Snow may fall rarely in El Paso,
but the Borderland still welcomes
Santa with open arms.
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P r o f i l e s o f b u s i n e s s e s , o r g a n i z a t i o n s , a n d f a m i l i e s
t h a t h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d
e c o n o m i c b a s e o f E l P a s o
In the spring, the Franklin Mountains are set aglow by the sunny yellow of the Mexican poppy.
The annual Poppies Fest celebrates the flower and draws attention to the area’s conservation efforts.
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El Paso Partners
Quality of Life ............................115
The Marketplace .......................137
Building a Greater El Paso.....173
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Quality of Life
Healthcare providers, school districts, universities and other
institutions that contribute to the quality of life in El Paso
Providence Memorial Hospital ........................................................1 1 6
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso........................1 2 0
El Paso Symphony Orchestra ..........................................................1 2 2
El Paso Children’s Hospital............................................................1 2 4
El Paso Community College ...........................................................1 2 6
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery ..............................................................1 2 8
El Paso International Airport .........................................................1 3 0
Butterfield Trail Golf Club ............................................................1 3 1
Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care ..............................................1 3 2
Humane Society of El Paso ............................................................1 3 3
Tom Lea Institute .........................................................................1 3 4
Destination El Paso ......................................................................1 3 5
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PROVIDENCE
MEMORIAL
HOSPITAL
On August 19, 2015, the Sierra Providence
Health Network became the Hospitals of
Providence; the most comprehensive healthcare
network in El Paso, Texas. Our network
includes the region’s most trusted hospitals—
Providence Memorial Hospital (now Memorial
Campus), Sierra Medical Center (now Sierra
Campus), Sierra Providence East Medical
Center (now East Campus) and Providence
Children’s Hospital.
For more than a hundred years, the
Hospitals of Providence has built a distinguished
legacy of trust, integrity and innovation.
Its diverse services are designed to
provide compassionate and skillful healthcare
to people of all ages.
The Hospitals of Providence is rich in history.
In 1902 prominent El Paso physician
Dr. Michael Philip Schuster spearheaded the
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formation of the original Providence Hospital,
located at 617 North Santa Fe Street, near the
current Scottish Rite Temple in Downtown
El Paso.
In 1945 a corporate charter was granted
for a modern new hospital to serve El Paso.
Plans called for raising $1.8 million for a
185-bed facility. In 1952 the present-day
Memorial Campus opened. In 1975 the
Sierra Campus was built. In 1995 then Sierra
Medical Center and Providence Memorial
Hospital joined to form the Sierra Providence
Health Network, becoming one of the largest
mergers in El Paso’s healthcare history. As
a result of the sale of then Providence
Memorial Hospital to Tenet, the Paso Del
Norte Health Foundation (PdNHF) was
formed in 1995. The PdNHF serves those
within the community who are most in need
and is one of the largest private foundations
in the U.S./Mexico border. In May 2008 our
East Campus opened its doors to serve the
needs of East El Paso’s growing community.
As healthcare continues to evolve, so does
the hospital network. In 2013, Hospitals
of Providence announced plans to invest
$120 million in the Memorial Campus,
Providence Children’s Hospital and Sierra
Campus to enhance the patient experience
and improve coordination of services for
the region’s growing population. Already
underway, this multiphase project includes
service line expansions, technological
enhancements and aesthetic remodeling.
Construction is expected to be complete by
early 2017.
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Additionally, East Campus completed a $67
million expansion in the summer of 2014. The
hospital added a four-story patient tower and
made service line improvements to the original
tower. This includes an expanded emergency
department that opened in February 2014.
In January 2014, Hospitals of Providence
brought access to quality emergency medical
care for residents in Northeast El Paso with
the grand opening of a new fully equipped
and staffed emergency room that treats
emergencies 24/7/365.
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The Hospitals of Providence is committed
to providing access to world-class healthcare
to the El Paso region. As part of this commitment,
August 2014 marked the beginning of
the construction for a new multimillion dollar,
140-bed teaching hospital in Northwest
El Paso. This new venture, which is a partnership
with Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center (TTUHSC) El Paso, will serve
as a teaching hospital for medical students,
nursing students, resident physicians and
faculty from TTUHSC El Paso.
In addition to the El Paso region, Hospitals
of Providence strives to provide world-class
healthcare, which extends beyond the El Paso
region onto international and secondary
markets. The Hospitals of Providence provides
pioneering and superior medical services
to patients who travel from the north of
Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona and other
Southwest regions.
The Hospitals of Providence continues to
move health forward with four existing
hospitals: Memorial Campus, Providence
Children’s Hospital, Sierra Campus and East
Campus. The Hospitals of Providence also
offers a wide range of outpatient services
including 7 imaging centers, 2 MedPost
Urgent Care Centers, a pediatric MedPost
Urgent Care Center, wound care centers,
Trawood and Northeast emergency rooms
and one teen and women’s center. Over
3,500 dedicated professionals work diligently
network-wide to provide the highest quality
of patient care in the region. This is what
makes the Hospitals of Providence the
provider of choice.
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TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER EL PASO
Above: Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center El Paso Founding President
and Dean of the Paul L. Foster School of
Medicine Richard Lange, M.D., M.B.A.
Below: The Gayle Greve Hunt School
of Nursing.
In 2014, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed
S. B. 120, making Texas Tech University
Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) El Paso the
fourth university under the TTU System
and El Paso’s second university. After more
than 40 years of providing physicians
and healthcare to far West Texas, TTUHSC
El Paso has evolved from a regional campus
into the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine
(PLFSOM), Gayle Greve Hunt School of
Nursing (GGHSON), Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), and Texas Tech
Physicians (TTP) of El Paso, a network of
outpatient clinics.
Educating the future’s healthcare
professionals demands a unique curriculum
involving the use of high-tech patient
simulators along with engagement in the
culture and lives of our patients. As the
only medical school along the U.S.-Mexico
border, students at the Paul L. Foster School
of Medicine are learning Spanish—the
language heard in our waiting rooms and
supermarkets. Understanding behaviors and
diseases beyond textbook descriptions
provides our students a greater understanding
of medicine in a real world setting; not just
within the confines of an exam room. Our
immersive and one-of-a-kind curriculum has
inspired medical schools around the country
to learn from our interactive, team-based
education centered on patient symptoms
rather than the traditional style of learning
through lectures.
The Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing,
the newest building on the TTUHSC El Paso
campus, opened in February 2015. The
school offers two programs: the accelerated
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and
a new RN to BSN degree plan. The 34,000
square foot facility includes a high-tech
environment for faculty and students; 12,000
square foot simulation lab; four classrooms;
and collaborative learning spaces. The
nursing school was established as a response
to a long-term shortage of nurses unable to
provide care to El Paso and its medically
underserved region. University leadership
focused its sights on delivering knowledge
and skills in an interdisciplinary environment
vital for meeting the challenges of today’s
complex healthcare.
The Graduate School of Biomedical
Sciences helps prepare students for
biomedical research careers in academia and
industry. The two-year program in biomedical
sciences offers graduates who have already
obtained a bachelor’s degree a Master of
Science (MS). Studies here will also prepare
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students for more advanced studies at the
doctoral level. Our scientists are focused
on exploring the dynamics of cancer
endocrinology, cancer cell biology, natural
product-based therapeutic discovery, HIV,
West Nile Virus, Influenza, nanomedicine,
movement disorders, population genetics
of psychiatric disorders, and degenerative
neurological conditions.
In order to find solutions to today’s most
urgent health concerns, four programmatic
Centers of Emphasis in Cancer, Diabetes and
Metabolic Disorders, Infectious Diseases, and
Neurosciences, as well as four state-of-the-art
core laboratories in histopathology, cytometry,
genomics, and proteomics currently support
the work of multiple scientists.
Studying key biomedical research issues
through a distinctive demographic lens and
focusing on the underpinnings of disease in a
specific population can have a major impact
on the health and well-being of our nation
as a whole. Diseases impacting residents
along the border often span northward,
placing El Paso in a strategic position for
the study and treatment of these diseases.
By developing preventative measures, early
diagnostic tests and novel treatments,
TTUHSC El Paso plans to also address the
unique healthcare needs of the largest
minority in the United States, which will
play a role in stabilizing the entire nation’s
healthcare system.
It is through the clinical infrastructure of
Texas Tech Physicians (TTP) of El Paso that
our physicians have provided medical care
to more than 1.5 million patients for
more than forty years. Our network of
providers includes primary care physicians,
as well as the area’s largest number of adult
and pediatric care specialists within the
region under one umbrella. Specialty areas
include hematology/oncology, gastroenterology,
nephrology, endocrinology, cardiology, and
urogynecology. Each patient care location
is also responsible for educating future
physicians and enhancing research. As a
result, our patients are seen by physicians who
are up-to-date on the latest healthcare trends,
current medical breakthroughs and interactive
skills—tools to provide excellent care.
Come and explore all that TTUHSC El Paso
has to offer. We believe the future of medicine
is now. We go Beyond Borders!
Above: The Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences.
Below: The Paul L. Foster School
of Medicine.
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EL PASO
SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA
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The soul of a community may be found
in its support for the arts. As the oldest
performing arts organization in El Paso and
the longest continuously running symphony
orchestra in Texas, the El Paso Symphony
Orchestra has spearheaded cultural activities
in El Paso for eighty-five years.
With its world-class artists and memorable
performances, the El Paso Symphony attracts
90,000 people annually to its programs. The
Symphony touches more than 40,000 students
each year through its outreach programs.
Although the Symphony will celebrate its
eighty-fifth anniversary this coming season,
the organization’s rich history actually traces
from a performance in December 1893, when
the soft sounds of violins competed for
the first time with the raucous sounds of a
raw frontier town. There were at least eight
other attempts to bring symphonic music to
El Paso before an orchestra was officially
established in 1931. In the initial performance
on January 26, 1931, H. Arthur Brown
conducted his first concert with the El Paso
Symphony at the Scottish Rite Auditorium.
Brown remained as conductor until 1951.
A number of prominent citizens were
involved in early efforts to establish the
orchestra and keep it on course. The first
president of the Symphony Association was
Dorrance Roderick, publisher of the El Paso
Times and a pioneer in radio and television
broadcasting. He held the post for thirtyseven
years. Perhaps it was no coincidence
that Roderick’s station, KDBC, broadcast the
symphony’s second concert in 1931. Another
person who had enormous influence on
the orchestra’s history was Biaglo Casciano,
whose efforts to promote the symphony kept
the organization alive in its formative years.
In 1936, KTSM radio commemorated
Texas’ 100 years of independence by broadcasting
an EPSO concert at the Plaza Theatre
for a national audience through the NBC
radio network.
The new orchestra, which brought the
sounds of revered classical composers to
El Paso, quickly became a popular attraction
and attending Symphony concerts became a
fashionable thing to do. In the early 1930s,
several auxiliary committees—social, artistic,
and membership—appeared, all designed to
improve the orchestra’s image. In November
1933 the El Paso Symphony presented its first
nationally known guest artist, pianist Marcus
Gordon, and the orchestra’s long association
with the Sun Carnival began in 1935.
Brown, who had conducted the orchestra
from its inception, left in 1951 for a conducting
job in Oklahoma. He was succeeded
by young Italian violinist and conductor
Orlando Barera, who conducted for twenty
years. Other conductors over the years
have included William Kirschke, Abraham
Chavez, Jr., Gürer Aykal, Sarah Ioannides,
and Bohuslav Rattay, who has served as music
director since 2013.

The El Paso Symphony moved its performances
to the Civic Center Theatre, now known
as the Abraham Chavez Theatre, in 1975.
Concerts were moved to the Plaza Theatre
after its $38 million restoration in 2006.
In March 1996 the El Paso Symphony
undertook its first European tour, performing
to sold-out houses in Germany. In 2000 the
orchestra completed a successful tour of Turkey,
the native country of conductor Gürer Aykal.
Efforts to help students better appreciate
fine music has always been a major goal of
the Symphony. Since 1939 the El Paso Electric
Young People’s concerts have introduced more
than 750,000 fifth grade students to live
classical music in an environment that is fun
and energetic. In 2011, EPSO partnered with
Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute to bring
the innovative Link Up program to El Paso.
This acclaimed program provides El Paso school
districts with exceptional repertoire-based
curriculum that aligns with national standards.
The largest component of EPSO’s educational
mission is the El Paso Symphony
Youth Orchestras (EPSYOs). Organized in
2005, EPSYOs is open to all orchestral
musicians, ages of seven to twenty-three,
and serves more than 350 students annually.
EPSYOs students participate in weekly
rehearsals and four concerts. Their relationship
with EPSO allows its members access to
EPSO musicians through coaching, rehearsals
and the annual Side-by-Side concert. EPSYOs
also provides additional components that
serve its members musical interests: Concerto
Competition, the Conductor Apprentice
Program, Young Artist Piano Competition,
and a week long Summer Camp.
EPSO’s first after-school program, the
Tocando Music Project, began in 2013 at
Hart Elementary School in the Segundo
Barrio. Fashioned after the highly acclaimed
El Sistema program in Venezuela, Tocando
provides free instruments, four-day-a-week
musical instruction, and performance opportunities
throughout the school year. Tocando
helps students build self-confidence and leadership
as they use music classes to achieve higher
goals and improve scholastic performance.
The orchestra is involved in a number of
community activities, in addition to its regular
series of concerts. On the Fourth of July each
year, the El Paso Symphony Orchestra presents
Pop Goes the Fort, a free patriotic concert
at Fort Bliss. In recent years, EPSO has
programmed concerts with a rock twist like
The Music of the Queen and the The Music of
Led Zeppelin.
A symphony orchestra is considered a cornerstone
of the arts in all communities. The
El Paso Symphony Orchestra contributes
greatly to the cultural image and quality of life
in El Paso, an important factor in attracting
potential business to the city.
For more information about the El Paso
Symphony Orchestra, including a schedule of
upcoming performances, check the website at
www.epso.org.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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EL PASO CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL
The El Paso Children’s Hospital (EPCH) is
a unique place designed to promote a healing
environment full of abundant light, soothing
colors, vibrant artwork, and panoramic views
of the Franklin Mountains and the Rio Grande
River. These aesthetics were intended to make
young patients feel more at home and less
confined in what can be an intimidating and
often scary grown-up medical facility.
After much debate over the need for a
children’s hospital in the area, the community
voted in support of a dedicated pediatric
hospital. EPCH was constructed near the
United States/Mexico border. It is the first
and only separately licensed, independent
501(c) (3) not-for-profit children’s hospital in
the El Paso region, and the only pediatric
hospital within a 250 mile radius of El Paso.
The modern structure opened its doors on
February 14, 2012. EPCH has been accredited
by the Joint Commission, the College of
American Pathologists, and the American
College of Radiology for magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI). EPCH has also been recognized
as a Quality Respiratory Care Institution by
the American Association for Respiratory Care.
EPCH is at the forefront in fighting childhood
cancer in the El Paso area. In its first
three years, it achieved Children’s Oncology
Group Certification, a distinction in pediatric
healthcare that no other institution in the
City or County of El Paso has received. EPCH
is making history in the border region and
now has access to national protocols and
cutting-edge treatments for childhood cancer.
Its patients now have access to excellent
pediatric healthcare and the same treatment
plans as patients being treated at St. Jude’s
Children’s Research Hospital. EPCH is thrilled
to provide world-class pediatric healthcare to
all children, all the time.
Having a children’s hospital in the City
of El Paso elevates the quality and scope of
medical care in the region by providing
unmatched excellence in specialized pediatric
patient care as well as research and education
opportunities. EPCH is advancing pediatric
healthcare through education affiliations with
(among others) the Paul L. Foster School of
Medicine at Texas Tech University Health
Sciences Center El Paso, University Medical
Center of El Paso, University of Texas at
El Paso, William Beaumont Army Medical
Center, Columbia University, University of
South Alabama, and El Paso Community
College. It is also an anchor facility of the
Medical Center of the Americas campus.
These affiliations enable EPCH to recruit
and employ the best physicians, nurses, and
ancillary staff with skills suited to a child’s
needs. These are trained pediatric professionals
who know how to communicate with a child
to exude confidence while building trust and
eliminating fear.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
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A 225,000 square foot space dedicated
exclusively for pediatric healthcare, EPCH
features 122 beds, state-of-the-art equipment
and technology, a “treatment free” playroom
for kids, family friendly spaces with kitchenettes
that include washers and dryers, and
the Junior League of El Paso, Inc’s. Family
Resource Center. There are over 70 private
patient rooms in the hospital with 22 in
the pediatric intensive care unit, 26 in the
general pediatric unit, 24 in the hematology/
oncology unit, and 50 bassinettes in the
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for
newborns. Each room, outside of the NICU,
has a kid-sized bed and a sofa bed allowing
parents or a designated loved one to stay
with a child at all times while hospitalized. In
addition, EPCH provides free Wi-Fi, Skylight
Entertainment systems in private patient rooms,
and the Enchanted Forest playground located
in the main level where siblings can play.
Families and guests can also utilize the Shop
Around the Corner Gift Shop, Meditation
Room, and the Java Stop featuring Starbucks
Coffee while their loved one is hospitalized.
Like a full-service medical/surgical hospital
for adults, EPCH has state-of-the-art technology
designed exclusively for children. That equipment
includes portable Vecta Distraction
Stations, NicView webcams in the NICU,
digital portable x-ray machines, magnetic
resonance imaging goggles (to allay fear
during procedures), and advanced ultrasound
technology to assist with diagnosis without
exposing children to excessive radiation. It
is vital that EPCH have the latest medical
equipment to treat its young patients.
The hospital is home to over forty pediatric
subspecialists and more than 200 credentialed
pediatricians. Among the subspecialties are
emergency medicine, rehabilitation, imaging,
radiology, general surgery, neonatology, perinatology,
cardiology, endocrinology, respiratory
therapy, neurodiagnostics, cardiac services,
child/adolescent psychiatry, nephrology, anesthesiology,
neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery,
intensive care, gastroenterology, ophthalmology,
maxillofacial surgery, pathology, hematology
and oncology.
EPCH is one of only eight children’s hospitals
in the state and is a member of the Children’s
Hospital Association of Texas. In addition, it
is a member of the Children’s Hospital
Association, and the designated hospital in
El Paso County for the Children’s Miracle
Network. It was named Best Non-Profit
in 2012 and 2013 in the City Magazine’s
Best of El Paso Edition. For information on
El Paso Children’s Hospital please visit
www.elpasochildrens.org or call (915)298-5444.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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EL PASO
COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
126
El Paso Community College (EPCC) is
a nationally recognized public two-year
institution with a long history of cultivating
success and economic growth in the Paso Del
Norte region. As a top employer in El Paso,
with more than 3,000 employees, EPCC is
involved in all aspects of the community.
From training the workforce to preparing
students for transfer to four-year schools to
leading the way in student achievement and
graduation rates, the work being done at
EPCC has a dynamic community impact. As a
progressive leader in high-quality, innovative
educational opportunities, in 2015, EPCC
was named as one of the Top 10 Community
Colleges in the nation by the Aspen Institute.
“The college fills a vital role, one that offers
access to both high quality and affordable
academic opportunities, which in turn
contributes to the vibrancy of our border
community,” EPCC Board of Trustees Chair
Art Fierro said. “With its unwavering focus
on success for all students, EPCC prepares
individuals to achieve their current academic
goals, meet tomorrow’s challenges and be
competitive in local and global job markets.”
Established in 1969, EPCC is the largest twoyear
post-secondary institution in West Texas
and Southern New Mexico, providing education
to more than 35,000 students in academic,
workforce training and continuing education
programs. Whether enrolled in a degree or
certificate program, in continuing education or
professional development, access to education
not only provides career advancement, but is
also a pathway for students to achieve
their dreams.
Currently there are five campuses located
throughout El Paso County and plans for a
sixth campus and educational complex at Fort
Bliss are currently underway. This complex will
be a collaboration between EPCC and the
Army. The campus will include a presence by
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP),
New Mexico State University, Park University,
Webster University and Troy University in
order to facilitate successful transfer. This
complex will be the first of its kind at one of
the largest military installations in the nation.
As a progressive leader, EPCC has a vested
interest in El Paso and is committed to creating
access to education and the support services
necessary to increase the number of college
graduates. By providing education and training
focused on the needs of existing and emerging
business and industry, EPCC effectively
contributes to a prepared workforce. Faculty
and staff are leaders in their respective fields
who are engaging in their work with students
and the community. As a result, students
and graduates are prepared to excel in the
job market. “Because of the support and
possibilities I found at EPCC, I was able to
graduate with an Associate’s Degree, transfer to
UTEP and now am working in El Paso,” said
EPCC graduate Alejandra Martinez.
EPCC continues to build community
partnerships with local K-12 school districts as
evidenced by eight early-college high schools
and a growing dual credit enrollment program
that provides educational opportunities to high
school students throughout El Paso County.
In addition, the El Paso Area Collaborative
for College Readiness consortium works with
area school districts, Region 19, the University
of Texas at El Paso, the El Paso Chamber of
Commerce and ADP to increase student
participation in higher education. Because of
these and many other partnerships students
are better prepared for college, know that a
Bachelor’s Degree is in reach and more students
are successfully completing their degrees.
Another way EPCC is committed to creating
a better future is demonstrated by the
community engagement of faculty, staff and
students. Examples include the Electrical

Journeyman’s Program where students learn
their trade by volunteering for actual
community projects, and the Dental Assistance
Program where students provide quality dental
care to the public at low-cost dental clinics.
Through EPCC’s Quality Enhancement
Program (QEP) initiative, “Learning About the
Community as a Community,” students are
active in community participation and/or
volunteers in projects that enhance student
learning of course objectives while making
a positive impact on the community. The
Service Learning Program encourages civic
responsibility among students through
community service at area nonprofit agencies
where more than 900 students contribute
more than 22,000 hours of community
service annually.
Nationally, EPCC is consistently rated
number one among nearly 1,200 community
colleges in awarding Associate Degrees to
Hispanic students by Community College
Week, and 17th overall among all colleges and
universities. Recently, EPCC was recognized
with a Military Friendly Schools ® distinction,
which identifies colleges, universities and
trade schools that are doing the most to
enhance the success of America’s military
service members, veterans and spouses on
campus. The college has also been awarded the
Higher Education Excellence in Diversity
(HEED) Award by INSIGHT Into Diversity
Magazine. Additionally, EPCC has also been
recognized nationally as an Achieving the
Dream Leader College; previously awarded
the Leah Meyer Austin Institutional Student
Success Leadership Award for outstanding
institutional achievement in equity and has
been recognized by Excelencia in Education
with the “Examples of Excelencia” Award for
the Early College High School Program.
The college will continue its steadfast
commitment to students and their success.
“In recent years EPCC has been focusing
on engaging students, growing community
partnerships and fostering a culture of
excellence with measurable success,” said
President Dr. William Serrata. “By creating a
college-going culture and innovative student
success initiatives, EPCC is opening the
pathway to higher education and a better
prepared workforce in our region.”
Visit www.EPCC.edu to begin your studies
or learn more about EPCC.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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EL PASO
COSMETIC
SURGERY
Right, Dr. S. Ozan Sozer, M.D.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
128
Highly advanced state-of-the-art cosmetic
surgery, normally found only in locations
like Beverly Hills or Scottsdale, is available
to patients in El Paso, Mexico, and the
Southwest at El Paso Cosmetic Surgery.
The center was founded by S. Ozan Sozer,
M.D., a Board Certified Plastic Surgeon who is
internationally renowned for his contributions
to surgical medicine and for pioneering
innovative body contouring procedures.
Dr. Sozer cares about his patients and is
grateful for the opportunity to use his skills
to enrich the lives of others. Dr. Sozer wants
everyone who comes through the doors of
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery to have a great
experience from the moment they arrive and
through every step, from consultation to
surgery, to post-operative care.
With warm and compassionate care, support
and individual attention, Dr. Sozer and
the entire caring team at El Paso Cosmetic
Surgery are committed to helping patients
on their journey to a safe, satisfying and
empowering experience as they achieve a
more youthful and natural appearance.
Dr. Sozer, a renowned plastic surgeon with
more than seventeen years of experience,
founded El Paso Cosmetic Surgery in 2001.
The original facility was located at 1600
Medical Center Drive and employed only six
people. However, Dr. Sozer had a vision of
expanding and broke ground in December
2007 in a new 12,500 square foot freestanding
building at 651 Mesa Hills Drive.
The ribbon cutting for the new building,
which included a private surgical center,
was held in February 2009. As the practice
continued to grow, an additional consult
room, two additional treatment rooms and
three offices were added in 2011. The building
now totals more than 14,000 square feet.
Meanwhile, the staff has continued to grow to
more than twenty-four employees. The client
base is composed of more than 20,000 active
and non-active patients.
In the fall of 2015, El Paso Cosmetic
Surgery will be opening its second location
at 1626 Lee Trevino, Suite C, on the east side
of town to better serve its patients.
The clinic maintains the highest standards
of cleanliness and patient care, as well as
advanced technology at its facility. The center
has been accredited by the American
Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory
Surgery Facilities (AAASF), meaning patients
receive safe, effective, comprehensive treatment
from the initial consultation to surgery
and anesthesia.
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery provides a wide
range of services, including facial rejuvenation,

ody contouring, breast procedures, and
cosmetic surgery for men. Dr. Sozer has a deep
devotion to plastic surgery and continually
refines and perfects his surgical techniques to
achieve his primary goal of providing each
patient with a natural and youthful appearance.
Dr. Sozer’s excellence as a surgeon has led
to membership in the most highly respected
plastic surgery organizations, including the
American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the
American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons,
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
and the International Association of Aesthetic
Plastic Surgeons, where he was recently
appointed co-chairman of the Americas.
Dr. Sozer is known worldwide for
procedures he has invented and perfected.
This has led to many interviews on radio and
television and numerous magazine articles.
He has also written articles for The Aesthetic
Plastic Surgery Journal, done book reviews
for The American Society of Plastic Surgeons/
The Art of Gluteal Sculpting and provided
commentaries on the Atlas of Body Contouring
After Weight Loss or Buttock Lift and Autologous
Gluteal Augmentation.
Patients of El Paso Cosmetic Surgery can
expect a warm and informative experience.
From the first call and throughout each step
of the procedure, patients experience the
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery difference. Dr. Sozer
supports his patients throughout the recovery
period and afterwards through the services of
the Med Spa, specially created for patient care
and comfort. At the Med Spa, patients receive
therapeutic massage to relax and soothe the
body or enjoy the many skin treatments and
products available to help rejuvenate the skin.
With its outpatient plastic surgery center,
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery can perform most
cosmetic procedures without the patient
needing to visit a hospital. The surgical center
helps simplify the entire surgery procedure
for a quicker procedure.
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery stays abreast of all
the latest advances in surgical and non-surgical
cosmetic enhancements. This means patients
receive the highest quality care with the
latest procedures available. The most recent
additions include butt augmentation and lift,
hair transplants, and moderate weight loss
surgery. The latest and most promising technology
has been integrated into the practice
so that El Paso Cosmetic Surgery can continue
to offer the most cutting-edge and effective
cosmetic procedures. From CO2 Fraxel,
Ultherapy facial rejuvenation treatments,
Coolsculpting, miraDry, Trinity tattoo removal
to Blu-U Light acne therapy, the clinic’s technology
provides its patients with the latest
tools to repair aged and damaged skin and
help prepare them for surgery.
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery currently ranks
among the top fifty accounts in the nation
among more than 20,000 accounts with Allergan
products such as implants and injectables
such as Botox, Juvéderm and Voluma.
Dr. Sozer and the staff at El Paso Cosmetic
Surgery believe in giving people the opportunity
to enhance their appearance and their lives
through plastic surgery. The center is devoted
to giving patients the treatment and results
they are searching for. Whether you want to
rejuvenate your facial features or accentuate
the curves of your body, El Paso Cosmetic
Surgery can help.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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EL PASO
INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT
El Paso has been a major transportation
center throughout its history and when air
transportation became a reality in the 1920s,
the city became one of the first to see the
tremendous benefits of a local airport.
Creation of the airport was inspired in 1927
by famed aviator Charles A. Lindbergh, who
visited El Paso shortly after his first solo nonstop
flight across the Atlantic. A year later—in
September 1928—a crowd of 10,000 attended
the dedication of the first Municipal Airport,
located at Fred Wilson and Railroad Drive.
The original airport served the region well
in the early days of aviation but by the end
of the 1930s, civic leaders realized the need
for a larger, more modern facility. In 1941
the City of El Paso obtained 640 acres
from American Airlines, which became the
location for the present-day airport. A major
renovation and expansion project modernized
the airport in 1971 and the present
day design debuted in 1998 with its copper
roofs and granite accents reflecting local and
regional resources.
In addition to serving the city’s aviation
needs, the airport is a pioneer in nonaeronautical
land development, with 7,100
acres supporting more than 200 commercial
businesses and industrial operations.
Butterfield Industrial Park and the Southern
Industrial Park offer light manufacturing and
warehousing, as well as distribution and
transportation operations. The Butterfield
Trail Air Cargo Facility facilitates border
trade and associated economic development.
Foreign Trade Zone No. 68 is an integral part
of border trade, helping companies improve
their competitive position in the global market
economy, allowing U.S.-based companies
to defer, reduce or even eliminate customs
duties on products admitted to the zone.
Other airport properties support retail
shops, restaurants and hotels as well as two
public golf courses, Butterfield Trail Golf Club
and Lone Star Golf Club. The airport is also
home to NASA’s Training Center for Shuttle
Astronauts and during the space shuttle
program, astronauts trained in El Paso on
shuttle training aircraft, which simulated
shuttle landings. The airport is also the home
of NASA’s Super Guppy, the only airworthy
Boeing 337 in existence.
Located only six miles east of downtown
El Paso and 1.7 miles north of Interstate 10,
El Paso International Airport is the gateway
to West Texas, Southern New Mexico and
Northern Mexico, providing the region with
airline passenger services as well as cargo and
general aviation services.
For more information about El Paso
International Airport, check the website at
www.flyelpaso.com.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
130

