Common issues affecting the lives of citizens in South Texas are made known to state legislators through the efforts of Future of the Region Inc.
The FORI, which has met in Laredo, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and South Padre Island, is scheduled to meet again this August in Corpus Christi.
When the group was launched in the 1980s, it developed a position paper to air its concerns to state legislators as one voice for South Texas.
Since then, the group meets biennially to revise its position paper with emerging concerns.
The site for the next FORI meeting may be more than 150 miles away from Laredo, but that doesn’t mean the Gateway City will be underrepresented.
Spearheading two of the five major conference streams are Laredoans Victor Oliveros and Dr. Jim Earhart.
Oliveros will lead the session on health issues, while Earhart heads the session on the environment.
Helping both conference leaders prepare for the FORI meeting is Blas Castañeda, chief development officer for Laredo Community College and a long-time member of FORI. He currently serves as the vice-president of the FORI board of directors.
In addition to healthcare and the environment, Castañeda said that the meeting will focus on workforce development, infrastructure and strategic alliances—all of which are important to LCC.
“As a leader in economic development, workforce education and other issues vital to sustaining a prosperous community, Laredo Community College looks not only to promote, but to get involved in all possible avenues that will help the region achieve goals for a better way of life,” Castañeda said.
He added that the FORI is fortunate to have individuals such as Earhart and Oliveros on its team.
Earhart, a retired biology instructor from LCC, is an active environmentalist who is credited with providing valuable support to helping the college create an environmental science center to serve as the region’s first living laboratory dedicated to the study of the Rio Grande river.
“LCC solidified its commitment to the region’s environment with the Lamar Bruni Vergara Environmental Science Center,” Castañeda said.
Oliveros, too, has done a lot to improve healthcare in the Laredo region through his leadership with the city of Laredo Health Department. He has since retired.
“Through a border initiative partnership with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the first screening was developed to detect pre-diabetic conditions in children and prevent the disease’s advancement,” Castañeda said.
Castañeda noted that LCC is ready to provide valuable support to the FORI; among those from the college assisting the effort is Steve Mon Dragon, director of continuing education.
He added, “I’m fortunate to work at a college committed to helping the Future of the Region advance its goals for the betterment of the South Texas region. It’s a team effort.”
The college’s investment on the FORI, Castaneda said, has in turn benefited the college and the region it serves. In its mission to provide a quality education, LCC has been able to secure numerous grants, including vital funding from the Texas Infrastructure Fund Board.
“LCC has been successful in receiving every competitive TIFB grant it has applied for with the support from FORI. Grants, ranging from $ 1 million to $500,000, have helped the college build its distance education program, enhance library services and provide new technological advancements for students, faculty and staff through an Internet corral laboratory and an employees technology advancement center,” Castaneda said.
FORI also encourages its regional partners to share best practices that can generate many cost-saving benefits to communities.
“Whenever the college is developing a new initiative, our connection with our regional partners through FORI makes it easier to acquire letters in support of college projects. Most recently, the Alamo Community College District provided valuable training to LCC staff and shared a valuable program that will provide a major savings to LCC,” Castañeda explained.
FORI also has helped state leaders, such as Sen. Judith Zaffirini, support and introduce bills on the region’s behalf.
“For instance, Sen. Zaffirini single-handedly helped pass the Texas Workforce Commission Skills Development Fund, which Laredo most recently benefited from after the college secured a $1million grant to provide training for the Convergys-Laredo facility,” Castaneda said.
The FORI represents the 47-county South Texas region, which encompasses six councils of government. These are the Alamo Area Council of Governments, the Middle Rio Grande Development Council, the South