BUTTERFIELD
TRAIL GOLF
CLUB
The history of the old west merges with
plans for the future of El Paso at the beautiful
Butterfield Trail Golf Club. Owned by El Paso
International Airport and designed by famed golf
course architect Tom Fazio, Butterfield Trail has
received numerous accolades including being
named the #3 municipal course in America by
Golfweek magazine 2009-2015.
Butterfield Trail Golf Club was established in
the summer of 2007 by city leaders who were
determined to create more than an award-winning,
world-class golf course. Their ambition was
to make the course into a special place for the
El Paso community, open to all for life’s special
moments and occasions. In addition to such
events as the Conference USA Women’s Golf
Championship, the club also hosts such non-golf
events as weddings, Quinceañeras and beer and
wine dinners, which bring several generations of
families together. These events have grown over
the years and the facility has become a gathering
place for El Pasoans celebrating their greatest
moments in life, including weddings, anniversaries
and award banquets.
Located only a long iron shot from the El
Paso International Airport, near a programmed
150 acre industrial park and several partner
hotels, Butterfield Trail offers an exciting golf
adventure in a convenient setting not too far off
the beaten path.
The par 72 daily fee golf course is highlighted
by natural sand dunes and native flora and fauna.
Butterfield Trail features more than fifty-five feet
of elevation changes and the drama of vertical
transitions, making each hole a ‘signature hole.’
The 18-hole design emphasizes natural topographical
features to keep the golfer’s ball in
play and manages El Paso’s formidable wind
with ‘uphill holes, downhill holes, and carvings
into the ground.’
While playing the course, golfers may still
view remnants of the original Butterfield Trail
adjacent to the #8 hole. The colorful history of
Butterfield Trail dates from 1858 when the
Butterfield Overland Mail Company operated for
three years, carrying mail and passengers across
the country from Missouri to San Francisco.
Butterfield Trail Golf Course is owned by
El Paso International Airport and the facility
is managed by KemperSports Management,
headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois.
KemperSports employs more than 4,000 people
across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico and operates
more than 100 properties.
Butterfield Trail hosts numerous charity golf
tournaments, raising thousands of dollars
for organizations that benefit many local and
national causes. For more than five years,
the course has hosted several ‘Tournament 101’
seminars to train charities in ways of increasing
or improving golf tournaments to raise awareness
and raise more funds.
Butterfield Trail is an affiliate site for The First
Tee of Greater El Paso, a life skill training
program for the city’s youth. The First Tee and
Butterfield Trail Golf Club have partnered to
teach tomorrow’s leaders valuable life skills
through golf programs.
For more information about Butterfield Trail
Golf Course or to reserve a tee time, please visit
www.butterfieldtrailgolf.com.
Owned by
El Paso International Airport
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 3 1

YSLETA
LUTHERAN
MISSION
HUMAN CARE
Right: Reverend Dr. Karl Heimer, Marisela
Gonzalez, Reverend Stephen Heimer and
Aylin Bonilla.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
132
The history of Ysleta Lutheran Mission
Human Care (YLM) began a little over thirty
years ago under the name “Centro Cristano
San Pablo” when members of Lutheran
churches in El Paso mobilized to provide
greater assistance to people living in impoverished
conditions. Their Christian faith led
them to purchase an historic 4.2 acre campus
in the Ysleta community of El Paso that
had been a U.S. Army Calvary outpost in the
early 1900s. The old adobe buildings were
restored and repurposed to provide physical,
educational, social, and spiritual care for the
El Paso/Juarez region.
The Reverend Dr. Karl Heimer, YLM’s president
and CEO, was called to Centro Cristiano
San Pablo in 1982 to be its original missionary
pastor. San Pablo Lutheran Church was
soon established, which still meets in the
historic chapel building on YLM’s campus. In
2005 the growing numbers of volunteers
and increasing opportunities to deliver help
to the community warranted the incorporation
of YLM as a separate 501c3 nonprofit
organization. Dr. Heimer’s favorite saying,
“People don’t care what you know until they
know that you care,” has encouraged staff and
volunteers to treat people with dignity as they
carry out YLM’s mission of “Changing lives
everyday through simple acts of kindness.”
In the three years prior to February of
2015, YLM distributed more than 14,000
food baskets to families, served more than
50,000 hot meals, and gave 100 pallets of
food to orphanages, missions, and government
agencies. Emergency food, seed corn,
and livestock for sustainable food sources was
sent to Tarahumara Indian villages whose crops
were lost due to drought. More than 4,500
Christmas toys, 3,000 hygiene kits, and 3,500
items of winter clothing were provided to
children on both sides of the border. Needbased
educational scholarships were awarded
each year to keep youth in school, and 3,600
children and youth received backpacks and
school supplies. Music classes helped youth
develop discipline and skills to enhance family,
community, and church life. YLM’s signature
music ensemble, Mariachi San Pablo, performs
locally and has visited more than 100 cities
throughout the U.S. and Mexico.
Since its beginning in 1982, YLM has hosted
groups of volunteers from throughout the
U.S. and Canada called “servant events.”
From 2012 to 2015, seventy groups built
homes, served food, and taught children.
Over the years, these groups have
also helped improve YLM’s campus
and helped build and maintain
churches in Mexico, which provide
spiritual care but also deliver YLM’s
other assistance to the community
with love and integrity. In Mexico,
during the great economic and social
distress in Juarez between 2008 and
2012, YLM brought unwavering help
and encouragement to as many as
500 children and 450 adults every
week through its churches, missions,
and servant event groups.

For many, pets are not only companions—
they are family. The Humane Society of El Paso
understands this, and helps animal-loving
individuals who want to open their homes
and their hearts to a furry friend.
The largest and oldest animal shelter in
the city and county of El Paso, the Humane
Society of El Paso works tirelessly to provide
animals with the care and love they deserve.
Their mission is to prevent suffering, neglect,
abuse and cruelty to animals, as well as to
provide information, raise public awareness
of animal issues and promote responsible
pet guardianship and kindness toward all
living things.
Founded in December of 1947 by a group
of concerned El Paso citizens who saw a need
to prevent cruelty to animals, the Humane
Society’s primary function is to provide housing
and shelter for pets that are patiently
waiting for a forever, loving home. The society
facilitates nearly 4,000 pet adoptions annually.
In addition, the agency offers humane
euthanasia services and it houses the only pet
crematorium in the city and county of El Paso.
Since their inception, the Humane Society
has grown by leaps and bounds. In the
early 2000s, the Humane Society of El Paso
embarked on a strategic capitol campaign
with the goal of building a new, state-of-theart
animal shelter. That dream became a
reality in 2008, when the organization broke
ground on a new facility. The Humane
Society of El Paso continues to revitalize and
upgrade their facility in order to maximize
the care provided to their animal residents.
The Society’s Pet Foster Program helps animals
that are having difficulty adjusting to the
shelter or environment, or that may need specialized
care, including bottle-feeding puppies
and kittens, pregnant and nursing dogs and cats
as well as pets recovering from minor surgeries.
The Volunteer Program allows animal lovers
the opportunity to help in a variety of ways
that assist the mission of the Humane Society.
Volunteers are instrumental in the daily operations
of the facility, whether walking the
dogs, playing with the cats, assisting with
fundraising events, greeting potential adopters
or helping with of-site adoption events.
The Humane Society of El Paso has a staff
of twenty-four full and part time employees,
all dedicated to the well being of the animals
they serve. The facility is only closed on Easter,
Thanksgiving and Christmas. The organization
is not affiliated with any national group, and
is completely dependent on adoption service
fees, fundraising activities and donations
from the community, as well as grants for all
of their operating expenses.
For additional information to include
but not limited to adoptions, donations,
finding a local event or volunteering, visit
www.hselpaso.org.
HUMANE
SOCIETY OF
EL PASO
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 3 3

TOM LEA
INSTITUTE
Right: Coxswain – Argentia Bay, 1941
Oil on canvas, 30 x 16 inch
LIFE Collection of Art WWII, U.S. Army
Center of Military History, Fort Belvoir,
Virginia.
Bottom, left: El Domador Sánchez, 1967
Watercolor on art board 39½ x 14½ inch
Collection of the El Paso Museum of Art, gift
from Henry and Pat Taylor © James D. Lea.
Below: Great River of the North, 1982
Oil on canvas, 58 x 45 inch
Collection of WestStar Bank, El Paso ©
James D. Lea.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
134
The Tom Lea Institute is dedicated to
preserving and enlivening the legacy of famed
El Paso artist Tom Lea, considered a genius
among twentieth century artists. Lea possessed
extraordinary gifts as a muralist, illustrator, war
correspondent, portraitist, landscapist, novelist
and historian. Much of his art was inspired by
the mountains, unique desert light and colorful
individuals of his hometown.
Thomas Calloway Lea, III was born in El Paso
in 1907, the son of frontier lawyer Tom Lea and
his wife, Zola Utt Lea. The elder Lea served as
mayor of El Paso from 1915-1917 during the
turbulent period of the Mexican revolution. Tom
III graduated from El Paso public schools in
1924, and then attended the Art Institute of
Chicago, where he studied under noted muralist
John Warner Norton. He later studied in Europe
under such masters as Eugene Delacroix and,
for a time, lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and
returned to his hometown in 1936. Except for a
period during World War II, when he served as
a war artist-correspondent for LIFE Magazine,
Lea lived the remainder of his life in El Paso.
The bulk of Lea’s art and literary works were
about Texas, north central Mexico, and his war
experiences in the South Pacific and Asia. Two
of his most popular novels, The Brave Bulls and
The Wonderful Country, are considered to be
classics of southeastern American literature and
later were adapted as films.
Lea died in 2001 and the Institute honoring
his memory and work was established in 2009
under the direction of Adair Margo, who served
as chairman of the President’s Committee on the
Arts and Humanities during the presidency of
George W. Bush.
The Institute grew out of a life-long friendship
between Lea and Margo, who exhibited much of
his artwork in her El Paso gallery. Margo’s
appreciation for Lea’s work deepened in 1993
when she was selected to record Lea’s oral history
and learned more about his life while discovering
a true Renaissance man. It was Margo’s vision
that led to the establishment of an institute
committed to enriching the lives of others
through Lea’s art, literature and example.
Since 2009 the Tom Lea Institute increased
its staff from two persons to five, created a
growing membership, and reached audiences
nationwide. Its annual sponsorship of Tom
Lea Month has inspired the creation of
educational programming for children,
students and adults and has established
strong partnerships with other institutions.
In 2013 the Institute launched the Tom Lea
Trail, the first artist trail in the state, connecting
the regional history of eleven Texas cities
through the presence of Lea’s art and writing.
The Tom Lea Institute is committed to
developing new audiences and strengthening
existing relationships with art, education history
and literature constituencies through its efforts to
honor the memory of El Paso’s famous native son.
For more information about the Tom Lea
Institute, please visit www.tomlea.com.

DESTINATION
EL PASO
Known as the El Paso Convention and
Visitors Bureau/El Paso Convention and
Performing Arts Centers for more than thirty
years, the organization rebranded itself in
2013 and is now called Destination El Paso.
Comprised of two operating divisions, Visit
El Paso and El Paso Live, Destination El Paso’s
mission is to provide convention, tourism,
venue and event management services to
visitors, clients, and the greater El Paso
community so they can enjoy a pleasurable
experience that enhances quality of life and
generates economic growth.
Visit El Paso is the destination marketing
arm for the City of El Paso and its responsibilities
include Convention Development,
Tourism Development, Advertising and
Communications, Social Media and Website,
and the El Paso Film Commission. El Paso
Live is responsible for event booking and
management of several City of El Paso
venues to include the El Paso Convention
Center, Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre,
Abraham Chavez Theatre, McKelligon Canyon
Amphitheatre & Pavilion and Cohen Stadium.
Destination El Paso has worked tirelessly
to improve overall perceptions of El Paso and
the modern rebranding of the organization
combined with a series of new public and
private-sector developments have helped
the organization, and the city at large, garner
positive attention.
With the passage of a $473 million quality
of life bond initiative which includes an extensive
list of exciting citywide improvement
projects and beautification efforts are currently
underway. Projects include DIGIE, the first
and only interactive digital history wall in
the U.S. (one of only two in the world); a
children’s museum; Hispanic Cultural Center;
and a state-of-the-art Multipurpose Cultural
and Performing Arts Facility. Additionally,
the bond will fund trailheads, city-wide park
expansions, competition-style aquatic centers,
a myriad of colorful public art projects, and
an impressive $50 million zoo expansion. The
bond has also spurred the private sector to
step up and make investments to supplement
the municipal projects and this tremendous
momentum is helping El Paso become the
Southwest’s next great leisure and business
travel destination.
As an organization, Destination El Paso is
dedicated and committed to leading the charge
in changing any negative perceptions and has
found that once people are here, they are genuinely
impressed with the unique experiences
and the warm hospitality that El Paso offers
and will return home with adventurous tales
to share with their friends and families.
Destination El Paso takes great pride in its
efforts to market El Paso as a viable destination
as well as its ability to improve quality of life
opportunities for our citizens by hosting a
number of popular touring acts and free community
events. Visit El Paso and El Paso Live
are equally proud of the strong relationships
they have cultivated with numerous tourism
partners and concert promotors and look forward
to the great opportunities that lie ahead.
Above: El Paso skyline.
COURTESY OF BRIAN WANCHO PHOTOGRAPHY.
Below: El Paso Convention Center Campus.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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The El Paso County Coliseum, seating over 5,000 people,
features concerts, events, and El Paso’s own hockey team, The Rhinos.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
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The Marketplace
El Paso’s retail and commercial establishments
offer an impressive variety of choices
GECU ........................................................................................1 3 8
Stallion Boots & Leather Goods ......................................................1 4 1
Cattleman’s Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch ..................................1 4 2
Esperanto Developments ................................................................1 4 6
Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry Watches Art & Appraiser ...........................1 5 0
Workforce Solutions Borderplex ......................................................1 5 2
Barnett Harley-Davidson ...............................................................1 5 4
Crown Wealth Strategies ...............................................................1 5 6
EPCOM ......................................................................................1 5 8
Big Boy Concessions, Inc. ..............................................................1 6 0
dmDickason Personnel Services ......................................................1 6 2
Sun Bowl Association ....................................................................1 6 4
Sarabia’s Portable Jons & Blue Sanitation ........................................1 6 6
LegalShield Associates ..................................................................1 6 7
AJ’s Uniforms ..............................................................................1 6 8
Nickes Medical Supply, LLC ...........................................................1 6 9
Johnson Jewelers ..........................................................................1 7 0
Heriberto Ibarra Photography ........................................................1 7 1
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GECU
Above: Opening new accounts in the 1970s.
Below: GECU employees stand ready to
provide helpful, friendly service at a new
neighborhood branch.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
138
The story of GECU is a story of hope and
strength. It is a story about people helping
people, and planting the seeds for success
in times of great uncertainty and during
economic prosperity. GECU was founded on
the philosophy of “people helping people,”
putting the needs of members first and
foremost in all things.
GECU was founded in the basement of the
El Paso Federal Courthouse in 1932. In the
depths of the Great Depression, eleven men
pooled fifty-five dollars to form Federal
Employees Credit Union, later GECU. From
that humble beginning, GECU has grown
into El Paso’s largest locally-owned financial
institution, with twenty branches and over
330,000 members and $2 billion in assets
and growing.
In the beginning, GECU’s membership was
limited to government employees. Recognizing
a great need in the community
for local decision-making and
timely answers, GECU’s member
eligibility was expanded to
anyone who lives or works in
El Paso or Hudspeth Counties
and not more than twentyfive
miles from GECU’s Resler
branch. Today, an estimated
one out of three residents of
El Paso County are GECU
members. It is the largest locallyowned
financial institution in
the region and membership at GECU comes
with many benefits. Establishing membership
is simple; one share (twenty dollars) must be
deposited and maintained in an individual or
joint savings account.
The people helping people philosophy
remains at the heart of everything GECU
does. Products and services are built around
members’ lifestyles. It is this commitment to
the community that gives GECU its strength.
For eighty-three years, GECU has served
the El Paso community with one goal in
mind: to provide members with convenient,
superior financial products and services that
pave the way for financial freedom. Money
deposited at GECU stays in El Paso, where
it can be used to help the community grow.
As a member-owned institution, decisions
at GECU are made locally.
Members can rely on GECU to provide
for a variety of financial needs with a
wide range of financial goods and services.
For everyday purchases members can
choose from a variety of GECU debit card
designs including the official debit card
of the El Paso Chihuahuas for only five
dollars. With their debit card, members can
enjoy access to over 32,000 surcharge-free
ATMs nationwide and use real-time deposit
taking ATMs city-wide. GECU also offers
a Platinum MasterCard ® accepted all over
the world.
GECU is a local leader in auto and mortgage
lending, and began making business
loans in 2008. From buying your first car
to using your home equity for renovations,
GECU has a product for every stage of a
member’s life.

GECU is certified as a Community
Development Financial Institution (CDFI) by
the United States Department of Treasury.
Thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department
of Treasury, GECU began offering Fast Cash
in 2014. GECU Fast Cash is a loan product,
which helps members meet basic financial
needs and provides an alternative to predatory
lending. When a member receives a GECU
Fast Cash loan, they also receive information
about building a budget and ways to
improve their credit score. Timely payments
get reported to the credit bureau to help
members build their credit score to successfully
get out of the predatory lending cycle.
GECU’s ability to serve its members is
possible because decisions are made locally,
and members have come to appreciate the
fast, personal service GECU provides. In
addition to competitive and affordable
loans, GECU offers a variety of instruments
for savings. Money Market accounts, CDs,
IRAs and regular savings offer members the
ability to put their money towards their
goals. All products and services are backed
by friendly and expert GECU employees
who are able to connect members to the
best solution to their financial questions.
By putting people over profit, GECU is able
to serve the El Paso community and help it
grow, offering affordable, convenient financial
services to an expanding membership.
From the early days when members could
transact business by mail, with neighbors or
at staff member’s homes, to today’s mobile
and online banking, GECU has led the way
in providing personal, convenient service.
Building around members’ lifestyles, GECU
has expanded to every part of the El Paso area
with twenty branches and counting. By
adopting new technologies like Personal
Tellers that allow members to video conference
with a teller, or real-time deposit taking
ATMs, GECU is able to serve members’ needs
in more areas of the city and with expanded
hours—until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday
and 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays, than ever
before. Mobile and online banking puts
loan applications, deposits, and transfers at
members’ needs 24/7. GECU gives members
the access they need; anytime, anywhere.
GECU remains committed to its ideal of
“people helping people” by offering friendly,
expert service at branches, on the phone or
via Personal Tellers. It is not unusual to see
generations of members come to GECU to
talk with the same teller or loan officer, or to
drive all the way across town to do business at
a favorite branch. GECU is not just a place to
keep money; it is a part of the neighborhoods
and lives of the membership. Members are
not just customers; they own a share of the
credit union and elect its officials. GECU
belongs to its members, and exists to provide
Above: GECU’s Operations Center.
Below: The unveiling of the official
El Paso Chihuahuas debit card design.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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Above: Cheerleaders performing at the
grand opening of a new branch.
Below: GECU and UTEP partnered to
celebrate the university’s centennial with a
variety of events.
them the service, products, and education
they need to achieve financial independence.
It is not all checking, saving and loans
though. GECU shows its commitment to El
Paso by sponsoring community events and
raising money for a score of local charities.
GECU regularly raises funds for the United
Way and the Susan G. Komen Race for the
Cure. Regular financial education seminars
are held for members who wish to learn about
topics such as budgeting, home buying or getting
out of debt. Online videos offer members
free, convenient access to financial education
via the GECU website. Prosperus is a recent
initiative from GECU, providing free financial
education, tax preparation, and home purchase
assistance to the El Paso community.
Through the GECU Foundation, GECU
offers the R. C. Morgan Scholarship Endowment
Fund providing scholarships to outstanding
El Paso students who attend UTEP and major
in business administration. 2014 marked
UTEP’s 100th anniversary. GECU and UTEP
partnered to celebrate the university’s centennial
with a variety of events including the
Glory Road Glow Run, a nighttime 5k run
awash in neon lights. GECU has also collaborated
with the local Triple-A baseball team
to become the Official Credit Union of the
El Paso Chihuahuas to be the official financial
institution of the Triple-A baseball team.
GECU has also sponsored activities like the
Chalk The Block art festival and Neon Desert
Music Festival in Downtown El Paso. GECU
has taken an active role in supporting El Paso
at work and play; fostering education and
the arts, offering assistance and goodwill as
a continuation of the founder’s mission to be
“people helping people.”
As El Paso’s largest locally owned financial
institution, GECU is a financial cooperative
owned by members, for the service of the
members. Over the last eighty-three years,
many things have changed. Services have
expanded from making modest loans in
a rented basement office. A growing city
needs a strong financial institution. GECU
has met this challenge by continuously
expanding the products and services it
offers members, building itself around their
lifestyles. From 11 members and $55 dollars
to 330,000 plus members and $2 billion
in assets, GECU remains committed to
providing members convenient, superior
financial products and services that pave
the way for financial freedom.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
140

STALLION BOOTS &
LEATHER GOODS
When Bob Dylan sings his classic Man,
I Love Your Boots, he is not singing about
department store boots. He could be singing
about his custom-made handcrafted Stallion
boots. Madonna and Sylvester Stallone are
among other celebrity owners.
While Stallion Boots was begun in 1980
by designer and entrepreneur Pedro Muñoz,
he was just five years old when inspiration
came to him. His passion for designer
boots came to him in Northern Mexico in
Zaragoza while traveling to his family
ranch in the Sierra Madre Mountains. While
his family stopped in at a general store to
buy gas, he saw his first pair of boots.
While attending college at UTEP in 1974
he designed his first pair, working with
Mr. Martinez, a bootmaker in Juárez, Mexico.
Through collaboration they made what
would be his first designed pair of boots.
He then met Jose Gallegos and Plutarco
Rodriguez five years later, and through a
combination of their boot making
skills he was able to start Stallion Boot
& Belt Company, along with Annette
Lawrence (Muñoz), vice president of
Stallion, who helps to run all day-to-day
operations management.
Stallion Boots have an extraordinary
sense of style as each pair are made by
hand, with hours of skill craftsmanship
devoted to each and every pair. The company
fashions each pair after making a
mold (last) in the shape of a foot. The
craftsmen work wet leather, pulling it
over the last for a perfect fit. The bootmakers
work the pliable leather to gain
the right fit and look. All stitching is
done by hand. The “X-Toes” are done
with vegetable tanned leather, trimmed,
and formed by the experienced craftsmen.
A steel shank is used to support
the arch, making the boot unique. Rows
of lemon tree wooden pegs are handset,
helping to reinforce the area of the
shank. Finally, the boots are polished
and shined, given a final quality check, and
carefully wrapped in boxes for shipping. In
all, more than 140 steps go into creating
a basic handcrafted boot.
Stallion has more than 200 intricate patterns,
inlays, and materials. Stallion Boots
was built on excellent craftsmanship and
custom designs using exotic skins, welltanned
hides, prized metals, and precious
and semi-precious stones such as turquoise
and diamonds (special order.) Boots are
made from exotic leathers such as alligator,
crocodile, lizard, ostrich, caiman, and snake;
or smooth leathers like calf, kangaroo, and
kid. In addition, the company uses fossilized
walrus and mammoth ivory upon request.
Stallion Boots of El Paso, Texas, is an
American icon and definite fashion statement
of the more sophisticated customer who
values high quality, attention to detail, and
impeccable styling. According to Muñoz,
“They’re pure luxury!”
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CATTLEMAN’S
STEAKHOUSE
AT INDIAN
CLIFFS RANCH
Right: A vintage photograph of a cowboy
looking in the direction of Fabens, Texas,
with the Indian Cliffs Ranch in the
foreground.
Below: Welcome to Cattleman’s Steakhouse.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
142
“How could anybody start a restaurant
out in the middle of nowhere and expect to
succeed?’’ Located 35 miles from downtown
El Paso and approximately 6 miles north of
the small town of Fabens, the question was
asked 45 years ago quite often and is even
asked today time and again.
It all started when Dieter Gerzymisch,
who had immigrated from Germany in 1967
wanted to give a friend from Fabens, whom
he had gone with on quite a lot of outings to
look for Indian artifacts, a badly needed job.
So he purchased a livery stable in Hueco
Tanks with some 25 or so livery horses and
had his friend manage the business. Hueco
Tanks in those days was still owned by the
County of El Paso and had beautiful scenery,
numerous Indian pictographs and drawings,
pottery shards, and other Indian artifacts.
The Tigua Indians considered it sacred
grounds and José Sierra, the Tigua Indian,
lived there with his family in those years,
too. A 10% rent of sales from the riding business
was paid every month to the Tigua
Indian Elder.
In the fall of 1968, the El Paso County
Government donated Hueco Tanks to the
State of Texas as a historic site and it became
a State Park. The livery stable and horses had
to be moved. After a careful search for a
scenic and undisturbed riding area, a new
location was found below the “Indian Bluffs”
about 6 miles north of the Fabens-Carlsbad
Cut-off Road. There were no other houses
or buildings around as far as the eye could
see. To store the horse tack, a white wooden
container was brought on site and some
temporary horse corrals were built. Permanent
corrals and the “Cantina” building were started
on April 2, 1969, which is also considered
the founding date of Indian Cliffs Ranch.
The horse rental business grew by leaps
and bounds and some 125 horses were under
saddle after only a few years. Old fashioned
hayrides with Belgian Team Horses were
added and during the 1970s, these horses
even pulled the Queen’s Carriage during the
annual Sun Carnival Parade.
It became a necessity to provide a small
restaurant for the customers, since it was
just too far out in the middle of nowhere. A
restaurant building was started in 1972 and
the Cattleman’s Steakhouse opened in May of

1973 with 50 seats in the Ranch Room and a
bar in the Saddle Room. The operation of the
restaurant was leased out for the first year and
a half but then management was taken back
on January 1, 1975.
The November 1973 issue of the El Paso
Kaleidoscope magazine with Paul J. Strelzin
as director of publications and well-known
writer Wayne McClintock stated that the
2-pound “Cowboy” T-Bone steak without
tail and no gristle sold for $7 and a Chivas
Regal sold for $1. To rent a horse cost $2
for the first hour and $1.50 for each hour
thereafter. Unfortunately, the horse rental
business had to be discontinued in 1982 due
to liability problems.
In the summer of 1978, the Garden Room
and the Greenhouse, including 180 seats,
were added on because waiting lines had just
become too long. The addition was completed
in exactly four weeks.
Today, the Cattleman’s Steakhouse at
Indian Cliffs Ranch has over 600 seats and
customers come not only from all over the
United States, but also from all over the
world, as is evident from the guest book.
Cattleman’s Steakhouse has been voted
“Best Steak” by the readers of the El Paso Times
and the readers of What’s Up every single year.
The Travel Channel in “Steak Paradise,” which
aired first in 2008, listed Cattleman’s as one of
the best steakhouses in the entire country.
Men’s Health magazine asked its readers in
2012 to vote for the “Manliest Steakhouse in
America.” Their readers from all over the
country named Cattleman’s as the “Manliest
Steakhouse”. The steakhouse has received
favorable mention or praise from many other
sources over the years, too numerous to
mention. To avoid any confusion there are
many, many Cattleman’s Steakhouses all
over the country, often spelled differently
by just one letter. However, this steakhouse
is not affiliated with any other Cattleman’s
or Cattlemen’s.
Guests can tour the ranch grounds before
or after dinner. A small zoo has rabbits, goats,
prairie dogs, llamas, longhorns, buffalo and
deer. An old fashioned playground, “Fort
Apache”, and an Indian Maze are favorites of
the younger ones. On Sundays, the steakhouse
guests can take a 45-minute hayride to
the “Pioneer House” and the movie set from
“Courage Under Fire” free of charge. To learn
more about the movies filmed at the ranch
visit www.CattlemansSteakhouse.com.
The atmosphere in the steakhouse is “casual
western”. You’ll find Remington bronzes,
western saddles and tack, Indian pottery and
rugs, and a wide assortment of western memorabilia.
There are also two large walls full of
posters and photos of actors and scenes of
Above: Our award-winning and nationally
recognized menu offerings.
Left: A great meal is just the tip of the
iceberg. Give yourself plenty of time to
explore Indian Cliffs Ranch.
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Right: A typically breathtaking sunset at
Cattleman’s Steakhouse.
Below: Sunday guests can take a free 45-
minute hayride and visit the movie set of
“Courage Under Fire” that starred Denzel
Washington and includes the helicopter that
Meg Ryan “flew” in.
movies filmed on the ranch over the past
35 years. Right next to the main entrance of
the restaurant is a small museum of two
horse-drawn caissons, an extremely rare
horse-drawn tool-wagon and a large cannon
from General Pershing’s pursuit of Pancho
Villa just after the turn of the last century.
On some evenings you may even see
several wild coyotes come up to the windows
of the Garden Room in the steakhouse to feed
on the scraps which the meat cutters have left
for them.
Don’t forget your camera and take a journey
back in time to see the beautiful Southwest
as it really was. There is a large collection of
antique horse-drawn wagons all over the
ranch grounds just below the restaurant. Many
guests spend a few hours on the unique, historic
Mission Trail nearby and its beautiful old
churches. Then they take the 20-minute drive
to the Cattleman’s for a memorable meal. By
the way, the sunsets are really breathtaking.
The ranch grounds are also home to five
special events facilities for weddings, banquets,
company picnics, seminars, you name
it, with capacities from 25 to 4,000+ guests.
Some years ago, Arnold Schwarzenegger
and his family came to attend the wedding
of their nanny at the Cantina. The nanny came
from the El Paso-Juárez area and wanted
her wedding at the Cantina facility with
steaks catered from the Cattleman’s. Arnold
Schwarzenegger flew into El Paso with his wife
and children, rented an SUV and drove his
family out to the Cattleman’s.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
144

As the name says, Cattleman’s Steakhouse
is located at Indian Cliffs Ranch. Just like the
restaurant, the ranch started with a humble
5 acres in the fall of 1968. Today, Indian
Cliffs Ranch has about 55 square miles under
fence and raises Brangus Cattle. Contrary to
popular belief, the ranch does not provide
the beef for the restaurant. The steakhouse
beef originates mostly out of Nebraska and
is then prepared for restaurant use by their
own meat cutters on the premises.
Indian Cliffs Ranch has a lot of history, too.
The San Antonio Stagecoach route crosses the
ranch just a mile south of the restaurant and
there was an old stagecoach station built out
of adobe brick at San Felipe County Park,
many years back.
The Butterfield Overland Mail also used
the San Antonio Stagecoach route for a few
months in 1858. This route was known as
the “Southern Route” and the stagecoaches
carried mail and passengers across the rugged
terrain of mountains and desert.
Two years ago, Indian Cliffs Ranch purchased
the remaining acreage of the legendary
Slaughterville Ranch to the east. This history
rich tract also contains the main Slaughterville
Headquarters from around 1900.
The Cattleman’s Steakhouse and Indian
Cliffs Ranch today have about 140 employees
which carry out the company motto: “Good
Food! At a profit, if we can, at a loss, if we
must! But always good food!”
For more information about Cattleman’s
Steakhouse and Indian Cliffs Ranch, please
visit www.CattlemansSteakhouse.com.
Above: Our managers (from left to right):
Ranch Foreman José Vega has been with the
company since 1972; Vice President Marc
Gerzymisch has been with the company
since 2001; Kitchen Manager Ben Sanchez,
has been with the company since 1985;
and Production and Purchasing Manager
Javier Enriquez has been with the company
since 1976.
Left: José Vega tending to Brangus cattle on
the Indian Cliffs Ranch with the restaurant
in the background.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 4 5

ESPERANTO
DEVELOPMENTS
The award-winning team at Esperanto
Developments in El Paso provides professional
hospitality management services. Esperanto’s
properties and clients are located in eight
cities and two states, with additional projects
expected to come online soon.
Feeling that time is life’s richest currency,
the experts at Esperanto Developments
provide services designed to help clients
bridge the gap between risk and reward,
bring far-fetched opportunities closer to arm’s
reach, and provide the tools and confidence
to help grasp bigger and bolder projects.
Intrigued by the firm’s unusual name,
many ask what “Esperanto” means.
According to company President Madhi Nair,
Esperanto is a unique language that was
designed to be easy to learn and was
developed with the noble intention of
connecting people from all walks of life. In
this language, Esperanto means “hopeful
one.” This is why the company and its
employees like to think of themselves
as “Esperantos.”
The growing team at Esperanto
Developments provides cross-functional
support, with full service hospitality experience
in a variety of markets. The Esperanto team
now encompasses a burgeoning group of
talented professionals and this strength and
diversity is available to support its cohorts in
the hospitality industry.
Esperanto’s centralized accounting and
financial services include assistance with
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
146

udgets, accounts payable, accounts receivable,
daily revenue reporting, general ledger
reporting, and preparation of financial statements
and bank reconciliation.
Food and beverage services include creating
F&B profits in an area that has historically
sustained losses; help with marketing and
events, cost control and analysis, and creation
of partnerships with local F&B market leaders.
Clients benefit from such sales and
marketing skills as Esperanto’s “Pound the
Pavement” campaign, where relationships are
built outside—in the community—not in the
sales office. Other sales and marketing tools
provided by Esperanto include competitive
analysis, creative marketing and regional
on-site support.
The human resources services provided by
Esperanto include recruiting, screening and
hiring, training and employment development
programs and benefits, risk management, and
insurance administration.
Esperanto is also involved in hotel
development, offering general contracting,
interior design, PIP consultants, budget and
cost analysis renovations and repositioning.
Esperanto Developments current portfolio
includes: Best Western Plus Airport, Comfort
Inn Airport, and Motel 6 in El Paso, Texas;
Candlewood Suites in Monahans, Texas; Best
Western Inn and Holiday Inn Express in
Snyder, Texas; Holiday Inn Apex in Vail,
Colorado; Holiday Inn Express, Candlewood
Suites, and La Quinta in Abilene, Texas;
Baymont Inn in Snyder, Texas, and Staybridge
Suites in Plano, Texas.
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Esperanto was founded in 2013 by Nair.
Esperanto’s vision stretched extensively in
2013 when the company acquired over six
properties within the IHG, Wyndham,
Choice and La Quinta brands. Now in 2015,
they celebrate another new property in Plano,
Texas—the Staybridge Suites.
Esperanto is led by a group of talented and
experienced executives including President
and CEO Nair and Chief Development
Officer Bharat D. Bhakta.
Often regarded as the go-to person for
complex operational takeovers and transitions,
Nair has pioneered sustainable growth for
many companies from their infancy stage
through assistance in making complex business
decisions, improving the work ethic and
helping establish impeccable accounting
procedures. Nair empowers his team with the
efficacious philosophy of leading by example
and is committed to the philosophy that
“a happy team is a productive team.” He
invests in a wide range of life enrichment
programs such as fitness, counseling, financial
incentives and community outreach.
Bhakta is an inspiring and unrelenting
entrepreneur who has constructed several
multimillion dollar companies since arriving
in the U.S. in 1969. Bharat’s long track record
of picking undervalued assets and turning
them around is bolstered by strong leadership
and mentoring skills, which motivate a growing
team of talented professionals.
Other key members of the Esperanto
team include: Vice President of Operations
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
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Hotel Revenue Manager Sanjiv Shah handles
contracting and hotel revenue projects; Area
Manager, West Texas Region Manish Kanji
is responsible for three hotel major brands
offering his continuous support at each
property on a daily basis.
The team at Esperanto Developments feels
the success of their projects comes from the
conceptual design of each of its properties.
Esperanto focuses on every single detail to
make sure the team embraces Esperanto
Developments working philosophy.
Vicki Castellanos superintends the companies
entire operations conduits; Regional
Director of Operations-West Texas Robin Pence
oversees five major brand hotels in the West
Texas region by providing on-site support
to the hotels day-to-day operations; Director
of Human Resources Martha Aragon-Garcia
is responsible of all HR facets, to include:
benefits, hiring, training and payroll; Brand
Manager Mauro Pina-Romero takes the lead
in social media monitoring, reputation
management, brand standards and internal
communications; Corporate Controller Teresa
Sandoval oversees the centralized accounting
division handling all accounting and financial
phases; Regional Director of Sales Rene Baz
is actively involved with each property
overseeing their sales strategies and the
execution of aggressive sales goals; Area
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 4 9

SUSAN EISEN
FINE JEWELRY
WATCHES ART
& APPRAISER
Above: Clients enjoying the opening of a
regional art exhibit in the Gallery at
Susan Eisen.
Below: Susan Eisen is located in the Century
Plaza, a convenient west side strip center
with parking in front. Her store includes
an art gallery, an accredited gemological
laboratory and a full service workshop for
manufacturing and designing fine jewelry.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
150
Susan Eisen, at age five, put her talent to the
test by learning to watercolor instead of playing
in the sandbox or making mud pies like many
children her age. Her parents realized her
potential early, encouraging her to pursue her
dream of art. She has done just that and more!
Born and raised in El Paso, she knew from
the time she picked up a crayon that she
dreamed of being an artist. Not only has she
accomplished that dream, but has ventured
into business ownership as an artist, author,
goldsmith, and jewelry designer—without
financial assistance. Today, she is widely
acclaimed for her work in those fields.
As a young woman entering a career that,
previously she had only dreamed about,
she entered The University of Texas-El Paso
(UTEP) as a Bachelor of Fine Arts student
where she polished her skills and expanded
her horizon when she found a love for design,
soldering, and cutting metal, and forming
sheets and gemstones into one-of-a-kind
jewelry. Susan fell in love with jewelry-making
when professors, Wiltz Harrison and Rachelle
Thiewes, taught her what they knew about
working with metals.
While in her senior year, she ventured into
the world of jewelry design with very little
business experience; and, only her hands
(combined with quality metals and gemstones)
to guide her. She took over one year old Tiara
Jewelry and Gallery, her first retail jewelry
store/art gallery in May 1980. It was a small,
1920s office-turned-shop in El Paso’s Art
Museum District. Susan says, “I spent days
alone in the store, dreaming, designing, and
fabricating my own pieces in gold and silver,
and the next few years learning the trade,
working with customers, exhibiting art shows,
and finding out what I needed to learn about
the jewelry industry, in general.” She adds,
“Most jewelry stores are run by families who
have inherited the business from their parents
and grandparents and already know the
business operations.” She, though, needed
to learn and become a proficient businesswoman.
“It definitely was a labor of love and
still is today,” she adds, “my labor is my love;
and the hours spent at the store feel like an
artist creating in his/her studio.”
She knew right away she treasured jewelry
design and wanted to become more
knowledgeable in gemology, the study of
gemstones. That is when she enrolled in classes
at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) in
California. Just walking though the Institutes’
buildings helped her realize that she was in
the place in her life where she would remain
forever, learning about beautiful gemstones and
their properties. Just learning about her passion
only whetted her appetite for more. After receiving
her graduate gemologist diploma, she found

herself building a love for the colors and shapes
found in gemstones. “I continue to learn
something new about gemstones and design
every day,” she says. “It is imperative to keep
up-to-date with industry trends with reference
to fashion, design, preferred metals, and
gemstones.” In the meantime, she has become
more astute through attendance at conferences
and seminars at running a successful business
while gaining more industry knowledge.
During her career, she has applied for, and
received eleven trademarks and one design
patent for her creations, and has pursued their
manufacture and marketing. She has branched
out to carry well-known brands other than her
own. She now carries jewelry by top designers,
as well as top name brand watches.
She spends many hours with day-to-day
operations, hiring and training personnel,
handling finances, ordering products, and
meeting customer needs. While that sometimes
takes precedence over jewelry design, she still
finds time to read industry magazines and
journals. It was while reading one that she
came up with the idea of writing a book about
jewelry. She published Crazy about Jewelry—
The Expert Guide to Buying, Selling, and Caring
For Your Jewelry in 2007 and The Myth of The
Million Dollar Dishrag-An Effective and Powerful
Plan to Avoid a Family Inheritance Battle After
You Die in 2011. That is when she realized her
love of creating was not going to take a back
seat to running the jewelry business.
For over thirty-five years, Susan Eisen Fine
Jewelry & Watches has grown from a small,
one-person jewelry and art gallery to a major
player in the industry. She has been named
“Woman Retailer of the Year” by the Women’s
Jewelry Association, “Top 19 America’s Best
Jewelers” by National Jeweler Magazine, and
“Best of the Best Jeweler in El Paso” for eleven
years in a row.
She further added to those accolades when
her custom-designed diamond ear climbers
were shown and worn at the August 2014
Emmy Awards by Lauren Parsekian, wife of
Emmy Award winner Aaron Paul for his role in
Breakin’ Bad and on stage at the 2015 Screen
Actor’s Guild Awards by Julie Lake winner of
the award for her role in Orange is the New
Black. Other stars wore her diamond creations
on the red carpet at the 2015 Academy Awards
and she plans to continue styling for the stars.
Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry, Watches, Art, &
Appraiser is located in El Paso at 5857
North Mesa, Suite 19, and her work can be
seen at www.susaneisen.com, www.lifetag.com,
and www.susaneisencouturejewelry.com or by
calling 915-584-0022.
Above: Susan Eisen posing behind the
beautiful things she sells...vintage sterling,
her books about jewelry, handcrafted
jewelry by American artists and fine
Swiss watches.
Below: As one of the ways she gives back to
the community, Susan advises upcoming
UTEP art metal graduates on how to be
successful in the art jewelry business.
Lower left is Rachelle Thiewes, one of
her colleagues and previous professors in
art metals.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 5 1

WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS BORDERPLEX
Workforce Solutions Borderplex is a
regional nonprofit that provides workforce
services to job seekers and businesses in a
six-county region along the U.S.-Mexico border
from El Paso to east of Presidio County.
As one of twenty-eight workforce boards
in Texas, Workforce Solutions Borderplex’s
mission is to provide skilled workers to
employers by advancing education, employment,
entrepreneurship and economic development
opportunities in support of global
competitiveness and regional prosperity.
Since its inception in 1998, Workforce
Solutions Borderplex has gone through many
stages in its development, including several
name changes. One-Stop career centers such
as Workforce began in the late 1990s when
then-President Clinton signed the Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) into law. This helped
reform the previous federal job training
program into a new, comprehensive system.
The organization, which currently encompasses
nine locations and was previously
known as Private Industry Council, Upper
Rio Grande at Work and Workforce Solutions
Upper Rio Grande, has kept its founding
principles constant—a strong vision of service
to the community coupled with a focus on
social and economic development.
The organization provides a level of assistance
not available elsewhere in the region,
primarily because the services are available at
absolutely no cost to the user. Those seeking
employment can benefit from job search and
placement assistance, career counseling and
training, along with other job preparation
activities. Free access to computers, Internet,
phones and faxes are made available, ensuring
that job seekers have all the tools necessary
for a successful job search. Friendly and
qualified staff is always on hand to provide
assistance with job referrals, résumé preparation,
transportation assistance and more.
WorkinTexas.com is the job bank used to help
qualified jobseekers find jobs.
For those in transition, including workers
who have been laid off or displaced, support
services such as counseling to assess financial
aid eligibility is available. Workforce Solutions
Borderplex also assists qualifying families who
require childcare in order to work or attend
school or training by providing childcare
subsidies. Workforce Solutions Borderplex
Child Care Services (CCS) are available to
qualifying families residing in Brewster,
Culberson, El Paso, Hudspeth, Jeff Davis, and
Presidio Counties.
For employers, Workforce Solutions
Borderplex is uniquely positioned to understand
the challenges of doing business in the
tri-state, bi-national region. The organization
is able to assist with an array of business
services, including testing, recruitment, and
aiding in the organization of special job fairs.
Business owners can also benefit from job
postings, recruitment screening and testing,
as well as aid in applying for grants with the
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
152

Texas Workforce Commission in order to help
their current employees upgrade their skills.
In addition, Workforce Solutions Borderplex
can make available work experience funds,
which will allow employees in a trainee
status to be paid for up to six months while
becoming acclimated with their environment.
Workforce Solutions Borderplex offers several
initiatives to increase outreach to the
community. Quarterly industry-driven hiring
fairs, tailored around hiring seasons, help to
connect job seekers and employers in healthcare,
information, government, agricultural,
retail, manufacturing and other sectors. In
addition, these events will incorporate a
new program called “Ticket to Success,” which
ensures job seekers are prepared in advance of
fairs by providing such tools as interview
skills development and resources such as
business attire and grooming vouchers.
Workforce also provides support to veterans,
including Red White and You (RWY),
a statewide coordinated hiring event targeted
to assist veterans transitioning into the
workforce. In addition, specialized job fairs
and job postings geared toward veterans
and their families shows Workforce Solution
Borderplex’s commitment to those who have
served their country and are fully prepared
to move on to new chapters in their lives.
Workforce does not only help job seekers
and employers, however. The nonprofit also
spearheads programs geared toward future
members of the workforce. Breaking Barriers
is a youth-based program specifically focused
on the empowerment of young people with
disabilities. In 2015, Workforce provided
work experience to fifty-eight Breaking
Barriers participants. Workforce also has
participated in creating the STEM Fiesta and
STEM challenge. These events, geared toward
middle and high school students in the
region, highlighted opportunities in the science,
technology, engineering and mathematics
fields. In addition, the Future Workforce
Pipleline provides “real work” opportunities
for qualified college students in order to
build a better-prepared and skilled workforce
within their degree fields.
Large companies such as Western Refining
and Prudential as well as small, locally owned
businesses have sought help from Workforce
in order to find the best-suited candidates for
open positions. The organization aims to raise
awareness of Workforce Solutions Borderplex
and the resources they provide, letting the
public know that Workforce is not just a
system for persons on social services or those
experiencing unemployment.
Workforce Solutions Borderplex has been
recognized by the Texas Workforce Commission
for its outstanding commitment to the community
and has earned awards for its innovative
approaches with job seekers and employers.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 5 3

BARNETT
HARLEY-DAVIDSON
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
154
Sherman Barnett’s journey from a childhood
of picking cotton in the fields of Missouri to
owning the largest Harley-Davidson dealership
in the world is a movie-worthy tale of grit,
determination and hard work, as well as a testament
to the idea that sometimes the biggest
rewards come from the greatest risks.
From the age of nine, Barnett’s father
allowed him to work on cars, which
ignited a lifelong passion. After graduating
high school in 1954, Barnett headed
to Flint, Michigan, working at a body
shop while attending GM Tech. Here, he
quickly learned that automotive assembly
was not the part of the business in
which he most wanted to be involved.
Around this time, Barnett was called
into the Army, went through basic
training with Elvis Presley and landed
what he thought was a prime post in the
communications platoon. After just one
day of cleaning flashlights, Barnett, with
a hint of the daring that would mark
his later endeavors, cornered the first
sergeant and asked for a job that was
more worthy of his talents.
“Soldier, can you type?” the sergeant
asked, slightly taken aback.
“The best you’ve ever seen,” came
Barnett’s reply.
The sergeant asked him to come back the
next day for a typing test. Barnett immediately
rented a typewriter, practiced all night and
passed the test, eventually serving two years
far away from the flashlights.
After his stint in the military, Barnett moved
to St. Louis to try his hand at selling cars. He
had learned a great deal in the military, and
his passion for cars still burned bright. Barnett
began a stint at a large dealership working for a
management company that specialized in reorganizing
failing car lots. After being transferred
to several lots, Barnett found himself in Denver,
and finally, in El Paso in the fall of 1961.
He was not impressed. El Paso seemed
poised at the end of the world, a barren desert
outpost that made Barnett miss the greener
climes of Colorado and Missouri. He immediately
called his boss and threatened to quit if
the company could not offer a transfer. The
boss promised that as soon as a replacement
was found, Barnett could leave the city. A week
later, Barnett had changed his mind, saying,
“I love these people. They’re the best people on
earth. I want to spend the rest of my life here.”
For the next six years, Barnett worked at a
car lot owned by Bob Goldberg. Goldberg was
so impressed with Barnett’s work ethic that he
gifted him the El Paso Auction car lot, which
Barnett then owned for seventeen years,
before selling the business.
In 1972 a Yamaha franchise became available,
and Barnett applied for it, opening an
8,000 square foot store, which was then
the largest dealership in the U.S. Five years
later, Barnett’s friend Al Jones offered him the
Harley-Davidson dealership, signing over the
business. At the time, Harley-Davidson was
struggling, producing a low-quality product,
and Jones was tired of fielding customer complaints.
Barnett himself was a fan of Japanese
bikes, racing his Yamahas every weekend.
He did not even sit on a Harley for the first
three years of owning the business.
Barnett’s first Harley shop was located on
Montana and only sold a few motorcycles
a month, but Barnett sensed the business
held great promise. He sold all his other
businesses—the car lots, two Yamaha shops,
and a bicycle store—to give his full attention
to the Harley-Davidson dealership.

Barnett ran that store for seven
years, meeting his wife Christy in
the process. In 1996, one of Barnett’s
friends tried to convince him to
move to a location off of the freeway,
but the Harley-Davidson factory
was so concerned about how large
the space was, they made Barnett
sign a letter taking all responsibility
should the business fail.
Barnett Harley-Davidson did not
fail—it thrived. What started out as
a shop with five employees now has
grown to be the highest volume
Harley-Davidson store in the world.
The business employs 120 people,
and features tens of thousands of
square feet of retail space selling everything
from hundreds of new and used bikes, parts,
clothing and Harley-Davidson merchandise.
Barnett also owns two car lots, stores in
Las Cruces and at the El Paso International
Airport as well as two other motorcycle
shops and Barnett’s Magazine, a resource for
fans of Harley-Davidson.
Barnett, now in his eighties, is still passionate
about cars and motorcycles, racing
700-horsepower cars in his spare time. His
son Mark runs day-to-day operations, but
Sherman still takes care of customers when
he can. Not only an astute businessman,
Barnett has also been active in the community
as a fifty-two year member of a Rotary
Club, which has gifted over a half million
dollars to various charities in recent years.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 5 5

CROWN WEALTH
STRATEGIES
Elizabeth Dipp Metzger, CFP (center) for
Crown Wealth Strategies.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
156
Elizabeth Metzger, owner of Crown Wealth
Strategies, a wealth-management firm providing
high-net-worth clients with investment
and insurance strategies, may manage over a
quarter of a billion dollars in client assets, but
that is not the aspect of her business that
gives her the most satisfaction.
Nationally recognized in her field, Metzger
is driven by the positive impact she has on
the community and on the lives of future
generations. Crown Wealth Strategies offers
planning in retirement, education, business,
estate and charitable giving. The business
specializes in giving independent working
professionals, business owners and physicians
personalized, holistic approaches to their
financial planning needs.
“What I dislike about advisors that don’t
look at their clients comprehensively is that
they act as though somehow everyone is
going to save for twenty years, and at the end
of twenty years, they are going to retire with
no health problems. They’re going to live
another twenty years, and then they’re going
to magically die the day that everything was
all supposed to happen. And life doesn’t work
like that,” Metzger says.
“That’s the problem with any of these plans:
it’s that is people don’t see the overall viewpoint.
My value is to say, let’s look at tax contingencies,
let’s look at the risk, let’s look at the
distribution—let’s look at it all together and
try to make life easier for the transitions, and
make any risks that are out there acceptable.”
As an advisor, Metzger and her dedicated
team provide clients with an integrated
investment and insurance strategy focused on
the best solution for each client throughout
the course of his or her lifetime. Metzger
achieves this by building long-term relationships
and conducting every client interaction
with honesty, integrity and the clients’ best
interests at heart.
Metzger’s quick trajectory to the top of her
field has been astounding. In 2008, Metzger,
then pregnant with her third child, would
often stop in to visit her husband, who had
recently begun working at the local New York
Life branch. She was at the offices so often,
helping him with a variety of tasks, when she
was eventually offered a job.
That was only the beginning. In 2010,
Metzger started her own firm, and began
collecting the accolades. She is proud to be
an agent of New York Life, a company with a
solid and longstanding reputation of financial
strength. Additionally, she is a Registered
Investment Advisor with Eagle Strategies LLC,
which allows her to take advantage of
additional planning approaches to best help
her clients reach their goals. Metzger also
is a member agent of the Nautilus Group ® ,

an exclusive resource for a select group of
approximately 230 insurance professionals
that helps to design advanced estate conservation
and business continuation strategies. The
Nautilus Group ® provides innovative financial
ideas and approaches for clients of member
agents as well as the clients’ advisors.
Metzger is ranked in the top 100 of New
York Life’s 14,000 financial advisors, and
is their highest producing Latina agent of
all time. In addition, in 2011 and 2012, she
was recognized as New York Life chairman’s
council agent, which is a measure of her
achievement as one of the highest-producing
agents at New York Life.
Metzger received the National Association
of Insurance and Financial Advisors (NAIFA)
“Four Under Forty” Award as Outstanding
Advisor in 2013. Not only is she the first
El Pasoan to receive this prestigious national
recognition, she is one of only two Texans to
ever receive the award, and the first female
in Texas to receive it.
Metzger’s primary goal with Crown Wealth
Strategies is to create a positive difference in
her clients’ lives. Before becoming a financial
advisor, Metzger was involved in real estate
development, running her own company as
well as family businesses, and has extensive
knowledge in estate distribution. Her expertise
in the business world allows her to see how
strategic solutions work in a real-world setting,
giving her a distinct advantage over her
peers. She understands the importance of setting
long-term goals to help others live their
best lives now, while preparing for the future.
Metzger is a board certified financial
planner (CFP) and has obtained a Master
of Science in financial services from The
American College. In addition, she holds
an Accredited Estate Planner Tax and Estate
Planning Certificate (AEP) from The American
College. Metzger is also active in the community,
and serves on the boards of United Way,
Young President’s Organization and Paso del
Norte Children’s Development Center.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 5 7

EPCOM
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
158
By the late 1970s, a huge demand for
American-made technology equipment
appeared in Mexico. During that time,
doing business with American vendors was
not easy for Mexican companies as Mexican
customs required specialized invoices and
requirements that no vendor would provide.
El Paso Communication Systems, Inc.,
(EPCOM) owner, Jorge A. Saad, an electronic
engineer and radio amateur, saw an emerging
market for the growing communications
technology field that was hovering on the
horizon, he took advantage of this great
opportunity by exporting the equipment and,
in 1984, El Paso Communication Systems,
Inc., doing business as “EPCOM” was
established at Paisano Drive to fulfill those
needs. Company sales rocketed during the
first years of operation.
He incorporated the business on 1987.
Initially, EPCOM shared a strong business
relationship with Uniden, a two-way radio
manufacturer in Dallas; Maxrad, an antenna
manufacturer in Chicago; and RFI, a coaxial
cable-and-connectors manufacturer in
San Diego, among others. With those
relationships, it was not long until EPCOM
was selling to customers in northern Mexico
and, eventually, throughout Mexico. EPCOM
quickly learned about exporting, filing the
correct forms/paper work, and helping clients
to import to Mexico. These clients were
mainly two way radio dealers and integrators,
who used to resell the equipment to end
users, like government, construction companies,
hotels, police corporations, schools, etc.
On the Mexican side, he founded Syscom,
a Mexican company, with headquarters in
Chihuahua City, and later ten branches in the
rest of the country.
Motorola (Schaumburg, Illinois) offered its
radios to be commercialized through EPCOM to
Mexico. Motorola was soon the leading brand in
Mexico. Later, dealers in South America began
purchasing the brand from EPCOM.
EPCOM, by 1996, was the major Motorola
two-way radio distributor for South America,
Central America and Mexico; however, in
November that manufacturer canceled the
distribution agreement with no explanation.
While the company suffered financial loss the
following years, EPCOM sought other income
sources, and began doing business with
Kenwood Radios of Atlanta. Kenwood is a
manufacturer that has a reliable reputation for
audio gear; but, was unknown in the two-way
radio industry (at least in the Americas market.)
The company also signed a distribution
agreement with Icom Radios in Seattle.
Following that, the company experienced
four to five years of revenue loss, but
remained optimistic because of EPCOM’s previous
clients. Those clients were instrumental
in pushing EPCOM’s products to end-users.
The company was able to convince the
radio dealers to switch to Kenwood and
Icom when it opened a 2,000 square foot
warehouse in Miami near the airport. That
facilitated easier freight and export to Latin
America, which has been a lucrative market.
In addition, EPCOM opened an independent
branch in Santiago de Chile, but sold to a
Chilean partner in 2008, realizing that it was
not as profitable as initially evaluated. They
found that end-users prefer to do business
through distributors and integrators in their
own country.

The twenty-first century began a new
growth era for EPCOM. Sales increased with
newer technology. EPCOM informed their
vendors what the industry needed and what
clients preferred in Latin America.
EPCOM has been a major exhibitor at
International Wireless Communication Expo
(IWCE) in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1994. The
company’s presence has positioned it in the
worldwide market for two-way radios and
other technology equipment. In fact, the show
has enabled EPCOM to reach countries like
Kazakhstan, Russia, Mongolia, and South
Africa with the radios, although it focused its
marketing in South America, Central America
and the Caribbean.
By 2005 the company was recognized as
the largest two-way radio distributor and
exporter to Latin America; and has since
diversified to include other products required
by its direct clients, high tech integrators,
dealers, and installers, located mainly in
foreign countries. Among these products
are professional surveillance cameras and
recorders, wireless computer networks,
emergency police systems, access control
systems, as well as other high tech products
and accessories. EPCOM branded cameras,
DVRs, and many other high tech communication
equipment is made in China, Korea
and Taiwan by the very best manufacturers
in the world.
In the U.S. domestic market, throughout
the years, EPCOM has developed a successful
supply chain with two kinds of resellers:
domestic dealers, which are dealers who sell
only to U.S. end-users; and export dealers,
who are small resellers located at the border
on the U.S. side, as well as being located in
other traditional export cities such as New
York, Houston, San Diego, and Miami. The
latter have signed an export agreement with
EPCOM and sell to other countries.
EPCOM’s headquarters are located at 1630
East Paisano Drive in El Paso, with a 29,000
square foot building, and also with a 40,000
square foot branch in Doral, Florida, near
the Miami International Airport, and one in
San Diego, convenient for customers that
prefer the west coast for supplying purposes
to the California and Nevada markets.
EPCOM’s success is not a secret. It is the
result of many years of hard work always
focused in customers’ total satisfaction proven
by years of excellent personalized service and
high quality products. Training its clients on
the newest technologies is its best investment.
Today, EPCOM employs ninety talented
professionals that are continuously receiving
training with every employee recognizing that
the key to continuing in this business is
providing extraordinary customer service.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 5 9

BIG BOY
CONCESSIONS,
INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
160
Big Boy Ice Cream and Fruitiki, Inc. have
become legendary in El Paso and their fame
is spreading throughout Texas, Arizona, and
New Mexico. The supercharged entrepreneur
behind the success of the popular products
is Daniel Morales, who began learning the
business as a child. His children are now
helping carry on the family tradition.
Big Boy Ice Cream was started in 1955
by Daniel’s father, Cristino Morales. The
youngest of Cristino and Victoria’s eleven
children, Daniel was a go-getter practically
from birth. He loved to ride along with his
father, learning the vending business from
the ground up and helping his father sell
from a pushcart.
At age fifteen, Daniel was selling ice cream
from a Cushman motor scooter at Fort Bliss,
outselling two of his brothers combined.
He got his own ice cream truck when he was
sixteen and spent his teenage years working
with his father and learning the business
by helping in the warehouse or working on
a vending route. Cristino sold fruit on his ice
cream routes in the winter and Daniel was
always along to help.
Daniel married the love of his life, Rosa, in
1973 and his father co-signed a loan to help
him open his own Big Boy Ice Cream business
in Las Cruces. Before long, Daniel had a
fleet of ice cream trucks serving southern
New Mexico.
Daniel sold his Las Cruces business in
1979 and moved home to El Paso. When his
father passed away, Daniel bought out the
company and took over operations. He also
decided to help others by selling concession
stand products and renting carts to those
wanting to own their own businesses.
Daniel and Rosa’s children: Daniel, Jr.,
Lorena, Norma, and Victor (from oldest to
youngest) were raised in the business and
all are involved in the company today. Norma
Tena is vice president of Big Boy Concessions
in El Paso; Victor Morales is vice president of
Fruitiki, Inc., which makes and sells millions
of fruit bars each year; Daniel Morales Jr.,
operates and owns his own branch
in Phoenix and Tucson, distributing
in all of Arizona; and Lorena Gonzalez
has a branch in Albuquerque. Both
Arizona and New Mexico operate as
Big Boy Ice Cream, the company’s
original name.
Big Boy Concessions, which operates
from a 10,000 square foot
building at 2309 Bassett Avenue in
Central El Paso, supplies more than
a thousand ice cream and food
trucks, mom-and-pop stores and
school fundraising groups with
snacks and ice cream.
Big Boy Concessions sells to vendors
and consumers from its distribution
center and store on Bassett Street and in its
modern, 25,000 square foot facility at 11445
Rojas Street. The company will soon open
branches in Lubbock and Odessa.
Big Boy is a Wells Blue Bunny Ice Cream
distributor for West Texas, New Mexico,
and Arizona for the vending and DSD channel.
It distributes well-known brands such as

Coca-Cola, Barcel, Frito-Lay, Reddy Ice and its
own Big Boy brand of chicharrines, popcorn,
cotton candy and other snacks.
The company’s 13,000 square foot Fruitiki
factory at 2211 Texas Avenue produces more
than 4 million Mexican-style paletas—or fruit
bars—annually. The frozen treats, in twenty
flavors with chunks of fruit, are sold in
convenience stores, small grocery stores
and Walgreen’s stores in nine states and will
be sold in 400 Walmart stores throughout
Texas starting in 2016.
In recognition of the firm’s many years of
success, Big Boy was named the “Regional
and Family-Owned Business of the Year”
by the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of
Commerce in 2014. The company has also
earned many other awards, including the
McDonald’s Hispanic Trunfador Award and
the Manufacturer of the Year Award
from the El Paso Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce.
Daniel believes in giving back
to the community he loves and
provides nonprofit organizations
such as churches, schools and
league teams with customized
fundraising programs. Big Boy
Concessions works for the community
by providing support, information,
and training to anyone who
is seeking an opportunity to open
their own vending business, raise funds, or
is just looking for a sweet treat to cool off on
a hot summer day.
Daniel knows that the secret of his success
is hard work, team work, honesty, positive
thinking, and always being on the front lines
to help others. Family has played a large part
in the growth and success of Big Boy.
Daniel has no plans to retire and believes
that if you love what you do, you never work
a day in your life. It excites him that Big Boy
brings smiles to children and takes adults
back to their childhood.
He expects his children will eventually
take over operations. With nine grandchildren,
he also has a fourth generation of
entrepreneurs waiting in the wings. Daniel,
and his father before him, have created a
fantastic legacy to pass on to his children
and grandchildren.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 6 1

dmDICKASON
PERSONNEL
SERVICES
Above: Chief Executive Officer
Don Dickason.
Below: President Martha Olguin-Dickason.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
162
dmDickason Personnel Services is one of the
largest and most well-established full-service
staffing and human resources company in the
Southwestern United States. Locally owned and
operated, dmDickason has been dedicated to
placing the area’s best job candidates with
leading companies for over fifty years.
As business owners and long-time El Paso
residents, Don and Martha Dickason are fully
committed to the success of every person they
meet. They realize that their individual success
depends solely on the business relationship
they develop with each of their corporate
clients, as well as the success and welfare of
every one of their more than five thousand
worksite employees.
“We strive every day to provide that added
personal touch that is so often lacking with
larger national staffing companies; where
decisions that are supposed to be good for our
clients, are actually being made by people
who don’t even know them,” comments Don.
“We offer a large system infrastructure utilizing
state-of-the-art industry related software and
technology, a proven operating system backed
by over five decades of experience, as well as a
passionate local entrepreneurial spirit and
personal hands-on dedication that absolutely
guarantees our clients the complete satisfaction
they desire—each and every time they use our
services,” adds Martha.
The company was first established in 1965
as a franchise of Snelling and Snelling Personnel
Services, the world’s largest personnel staffing
company at that time. Don Dickason (the “d” in
“dm”Dickason) joined the company soon after
graduating from New Mexico State University
in 1974. Although he was one of the youngest
branch managers in the Snelling and Snelling
organization, his El Paso branch quickly
became one of the most productive offices in
the worldwide system.
In 1984, Dickason bought out his partner
and became the exclusive local franchise owner.
Shortly thereafter, he was elected by his peers
to represent other franchisees around the
country as president of the National Executive
Council, the advisory board for the
International Corporate offices of Snelling and
Snelling. As the owner/operator of a top
producing Snelling and Snelling franchise for
twenty-six years, Don was nationally
recognized within the staffing industry as a
whole; as a leading trainer, a top producing
executive recruiting manager, and an expert in
guiding large and successful staffing operations.
In 2000, Don and his wife, Martha, bought
out the national franchise and changed the
company name to dmDickason Personnel
Services. Don now has more than forty-three
years’ experience in personnel staffing,
recruiting and human resource outsourcing. He
is double certified in employment law and has
extensive experience and knowledge in all facets
of the personnel/human resources services
industry. He is the author of numerous articles
for many industry publications and is a frequent
speaker and trainer on employment law, staffing
and human resource issues.
In order to provide the firm’s many loyal
corporate clients with the same high quality
temporary, temp-to-hire and contract employees
they receive from the career placement/
executive recruiting division, Martha Olguin-
Dickason (the “m” in “dm”Dickason) founded

dmDickason Temporaries in 1992. Martha was
named president and majority stockholder of
the new minority women owned, MBE/HUB
certified company.
Martha is also an NMSU alumni, is certified
in employment law, a nationally recognized
production leader, speaker, and trainer in the
temporary staffing industry, and was named
“Business Woman of the Year” by the Texas
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She served
as chairperson of the El Paso Hispanic Chamber
of Commerce, and her temporary staffing
company has been recognized as one of the top
250 largest Hispanic-owned businesses in
America for the last ten straight years. The firm
is one of the fifteen fastest growing companies
in El Paso and has been voted “Best Staffing
Company” by the Las Cruces Sun News. In
addition to running a highly successful
business, Martha has also served as a board
member on the Board of Directors for Wells
Fargo and the Federal Reserve Bank.
In 2002, dmDickason added a licensed
Employee Leasing Division to the company.
Nationally known as a PEO (Professional
Employer Organization), this division assists
businesses that need help in managing
increasingly complex employee matters such as
workers compensation, risk management,
payroll and unemployment tax and labor law
compliance. Since most small- and mediumsized
businesses lack the necessary training and
resources to handle these matters, a PEO makes
it possible for busy employers to economically
outsource the routine, non-productive duties
of human resources compliance, payrolling,
payroll tax deposits, risk and safety
management, and unemployment claims
administration to dmDickason. This allows their
key management to have more time to grow
their companies and increase their profitability
by focusing on what they know best—their
core business.
After graduating from Southern Methodist
University (SMU) in Dallas, and after a couple of
years working as a business banker, daughter
Kelly joined the Staff Leasing Division and is
now working in the company’s Human Resource
Department as the compliance officer under
Senior Vice President Carol Salcedo, a twentyyear
dmDickason employee.
dmDickason is headquartered in its own
modern, corporate-owned 14,000-square-foot
office building at 4900 North Mesa in West
El Paso, where it provides complete human
resources (PEO/ASO)/payrolling outsourcing,
Executive Recruiting and customized staffing
services designed to fit each client’s specific
needs. “We continue to be privately owned and
are proud that a large percent of the revenue
from our $50 million business stays right here
in El Paso, growing other local businesses and
our local economy,” says Don.
For over five decades, dmDickason Personnel
Services has been dedicated to finding the best
job candidates for leading companies in El Paso
and Las Cruces, and also for Fortune 500
companies across the United States, Canada
and the U.S./Mexican border region. The
dmDickason organization is a unique leader
in the staffing industry; over the last 15 years,
the company has placed over 100,000 job
candidates in new jobs—right here in El Paso
and Las Cruces—one at a time!
For more information about dmDickason,
please visit www.dmDickason.com.
Above: dmDickason’s Corporate Offices at
4900 North Mesa, with additional branch
offices located at 10441 Brian Mooney on
El Paso’s eastside and the Las Cruces,
New Mexico, office located at 518 North
Telshor Boulevard, Suite A. dmDickason is
certified/ licensed in Arizona, New Mexico
and Texas.
Below: Senior members of our Services
Delivery Team visiting with one of our
clients. From left to right: Client GCX
Mounting Solutions Plant Manager Edgar
Simsuangco; dmDickason’s Senior Vice
President of Human Resources Carol
Salcedo; Human Resource Compliance
Officer Kelly Dickason-Valdez; Safety/
Risk Manager Dan Tovar; and
CFO Dick Langone.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 6 3

SUN BOWL
ASSOCIATION
The national spotlight shines brightly on
El Paso each holiday season when more than
fifty thousand exuberant fans jam Sun Bowl
Stadium for the second oldest college football
bowl game in the nation. In addition to promotion
and management of the game, the
Sun Bowl Association organizes festive events
for the entire community throughout the
year, including the annual Thanksgiving Day
Parade, the Sun Bowl Basketball Invitational,
the College All-America Golf Classic, and the
Sun Bowl International Soccer Tournament.
The bowl game that features two of the
nation’s outstanding college football teams
actually began in 1935 as a high school game
between an El Paso High School All-Star team
and Ranger High School, the runner-up for the
Texas state championship.
Plans for the event began in October 1935
at a meeting of the El Paso Kiwanis Club when
Dr. Brice Schuller suggested that the club
sponsor a high school football game to benefit
underprivileged children and finance improvements
to the El Paso High School Stadium.
The Kiwanians asked the public to submit
names for the game and ‘Sun Bowl’ was submitted
by Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who became
the first Sun Bowl Association president.
The first Sun Bowl game between college
teams was played in 1936 between New
Mexico State and Hardin-Simmons University,
a game that ended in a 14-14 tie. A weeklong
schedule of events was added to the Sun Bowl
festivities the following year and four other
local service clubs—Rotary, Lions, Optimist
and Active 20-30—joined the Kiwanis Club in
coordinating a full ‘Sun Carnival’ calendar.
In 1938, games were moved from the
El Paso High School stadium to Kidd Field,
a 13,000 seat stadium on the UTEP campus.
The Sun Bowl was well established by
the war years of the 1940s and in 1943, all
profits were donated to World War II charities.
The Sun Bowl became the first and only bowl
game to have a team from another country
compete in 1945 when the association selected
Mexico’s National Champion, the Pumas of
the University of Mexico, to play Southwestern
University. Southwestern rolled to a 35-0
victory. Each team was paid $6,511 for
participating in the game.
With the Sun Bowl game becoming more
popular each year, El Paso voters approved a
$1.75 million bond issue in 1959 to finance
construction of a 30,000 seat Sun Bowl Stadium
adjacent to Kidd Field. The first game was played
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
164

in the new stadium in 1963 when Oregon beat
SMU 21-14 in front of 18,646 fans. The first
sellout at Sun Bowl Stadium came in 1967.
As sports on television grew in popularity,
the first national telecast of a Sun Bowl
game—Georgia vs. Texas Tech was carried on
NBC in 1964. CBS took over the telecast in
1968 and the Sun Bowl has been seen
nationally on CBS ever since.
The Sun Bowl Stadium was expanded to
51,000 seats in 1982, the first year the game
was played on Christmas Day. It was also
the first time it ever snowed during a Sun
Bowl game.
In 1986 the Sun Bowl became the first
postseason bowl game with a commercial
sponsor when John Hancock Financial Services
entered into a five year agreement. Several
other sponsors have followed in recent years
and the game is now known as the Hyundai
Sun Bowl. Without doubt, the Sun Bowl game
is the single annual event with the greatest
economic impact on the City of El Paso.
The Sun Bowl Association does much more
than organize a once-a-year football extravaganza.
After seven decades, the FirstLight
Federal Credit Union Sun Bowl Parade has
grown to become the region’s highest attended
event, with more than 300,000 spectators
each Thanksgiving Day. The parade was given
a tremendous boost in the mid-1960s when
the popular Walt Disney cartoon characters
appeared for the first time.
The WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl
Invitational is the nation’s oldest collegiate holiday
basketball tournament. This year marks
the fifty-fourth edition of the event that began
in 1961 when legendary Coach Don Haskins
was in his first year as head coach at UTEP.
The Sun Bowl Western Refining College
All-America Golf Classic is one of the premier
college golf tournaments in the country. Some
of golf’s brightest stars have traveled to El Paso
to compete in the tournament since its
inaugural year in 1976. Jerry Pate, Tiger
Woods, Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Ricky
Barnes, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and
Ricky Fowler are just a handful of past
participants who went on to have successful
PGA careers.
The Academy Sports + Outdoors
Sun Bowl International Soccer
tournament is host to more than
150 teams from the Southwest
and Mexico, making it one of the
largest youth soccer tournaments
in the nation.
In addition, the Sun Bowl
Association sponsors an art
exhibit, the Price’s Give ‘Em Five
Cheer Camp, the Price’s Give ‘Em
Five NFL Punt, Pass & Kick
competition, and the Helen of
Troy Charm Camp. The association
has six full-time employees and
an army of 400 to 600 volunteers
who help produce the many
events the organization has become
famous for.
The 2015 Hyundai Sun Bowl
game features teams from the
ACC and Pac-12 conferences
and will be played Saturday,
December 26, at Sun Bowl
Stadium. It will mark the eightysecond
anniversary of the Sun
Bowl game and the forty-eighth
consecutive broadcast by CBS.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 6 5

SARABIA’S
PORTABLE JONS &
BLUE SANITATION
Sarabia’s Portable Jons, El Paso’s premiere
provider of portable sanitation services, was
founded in 1979 by Tim Sarabia. In August of
2001, local entrepreneur Lorraine Wardy purchased
the family-owned business. Wardy, who
had recently retired from the highly competitive
fashion industry, found a great opportunity in
the service industry, and, despite a lack of previous
knowledge, built her expertise by immersing
herself in the field.
Under Wardy’s leadership, the company
began to thrive. In 2009, Sarabia’s had outgrown
their previous 33,000-square-foot property and
moved into a brand new facility, built to suit the
needs of a sophisticated, growing operation.
Wardy introduced the concept of Blue
Sanitation to serve the growing special events
market with units specifically set aside for that
demanding niche, modifying the name to
Sarabia’s Portable Jons & Blue Sanitation. At this
time, Wardy, paving the way for retirement,
began to contemplate a succession plan, therefore
turning the company into an Employee
Stock Owner Plan. Many of the staff had been
with Sarabia’s for many years, and it was important
to Wardy that the employees were provided
with a solid foundation for their futures.
Already operating under an ESOP, which
allowed the staff and technicians a way to
acquire ownership of the stock, majority shares
were acquired by Monica Brown, Wardy’s sister.
Brown, who relocated to El Paso from Mexico
City, left a busy fashion career to learn the business.
Under Wardy’s direction Brown continued
to grow the company, and when the time came
for the ESOP to find new leadership, Brown was
a natural choice for the position.
Today, Brown’s tenure has banked on what
Wardy and Sarabia created before her, streamlining
the operation with the help of
her now employee partners into a very
efficient, high-quality venture that features
constant improvement of products
and services. To that end, Brown
has taken the luxury trailer concept,
once used mainly for special events,
and carried it over to the construction
division. These units, equipped with
flushable toilets and running water,
are quickly becoming the option of
choice for construction sites and
remodeling projects by providing a
more comfortable and sanitary environment
for workers and site visitors.
Sarabia’s not only provides sanitation services
to businesses and for special events—they
also have been able to respond quickly and
effectively in times of natural disasters, when
access to sanitation, showers and fresh water
has been limited. Sarabia’s has been able to
alleviate the need for these resources for families
with elderly members and small children.
In addition, many smaller communities within
El Paso County are not connected to the city
water system, and when emergencies occur,
these areas are hit the hardest. The sanitation
services provided by Sarabia’s is critical in
these areas.
The company now employs twenty-seven
full-time employees and services in as-need
radius, which includes Southern New Mexico
and West Texas.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
166

Andy and Cecy Pacheco were hoping to
start a business venture and found it in the
legal field. After much research and thought,
they joined Pre-Paid Legal, which became
LegalShield in 2011. (The new corporate name
for the forty year old company was part of rebranding
following the acquisition of Pre-Paid
Legal Services, Inc., by MidOcean Partners.)
Pre-Paid Legal was founded by Harland C.
Stonecipher, an insurance salesman involved
in a wreck in 1969. His insurance paid for his
car, but he was sued by the other party and
had no money for legal fees.
The lawsuit was settled, however, he had
difficulty getting enough money to pay his legal
fees. That is when he started Pre-Paid Legal
Services, Inc., the forerunner of LegalShield.
The firm was aimed at attracting customers not
poor enough for government-subsidized legal
aid, yet, not wealthy enough to retain a lawyer.
LegalShield is focused on the middle-income,
hard-working Americans who are left out.
LegalShield creates a world where everyone
can access legal protection at affordable costs.
Unexpected legal questions arise every day
and LegalShield gives them access to highquality
law assistance for as little as twenty
dollars a month. The company deals with
everything from real estate to document review,
speeding tickets to will preparation, and
more. Its attorneys provide advice for any legal
matter, no matter how trivial or traumatic.
LegalShield’s mission statement is: To help
people improve their lives by teaching lifetransforming
skills and to deliver exceptional
products and services that promote peace-ofmind
and confidence in a world that is often
uncaring and selfish.
The Pachecos are regional managers of West
Texas, LegalShield Independent Associates, in
El Paso. Cecy is a graduate of Park University
and Webster University. Andy is retired from the
U. S. Marine Corps and the U. S. Postal Service.
They are members of Greater El Paso
Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Independent
Automobile Dealers Association, and Better
Business Bureau. Cecy belongs to the National
Association of Professional Women, and
Femfessionals of El Paso; while Andy is a
lifetime member of DAV and the networking
group, “Breakfast with Friends,” which sponsors
a Christmas party for children at Ciudad Juárez
orphanage in Chihuahua, Mexico. Along with
other business owners, the Pacheco’s sponsor
the annual “Run and Walk” for the Lee and
Beulah Moor Children’s Home, raising $40,000
to provide meals for residents.
The Legal Services Association, an American
Bar Association affiliate, estimates that 122
million Americans were covered by group
legal plans of all kinds in 2011, up from 34
million in 2004.
Andy says, “LegalShield provides a costeffective
advantage for many who prefer to
pay a monthly premium, just in case they
need it. Customers have access to one provider
(attorney group) in a state.”
LEGALSHIELD
ASSOCIATES
Andy and Cecy Pacheco.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 6 7

AJ’S UNIFORMS
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
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For some, uniforms may seem an afterthought—utilitarian,
standard pieces of clothing
devoid of personality. The friendly and
accommodating staff at AJ’s Uniforms, however,
understands that for people that spend their
careers in them, uniforms are an important part
of how they perceive themselves as individuals,
as well as how they present themselves to
the world.
Owner David Rajme bought the business
in 1999, when it was a struggling, stagnant
shop in need of new energy and direction.
Although he came from a non-retail business
background, Rajme had the vision and
commitment to his employees, vendors, and
most of all, his valued customers to help the
business thrive.
A key component in AJ’s Uniforms’ success
was Rajme’s decision to bring his wife, Elena on
board. Her move from a construction-related
business to a retail environment was not an easy
one; yet her hard work and dedication has made
AJ’s an El Paso fixture, supplying work wear to
thousands of customers in varying fields. AJ’s
Uniforms offers the most diverse selection in the
industry, along with the best quality products at
competitive prices. The business caters to a
broad scope of needs and wants, from the
hardworking housekeeping staff member, the
new trainee chef and established physicians to
once-starving students who have climbed the
ladder to positions as department directors at
local hospitals and clinics.
The retail operation offers uniforms and
accessories geared toward a variety of fields,
including medical, restaurant, and professional
industries. Scrubs, lab coats, footwear, dress
shirts, kitchen wear, compression hosiery,
embroidery, name badges, and gifts are only
some of the items available. AJ’s Uniforms has
advised hospitals on how to outfit professional
staff and have coordinated fashion shows
on occasion.
AJ’s Uniforms has also served the community
in somewhat unusual ways, having outfitted
their share of cast members for several theater
and movie productions along with many bloody
doctors and sexy nurses during Halloween.
Their model is a simple one—clean, modern
and accessible facilities and a drive to make
customer satisfaction a top priority. Although
AJ’s Uniforms is proud of the selection
and quality of their products, their greatest
joy and accomplishment lies in creating value
that will bring customers back, through not
only offering the latest styles and colors in
uniforms, but crafting tailored solutions for
every client’s needs.
The Rajmes thank God for His many
blessings and the opportunity to serve their
community. They also thank their family for
their never-ending patience as well as the many
wonderful associates who have teamed up for
the cause of service. The Rajmes give special
thanks to their most valued customers, who
continue to give AJ’s Uniforms the opportunity
to serve all their professional needs.

People start businesses for all sorts of different
reasons, but the real heart of any business
venture is in the idea that begins it all.
For N. K. Austin-Eleje, the reason was simple;
to help people get the medical equipment
they need. The idea for the business came in
the form of a friend, urging Austin-Eleje to
open up shop in her new desert home.
“My friend told me that I could do this
business…that I would be helping people,
and that I would truly make a difference in
their lives.” Austin-Eleje says of that long-ago
conversation, “and she was right!”
Taking her friend’s advice, Austin-Eleje
opened her own medical supply business,
Nickes Medical Supply, LLC, and has not
looked back since.
“I have found it to be extremely challenging,”
she says of her venture into the medical
supply business. “When I started I only had
one staff person and we did it all, from
answering the phones to billing for services
and delivery. It’s been difficult, but it has also
been very satisfying, with the many thanks we
receive from the patients and their families;
and we have laughed a lot together, even
though it was hard sometimes.”
The company’s mission statement is “to
provide high quality and compassionate service
that meets the medical equipment needs of
our home-based clients.” In the nine short
years the company has been in operation,
Nickes’ staff has grown to fifteen employees,
most of whom are bilingual and can provide
instruction in the use and proper care of the
equipment for non-English speaking clients.
Nickes accepts most private
and commercial health plans,
Medicare and Medicaid, as well
as self-pay. The company offers a
wide array of medical products
for its clients including braces,
walkers, wheelchairs and scooters,
and prescribed nutritional
supplements. It also supplies
pulmonary therapy products
from nebulizers to Continuous
Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
machines for those with sleep
apnea. In addition, the company
offers portable oxygen concentrators
for pulmonary patients to use when
they are not at home, as well as oxygen cylinders
in various sizes (some with compatible
rolling carts for ease of mobility) for at home
use. The company also provides for clients
with incontinence, supplying portable commodes
and personal products for their use.
As to larger items, Nickes carries hospitaltype
beds (with or without rails, motorized,
and adjustable) for patients who have been
temporarily or foreseeably immobilized.
“I couldn’t have picked a better business
to get into,” Austin-Eleje says, “and I think
we have a bright future. People are living
longer and require assistance with their daily
lives, and I hope we’re the ones who can give
them that help.”
Nickes Medical Supply, LLC is located at
2820 North Stanton Street in El Paso.
NICKES MEDICAL
SUPPLY, LLC
Top: Nickes Medical Supply, LLC will
provide high quality and compassionate
service that meets the medical equipment
needs of our clients.
Above: N. K. Austin-Eleje.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 6 9

JOHNSON
JEWELERS
After eighteen years’ working for someone
else, Randy Johnson returned from vacation
to the jewelry store he was working for, only
to find the door locked and the store closed.
While very surprised and shocked, he realized
he had no other option but to go into business
for himself. So, in 1996, he did just that!
Randy opened Johnson Jewelers on the tenth
floor of the Coronado Towers on North Mesa
in El Paso, Texas. It was a small 270 square
foot store with no showcases, furniture, or
inventory. Randy knew he would make it.
them to know and understand the culture of
my business. I never gave up and never quit
working hard every day. Johnson Jewelers has
grown into one of the largest, independent
retail jewelers in the area,” he says.
“We specialize in fine jewelry for every
budget. El Paso has supported me from the
beginning and I feel sure it (the community
and customers) will be there in the future.” He
projects that the business will triple over the
next decade, and continue to be profitable.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
170
Two years later, a good friend offered to
invest $50,000 to help him move the business
to street level. The new location was a 1,000
square foot space in a strip mall a few blocks
down the same street.
He married his wife, Cynthia in 2002. She
stood by him through some difficult times.
“Our business has grown every year. I made
some mistakes along the way, though, and I
learned from them. I attribute the company’s
success to always staying focused and hard
work. I hire the best people I can and train
Located at 5860 North Mesa, the 4,800
square foot location boasts fifteen employees
today and has a 48,000 customer base.
Johnson is involved with more than fifty
community/civic organizations, and he encourages
his employees to also be involved in
community activities. In addition, he is a member
of the El Paso Chamber of Commerce,
Continental Buying Group (CBG), Jewelers of
America, Leading Jewelers Guild and Preferred
Jewelers International.
Additional information is available on the
Internet at www.johnsonjewelers.net.

HERIBERTO IBARRA PHOTOGRAPHY
Heriberto Ibarra is a native of El Paso, and
one of the top commercial photographers in
the region. A hypermodernist artist who loves
to express character, life, and the passing of
time, Ibarra has worked in the film industry,
and been published in books, newspapers,
and online magazines. He has shown at galleries
nationally and internationally including
RAW in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Museum of
Art in El Paso and the Museum of INBA
in Ciudad Juárez, and taught photography
composition for the past five years at The
University of Texas at El Paso and the
Museum of History in El Paso, Texas. For
more information call 915-252-7071 or visit
his website at www.heribertoibarra.com.
Above: Heriberto Ibarra.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 7 1

Western Refining, headquartered in El Paso, owns and
operates two refineries producing approximately 151,000
barrels per day of high-value light products such as gasoline,
diesel, and jet fuel. The refinery operates mainly in the
western and southwestern areas of the United States.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
172

BuildingaGreaterelpaso
El Paso’s real estate developers, construction companies, heavy industries,
and manufacturers provide the economic foundation of the region
W. Silver Recycling, Inc ................................................................1 7 4
B&M Machinery Co. .....................................................................1 7 7
Textape Incorporated ....................................................................1 7 8
Advanced Pools ............................................................................1 8 1
Land-Mark Professional Surveying, Inc. ...........................................1 8 2
Rescue Ministries of Mexico ...........................................................1 8 4
Tovar Printing, Inc. ......................................................................1 8 5
MNK Architects ...........................................................................1 8 6
Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC .....................................................1 8 8
Century 21 APD Associates............................................................1 9 0
ECM International, Inc. ................................................................1 9 2
American Packaging and Supply, Inc. ..............................................1 9 4
Wyler Industrial Works, Inc. ..........................................................1 9 6
Bella Vista Custom Homes, Inc. ......................................................1 9 8
Cesar-Scott, Inc. ..........................................................................2 0 0
Danny Sander Construction, Inc. ....................................................2 0 2
CEMEX ......................................................................................2 0 4
DA Defense Logistics HQ ...............................................................2 0 6
El Paso Paper Box, Inc. ................................................................2 0 8
Freeport-McMoRan .......................................................................2 1 0
Facilities Connection, Inc. ............................................................2 1 2
Global Containers & Custom Packaging, Inc. ....................................2 1 4
Durable Metal Products/DMP CryoSystems .......................................2 1 5
Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing .....................................................2 1 6
Special
ThankS To
Brokers Logistics, Ltd.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 7 3

W. SILVER
RECYCLING, INC
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
174
The Silver family of El Paso knew the
importance of recycling long before it became
a household word. The owners of W. Silver
Recycling, begun in 1920s, understood the
need for re-purposing used materials. They
concluded what one person no longer wanted,
another could use.
It began with William Silver, greatgrandfather
of the current CEO Lane Gaddy.
William emigrated from Poland and settled in
nearby Bisbee, Arizona, at a time when Bisbee
was a booming mining town. William, along
with his wife, Lena, started selling Army and
Navy surplus to the miners. The business
flourished and quickly grew to two stores in
Bisbee. As the mines declined, William sold
his interests in the stores to his partner,
Sam Wilner, and moved to El Paso.
The Silver family actually started the business
in El Paso as a junk yard that held
metals, rags, and resale materials. Its original
site was located on Santa Fe Street circa 1935.
Later it was relocated to its current site at
1720 Magoffin, formerly the home of
American Furniture Warehouse.
Along with handling locally-sourced
metals and materials, the company continued
to deal with military surplus, recycling ferrous
and nonferrous metals, such as search lights,
bridges, personnel carriers and many other
remnants from the war. There was a great
demand for many of the items that were used
in WWII, the Korean conflict, and elsewhere.
Through the years, metal recycling has
changed dramatically from the lowly junkyard
made famous in the television sitcom Sanford
and Son. The industry grew from passively
collecting materials, to actively gathering,
sorting, and generating product. Among other
things, starting in the 1960s, crews from W.
Silver tore down the original courthouse in
downtown El Paso, dismantled steel bridges
that were declared unsafe, and demolished
obsolete manufacturing plants and refineries.
That is when W. Silver truly got into sorting,
recycling, and processing different materials
like copper, steel, brass, and aluminum. Part
of the evolution of the business was finding
universal categories for metals and alloys.
Today, the company, known as W. Silver
Recycling, Inc., focuses primarily on the
recycling of ferrous and nonferrous metals.
Bernie Fenenbock married Jeannette Silver,
the youngest child of William and Lena.
Bernie took over from William and ran the
business from the mid-1970s. Lane joined the
company in 2005. Lane took over from Bernie
and is now the company CEO. Lane is the
oldest child of Bernie and Jeannette’s daughter
Glenna Fenenbock Gaddy. Bernie passed
away in 2012. Jeannette continues to be active
in the company as a member of the board
of directors.

W. Silver Recycling ranks as one of the
leading recyclers in the United States and
Mexico of ferrous (industrial grades, borings,
turnings, machinery, racking) and nonferrous
metals (aluminum, copper, zinc, brass, bronze,
insulated wire and harness, and stainless steel),
precious metals, industrial trash, electronic
waste and personal computer boards,
cardboard and paper, alkaline batteries,
plastics, such as PVC, mixed resins and packaging
materials, and waste byproducts that
provide innovative recycling techniques and
by-product management solutions to industry,
utilities, and small business, as well as
individuals. Additionally, the plant processes
incoming material such as copper, brass,
aluminum, insulated wire stainless steel,
plastics, steel and other waste materials. Its
El Paso facility houses hydraulic balers,
shredders, magnetic sorting tables, wire
chopping lines, cranes, shears, and forklifts.
In order to properly dispose of almost any
materials, the full service recycler uses wire
chopping, plastic grinding and processing,
pallet processing and industrial trash hauling,
on-site rail access, 24/7 security, licensed and
bonded scales and spectra-analysis.
All materials received by W. Silver
Recycling are processed and destroyed
in an environmentally safe manner according
to the Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) regulations. Additionally, the company
is deeply involved in community unity
and revitalization, and strives to support
and advance its triple bottom line
operating philosophy.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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The recycling industry is based on
environmental services and environmental
protection. We respect the green origin of
industry and are dedicated to complete compliance.
With every decision made at W. Silver
Recycling, we are confident that we are able to
open and close every day with the knowledge
the world is a better place due to our efforts.
W. Silver assists manufacturers in maintaining
a green status and avoiding landfill refuse.
Its personnel is committed to the recycling
of commingled polymers, cross-lined, and
thermoset plastics; handling all generated
materials including pallets and industrial trash;
U.S.-based EPA-monitored product destruction
in lieu of unchecked overseas shipments; fluid
retention pads, storm water policy and regular
checking, unique environmental insurance
policies, knowledge of Leadership in Energy
and Environmental Design (LEEDS) program
and services offered for contractors; and
notarized recycling and destruction certificates.
For instance, many manufacturers are accustomed
to metals recycling companies that do
little more than leaving checks for their generated
materials and byproducts. W. Silver takes a
unique approach by providing manufacturers
with strategic partnerships that empower competitive
advantages. In fact, partnerships are the
core of W. Silver’s business. This company has
been strategically allied with manufacturers
since the early 1970s when inexpensive labor
brought companies to the U.S./Mexico border.
The enterprise has given W. Silver more experience
than any other recycler in providing the
needs of varied byproduct mixes. Among those
successfully utilized services are:
• W. Silver is the premier recycler for manufacturers
in the southwest United States
and northern Mexico.
• W. Silver’s headquarters, located in El Paso,
has additional branches in Amarillo and
Donna, Texas; Albuquerque and Santa
Teresa, New Mexico; and Monterey, Mexico.
The company employs 5 people in Amarillo,
14 in Albuquerque, 20 in Donna, 5 in
Monterey, and 110 in El Paso. The company
also has over forty employees at customer
locations. The current president of W. Silver
Recycling is Cade Thornton and the current
CEO is Lane Gaddy.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
176

B&M
MACHINERY CO.
B&M Machinery Co. was founded in 1945
as a small electrical repair shop on Wyoming
Street by two El Pasoans named Brown and
McCain. While Brown did not stick around
much more than a month, McCain did
stay for several years. But the name of the
company endured long after Brown and
McCain, and ever since. Elmer Musshorn
came on board in 1973 as vice president
and operations manager. B&M Machinery
has experienced tremendous growth. The
Musshorn family and some key employees
who have been with the company for many
years have guided B&M as a highly successful
industrial specialist in electrical and
mechanical service and supplies.
The company moved to 7200 Alameda
Street in 1981, but the most significant growth
occurred after 1985 when B&M set on a
deliberate course of diversification. A gentleman
from Connecticut, a licensed master
electrician with a background in maintenance
engineering and plant management and a
hardworking individual with an easygoing
personality, Musshorn purchased the assets of
B&M Machinery in 1986. He is president of the
company, and oversees all aspects of the family
business. Daughter Karen Bickel has been an
administrative assistant since 1986 and the
office manager and controller since 2000.
In 1984 the company had spun off into
an international operation, Advanced Coil
Technologies, which manufactures
form coils. Ninety-five percent of
the coil business goes outside
El Paso including Mexico, Canada,
the Philippines, and the entire
United States. The company sends
a can of jalapeños with every set
of coils, an advertising effort that
has been very well received. Ed
Musshorn, Elmer’s son who has
been in the business since 1981, is
general manager of Advanced Coil
Technologies, is an officer of the
corporation, and also heads up the Machine
Shop Division. There are five divisions of
the company now headquartered in a 34,000
square foot building, plus a 2,400 square feet
warehouse, which the company built in 1992
and moved into the following year.
With over eighty-five employees, B&M is
centered in the industrial market of El Paso
at 7170 Copperqueen Drive. In addition to
the Coil Department, the company features a
Motor Repair Shop. This division is managed
by Gary Sales, who has forty-three years with
B&M and also serves as an officer of the company.
Tommy Valdez, a licensed journeyman
electrician with forty-five years’ experience,
supervises the Electrical Services Division and
is also an officer of the company. This division
specializes in industrial and heavy commercial
electrical work, including hi-tech variable
drives and programmable controls.
The Industrial Sales Division is a distributor
for name brand products such as Siemans
Motors and Controls, ABB/Baldor Motors and
Drives, Eaton Electric Controls, Harrington
Cranes, Cone Drive, and several other lines.
B&M gained international recognition in
1991 during the Gulf War when the machine
shop was selected as the motor repair station
for the Patriot Missile’s auxiliary system.
This honor, along with the trademark can of
jalapeños, surely symbolizes a hot future for
B&M Machinery Company.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
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TEXTAPE
INCORPORATED
When Van Scott organized Textape
Incorporated in 1987, his goal was for Textape
to become the premier supplier of pressuresensitive
tapes and allied materials to the
Maquiladora Industry in Mexico. That
objective was accomplished in less than seven
years. Today, El Paso remains Textape’s
headquarters for their eight subsidiaries;
located in Texas and Mexico. They have
become the undisputed industry leader for
tapes, labels, custom die-cuts, “Fast Lane”
seals, packaging materials and much more, in
the Southwestern United States and in Mexico.
Van had the unique experience of spending
five years of his childhood in Japan during
the occupation. His father was an Editor for
the Army newspaper Stars and Stripes; later his
father became a Judge, attached to the Judge
Advocate General’s Corps of Eighth Army. After
returning to the United States in 1951, Van
attended high school in Marshall, Missouri.
Immediately after graduating from Missouri
Valley College, he was drafted by the Army,
attended artillery OCS and after receiving a
commission, was based at Fort Bliss, where
he gained a diploma qualifying him as a
“Hawk” Air Defense Officer. Then following
“jump school” at Fort Benning, Georgia, he was
assigned to an air defense battery in Germany.
After being discharged in 1967, he saw an
ad in the San Francisco Chronicle that read in
bold letters: “Junior Military Officers With
College Degrees.” Answering that ad resulted
in his gaining a sales job with Permacel,
which was the tape division of Johnson and
Johnson. Van stayed with Permacel for fifteen
years as a Regional Sales Manager for the
Central U.S. Then he was offered an
opportunity to become a part owner of
Cortape in Ohio. “I was really happy with
my job at Permacel, but I considered the
opportunity to become the V.P., become an
owner and to learn the tape converter trade;
an opportunity too good to pass up.”
During a sales trip to El Paso in 1987, Van
was impressed with the dramatic growth that
had occurred in El Paso (both in population
and in infrastructure) since 1965 when he was
stationed at Fort Bliss. He strongly suggested
that his partner support the idea of opening
a branch of Cortape in El Paso. His partner
preferred that Van become president of
Cortape in Ohio and that he forget about
starting a branch in El Paso. Since they came to
an impasse on this subject, Van sold his stock
in Cortape, purchased a trailer, filled it with
personal items and business related materials
(mostly supplier manuals) and drove 1,700
miles to El Paso to start Textape.
Textape’s initial location was at 945
Pendale Road in a new 5,000 square foot
building. Van bought a folding table at Sam’s,
which served as his desk. For the first three
months he was “burning the candle at both
ends” for seven days a week. After five years
in the original building, Textape purchased
two acres of land and built a 20,000 square
foot building that, a few years later, was
increased to 50,000 square feet.
After three months in business, Van hired an
inside coordinator, then within several more
months, eight more were on the payroll. Once
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
178

customers got used to receiving excellent
quality, competitive pricing, accurate invoicing
and on-time deliveries for their tape
requirements; they began to call and ask that
Textape handle additional products, such as
tubing, sleeving, anaerobic adhesives, cable
seals, etc. So Van would find a quality line not
represented in this market and promote that
line exclusively. That is not the case with tape;
Textape has direct access to virtually any line
of tape manufactured anywhere in the world.
In addition to buying tape products from
most of the domestic sources, Textape receives
container shipments from around the world;
they arrive at Textape/El Paso via the port
at Long Beach, California, and at Mextape/
San Luis Potosí via the port at Colima, Mexico.
The success that Textape enjoyed in its
early years was simply because most of the
competition was—for whatever reason—giving
their customers excuses for their almost
constant failures to deliver; so when Textape
“just did it,” the buyers began to prefer to work
with Textape. Textape/El Paso, sells—to one
degree or another—most of the maquilas in
Juárez and they now have fully equipped
branches (known as Mextape) in Tijuana,
Mexicali, Juárez, Chihuahua, San Luis Potosí
and Querétaro.
In addition, Textape also has “Flexcraft”,
a subsidiary that is a certified Minority
Business Enterprise. Luis Gonzalez is the
president of Flexcraft.
Textape is now a second-generation family
owned and operated business. Van’s son,
Doug, established the company’s branch
facility in McAllen, Texas following his
graduation from Stephen F. Austin University.
Doug now serves Textape as its president.
Doug and his wife Shannon, have two
children, Rylie six and Ryan twelve; providing
hope for Van that Textape someday will
become a third-generation business.
After spending seven years in McAllen,
developing that Textape facility, Doug returned
to El Paso. He noticed that while Textape had
grown dramatically, that growth had created
some internal disconnect. “I realized that
we had become too departmentalized and
had outgrown the “PICK” System computer
software that we were using.” After examining
several software system providers, Doug
decided that “Execontrol” offered the best
system for Textape and its subsidiaries.
Execontrol would not only improve Textape’s
El Paso operation, but it would also bring the
eight Textape subsidiaries a lot closer to
headquarters, by allowing them direct access to
information in “real time.” “Better connectivity
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 7 9

with our branches has greatly improved our
productivity at every location.”
Four members of Textape’s staff have over
100 years (combined) of service to Textape.
They are: Production Manager Raul Puebla
(28 years); Vice President Luis Gonzalez (27
years); Shipping/Receiving Supervisor Eduardo
Escandon (26 years) and Inventory Control
Rene Ramirez (24 years). Textape relies on
every discipline pulling their own weight; they
have a “team dedicated to doing things right
the first time.” They believe in both attention
to detail and in having a sense of urgency. Most
of their customer’s specifications are detailed;
those specifications are followed to the letter.
In addition to having seasoned personnel,
Textape possesses many types of converting
equipment, such as: single and dual mandrel
slitters, loggers, rewind slitters, multi-station
printers, die-cut presses and laminators. As
a direct result of having $4 million available
in raw material inventory, Textape’s salesmen
can request and receive samples, for their
customers, within a few hours.
Textape has a flexographic division that
was substantially enhanced with their purchase
of “IPL” (Industrial Print and Label) in 2011.
That acquisition increased their flexographic
capabilities dramatically. Today they produce
eight color labels and supply die-cuts, as wide as
twenty-four inches. Not to mention that several
former IPL employees have joined Textape and
that former IPL customers have added Textape
to their lists of qualified suppliers.
Van also points to a unique element that
has helped the company immeasurably over
the years. He started amassing a wealth of
information about the industry, when he started
as a salesman with Permacel, forty-seven years
ago. This collection of data is priceless and now
fills “the library.” It is used throughout the day to
find alternative products in order to provide
customers with the best solutions available for
their more demanding applications.
Textape, and its employees, actively support
many charitable and community organizations.
Among these are the “Kids Excel” programs
at Douglass Elementary School and Lundy
Elementary School; KTEP Radio; KCOS TV;
the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce
and two orphanages in Juárez, Mexico.
After building Textape into one of the
largest firms in the industry, Van and Doug
believe that faster growth can be achieved by
franchising Textape. “Doug and I attended a
course given at “UTEP” (University of Texas at
El Paso) on franchising; we have been studying
that approach for a couple of years and plan
to implement the concept during 2016.”
For more detailed information about Textape,
check their website at: www.textape.com.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
180

ADVANCED
POOLS
Pete Harmonson’s love of the water
prompted him to found Advanced Pools in
1988. His vision was to build moderate-tohigh-end
concrete swimming pools in El Paso
and Southern New Mexico. Since then, he
has expanded to include commercial fiberglass,
as well.
Advanced Pools has a dedicated showroom
where prospective clients can learn about, and
see first-hand, the various types and styles of
swimming pools the company can build. In
2001 the company was nominated and selected
as a member of The Master Pools Guild, the
elite group of pool members worldwide with
only 106 members. “Becoming a member of
this group ascertains that support the ethics
set forth by that organization. Maintaining
the standards set by that group assures our
customers of the quality they expect, deserve,
and will receive from us,” says Harmonson,
president. “The Master Pools Guild has honored
us with numerous awards.”
Commercial clients comprise the largest
and most creatively-designed concrete pool
requests. For example, a hotel may want a pool
that is artistically designed to showcase its
surroundings and provide a luxury feel to its
guests. Homeowners may have an unusual
space in mind for the pools. Advanced Pools
will study the proposed location and, using
computer assisted design (CAD) techniques,
develop several different designs that would
fit the locale. “That gives the homeowner or
commercial client a variety of styles from
which to choose,” says Harmonson. “Our
showroom lets our clients know exactly what
we build. We can show them how we can
design their pool with three-dimension. They
can select the type of material they want
from tile-to-plaster. They can feel the samples
to see which will work best for their needs.
They can bring their plot plans or yard
measurements from which we can work; or,
we can set up an on-site consultation to take
measurements and look at the area where they
want their pool located,” he adds.
By 2002 the company had grown to
the point it added an award-winning designer
and sales/marketing expert to pursue new
industry trends, and superintendents of
construction to oversee all pool installations
for enhanced customer service and
satisfaction. Advanced Pools is the most
awarded pool company in the area, even
appearing in three national publications.
Harmonson says that, through the years,
“Advanced has expanded to include IGUI
fiberglass pools for its cost-conscious customers.
In addition, as more people enjoy entertaining
out-of-doors, the company now designs and
builds extended living spaces with outdoor
kitchens, grills, fire pits, pergolas, and more.”
Advanced Pools is located at 3950
Doniphan Drive in El Paso and on the Internet
at www.advanced-pool.com.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 8 1

LAND-MARK
PROFESSIONAL
SURVEYING,
INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
182
Land surveying, in one form or another,
has existed since the beginning of recorded
history. In fact, basic surveying has occurred
since humans built the first large structures,
quite possibly as early as 2500 BC. The
prehistoric monument at Stonehenge, for
instance, was probably surveyed with peg and
rope geometry—not the special equipment
that has made a surveyor’s work easier today.
Surveying has seen many methods used
since then, including the Egyptians’ use of
a rope stretcher and simple geometry to
re-establish boundaries after the floods of
the Nile River. The Romans, however, were
the first to recognize land surveyors as a
profession, establishing the basic measurements
under which the Roman Empire
was divided, working from a tax register of
conquered lands.
Today, Land-Mark Professional Surveying,
Inc. of El Paso, a minority-owned business,
uses sophisticated electronic and computerized
equipment to determine the terrestrial
(or three-dimensional position of points and
the distances and angles between them.)
These points are on the surface of the
Earth and are often used to establish land
maps and boundaries for ownership, locations
like building corners or the surface
location of subsurface features, or other
purposes required by government or civil
law, especially in property sales.
Land-Mark, founded in 1991, is one of the
Southwest’s most dependable and financially
equitable land surveying firms licensed in
Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Providing
excellent service and professional management,
Land-Mark is one of the largest land
surveying firms in the El Paso area.
Like other land surveyors, Land-Mark’s
eighteen employees work with elements of
mathematics (geometry and trigonometry),
physics, engineering, and the law. The
company uses equipment like total stations,
robotic total stations, global positioning
systems (GPS) receivers, prisms, 3-D scanners,
radios, handheld tablets, digital levels,
and special surveying software. In fact, the
technology age has enhanced the surveyor’s
work, making it easier than it was with the
peg and rope geometry.
Larry L. Drewes is a Registered Professional
Land Surveyor (RPLS) and, as such, provides
liaison and coordination for private and government
surveying contracts. As vice president
of Land-Mark, he has a strong understanding
of civil engineering principles, and more than
thirty-four years of experience in all disciplines
of land surveying and expertise with
computer-aided drafting software (CAD). He
is a past president and present director of
Texas Society of professional Surveyors
(TSPS) Paso del Norte Chapter.
Kenneth (Bob) Kindle is another long-time
employee with thirty-two years of experience
under his belt in all phases of land surveying
disciplines. He is a Registered Professional
Land Surveyor in the state of Texas. Kindle is
a member of TSPS Paso del Norte Chapter.
Serving under the anchor of Land-Mark’s
Registered Professional Land Surveyors are
seven fully-equipped survey crews, of which
three can be devoted to any new governmental
or private surveying project. Land-Mark is fully
automated; and each team member proposed
for surveying contracts has worked on similar
project; and, is highly qualified in delivering a
sound product on time and within budget.
Land-Mark team members have vast
knowledge and experience in surveying
projects that range from thousands to multimillion
dollar constructions throughout the
Southwest Region; and employ the highest
standards of surveying principles according
to Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona while
maintaining timely delivery of jobs requested.
The Land-Mark staff is relied upon for accuracy
and its clients have total confidence in all
completed work.
Among the surveys Land-Mark performs
are American Land Title Association (ALTA)
surveys, which refer to land survey standards.
It is a boundary survey prepared to a set of
minimum standards that have been jointly
prepared and adopted by the ALTA and
the American Congress on Surveying and
Mapping (ADSM), which includes topographic
surveys. Together, they show improvements,
easements, encumbrances, rights-of-way, and
other items affecting the property in question.
It is a valuable tool when purchasing or
refinancing real estate. The ALTA survey is

frequently prepared for commercial properties
and provides information to the title company
to assist in insuring title to the land and
improvements that have been made. It
also provides the purchaser with valuable
information that may assist with future plans
for the property.
Other Land-Mark surveys include boundary,
topographic, state land surveys, improvement
surveys, and aboveground and underground
mining surveys; rights-of-way maps; metes
and bounds descriptions; elevation certificates
and construction staking. The company
also works with subcontractors to perform
aerial mapping, civil engineering design, and
sub-surface utility engineering.
Company qualifications include Registered
Professional Land Surveyors in Texas,
Licensed State Land Surveyors in Texas,
Professional Land Surveyors in New Mexico
and Arizona, pre-qualified with the Texas
Department of Transportation, the El Paso
Water Utilities, and the City of El Paso.
The staff is badged and has clearance with
the General Services Administration (GSA),
Fort Bliss, the El Paso International Airport,
Western Refining, and Phelps Dodge.
Land-Mark Professional Surveying maintains
its integrity by keeping up-to-date with
the latest equipment that enables the surveyors
to work more efficiently with greater
accuracy. In fact, it uses Trimble Global
Position Systems (GPS), Leica Virtual GPS,
robotic total stations, automatic levels,
DL-102 Digital Electronic Levels, Husky
Data Collectors, two-way radios, and more.
The up-to-date software systems include
AutoCAD 2012, Micro Station, GEOPAK,
SDMS, CAICE, EAGLE Point, and PACSOFT.
Land-Mark’s humble beginnings in the
garage of Larry and Sara Drewes, owners and
founders, required innumerable hours of
hard work, dedication, and sacrifice and
many sleepless nights planning for a dream
that, only by God’s grace, would one day
became a reality. The couple is forever
grateful to God, to their family, to their
employees and clients for giving them the
support needed to see this dream become
a reality.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 8 3

RESCUE
MINISTRIES
OF MEXICO
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
184
Rescue Ministries of Mexico is a 501 (c) 3
not-for-profit organization whose mission is
helping the less fortunate make better lives
for themselves.
Rescue Ministries of Mexico was founded in
1988 by Pastor Guadalupe Varela de Páez as
a Christian organization whose purpose is
to provide shelter, food, clothing, education,
and love to children, adolescents, adults and
seniors who, otherwise, would have no place
to call home. Rescue Ministries of Mexico is
located in key cities of Northern Mexico; and
has a sister organization—Vino, Trigo y Aceite.
The organization’s mission is: To serve God
and our community: The children, youth and
adults who find themselves without God,
home and family. Its vision is to provide a safe
home for children, youth, adults, and the
elderly; and its target is to strengthen the
institution of the family; while its objective is
to provide food, shelter, clothing, education,
and basic medical assistance to people in
need, and most of all, to announce the good
news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In providing these necessities of life that
are so often taken for granted by others,
the Rescue Ministry provides an orphanage
mostly for indigenous children in Madera,
Chihuahua, men’s rescue with rehabilitation
for alcohol and/or drugs, a home for the
elderly in the beautiful mountains of Madera
where they can receive medical, physical and
spiritual support. A Teen Boys
Shelter is a part of their daily
challenge as well as an orphanage
in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
There are special educational
and extra curricula activities for
children that provides lessons in
music, cooking, baking, English,
animal husbandry, and farming,
as well as computer training.
Although the past few years
have been turbulent for Mexico,
God has provided and protected
beyond what we could have imagined. “Fear
not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for
I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will
uphold you with My righteous right hand.”
(Isaiah 41:10)
“As long as there is a need, we will keep
striving to help those individuals around
us,” says Larry Drewes, chairman, “know that
those at Rescue Ministries of Mexico are
being helped with food, shelter, medical care,
and the training and spiritual care they want
and need.
“Through the generosity of people, we
have been able to grow and expand the aid we
provide. The calling closest to our hearts is
helping children who find themselves without
a family, as well as those who are at high risk.”
“Donations and volunteerism make a difference—one
that we can see—individual by
individual,” adds Executive Directory Aurelio
Páez. For additional information or find out
how you can donate to Rescue Ministries of El
Paso, visit www.rescueministriesofmexico.org.

TOVAR
PRINTING, INC.
In October 2008, the United States saw the
failure of major financial institutions, driving the
country into an economic crisis. That was no
match for husband and wife team of fourteen
years, David and Noemi Tovar. The couple had
just embarked on the launch of Tovar Printing,
Inc., a start-up company rooted in a sixty-plus
year family tradition of printing.
David’s grandfather, Jose Ruiz, and Jose’s
brother, Jesus, started Ruiz Brothers Printing Co.
in 1947 on Alameda Avenue. The name later
changed to Jose Ruiz Printing, where Jose and
his daughters, Alicia, Rosario, and Elena, ran the
company until Jose’s passing in 1985. Rosario
and husband, Don, have also owned Correll
Printing, Inc. on Airway Boulevard since 1984.
Elena manages Correll’s books, as she has for
Tovar Printing since its inception. She is also
the first friendly face you will see when you
visit Tovar Printing.
David grew up in his grandfather’s shop,
becoming his apprentice when he was just a
little boy of eight, and eventually spent a
combined twenty-three years in the printing
business in El Paso.
Noemi, who had familiarized herself with the
printing industry during a stint at a print shop
while in college, took a more indirect turn in
helping to build the foundation of her family’s
dream. After earning a bachelor of business
administration with a major in computer
information systems from UTEP, Noemi worked
in information technology and pharmaceutical
sales. Her experience was a beneficial asset in
starting and running a business.
After the U.S. economic crisis, banks were
not eager to lend money, but the tenacious
couple, including a very pregnant Noemi,
would not take “no” for an answer. Ten months
and nine banks later, the couple got their loan.
They left the security of their respective jobs,
and the two opened the doors to Tovar Printing,
Inc., in a rented warehouse on Wallenberg Drive
on El Paso’s West side.
With a then seven year old and four month
old in tow, the family spent many nights at
the shop. The kitchen played triple-duty as
nursery, playroom, and breakroom. The staff
of four (David and Noemi included) was kind
enough to take their lunch after the baby
woke from her nap.
Only five years after starting their
company, the Tovars, with their now staff of
nine, moved to their very own building at
1230 Texas Avenue, just blocks from where
Jose’s shop once stood. They continue a family
tradition in high-quality printing coupled
with personalized solutions and excellent
customer service.
Tovar Printing, Inc., is a full-service,
commercial printer, offering offset and digital
printed media.
Above: Current location of Tovar Printing,
Inc., 1230 Texas Avenue.
Below: Original location of Jose Ruiz
Printing Co., 3409 Alameda Avenue.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 8 5

MNK
ARCHITECTS
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
186
MNK Architects, Inc., well-respected, locally
owned full service architectural firm founded
in 1985 by Mervin Moore, has thrived by
continuously providing exceptional professional
services and design through proven strategies
and techniques developed over thirty years.
Their repeat clients are a testament to their
excellent customer service.
Mervin, a visionary architect and savvy
business man, attracted highly talented and
skillful people. In 1992 the firm changed its
name to Moore Nordell Kroeger Architects, Inc.
to reflect the addition of the two new principals,
Leonard Nordell and Rodney Kroeger. Nordell’s
prime focus would be on construction
administration and Kroeger on design and
business development. Mervin proved his
acumen once again by recruiting Renee Jimenez
in 2005. She dedicated a significant amount of
her time to furthering the green building
movement in El Paso and spearheading the
creation of El Paso’s U.S. Green Building Council
Chapter, the Chihuahuan Desert Chapter.
In 2009, Jimenez became a principal and in
2012 was elected president. Jennifer Matthews
joined MNK shortly thereafter and serves as first
vice president. She brings a different perspective
through her work as a former facilities manager
and owner’s representative for several local
governmental agencies.
In 2013 the firm changed its name to MNK
Architects, Inc. to reflect the current corporate
structure and leadership. MNK, a womenowned
small business and HUB certified firm, is
making new strides and is responsible for many
new and exciting projects that are helping to
revitalize this community. Miguel Hernandez
was elevated to the position of Associate
Principal in 2014, after being with the firm for
almost ten years. In the same year, Jimenez and
Matthews, along with a third partner, purchased
a new building on Eubank Court, which they
designed as MNK’s new collaborative office
space, moving in December 2014.
Over the years, each principal of MNK has
been an active supporter of community and
charitable organizations. A partial list of these
organizations include the El Paso Community
College Foundation, Greater El Paso Chamber
of Commerce, World Trade Center El Paso/
Juárez, Leadership El Paso, the Rotary Club of
El Paso, Ronald McDonald Charities, and the
Boys & Girls Clubs of El Paso. Members of
the firm have also been active in the AIA El Paso
Chapter, Texas Society of Architects and the
American Institute of Architects.
From the beginning, MNK’s noteworthy
projects have served as landmarks, and
brightened the landscape throughout the
region. Clients have looked to MNK for creative
design solutions that are elegant, and practical.
One of the first examples is the Sergeants Major
Academy, which implemented sustainable
design. Continuing to be at the forefront of
sustainability, MNK has achieved three LEED
certified projects with the Paso del Norte Port of
Entry paving the way as the first LEED certified
project in the region.
The firm’s diverse portfolio includes projects
in healthcare, education, recreation, religious,
industrial, commercial and military fields. The
services provided by MNK are as diverse and
complex as the individual project requires. In
addition to basic architectural services, MNK
provides such specialized services such as
pre-design, facility assessments and feasibility

studies, urban planning, renovations and
alterations, space planning and interior design,
construction administration, and LEED
consulting services. Throughout the development
of each project, MNK works diligently in
guiding their clients. Each project is delivered
with the latest technology, and team familiar
with implementing it. MNK remains in the
forefront of technology following Mervin’s lead
of being the first firm in El Paso to create
Construction Documents using computer
aided design. Now the firm is committed to the
use of Revit, the leading software that provides
Building Information Management (BIM) in
the production of construction documents.
As soon as you arrive in El Paso you are in
MNK's Architecture, an architecture that was
created by Kroeger starting in 1991, where the
current principals continue to work to this day.
In the last several years, MNK has designed
some of the first facilities of their types to
be seen in the area. Memorable designs and
experiences have been created, hitting a home
run with the design of the City of El Paso’s
AAA Baseball Stadium. Their design is a venue
of exploration at the City of El Paso Museum of
History Digital Wall. MNK’s work is a fortress
of comfort at the El Paso Children’s Hospital and
University Medical Center of El Paso.
MNK’s proven process for delivering successfully
completed projects includes planning,
managing the project team, developing project
parameters and project execution, which results
in a building that is completed on time and
on budget. MNK is proud of its history and
continues to grow and develop new talents. The
primary focus of MNK’s work is in the El Paso
southwest area and is licensed to practice
throughout Texas, New Mexico and Arizona.
Jiménez, Matthews, Hernandez, and their
team of experienced professionals are committed
to continuing the firm’s reputation of serving
its clients with distinction. Their motto is:
“Your Vision, Delivered.”
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 8 7

CLOWE & COWAN
OF EL PASO, LLC
Above: Left to right, Richard and Lawrence
De La Torre and Jose Manuel Canizales.
Below: Clowe & Cowan co-founder
Frank Clowe, 1922.
Bottom: Clowe & Cowan co-founder
John Cowan, 1922.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
188
Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC, serves
industrial and municipal markets in southwest
Texas, New Mexico, and the Republic of
Mexico. It represents several leading manufacturers
of municipal water, wastewater
and industrial technologies. The company is
a manufacturers’ representative and stocking
distributor of quality products for industrial,
mining, municipal and construction markets.
These products include pumps (of various
sizes and needs), filtration, flow meters, piping
and valves for flow control.
The company was founded in 1922 in
Amarillo, Texas, by two men of true pioneer
character, Frank Clowe and John Cowan.
These men had a driving ambition to succeed
and were committed to the welfare of their
employees, customers, friends and the community
in which they resided.
The company began as a stocking distributor
of industrial supplies related to water
and wastewater equipment. As the company
grew, other lines were added, to include pipe,
valves, fittings, hand power tools and pumps
for the targeted industries. Clowe and Cowan
expanded its growth and distribution center
from Amarillo, Texas, to Lubbock in 1923.
The following years saw expansion to
Roswell, New Mexico in 1940, El Paso, Texas
in 1967, and Las Cruces, New Mexico in
1982. It went international in 1993 to
Chihuahua, Mexico. In its early days, the
company provided basic and efficient services
by providing wholesale value-added
goods, along with service to all types of
industries involved in the municipal water
and wastewater markets.
The opening of the Clowe & Cowan
branch in El Paso in 1967 was followed six
years later by the incorporation of Clowe &
Cowan of El Paso, Inc., in 1973. The year
1982 brought the establishment of a
subsidiary in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The
Las Cruces store was sold in 1993. In 1973,
Joe Merriman, a native of Amarillo, relocated
his family to El Paso. Prior to moving,
Merriman was a successful businessman with
a career at Rexnord Power Transmissions.
He brought to Clowe & Cowan a strong
work ethic, a positive strength of character
(anchored in his keeping in touch with his
faith) that provided the ability to manage a
growing business. Stockholder and President
Merriman died in 1988.
By purchasing majority shares in the
company, Art De La Torre became principal
stockholder at Clowe & Cowan and acquired
the title of president. He was born and raised
in El Paso, Texas. His professional career
began with the locally owned and operated
company of C. L. North. While at C. L. North,
he learned about the industry, which he
brought with him to Clowe & Cowan when
he joined the company under Merriman’s
tenure. With the industrial knowledge he had
acquired, Art began his direct, no-nonsense
approach to the steerage of the company.
In 1997 the stockholders approved minority
stock purchases by the employees of
proven service and longevity. In accordance
with this program, sons Richard and Lawrence
De La Torre were able to purchase significant
interest in the company. The year 2010
brought Art’s decision to retire. The eldest
son Rick, successfully put into motion the
lucrative purchase of Clowe & Cowan by the
holding company of Montage Capital Partners
of Scottsdale, Arizona. This purchase enabled

a financially solid retirement for
Art to enjoy for many years with
his wife, Nena.
Rick and Larry, along with
devoted/invested employees, continue
to operate and grow Clowe &
Cowan of El Paso. Utilizing the
original principles put into place
by its founders that incorporated a
simple, yet sincere tenacity to succeed
for the welfare of their many
loyal employees, customers, family
and friends. Clowe and Cowan
(1993) opened its first international
office in the Republic of Mexico,
Grupo C y C de Mexico, S.A. de
C. V. in Chihuahua, followed by
a second office in Ciudad Juárez.
In 2007, Clowe & Cowan acquired
a small service company, EPAC,
which was renamed Paso-Tex.
General Manager Leo Effenberger
and his son-in-law Greg Fogel
operate this company, which provides
custom fabricated products
and integration of specialty valves.
Along with actuators for flow
control for pipelines serving the
petroleum, mining, municipal and
refining sectors in the industry.
In December 2012, North Star
Capital of Minnesota, invested in
the growth of Clowe & Cowan,
with the objective to provide valueadded
growth, enabling further
expansion of company resources.
Clowe & Cowan of El Paso is located at
11221 Rojas Drive. There is an average of twenty-seven
full time employees. Prior to 2010,
employee tenure was approximately twentyeight
years. Subsequent retirements and the
addition of young professional talent has lowered
this figure, but employee turnover remains
minimal for a company of this size. The company
and its employees support the following
community organizations: The Boys and Girls
Club of El Paso, Life Ministries, USA-Mexico
joint venture orphanage and is a contributor to
the University of Texas at El Paso. Internships
are now being made available to students in the
Engineering Department at UTEP.
Clowe & Cowan continues to maintain
a customer base in the United States and
Mexico. These customers are composed
of municipal water and wastewater, industrial,
mining, contractors and commercial
entities. The company’s area of influence
includes Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, the
Republic of Mexico and select clients in
Central America.
Our founders—Frank Clowe and John
Cowan—would be proud of the fact that
2015 brings in ninety-three years of operation
for the company they started with
dreams and determination. To all who have
contributed, we thank you.
Top: Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC
office staff.
Above: Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC
service division.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 8 9

CENTURY 21
APD ASSOCIATES
Above: Left to right, Randy and
Allard Driggers.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
190
When Allard “Al” P. Driggers founded his
company in 1974, he knew he wanted the
business to succeed; but, he probably would
not have been prepared for the success it has
claimed some forty years later. He was an
astute and capable man who believed in
honesty in every aspect of his business.
“Don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, and don’t put
up with those who do,” he was known to say.
While the man who had the idea and laid
the groundwork for the full-service realty
company died in 2006, his family has carried
on his legacy to make the company, now
known as Century 21 APD Associates, a
nationally-recognized real estate agency.
Much of that acclaim can be attributed to
the firm’s mission statement: We provide
honest, trustworthy real estate advice to serve
El Paso and the surrounding communities.
When Al formed the company, he invited
personal friends, and some with whom he
served in the Army, to join him. By December
the following year, the agency had grown to
twenty agents. He served as president and
CEO until 1984. His wife, Trella, joined the
company in 1975; and his son, A. R. “Randy”
Driggers joined it three years later as a
licensed salesperson.
Al’s goal of providing the best possible
customer service prompted him to buy
the first Century 21 franchise in El Paso in
1976. It is a local company, still owned and
operated by an El Paso family with deep roots
in the community it serves. The combined
experience of its ten staff members and sixty
REALTORS ® totals more than 130 years.
Randy bought the company from his
father in 1984, and replaced him as president
and CEO, expanding the company three
times since its first location at 6207 Montana
Avenue. He, along with his highly capable
management team, has continued to lead
the company since then. The company
has grown in agent population, staff, and
company services. In addition, to residential
new homes and resale buying and selling,
other services include property management
(with approximately 800 rental properties
including homes and apartments), a relocation
department, land department, and a
commercial sales department.
For more than forty years, Century 21 APD
Associates, has served the City of El Paso and
surrounding area, helping first-time home
buyers realize their dream of home ownership,
and providing investors the opportunity
to buy and sell real estate to achieve their
financial goals. In fact, the company offers
classes for first-time home buyers, and
encourages them at time of sale, to schedule a
time for a class.
Being a local company from the beginning
has enabled the agency to have firsthand
knowledge of the area, as well as the
residential and commercial changes that have
taken place within the area’s population and
corporate growth. They are familiar with
the school districts and can offer advice to
parents when relocating or renting. Agents
also have a clear take on the sites available
within a potential-owner’s price or financing
range. This all adds up to Al’s original idea
of the importance of longevity within the
community. Century 21 APD also participates

in the Easter Seal campaign in cooperation
with the corporate Century 21.
Century 21 APD is a turn-key real estate
brokerage firm where its staff assists buyers,
sellers, renters, and landlords
with all their commercial and/
or residential real estate needs.
It has sold over $1.5 billion
worth of real estate in the El Paso
marketplace and closed over
14,000 transactions since the
shingle was hung on the door.
Throughout its history,
Century 21 APD has been recognized
by Century 21 Corporate
for multiple awards. Among
them is the top company in closings
in the Southwest Region
multiple times. In 2006, it was
ranked the third company in the
United States by closings. In addition,
it has earned over forty
Centurion Awards for providing
outstanding customer service to
clients. In 2014, it received the
Torch Award for having an A-plus
rating with the Better Business
Bureau for forty consecutive
years. The growing agency increased its space
by moving into headquarters at 6601 Montana
Avenue. Additional information is available at
www.century21apd.com.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 9 1

Above: Georgia Pacific Building, Vesta,
Toluca Mini Park.
Below : The Sun Metro Transit Operations
Center (TOC).
ECM INTERNATIONAL, INC.
When ECM International CEO Tomas
Cardenas, P. E. founded the El Paso-based
company in 1983, his vision was to establish
a construction consultation company that
put the interest of its clients before its own.
This selfless philosophy has certainly worked
to the benefit of ECM, which has grown
to become one of the largest engineering
consulting firms on the U.S.-Mexican border.
ECM provides a full range of project
delivery services for many types of projects
and clients. From industrial, commercial, and
institutional buildings, to land development
and infrastructure projects, ECM’s proven
management methodologies and experience
help deliver construction projects faster,
better and more cost effectively by facilitating
communication and solving problems before
they impact the job.
ECM caters to a broad range of companies
in the private and public sectors with the
aspiration of assisting in setting up highquality,
cost-efficient and well-functioning
operations. The company excels on sophisticated
and high-profile industrial projects,
such as those for the automotive, aerospace,
electronics, food and beverage manufacturing,
and pharmaceutical industries. Over the past
thirty years, the company has continually
expanded its client base to offer specialized
services to the city, county and federal
governments as well as education, healthcare
and private clientele.
ECM has completed more than 80 million
square feet of facilities, valued in excess of
$10 billion (U.S.). It has demonstrated its
expertise on a variety of projects throughout
the southwestern United States, as well as
in Mexico, Central America, Canada and the
United Kingdom.
According to Cardenas, the key attribute that
sets ECM apart from others is its capability to
take a project from conception to completion.
“We’re known as a project delivery company,”
he asserts. The firm employs registered
architects and civil, electrical and mechanical
engineers, as well as estimators, inspectors
and field project management personnel.
In addition, its management team has close
to 500 years of experience, collectively.
ECM’s largest projects to date is the $4.5
billion expansion of Fort Bliss in Texas, now
the fastest-growing U.S. Army installation in
the nation. Fort Bliss and the nearby White
Sands Missile Range in New Mexico will be
the center of the Army’s most significant
modernization program, Future Combat
System. This combat unit is commissioned to
evaluate and test cutting-edge technology.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
192

To accommodate the vast increase in
troops, which were expected to be as many
as 24,000—a number of construction projects
were completed, including new barracks,
dining facilities, headquarters buildings,
vehicle maintenance shops, ammunition
storage facilities and equipment parking
areas. “We, along with our management
teams, were responsible for getting those
projects bid and built,” Cardenas says.
Meanwhile, ECM’s Mexico division is
booming. “The Mexican market is going to
continue to develop and grow the automotive,
aerospace, and consumer electronics
markets in Mexico.” Cardenas notes. “In the
late 1980s, there was still a lot of assembly
being done in Mexico and the assembled
products were delivered back to the parent
company. Since the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA) ended, Mexico
has become much more of a manufacturing
country, and the building projects have gone
from a warehouse type of assembly to really
sophisticated manufacturing facilities.
“Expanding its presence in the Mexican
construction market will be an ongoing
endeavor for ECM, as it has established and
nurtured relationships with International
clients since the company’s inception,”
Cardenas says. One of ECM’s major clients
is Mexican developer Vesta, which selected
ECM to serve as construction manager of
Mexico’s first aerospace park. The 200 acre
park in Querétaro, Mexico, is being developed
primarily for Canadian manufacturer
Bombardier, for the manufacture and assembly
of the Lear 85 jet.
In 2013, ECM opened a new office in
San Marcos, Texas, to accommodate the
central Texas market. “We’re looking at this
as a growth opportunity and an opportunity
to serve a new customer base,” Cardenas
remarks. “We feel that’s where a lot of the
near-term growth is going to be.”
Much of ECM’s success is founded on its
mission statement: “ECM will be a benchmark
of excellence in the fields of program,
project, and construction management. This
excellence is achieved by thoroughly understanding
our clients, and what our clients
want; professionally communicating the
needs of our clients to all those involved
in the process; and equitably managing a
process and team that delivers a product
that exceeds our client’s expectations. We are
your advocate.”
Currently, ECM has thirty-six employees
and contractors in its three market sectors—
El Paso, San Marcos, and Mexico. The
company’s main office is at 404 Executive
Center Boulevard in El Paso and a branch
office is located in San Marcos, Texas.
Cardenas feels an unwavering commitment
to customer service has been one of the keys
to ECM’s success. “We really do focus on
client satisfaction,” he maintains. “We have
had opportunities to grow in certain areas
in the past and decided not to because we felt
it might diminish the quality of the services
we deliver to our clients. Our principals
are involved in all our projects. In order to
do that and maintain the quality control
and value that we provide, we have made a
concerted effort to grow prudently.”
Above: The El Paso International Airport
Consolidated Rental Car Agency Complex
(ConRAC).
Below: The Cardwell Collaborative of the
Medical Center of the Americas Foundation.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 9 3

AMERICAN PACKAGING AND SUPPLY, INC
solutions that solved their problems, one of
his many success stories through the years.
Fernando modeled to Nicole that with
hard work and determination, the sky is the
limit; and, as a six year old, she glimpsed
entrepreneurism selling fashion jewelry for
her grandmother earning a commission of
candy or her favorite Mexican food—two
things she loved. A few years later, she went
on to become a top ten Girl Scout cookie
seller in El Paso.
Growing up, she admired her mother and
father’s work ethics and listened to her father
talk about his daily challenges in the
packaging business. She shared his work
ethic and entrepreneurial spirit; and, often
talked about starting a business together
when she was older. Drawing upon his
experience and her double major in
marketing and management from the
University of Texas at El Paso, they did just
that! With a leap of faith, they founded
American Packaging and Supply, Inc. on
November 1, 2001, shortly after the terrorist
attacks on 9/11.
Above: Fernando R. Grado, founder, with
daughter Nicole M. Grado, featured in a
story in the El Paso Times after being
named as the 2005 “Regional Minority
Supplier/Distributor of the Year” by the U.S.
Department of Commerce and the MBDA.
COURTESY OF THE EL PASO TIMES.
Right: Nicole M. Grado, president of
American Packaging and Supply, Inc., with
a wide variety of custom and commodity
packaging products.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
194
A special father-daughter bond between
Fernando Grado and his only child, Nicole,
prompted the idea of starting a business
together. Fernando had thirty-four successful
years of experience in the packaging industry
where he was in sales and management, so it
made sense to capitalize on his expertise.
Fernando began his career by selling fine
papers in the paper industry. He started in
the office by taking orders over the phone
and quickly worked his way into outside
sales, moving up the corporate ladder and
later into management. Being a natural
problem-solver, he gained experience by
creating and designing many packaging
solutions for customers with issues of
damaged products, due to insufficient
packaging concepts. He developed fourteen
special packaging solutions for Mary Kay
Cosmetics, where their cream-based products
were turning dark without a known reason.
He quickly discovered the issue and sat down
with Mrs. Kay to redesign proper packaging
Nicole, now president of the minority,
woman-owned business, says, “Our plans for
American Packaging and Supply, Inc. were
extensive, but there were many hardships in
the early days. At one time, we contemplated
closing our doors,” she said. “Anyone going
into business can expect normal hardships
of starting a business, but ours was
compounded with the tremendous economic
impact our country faced after the tragic
events of 9/11.” She tells how at one point,
they owed $85,000 and only had $1,700 in
the bank. “However, giving up was not an

option and with God’s provision, we pushed
through the hardships and the business
began to flourish. Our business is now
considered a leader in the packaging industry
with expertise in custom packaging concepts,
design, distribution, warehousing, and
assembly,” she adds.
American Packaging and Supply, Inc.
specializes in wholesale, custom and
commodity packaging products and offers
competitive pricing with excellent customer
service. It provides solutions for hard-tosolve
packaging problems with emphasis on a
wide variety of storing, moving, and shipping
supplies such as corrugated boxes, die-cut
foam, plastic bags, bubble wrap, tape and
pallets, to handle even the most complex
requirements. They form an alliance with
customers to help eliminate the need to
assemble or warehouse packaging items,
which leaves more time and room for
customers to focus on growing their business.
The company’s mission is “To be the premier
packaging supplier in the Southwest by
partnering with our customers to deliver the
highest quality products through a commitment
to excellence, superior customer service,
competitive pricing, and on-time delivery.”
Today, American Packaging and Supply,
Inc. is a multimillion dollar company with
a combined longevity of more than sixty
years in the packaging industry, serving a
broad range of customers that include the
automotive, construction, food, government,
manufacturing, maquiladora, and medical
industries. Its unique customer-oriented
philosophy has allowed them to enjoy steady
growth in a highly competitive industry.
Nicole says the company looks forward to
continued growth as it has expanded into a
25,000 square foot facility that will provide
new business opportunities, allowing it to
add new products, stock additional inventory,
and venture into the manufacturing of its
own products. “Customer service and the
development of strong, consistent relationships
is our main goal. Our philosophy is that our
customers are family, and we will go the extra
mile to make sure they receive special care.
We consider the company a ‘one-stop-shop’
so that customers eliminate the headaches of
dealing with multiple suppliers.” The company
provides Just-in-Time (JIT) warehousing of
products for customers with no handling fees,
free test samples, and volume discounts with
no minimums.
American Packaging and Supply, Inc. has
received many accolades through the years to
include being named the 2005 “Regional
Minority Supplier/Distributor of the Year”
by the U.S. Department of Commerce
and Minority Business Development Agency;
2012 Best of El Paso Award; 2012
Entrepreneurial Spirit Award by the El Paso
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; 2013
Excellence Award featured in Package Printing
magazine; 2013 and 2014 El Paso Times
Honor Roll of Leading Firms; 2012 and 2013
Top 500 Hispanic Businesses; and was
recognized as one of the 2014 Top 100
Fastest Growing Hispanic Businesses in the
country by Hispanic Business magazine.
Located at 3324 Durazno Avenue in El
Paso, additional company information can be
found at www.americanpackagingusa.com or
by calling 915-771-8052.
American Packaging and Supply, Inc.
located at 3324 Durazno Avenue in
El Paso, Texas.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 9 5

WYLER
INDUSTRIAL
WORKS, INC.
When industrial repair services are needed
quickly, businesses in West Texas and Southern
New Mexico know they can rely on
Wyler Industrial Works, Inc. Wyler is in the
business of helping companies through
almost any emergency, from start to finish,
and almost every local commercial entity is
a potential customer.
Wyler Industrial Works provides industrial
repair and custom fabrication to keep industry
moving with a minimum of down time.
With boiler, welding, machine, line boring,
commercial gas line and pressure piping
divisions—plus a backflow certification
division—Wyler is ready to help its customers
through almost any emergency.
Wyler also has an ‘R’ stamp issued by
the National Board of Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Inspectors and a ‘PP’ Certificate of
Authorization issued by the American Society
of Mechanical Engineers for the fabrication
and assembly of pressure piping.
The roots of this unique company go
deep, all the way back to the 1880s and a
machinist named Oliver Dutton, who owned
a bicycle shop in what is now South El Paso.
Dutton had been attracted to the area by
the expansion of the railroads and—in
1881—he converted his bicycle shop to the
Electric and Machine Company to supply
the railroad industry’s need for spare parts.
The company, located at San Antonio and
East Overland Streets, was renamed El Paso
Novelty Company in 1900.
In August of 1906, Oliver Dutton, J. C.
House and T. C. Link formed a new company
named Union Iron and Brass Works. Then, in
January 1907, the red brick building, which
stands today on the corner of South Virginia
and Sixth Street, was erected and Union Iron
and Brass was moved to this location.
In 1911, J. F. Baumgarten, a bookkeeper
who had worked together with John O.
Wyler at El Paso Foundry and Machine
(the forerunner of Darbyshire Steel) joined
Union Iron and Brass. The two men gained
control of Union Iron and Brass and renamed
the firm Baumgarten and Wyler in 1913.
They conducted a large and prosperous business
in the manufacture of brass specialties
and general repair and foundry work. In
1923, John purchased Baumgarten’s interest
and formed a partnership with Otto J. Wyler
and Harvey Wilson. The company name was
changed to Wyler Industrial Works, a name
that has been retained through the years.
Wilson took control of the company
after John’s death, and owned it until 1953.
The company was then sold to a Wyler
employee, L. Paul Berry and his wife,
Patricia. Under a general reorganization in
1968, the company was incorporated as
Wyler Industrial Works, Inc.
Paul was a native of El Paso and graduated
from Austin High School in 1941. World War
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
196

II was beginning in 1942 and, after a year
at Texas College of Mines (now the University
of Texas at El Paso), Paul enlisted in the U.S.
Marines and served with the 4th Marine
Division, which fought in the Pacific. Paul
was wounded during the capture of Saipan
and Tinian, then helped overcome the enemy
on Iwo Jima, where he was again wounded.
After his discharge from service, Paul returned
to El Paso and joined Wyler Industrial Works
as head bookkeeper and supervisor.
Paul and June Patricia Tilton were married
in 1949 and had five children. Their youngest
son, Curtis M. Berry, later became president
of Wyler Industrial Works, Inc.; a position
now held by Fred A. Duvall, III since 2001.
The company is located at 711 South Saint
Vrain Street.
Wyler Industrial now employs about thirtyfive
people and averages $3.5 million in
sales per year. The company’s customer base
includes manufacturing entities in El Paso,
West Texas and Southern New Mexico, and
includes hospitals, schools, universities, public
utilities, laundries, restaurants, churches,
banks, and builders, as well as federal, state
and local governments.
Business has changed enormously since
Wyler Industrial first began doing business
nearly 125 years ago, but the company continues
to deliver leading customer support
and quality workmanship in industrial
service and repair.
Through its various divisions and specialties,
the experts at Wyler Industrial are prepared to
provide industrial repair services fast—often
within the hour. Wyler’s certified welders can
handle any welding need. Wyler repairs boilers
and just about anything in the pressure
vessel category. In addition, Wyler works on
combustion controls, industrial ovens, and
furnaces. For the machine shop at Wyler,
repairing or duplicating a broken part,
making alternations to existing equipment,
removing shafts in a 200,000 pound press or
line boring are all daily operations.
On-site or in the shop, with all these
service capabilities, Wyler Industrial Works
is prepared to help new companies move
to El Paso and get set up, and keep existing
industry going.
To learn more about the services of Wyler
Industrial Works, check their website at
www.wylerindustrial.com.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 9 7

BELLA VISTA
CUSTOM HOMES,
INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
198
Bella Vista Custom Homes has worked
tirelessly to construct homes of uncompromising
quality since it was founded by Edgar
Garcia in 2001. “Our goal is to build a house
we would be proud to call our own,” says
Edgar. “We want to satisfy clients in a way that
has them returning again with a friend or
family member.”
Edgar’s interest in construction began at
the age of ten when he and his brother helped
his father build rental homes. However,
Edgar, an El Paso native, worked with his
father on a family farm before realizing his
ambition of owning his own construction
company, and retired as a member of the El
Paso Fire Department after twenty years of
service. The construction business, which
specialized in remodeling homes, began as a
part-time effort with his brother. After they
built their first complete home from scratch,
Edgar decided to make homebuilding his
full-time career and Bella Vista Custom
Homes, Inc., was founded in July 2001. In the
early days, Edgar did fifty percent of the
actual construction himself.
The company goal from day one was to
build quality custom homes. As the demand
for his homes increased, Edgar decided to
concentrate on more upscale homes.
Edgar recalls that a major breakthrough
for the company came in 2007 when he
decided to build a house for display
during the El Paso Parade of Homes. “The
homebuilding business was in a recession at
the time and a lot of builders were having
a hard time,” Edgar recalls. “The market was
at its lowest and not a lot of builders were up
to building expensive homes for the Parade.
We went ahead and built a beautiful house
and our business began to take off. We just
happened to be in the right place at the
right time.”
Edgar’s wife, Maribel Garcia, is active in the
business; working with customers and helping
them select a custom floor plan for their home.
Maribel provides input and feedback during
the design phase and is experienced with floor
plan layouts for functionality, as well as color
selection of wall coverings. In the company’s
early years, Maribel was busy keeping up with
their three children.
Edgar has partnered with El Paso native
Realtor ® Grisel Ortega in a real estate firm that
handles the sales and marketing of Bella Vista
Custom Homes. Grisel has been active in real
estate since 2007 and is committed to the
highest standards of representation for her
clients, as well as being a multimillion dollar
top producer. Prior to joining Bella Vista
Custom Homes, she was the owner of a gallery
as an interior designer. Grisel’s interior design
experience has brought Bella Vista Custom
Homes to a higher standard of luxury. Her
down-to-earth approachability, confidence,
and style give Grisel an instant familiarity

that draws people to her. The success of her
interior designing has lead to another venture;
opening a company called 8-Designs (home
furnishings and accessories), which assists
clients with the interior design of their home
being built by Bella Vista Custom Homes.
The company, which has been honored by
the El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce as
a “Future 15 Growing with El Paso” company,
now has seven employees in the office and five
in the field. The company also works with a
number of highly skilled subcontractors.
Bella Vista Custom Homes specializes
in Mediterranean-style homes as well as
traditional homes that blend traditional and
modern features. The company builds around
thirty to thirty-five homes each year in the
$250,000 and up price range. Square footage
of the homes starts at 2,200. Each home is
individually designed and only the finest
grade materials and accessories are used in
their construction. Features of Bella Vista
Custom Homes include upscale ceilings and
moldings, and elaborate kitchens and baths.
Edgar is active in the El Paso Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce and has served as a
member of the board of the Better Business
Bureau. The company is an enthusiastic
supporter of all Parades of Homes and
Festivals of Homes. Edgar also coaches youth
baseball and he and Maribel are active at their
local church. The firm also supports local high
schools and youth sports activities.
“The goal of Bella Vista Custom Homes is to
design and construct distinguished custom
homes that satisfy our customer’s lifestyles and
expectations of the best craftsmanship and
construction experience possible,” says Edgar.
“I, along with Maribel, Grisel, and the entire
staff, care deeply about each customer’s satisfaction
throughout the entire planning and
building process, even after the home
is completed. We listen carefully to each
customer’s needs and desires, then strive to
build a home that will exceed their satisfactions
for functionality, beauty, and lifestyle. You
deserve a home you can be proud of, one that
meets your standards, tastes and needs. We
share your passion for life and focus that passion
into building outstanding custom homes.
“At Bella Vista Custom Homes, we offer
unparalleled quality and client satisfaction,”
he adds.
For more information about Bella Vista
Custom Homes, please visit their website at
www.bellavistacustomhomes.com.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
1 9 9

CESAR-SCOTT,
INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
200
Products produced by Cesar-Scott, Inc., a
leading manufacturer of wire harnesses and
cable assemblies, electro-mechanical assemblies,
electronic gas igniters and switch harness
assemblies, are used in the appliance,
automotive, custom and electronic markets.
Cesar-Scott also distributes cable management
products for contract manufacturers, original
equipment manufacturers, and original
design manufacturers.
Cesar-Scott was founded in Minneapolis in
1988 by Cesar Gustavo Farell and Scott
Schmidt, who had been fraternity brothers
while attending the University of Minnesota.
Schmidt had been working as a financial
planner at IDS and took over the sales
responsibility for the new company. Farell,
who had worked as a project engineer for
Honeywell took on the responsibility
for product innovation and the processes for
their manufacture.
After a couple of years, Farell wanted
Schmidt to move to El Paso to solidify the
company’s growth but Schmidt declined and left
the company, although the two men remain
friends today. At this time, Farell met Francisco
Armendariz, who was working as a quality
engineer at the company that was manufacturing
for Farell in Ciudad Juárez. Business was slow
and Farell was considering pulling back the
operation to El Paso and building the products
himself when Armendariz offered to do the
manufacturing from his garage in Ciudad
Juárez. He now serves as general manager of the
Ciudad Juárez, Mexico manufacturing facility.
In 1992, Cesar-Scott entered into a joint
venture with Taiwanese manufacturer of silicon
rubber keypads. This was the first of this type
of manufacture to move to Mexico and Cesar-
Scott acted as the sales and administrative
agent. The company, Jefferson Rubber/
Tecnologia Rubber, was eventually sold to a
European concern.
In 1993, Cesar-Scott entered into a joint
venture with several partners, one of which
was Ing. Oscar Miramontes, in the innovation
and development of multilingual closed
captioning software for encoding videos for
television. Unfortunately due to lack of
funding, Teknova Multilingual Captions had to
close its doors. Farell and Miramontes continue
their friendship while working together on
different business opportunities to this day.
In 1995, Cesar-Scott won a contract to
supply television harnesses for Toshiba. This
resulted in a five year relationship that aided
the company’s growth. Other contracts soon
followed, including a ‘switch harness’ contract
for gas stoves produced by Harper-Wyman
(now Burner Systems International) and a
contract for automotive speaker cables for
Oxford (now Harman International).
In 1995, Cesar-Scott invested its first dollars
in the City of El Paso by moving its
administrative offices and opening Sojourns
Coffeehouse atop the old San Francisco Grill.
Paula Farell, Farell’s sister, believed it would be
a good way to integrate the Cesar-Scott
business into downtown El Paso. The coffeehouse
lasted only five years and with all of the
changes taking place, this leased second floor
space and building was taken over by the city
soon after Sojourns moved out in June 2000.
While the city was at the beginning of its
redevelopment plans, Sojourns was a little
ahead of its time.
In 1997, Nova Marketing, a Texas-based
electronics rep firm, asked Cesar-Scott to
represent their semi-conductor principals in
the territories of El Paso, Ciudad Juárez
and Guadalajara.
In 2000, Cesar-Scott opened sales offices in
Guadalajara to better service the Guadalajara
Electronic Contract Manufacturing which was
booming at the time. Ingrid Flores, Cesar-
Scott’s most senior employee, moved to
Guadalajara to run the office. Within five years
the rep industry changed so drastically that
Cesar-Scott had to close its Guadalajara office.

During this period, and after closing the
coffeehouse, Cesar-Scott moved its offices and
warehouse in June 2000 to a 6,000 square foot
leased space at 4731 Ripley Drive, Suite B,
in El Paso.
The ups and downs of operating a successful
business did not stop when Cesar-Scott’s
largest customer—and no less than seventy
percent of Cesar-Scott’s sales—went Chapter 11
and then Chapter 7 bankrupt in April 2004.
Farell, resilient throughout a twenty-five
year career, was a firm believer that
persistence, good management, and a little
bit of faith would keep the company afloat.
It did.
In April 2004, Cesar-Scott won a Hummer
H3 lighting harness contract. At the same time,
one of their vendors referred Cesar-Scott to
their now largest appliance customer and this
has taken their wire harness business to
new levels.
The world economic recession of 2008-09
brought Cesar-Scott and many other
companies almost to a halt, or worse, but with
continued good management, the company
was again able to prevail, even with this apparent
insurmountable, uncontrollable setback.
By July 2013, Cesar-Scott was ranked
among the 500 largest Hispanic-owned
businesses in the United States by Hispanic
magazine. The company celebrated its twentyfifth
anniversary in 2013 by introducing a new
advertising and sales promotion tag line: wire
harnesses and cable management products.
Cesar-Scott, after acquiring and learning
the processes to build electronic gas igniters,
introduced its first OEM products in 2014,
NXT ignition modules for gas stoves.
At this time, Cesar-Scott moved into a new
development and growth phase that would see
annual sales grow from $2.2 million in 2010 to
more than $4.5 million in 2014.
Cesar-Scott employs eighty persons in its El
Paso headquarters and manufacturing facility
in Ciudad Juárez. A number of employees have
played key roles in the growth of the company,
including Francisco Armendariz, Paula Farell,
Laura Mendoza, Miguel Barrera, Bertha Ramos,
Myriam Robles, Ingrid Flores, Ricardo Aguirre,
Velia Fernandez, Fernando Moreno and
Claudia Carrillo.
Although not employees of Cesar-Scott, the
firm is indebted to the contributions of Don
Trenda, Oscar Miramontes, Bob Sherwood,
Matt Welch, Juan Bezanilla, Max Frederick
(may he rest in peace), Fran Sippel, Jim Faflik,
Al Ryan, Allen Cou, Tom Brest, Dave
Maslowski, Emilio Rivera, Dan Lezotte, Henry
Castillo, Stuart Roberts, and Tom Walsh.
Cesar-Scott moved in 2015 to 1731 Myrtle
Avenue, an 18,000 square foot corporate,
sales, administrative, warehousing and valued
added-cable management products facility,
within the El Paso Downtown Empowerment
Zone (EZ) area. The company chose to
move its U.S. operations here to again show its
commitment to the city while bringing it
closer to its manufacturing facility in
Ciudad Juárez.
Cesar-Scott’s involvement with local
organizations has been vital since its foundation.
The firm has teamed with a local engineering
design company and developed strong local
customers. Cesar-Scott has participated in local
trade shows, supply chain business events,
minority business programs and local career
fairs. Many of the Cesar-Scott employees are
graduates of The University of Texas at El Paso
and the company has developed products with
the assistance of UTEP College of Engineering
and received assistance from Texas
Manufacturing Assistance Center (TMAC) in
obtaining ISO9001 and ISO14001 certifications.
Cesar-Scott is active in the Greater El Paso
Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce and El Paso Better
Business Bureau.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 0 1

DANNY SANDER
CONSTRUCTION,
INC.
Above: From left to right, Project Manager
Eric Lara; Sherry Sander, who passed away
in early 2015; Shawn Sander; and
Danny Sander, Jr.
Below: Kathie and Danny Sander.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
202
Danny Sander Construction, Inc., got its
start nearly forty years ago when Danny
and Kathie Sander decided to go into the
earthmoving business, which in those early
days meant loading and delivering top soil
to customers in El Paso. The company has
grown tremendously over the years and is
now one of the largest and most respected
construction companies in the area.
Danny and Kathie were the founders
as well as the brawn and brains of the
entire organization. At first, they ran the
business out of their home and stored
equipment—which consisted of a dump truck
and Bobcat excavator—in their small back
yard. After beginning by moving dirt, and
loading and delivering top soil, they expanded
into landscaping and site development, and
then into finish grading and utility work.
Starting their own construction company
was a logical move since Danny grew up
around construction equipment. Both his
father and father-in-law were in the industry
and he had worked with equipment since he
was old enough to reach the pedals. Kathie
also had a construction background and
understood the other half of running a business.
Danny Sander Construction (DSCI) does
commercial work only, primarily dealing with
municipalities. Services provided by DSCI
include sewer, water and storm water work;
paving; HMAC and concrete; horizontal bores
twelve inch and up; dirt work, ponding,
concrete work; sidewalks, curbs and gutters;
wheel chair ramps and inlets.
Danny and Kathie added additional
employees as business began to grow and
worked hard to earn and maintain a good
reputation for quality and dependability. A key
employee was family friend, Sherry Sander,
who worked for the company more than
twenty years as bookkeeper and office
manager. Sadly, she lost a five year battle with
cancer in January 2015. She was a trustworthy
and dedicated employee and continued to
work in the office until the very end.
Danny and Kathie incorporated their
company in 1987 and became Danny Sander
Construction, Inc. (DSCI), specializing
in utility work and all work related to
installation, such as paving, underground
storm drainage systems and boring.
The company took a major step forward
in the early 1990s when it was awarded the
contract for the first phase of the Central
Business District (CBD) project that began
the rehabilitation of downtown El Paso. DSCI
has also played a major role in the expansion
and rehabilitation of El Paso’s water, sewer
and storm sewer infrastructure. DSCI also
installed the foundations for some of the first
cell phone towers on the Franklin Mountains
in the late 1980s.
Currently, DSCI is installing the sewer
infrastructure for the new William Beaumont
Army Medical Center.
In 2004, Danny turned over the daily operation
of the company to his sons, Danny, Jr.,
and Shawn and they began to oversee the
running of DSCI. Danny, Jr., is the general
superintendent and oversees all projects.

Shawn handles all the bidding/estimating and
oversees project management for all projects.
The current officers of the company are:
President Kathie Sander; Vice President Danny
Sander, Jr.; Vice President Shawn Sander; and
Secretary/Treasurer Danny Sander.
The company that started with only
one truck and one piece of construction
equipment now owns more than fifty pieces
of equipment and trucks. Employment has
risen to thirty-six people, in addition
to a number of subcontractors. Of the firm’s
36 current employees, 13 have worked for
the company for more than 10 years and
9 others have been with the company for
more than 25 years.
When they started business forty years ago,
Danny and Kathie worked on whatever jobs
they could find, some for only a few hundred
dollars. The company now earns from hundreds
of thousands to millions of dollars per contract.
By 2003 the business had grown to annual
gross revenues of around $4 million. Since
they took the reins eleven years ago, Danny, Jr.,
and Shawn have grown the business to average
gross revenues of $6.2 million per year. The
firm’s largest contract to date—in 2007—was
for $8.5 million.
DSCI has built its outstanding reputation
on quality and dependability. Engineers have
called on the company many times to serve as
a consultant to review plans, or by a customer
to complete an emergency job they have no
time to bid out.
In February 2016, Danny Sander
Construction, Inc., will celebrate forty years in
business. The company hopes to maintain its
current strong financial status and continue to
maintain its impeccable reputation. Company
leaders intend to remain prosperous and
relative for generations to come.
For more information about DSCI, see
their website at www.dannysander.com.
Above: Danny Sander.
Below: An aerial view of the WBAMC
Sewer Project.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 0 3

CEMEX
CEMEX, which maintains its West Texas
and New Mexico regional office in El Paso, is
one of the region’s largest and most important
businesses. The CEMEX El Paso operation is
part of a global building materials company
that provides high quality products and
reliable service in more than fifty countries
throughout the world, and maintains trade
relationships in more than a hundred nations.
The firm’s philosophy is well stated in
its mission statement, which reads: “To create
sustainable value by providing industryleading
products and solutions to satisfy
the construction needs of customers around
the world.”
For more than a century, CEMEX has grown
from a small firm in Northern Mexico to
become one of the top global companies in its
industry. CEMEX has the people, the culture,
and the opportunities to continue addressing
society’s growing needs for the highest quality
products and innovative solutions.
The long history of CEMEX began in 1906
with the opening of the Cementos Hidalgo plant
in Mexico. In only three years, the company
doubled its annual production capacity at
the original plant to 66,000 tons.
The Mexican revolution of 1912 forced
CEMEX to halt production at the Cementos
Hidalgo plant because a lack of available
energy, communication channels and human
resources prevented the company from
distributing cement profitably.
Despite the difficult political and economic
environment, CEMEX resumed partial
production at the Cementos Hidalgo plant
in 1919. A year later, Cementos Portland
Monterrey began operation with an annual
production capacity of 20,000 tons. The new
plants first kiln used the most modern technology
of its time, a long single-step dry
process. This plant marketed Cementos
Portland Monterrey branded cement to meet
the customer demand in northeastern Mexico.
Full production resumed at the
Cementos Hidalgo plant in 1920
and, with the installation of a
second kiln, CEMEX expanded
the production capacity of its
Monterrey plant 100 percent.
The Cementos Hidalgo and
Cementos Portland Monterrey
operations were merged in 1931 to
form Cementos Mexicanos S.A.
By the time CEMEX celebrated
its fiftieth anniversary in 1956, the
firm has become one of the most
important in Mexico’s construction
industry. With another expansion
of the Monterey plant, CEMEX sold
more than 230,000 tons of gray
cement and nearly 15,000 tons of
white cement annually.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
204

CEMEX continued to grow
during the 1960s and 1970s
through plant expansion and
several strategic acquisitions. In
1976, CEMEX was listed on the
Mexican stock exchange and
became Mexico’s market leader
with the acquisition of Cementos
Guadalajara. In 1985, CEMEX’s
annual sales exceeded 6.7 million
tons of cement and clinker
and the annual sales of three
plants—Monterrey, Guadalajara
and Torreón—each surpassed
one million tons.
With the acquisition of Cementos Tolteca
in 1989, CEMEX became the second largest
cement producer in Mexico and one of the ten
largest cement companies in the world.
CEMEX expanded its operations into the
United States in 1994 by acquiring Balcones,
a cement plant in New Braunfels, Texas. That
same year, CEMEX launched its alternative
fuels strategy and began converting its plants
to the use of petroleum coke. Also established
in 1994 was the firm’s eco-efficiency program,
which has become a cornerstone of CEMEX’s
sustainable development strategy.
CEMEX was listed on the New York Stock
Exchange in 1999 under the ticker symbol
“CX”. In 2000, CEMEX became North
America’s largest cement producer with the
acquisition of U.S. based Southdown.
In 2005, CEMEX acquired a British company,
RMC Group, which had operations in
Europe and the U.S., including Jobe Concrete
Products in West Texas and New Mexico.
The acquisition of RMC was completed in
March 2005 and CEMEX began its operations
in El Paso.
When CEMEX celebrated the company’s
100th anniversary in 2006, the company
employed more than 50,000 people worldwide.
The impact of CEMEX on El Paso has
been huge, with approximately 300 people
employed in the area. Locally, CEMEX
operates 5 aggregate quarries, 4 Ready-Mix
Concrete sites, 4 building material centers,
3 asphalt plants, a cement and fly ash
terminal and a large fleet of cement, aggregates
and asphalt transport vehicles.
CEMEX is actively involved in the El Paso
community. For the past three years, CEMEX
has hosted tours for the children of
Bill Childress Elementary School to learn
more about mining operations and the
raw materials sourced for concrete. CEMEX
has been a proud sponsor and participant
of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality and the City of El Paso Environmental
Summit for several years and is also the
recipient of the National Sand, Stone and
Gravel Association’s prestigious Community
Excellence Award.
After more than a century, the employees
of CEMEX worldwide continue to work hard
to develop and deliver the best solutions
in cement, ready-mix, aggregates, asphalt
and other construction materials…so we can
continue to transform ideas into reality.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 0 5

DA DEFENSE
LOGISTICS HQ
Above: Co-founder David Granado.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
206
DA Defense Logistics HQ, based in El Paso,
is a diverse corporation engaged in logistic
operations worldwide. The firm provides
maintenance operations, supply services
and transportation services and is a GSA
Approved Vendor for fleet management. The
management teams’ extensive background
ensures delivery of superior, quality service
to Federal Department of Defense, state, city,
commercial and not-for-profit clients, while
exceeding today’s best business practices.
DA Defense Logistics HQ was co-founded
in 2009 by David Granado. David, who
earned a Bachelor’s degree in Administration
and a Master’s in Business from the University
of Phoenix-El Paso, spent more than twentyone
years as an Army Logistician, developing
logistical programs in support of Department
of Defense (DoD) worldwide. During this
period, he worked with many small and
large businesses in developing and implementing
these programs. Ensuring compliance
and cost controls were an integral part of
every program.
Serving as a senior government official
and Contracting Officer Representative, David
worked on projects ranging from identifying
and validating the government’s needs,
developing programs along with its control
measures, working through the contract
direct, sole or solicitation process, procuring
government funding, performing the role of
senior proposal board evaluator, government
negotiator, and ultimately managing the
performance for the life of the contract. David
also has extensive experience in capture
management, proposal writing, and pricing
win strategies, and to date holds a plus
ninety percent average win rate.
The company was founded initially to
satisfy requirements of ‘technical consulting’
in areas of federal contract management/
compliance, technical proposal writing,
and overall requirements interpretation to
small and large firms doing business with
the federal government. The firm got off to a
fast start, receiving three consulting contracts
within its first ninety days, and becoming
a consultant as a third party to specific
government contracting offices.
In DA Defense Logistics HQ’s initial startup
as a consulting firm, it helped five local small
businesses increase revenues more than 100
percent annually within the first year.
DA Defense Logistics HQ now has more
than eighteen clients across the United States
with which it consults, including the three
original clients.
In support of DoD and state, DA Defense
Logistics HQ now operates in Texas,
New Mexico, California, Tennessee, Kentucky,
Georgia, Virginia and South Carolina
supporting the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines,
U.S. Air Force, National Guard, U.S. Customs
and Border Protection, Health and Human
Service, and various commercial companies
with interest CONUS and OCONUS.
The business philosophy that guides DA
Defense Logistics HQ is summed up well in
the firm’s Vision and Value Statements and its
Service Pledge:
Our vision: DA Defense Logistics HQ’s
vision is to lead the industry in providing
quality, flexible logistical support in the form
of a complete turnkey operation. We will earn
the industry and client’s support through
continued improvement driven by the integrity,
teamwork, and innovation of our employee’s
values. We have visions of exceeding
customer’s expectations in accountability,
compliance, exceeding requirements, and
quality control, while simultaneously achieving
our customer’s goals.

Our value: We work hard to incorporate
corporate, organized labor and our customers
into one team. Our corporate structure is
aligned to support a myriad of Operational
and Management Logistic requirements. Our
robust Quality Management System (QMS)
drills down and effectively enforces contract
compliance, cost control measures, safety,
and accountability. We bring ISO 9001-2008
compliant procedures and processes.
Our service pledge: Our commitment to
ethics, values, professional competence and
service excellence sets us apart from the competition’s
standards for exceeding customer’s
expectations in accountability and compliance,
meeting requirements and quality control, while
simultaneously achieving customer’s objectives
and reducing cost. This is accomplished through
continuous ‘owner involvement’ and a direct
line of communication.
The growth of DA Defense Logistics HQ in
the six years since it was founded has been
little short of phenomenal. The firm has
averaged a 600 percent growth rate over the
past four years. The firm provided nearly sixty
local full-time positions within its first year
and now employs more than 416 full-time
employees, of which 34 percent of the
employees are US Veterans.
The contract value of DA Defense Logistics
HQ now totals $96.3 million. Primary
customers include the U.S. Army, U.S. Marines,
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Original
Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) of medium
and heavy military tactical vehicles, and large
industries and businesses across the nation.
DA Defense Logistics HQ is headquartered
at 1506 Montana Avenue in El Paso. The
company and its employees are active in a
number of community activities, including
the Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce. The firm is also a
member of 8a and Government Contractor’s
Association and David serves as a member of
the organization’s Board of Directors.
DA Defense Logistics HQ is currently working
on staying on its Business Plan growth
schedule and every indication shows that it
will exceed the estimated growth in employee
positions as well as revenue by over 100
percent in 2016 and 2017. The company has
already locked in negotiations and been
awarded, providing the firm the security it
needs to exceed it growth plan schedule.
The goal of DA Defense Logistics HQ is
to become a well-diversified business, able
to meet the requirements of performing
a multitude of tasks associated with developing,
operating, maintaining and sustaining comprehensive
logistical programs, worldwide.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 0 7

EL PASO
PAPER BOX, INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
208
Paul Malooly, like his grandfather Esau, was
passionate about the career he would choose.
Esau immigrated to America from the
Assyrian region of the Middle East to teach
economics at the former Texas Western
College—now the University of Texas at
El Paso (UTEP). His vision, generosity, and
work ethic were instrumental not only in the
growth of the University, but the community.
He was later honored for both with a plaque
on the campus of UTEP.
Today, Paul emulates the same determined
work ethic; however, unlike Esau’s vocation in
education, Paul wanted to own a business.
After selling the family evaporative cooler
business in the early 1990s, Paul invested in
a commercial printer servicing the booming
textile industry. When textiles moved
offshore, he looked into retail packaging, a
market that was underserved. It gave him and
his management team the chance to move
into a business they could “grow” quickly
with little competition. He founded El Paso
Paper Box, Inc. (EPPB) in December 1995.
His decision proved to be a wise one as
the Maquiladora (twin-plant) business in
neighboring Juárez, Mexico, boomed in the
twenty-first century. As an independent, EPPB
had a “leg up” on the competition, and larger
multinational packaging companies for the
most part vacated the area.
Paul started the business in a 14,000
square foot facility at 7B Zane Grey; and was
joined by Carlos Espinoza, vice president, in
1999. The small business had no breakroom,
so employees (founder included) took brown
bag lunches outside to eat sitting on a bench
near the front entrance. Soon realizing that
additional space was needed, Paul relocated
EPPB to a 55,000 square foot location at
222 North Concepcion a year later. Again,
EPPB outgrew the facility, moving to 24 Zane
Grey, its current location, increasing production
and office areas to 105,000 square feet.
El Paso Paper Box, Inc., manufactures folding
cartons, clamshell inserts, and other printed
media. All aspects of the business are handled
in-house from die-making, print plate
processing, printing, cutting, and gluing. The
one-stop-shop handles all facets of the folding
carton marketplace. It also designs prototypes
to accommodate customers’ customized
needs. From structural design, sheet-fed offset
printing with Expanded Color Gamut, aqueous
and UV coating, embossing and debossing,
windowing and label application, and various
finishing capabilities, it is a completely turnkey
operation. Its customer base includes
medical, food, industrial, and consumer
product groups, many of them Fortune 500
companies in the consumer products,
entertainment, electronic, health and beauty
aids, tobacco, and liquor industries.
El Paso Paper Box joined the Independent
Carton Group (ICG) in 2001. The membership
of twenty similar companies shares a common
bond in the folding carton market.
Membership allows EPPB to offer customers
exceptional products, pricing, and service via
collective purchasing initiatives. Additionally,

members are able to achieve costs on par
with large integrated competitors and offers
significant long-term price protections.
Another benefit of membership is continuity
assurance, educational programs and networking,
which are passed on to customers.
As a group, the ICG affiliates represent almost
$1 billion in annual sales and over 1,400 years
of packaging history.
The company’s mission is: To develop
long-term relationships, which allow it to
meet customers’ expectations in all areas,
including quality, service and value; to do
what we say, to create integrity by eliminating
the gap between what we promise and what
we do; and to maintain our environmental
commitment. Our goal is to deliver products
and quality while minimizing potential negative
impact to the environment. In addition, it
assures clients that El Paso Paper Box is meeting
or exceeding all regulatory, environmental,
and other standards set by organizations,
governments, customers, and the communities
in which it operates.
El Paso Paper Box’s main location has
approximately 150 employees; and maintains
regional distribution facilities for strategic customers
in various North American locations.
Playing major roles in the company’s
success are Jim Burkett, an invaluable
resource and key leader of its engineering and
maintenance crew; Manny Corral, print
production manager, who has
been with the company since
its inception; Blanca Duarte,
plant manager; Jo Ann Rincon,
customer service manager; and
Melissa Atilano, customer service.
With its successful twenty
year history, El Paso Paper Box
invests heavily in its future.
Capital expenditures are at an alltime
high, with several $1 million
plus purchases having been
completed. The acquisitions will
propel EPPB to greater efficiencies,
reduced waste, increased productivity,
and reduced lead-times to
customers. “We hope to continue
as the regional leader among
folding carton companies, through
long-term relationships with our customers
based on service, quality, unmatched value,
and technological advances,” says Paul. “Plans
are underway for a Greenfield venture to
expand our reach and service to our clients.”
The Malooly family is a fourth generation
El Paso family with strong ties to the city and
the university. Paul inherited his grandfather’s
community spirit and work ethic. “Whether
it’s teaching at the university or running a
business, it is important to play a major role
within the community. I believe everyone has
an obligation to give back to the community
that has welcomed and served us as well as
El Paso has.”
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 0 9

FREEPORT-
MCMORAN
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
210
The Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) copper
refinery and rod plant has been a driving
force for El Paso’s economy for eighty-five
years. The facility may be better known
by long-time El Paso residents as Phelps
Dodge Corporation, or even as Nichols
Copper Company.
The original copper refinery in El Paso was
built by Nichols Copper Company.
Groundbreaking for the massive facility took
place in 1929 on a large expanse of sand and
sage so far out of town that employees without
cars had to walk three miles from the end of
the nearest streetcar line. When it opened in
1930 the Nichols Copper Company facility
included twenty buildings, built on 580 acres.
From the beginning, the $4 million El Paso
plant was one of the most modern copper
refineries in the world, with an initial annual
capacity of 100,000 tons per year.
The initial construction included six
adobe brick residences for site management.
These houses have been remodeled over
the years and are still occupied by FCX
employees today.
The first refined copper was cast in March
1930 and a shipment of wirebars left the El
Paso plant six days later. At the time, copper
was selling for nineteen cents a pound and
cost eleven cents to produce.
The facility has kept pace with new
technology over the years. There were two
expansions of the Electrolytic Refinery, one in
1944 and another in the late 1960s. In addition,
upgrades were installed to achieve the facility’s
current production capacity of more than
500,000 tons of cathode copper per year.
Other modifications have included
construction of a precious metals facility,
copper sulphate plant, electrical co-generation
plant, nickel sulfate plant, nickel carbonate
plant, anode casting facility and a water
treatment facility.
The Nichol’s Copper Company had been
founded in 1870 by William Henry Nichols, a
chemist who discovered an inexpensive and
profitable method of producing sulfuric acid
from copper pyrites. However, the Nichols
name was associated with the El Paso facility
for only a short time. The Phelps Dodge
Corporation was one of three firms that helped
finance the El Paso operation and quickly
became Nichols’ most important customer.
Phelps Dodge acquired Nichols Copper
Company in 1930 and operated the El Paso
facility for seventy-seven years until it was
purchased in 2007 by Freeport-McMoRan
Copper & Gold.
Phelps Dodge Corporation was founded as
an import-export firm in 1834. As the nation’s
western frontier expanded, Phelps Dodge
acquired mines and mining companies,
including the huge Copper Queen mine, the
most productive in Arizona. By the late nineteenth
century, Phelps Dodge was known as a
mining company.

As the industrial revolution transformed
the nation, Phelps Dodge focused largely on
providing copper wire and cables to industry.
As the company diversified, it began investing
in new railroads and used its own lines to
transport products to and from its markets on
the east coast.
The El Paso refinery prospered under
the direction of Phelps Dodge. Its original
capacity of 100,000 tons of cathode more than
doubled by 1944 to 240,000 tons, which
made it the largest copper refinery in
the world. A continuous cast rod mill was
opened in 1981 and Phelps Dodge became the
world’s largest producer of copper rod by
the late 1980s.
In 1982, Phelps Dodge opened a precious
metals recovery plant at the El Paso facility
and a precious metals refinery opened
in 1991. In the early 1990s, the tank house
was extensively modernized by converting
from the traditional Baltimore groove system
to a Walker-style ‘dog bone’ electrical connection
system. Polymer concrete cells
replaced the lead-lined Portland cement cells
and the very labor-intensive ‘hand stripping’
of starting sheets was replaced with automated
sheet stripping equipment.
Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, FCX
has a dynamic portfolio of operating,
expansion and growth projects in the copper
industry. FCX is the world’s largest publically
traded copper producer, the world’s largest
producer of molybdenum and a significant
gold, oil and natural gas producer.
In addition to converting anode copper to a
more pure cathode copper for the rod mill and
other cathode purchasing customers, the El
Paso Refinery manufactures fifteen pound
pure copper starting sheets that are used in
FCX mines in New Mexico and Arizona as well
as the starting sheet for cathode production at
electro winning tank houses in the solvent
extraction/electro winning process.
As one of the world’s largest rod mills (2.7
million pound per day capacity), the El Paso
Rod Mill is able to blend a variety of cathode
brands to produce a high quality 5/16
inch diameter copper rod. This rod has a
reputation within the wire drawing industry
of being one of the highest quality copper
rods available. Customers come from many
market segments including the automotive,
power cable, magnet wire, and Datacom and
telecom industries.
FCX’s copper refinery and copper
rod plant in El Paso employs approximately
375 people and is a highly significant
factor in the local economy. In 2014, FCX
generated an estimated $194.2 million in
economic benefits for El Paso County and
approximately $610.2 million for Texas from
mining related operations.
FCX believes strongly in partnering
with communities in and near its operations.
The company supports mini-grants for
education, STEM innovation grants, general
social investment grants, women’s development
grants programs, matching gift programs,
an employee volunteer fund and the United
Way campaign.
For more information on Freeport McMoRan,
visit their website at www.fcx.com.
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 1 1

FACILITIES
CONNECTION,
INC.
Above: Patricia Holland Branch.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
212
Since it was founded in 1987, Facilities
Connection, Inc., has developed an
international reputation as a market leader
and the “Go-To source for simplified space,”
technology and comprehensive contract
furniture management services.
In its twenty-nine year history, Facilities
Connection has grown from an interior design
firm to the premier authority in workplace
design, aligning sustainable modular products
and architectural walls with technology and
space utilization to maximize the return on
the client’s investment.
The company founder, Patricia Holland
Branch, feels that the success of Facilities
Connection over the years is best explained
in the company’s Mission Statement: “Our
success is built on the people who make up
the team we work with, individual ownership
of each project and respect for what we do
together as a company is what makes each
grow stronger. From top to bottom, we share
in the responsibility that gives our company
the value that we offer to each of our clients.”
In its early years, PZH Contract, as it was
known then, was focused on interior design
but quickly developed into a full-service
office furniture dealership. The customer base
expanded quickly with the burgeoning
manufacturing industries in Mexico, where in
addition to the El Paso office, the company
maintained an office and showroom.
As communication and technology
improved, it became more efficient to base
the company’s operations in El Paso and
Facilities Connection relocated both the
El Paso and Juarez offices to their current
location, 240 East Sunset Road. In 2013 the
company shifted its territory focus from
Mexico to expanding their U.S. markets.
Facilities Connection provides products
and services for healthcare environments,
government agencies and military
installations, higher education facilities, as
well as commercial and industrial projects.
The company’s comprehensive interior design
services include space planning, furniture
specification, furniture, modular architectural
walls, raised access floors, specific selection,
economic solutions, collaborative technology
tool solutions and logistical asset management
and planning. Facilities Connection strives
to provide the complete element of design
and specification, order management and
professional installation, along with the ‘Best
of Class’ sales and support for its customers.
Through a global network of strategic alliance
partners, Facilities Connection can manage
the logistics and installation for any size
project. For the last twenty-eight years they
have been a dealer for Haworth, Inc. Haworth
was the first in the contract furniture industry
to embrace the SBA 8(a) Mentor/Protégé
agreement with Facilities Connection, Inc.
Their support, collaboration and innovation
have been a large and important part of
Facilities Connection business history.
Haworth, founded in 1948, remains familyowned
and privately-held and serves markets
in more than 120 countries.
The scope of Facilities Connection
services has evolved over time to incorporate
not only the physical elements of modular
design, but the integral components of
logistics, qualifying certifications and the
many ancillary services required to be the
best suited extension of its customer’s
needs. The firm’s proven value is its ability
to best utilize its services and performance.
Facilities Connection provides a complete
range of support services related to the
interiors it designs and the products it
sells. These services include furniture
installation, warehousing, storage, move

services, reconfiguration and liquidation of
existing furniture.
Recognizing the value of certifications,
Facilities Connection is a graduate of the
SBA 8(a) as well as certified through WBENC
(Women’s Business Enterprise Certification),
WOSB (Federal Women Owned Small
Business Certification) and certified as a
Texas HUB (Historically Underutilized
Small Business). Through a certification
program through the Southwest Minority
Supplier Development Council, many other
opportunities have also been realized.
Facilities Connection has also grown by
encouraging innovation, creativity, passion,
integrity and great service. The company
encourages and funds all employees to obtain
certifications and to continually train in their
professional and technical skills. Facilities
Connection is a member of USGBC and its
local (Chihuahuan Desert) Chapter.
Facilities Connection has attracted a core
group of over eighteen to twenty long-term
and new associates and an abundant source of
strategic alliance partners who may be called
upon when required for special projects.
The Facilities Connection team is
committed to the growth and well-being of
the community through direct involvement
in organizations such as the Boy’s & Girl’s
Clubs, Center Against Family Violence,
YWCA, YMCA, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts,
El Pasoans Fighting Hunger Food Bank and
many others.
Patricia currently serves on the Boards
of Directors for the Borderplex Regional
Alliance, El Paso Electric Company, Advisory
Board for Texas Tech University’s Gayle Greve
Hunt School of Nursing and Hospitals of
Providence Women’s Advisory Group, and
serves as an advisory board member of the
El Paso Community College Interior Design
Technology Department. Patricia is also a
former Board member of El Paso Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board
and of the El Paso Branch of the 12th District
Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and is
Past Chairman of the Board for the Greater
El Paso Chamber of Commerce. Patricia
was appointed by Governor George W. Bush
to serve a four year term on the governing
board of the Texas Department of Economic
Development, was inducted to the El Paso
Business Hall of Fame in 2011 and
McDonalds’ Hispanos Triunfadores in 2008.
Within Facilities Connection other officers
have held positions in the community
as well.
President and CFO Amy Halloul serves on
the Board of Directors for the Haworth High
Performing Dealer Alliance. She and Vice
President Sergio Aragon, serve as officers
of (ASPE) American Society of Professional
Estimators Rio Grande Chamber 40.
Sergio is also a board member of the Yucca
Council for Boy Scouts of America. Former
President Dave Branch (retired) was a key
driver in the successful promotion of the
company to the Northern Mexico maquiladoras
(manufacturing plants). During the past ten
years, he was instrumental in identifying
opportunities for Facilities Connection with
various federal agencies and government
contractors. He also provided guidance to many
8A companies both locally and nationally.
Much has changed in the nearly three
decades since Facilities Connection
opened their doors. In this industry of
constantly evolving technology that
combines environmental awareness and
sustainability, more projects will need to
turn to the solutions and expertise provided
by Facilities Connection, a proven leader
and the “Go-To source for simplified space.”
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 1 3

GLOBAL
CONTAINERS &
CUSTOM
PACKAGING, INC.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
214
Global Containers & Custom Packaging,
Inc. create highly creative, flexible and reliable
diversified packaging and operational solution
services. This results in a positive impact on
customer’s operations by eliminating operational
stress, which enhances operational
growth, efficiency, and profit.
Our sister company, Global Containers de
Mexico SA de CV, Global provides professional
and affordable protective packaging solutions
for any type of industry, including automotive,
medical, electronics, mobile, computers and
food. A division of inspection, rework, and logistics
in the U.S. and Mexico currently provides
service to a sister company of Toyota that manufactures
interior automotive fabrics for Corolla
and Camry models; we perform this service in
Cd. Juárez, Mexico and Cd. Matamoros, Mexico,
eventually in Cd. Torreón, Mexico.
The company was founded by three partners—Jose
Ochoa, Luis Galvan and Jesus
Andujo—in Ciudad Juárez Chihuahua in
2008. The partners, all experienced in the
industry, soon realized that in order to be a key
player in an aggressive market an operation
was needed in El Paso.
The year 2008 was very challenging for the
company because of economic conditions in the
U.S. and Mexico. As a new company, it was
important to find new customers who demanded
the best quality and price. Global exceeded
customer’s expectations by providing reliability,
trust-ability, innovative solutions, real expertise
and business flexibility.
A key event occurred when a computer
company from Taiwan, with operations in
Cuidad Juárez, decided to give Global the
opportunity to handle their packaging business.
Seven years later, it is one of Global’s
strongest business relationships.
As a new corporation, it was difficult for
Global to obtain adequate financing in the
early years but a local El Paso banking institution,
Bank of the West (now WestarBank) trusted
the company, believed in the partner’s
dreams and provided the backing needed for
the company to grow.
Global’s main strength is its customer service
philosophy and the great team of individuals
who run the operations on a daily basis. The
company’s leaders are committed to finding
ways of improving and innovating in its market,
and are always looking for new business opportunities
in order to diversify. Year after year,
Global Containers & Custom Packaging, Inc.,
has achieved an exponential and stronger
growth in terms of business, presence, reputation
and revenue.
Based on Global’s current business development
initiatives to become a diversified solutions
company, the company growth plan is to
double the size of the company by the end of
2018. The company is building bridges to
achieve this goal by being active in the Helenic
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce in Greece and
Spain and establishing commercial relationships
with business people in the Middle East and Asia
through the Borderplex alliance organization.
Our goal as entrepreneurs is to evolve
Global Containers & Custom Packaging, Inc.
as a company that will pass thru generations
based on solid foundations, ethics, systems and
business innovations.

Durable Metal Products was founded in
1994 by Ray Wells and his sons—Bob and
Jim—who manufactured replacement parts for
waste recycling equipment. Together, they took
several generations of foundry experience and
applied it to swing hammers used in “tub
grinders.” The result was a cast steel swing
hammer that processed 100 percent more
material per life cycle, 25 percent more
material per production hour, was easier to
install and reduced the wear on the rest of the
machine. Over the next couple years, other
designs were developed in order to maximize
productivity and reduce waste. These premium
hammers were soon sold throughout the
United States and worldwide.
A friend who worked for a large jeans
manufacturer asked Bob if a knife blade
used to cut the cloth that was being
consumed at the rate of about a thousand
blades a day could be improved. The family
discussed the topic and decided to send
sample blades put through a “Deep Cryogenic
Process,” which was said to increase the
edge life of steel cutting tools. The samples
were tested, and performed beyond
expectations. However, bulk quantity process
results were inconsistent.
Research into the equipment exposed a lack
of temperature control and uniformity. This
was when the family decided to manufacture
an improved cryogenic freezer. Believing that
the process should be an extension of standard
heat treat practices, an upper limit of 1200°F
was established and the “CryoFurnace”
was created. The first one was sold to a gun
barrel manufacturer on the U.S. Government’s
preferred vendor list. Over the last two
decades the “CryoFurnace” has evolved into
the most versatile piece of equipment
of its kind; it is the first and only cryogenic
processor available with a temperature range
of -300°F to +1200°F.
The CryoTemper (-300°F to 550°F) was
introduced to satisfy a market that did not
require the upper temperature extreme. Two
CryoTempers were used to thermal cycle the
mirrors during production for the James Webb
Space Telescope.
In 1996, DMP introduced the CryoSwitch,
the first automatic liquid cylinder-switching
device. Originally an accessory to the equipment,
the CryoSwitch provides an uninterrupted
liquid nitrogen supply. The CryoSwitch has
become a standalone device used by a wide
range of industries; from manufacturers to pharmaceutical
and biological research companies.
In 2001, Durable Metal Products entered
into a strategic partnership with a major
manufacturer of liquid nitrogen storage and
delivery systems, which has allowed them
to offer complete turnkey systems to its
customers. DMP became DMP CryoSystems to
reflect the larger business capability.
DMP CryoSystems has sold more than
150 of its unique machines worldwide to
customers in aerospace, gear and bearing
manufacturing, automotive and commercial
industries. The company is constantly improving
its equipment and works closely with
customers to customize the machine to best
suit their needs. DMP leads the industry in
product innovation and service.
Over the years, DMP CryoSystems has
proudly supported local groups like AmVets,
Al Meida Shrine and UTEP, as well as
Wounded Warriors, St. Jude’s Bike-A-Thon,
and Children’s Make A Wish Foundation.
DURABLE METAL PRODUCTS/
DMP CRYOSYSTEMS
E L P A S O P A R T N E R S
2 1 5

SMITH-
JOHNSTON’S
CASA PLUMBING
Below: Hyman Levy, grandfather of the
Zimmerman boys, was an independent
plumber in El Paso in the early part of the
twentieth century.
Bottom: Lee Zimmerman, grandson of
Hyman Levy, and owner of Smith-Johnston's
Casa Plumbing at the wheel of a presentday
plumbing truck.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
216
For more than ninety years, Smith-
Johnston’s Casa Plumbing has provided
customers with the highest quality residential
and light commercial plumbing and air
conditioning service.
The company began as Smith Plumbing
Co., established in 1924 by Mr.
C. Smith, who hung out his shingle and
began offering plumbing services to
customers in the El Paso area. Smith
operated the business successfully until the
1950s, when it was purchased by the
Applebe family.
Robert Johnston acquired ownership in
1962 and added his name, operating as
Smith-Johnston Plumbing Company.
Johnston ran the business until his death
in 2002.
Meanwhile, Emanuel “Manny” Zimmerman,
who had worked in the plumbing and air
conditioning fields for many years, had
started a business of his own called Casa
Plumbing in 1972. Manny taught the trade
to his sons, Mark and Lee. In spite of illness,
Manny remained active in the operation
until his death in 2002. At that time, a third
son, Jay, joined his brothers to purchase
Smith-Johnston Plumbing.
They proceeded to merge the two highly
respected companies. In order to preserve
the rich heritages and loyal client bases, the
name Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing
was adopted.
From the old six-digit phone numbers to
today’s website, and adjusting to advances in
materials and techniques over the nine
decades, Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing
continues to grow. Some of the relics of the
early years are carefully preserved and
displayed at the company office at 1120 East
Yandell Drive.
Under the leadership of Jay, Mark and
Lee, Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing has
expanded into the fields of plumbing
remodeling and renovations, as well as
refrigeration services. Also offered by Smith-
Johnston’s Casa Plumbing is back-flow
prevention, pumps, toilets, disposals, water
and sewer lines, wall heaters, furnaces, gas
lines, and conversions from evaporative
cooling to refrigerated air.
The company is open on Saturday and
offers a ten percent labor discount to senior
citizens and members of the military.
The Zimmerman’s attribute much of the
success of the business to the dedication of
key employees, whose commitment to quality
remains steadfast. The company employs a
total of seventeen people.
In 2008, Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing
received the Torch Award from the Better
Business Bureau Paso del Norte.
Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing contributes
services and resources to numerous
charities, with a particular emphasis on
organizations that benefit children.
To learn more about what Smith-Johnston
Casa Plumbing can do for you, please visit
www.sjcasaplumbing.com.

Sponsors
Advanced Pools.................................................................................1 8 1
AJ’s Uniforms ...................................................................................1 6 8
American Packaging and Supply, Inc. ...................................................1 9 4
B&M Machinery Co. ..........................................................................1 7 7
Barnett Harley-Davidson ...................................................................1 5 4
Bella Vista Custom Homes, Inc. ...........................................................1 9 8
Big Boy Concessions, Inc. ...................................................................1 6 0
Butterfield Trail Golf Club .................................................................1 3 1
Cattleman’s Steakhouse at Indian Cliffs Ranch .......................................1 4 2
CEMEX ...........................................................................................2 0 4
Century 21 APD Associates ................................................................1 9 0
Cesar-Scott, Inc. ...............................................................................2 0 0
Clowe & Cowan of El Paso, LLC ..........................................................1 8 8
Crown Wealth Strategies ....................................................................1 5 6
DA Defense Logistics HQ ...................................................................2 0 6
Danny Sander Construction, Inc. .........................................................2 0 2
Destination El Paso ...........................................................................1 3 5
dmDickason Personnel Services ...........................................................1 6 2
Durable Metal Products/DMP CryoSystems............................................2 1 5
ECM International, Inc. .....................................................................1 9 2
El Paso Children’s Hospital ................................................................1 2 4
El Paso Community College ................................................................1 2 6
El Paso Cosmetic Surgery ...................................................................1 2 8
El Paso International Airport .............................................................1 3 0
El Paso Paper Box, Inc. .....................................................................2 0 8
El Paso Symphony Orchestra...............................................................1 2 2
EPCOM ...........................................................................................1 5 8
Esperanto Developments.....................................................................1 4 6
Facilities Connection, Inc. .................................................................2 1 2
Freeport-McMoRan ............................................................................2 1 0
GECU .............................................................................................1 3 8
Global Containers & Custom Packaging, Inc..........................................2 1 4
Heriberto Ibarra Photography .............................................................1 7 1
Humane Society of El Paso .................................................................1 3 3
Johnson Jewelers ...............................................................................1 7 0
Land-Mark Professional Surveying, Inc.................................................1 8 2
LegalShield Associates .......................................................................1 6 7
MNK Architects ................................................................................1 8 6
Nickes Medical Supply, LLC ................................................................1 6 9
Providence Memorial Hospital .............................................................1 1 6
Rescue Ministries of Mexico ................................................................1 8 4
Sarabia’s Portable Jons & Blue Sanitation .............................................1 6 6
Susan Eisen Fine Jewelry Watches Art & Appraiser ................................1 5 0
Smith-Johnston’s Casa Plumbing ..........................................................2 1 6
Stallion Boots & Leather Goods ...........................................................1 4 1
Sun Bowl Association .........................................................................1 6 4
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso ............................1 2 0
Textape Incorporated .........................................................................1 7 8
Tom Lea Institute ..............................................................................1 3 4
Tovar Printing, Inc. ..........................................................................1 8 5
W. Silver Recycling, Inc .....................................................................1 7 4
Workforce Solutions Borderplex ...........................................................1 5 2
Wyler Industrial Works, Inc. ..............................................................1 9 6
Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care ...................................................1 3 2
S P O N S O R S
2 1 7

aBouT The phoToGr apher
H E R I B E R T O
I B A R R A
Heriberto Ibarra is a native of El Paso, and one of the top commercial photographers
in the region. A hypermodernist artist who loves to express character, life,
and the passing of time, Ibarra has worked in the film industry, and been published
in books, newspapers, and online magazines. He has shown at galleries nationally and
internationally including RAW in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Museum of Art in El Paso
and the Museum of INBA in Ciudad Juárez, and taught photography composition for
the past five years at The University of Texas at El Paso and the Museum of History
in El Paso, Texas. For more information call 915-252-7071 or visit his website at
www.heribertoibarra.com.
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
218

aBouT The auThor
M A G G I E
A S F A H A N I
Maggie Asfahani is a lifelong resident of El Paso, a freelance writer and former editor of What’s Up,
a weekly arts, entertainment and culture publication. She received a B.A. in Political Science and
an M.A. in Communication from the University of Texas at El Paso, where her research focused
on relational dialectics. Asfahani has worked as a freelance writer for various local and national
publications, businesses and community organizations. She is the proud parent of twin daughters,
is a certified mediator, and loves cooking and traveling around the world. Her interests include
intercultural communication and conflict resolution.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MELODY PARRA.
A B O U T T H E A U T H O R
2 1 9

For more information about the following publications or about publishing your own book,
please call HPNbooks at 800-749-9790 or visit www.hpnbooks.com.
Albemarle & Charlottesville:
An Illustrated History of the First 150 Years
Black Gold: The Story of Texas Oil & Gas
Care By the Sea: A History of
Medicine in Nueces County
Carter County, Oklahoma: Then and Now
Coastal Visions: Images of Galveston County
Dallas County: A 21st Century Mosaic
King Cotton to Space Capital:
The Huntsville-Madison County Story
Garland: A Contemporary History
Historic Abilene: An Illustrated History
Historic Alamance County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Albany: City & County
Historic Albuquerque: An Illustrated History
Historic Alexandria: An Illustrated History
Historic Amarillo: An Illustrated History
Historic Anchorage: An Illustrated History
Historic Austin: An Illustrated History
Historic Baldwin County:
A Bicentennial History
Historic Baton Rouge: An Illustrated History
Historic Beaufort County: An Illustrated History
Historic Beaumont: An Illustrated History
Historic Bexar County: An Illustrated History
Historic Birmingham: An Illustrated History
Historic Brazoria County: An Illustrated History
Historic Brownsville: An Illustrated History
Historic Charlotte:
An Illustrated History of Charlotte and
Mecklenburg County
Historic Chautauqua County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Cheyenne: A History of the Magic City
Historic Clayton County: An Illustrated History
Historic Comal County: An Illustrated History
Historic Corpus Christi: An Illustrated History
Historic DeKalb County: An Illustrated History
Historic Denton County: An Illustrated History
Historic Edmond: An Illustrated History
Historic El Paso: An Illustrated History
Historic Erie County: An Illustrated History
Historic Fayette County: An Illustrated History
Historic Fairbanks: An Illustrated History
Historic Gainesville & Hall County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Gregg County: An Illustrated History
Historic Hampton Roads: Where America Began
D I S C O V E R E L P A S O
220
Historic Hancock County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Henry County: An Illustrated History
Historic Hood County: An Illustrated History
Historic Houston: An Illustrated History
Historic Hunt County: An Illustrated History
Historic Illinois: An Illustrated History
Historic Katy: An Illustrated History
Historic Kern County:
An Illustrated History of Bakersfield
and Kern County
Historic Lafayette:
An Illustrated History of Lafayette &
Lafayette Parish
Historic Laredo:
An Illustrated History of Laredo &
Webb County
Historic Lee County:
The Story of Fort Myers & Lee County
Historic Louisiana: An Illustrated History
Historic Mansfield: A Bicentennial History
Historic Midland: An Illustrated History
Historic Mobile:
An Illustrated History of the Mobile Bay Region
Historic Montgomery County:
An Illustrated History of
Montgomery County, Texas
Historic Ocala: The Story of Ocala &
Marion County
Historic Oklahoma: An Illustrated History
Historic Oklahoma County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Omaha:
An Illustrated History of Omaha and
Douglas County
Historic Orange County: An Illustrated History
Historic Osceola County: An Illustrated History
Historic Ouachita Parish: An Illustrated History
Historic Paris and Lamar County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Pasadena: An Illustrated History
Historic Passaic County: An Illustrated History
Historic Pennsylvania An Illustrated History
Historic Philadelphia: An Illustrated History
Historic Prescott:
An Illustrated History of Prescott &
Yavapai County
Historic Richardson: An Illustrated History
Historic Rio Grande Valley:
An Illustrated History
Historic Rogers County: An Illustrated History
Historic San Marcos: An Illustrated History
Historic Santa Barbara: An Illustrated History
Historic Scottsdale: A Life from the Land
Historic Shawnee: A History of Shawnee &
Pottawatomie County
Historic Shelby County: An Illustrated History
Historic Shreveport-Bossier: An Illustrated
History of Shreveport & Bossier City
Historic South Carolina: An Illustrated History
Historic Smith County: An Illustrated History
Historic St. Louis: 250 Years Exploring
New Frontiers
Historic Temple: An Illustrated History
Historic Texarkana: An Illustrated History
Historic Texas: An Illustrated History
Historic Victoria: An Illustrated History
Historic Tulsa: An Illustrated History
Historic Wake County: An Illustrated History
Historic Warren County: An Illustrated History
Historic Williamson County:
An Illustrated History
Historic Wilmington & The Lower Cape Fear:
An Illustrated History
Historic York County: An Illustrated History
Iron, Wood & Water:
An Illustrated History of Lake Oswego
Jefferson Parish:
Rich Heritage, Promising Future
Louisiana: The Energy State
Making San Antonio:
The Story of San Antonio Manufacturing
Miami’s Historic Neighborhoods:
A History of Community
Mile Marker 103: The History of
Edmond, Oklahoma
More Than a River: Decatur-Morgan County
The New Frontier:
A Contemporary History of Fort Worth &
Tarrant County
Old Orange County Courthouse:
A Centennial History
Plano: An Illustrated Chronicle
Prospects to Prosperity
Rich With Opportunity: Images of Beaumont
and Jefferson County
Salt Lake City: Livability in the 21st Century
San Antonio, City Exceptional
The San Gabriel Valley: A 21st Century Portrait
Southwest Louisiana: A Treasure Revealed
The Spirit of Collin County
Valley Places, Valley Faces
Water, Rails & Oil: Historic Mid & South
Jefferson County

ISBN: 978-1-939300-95-9
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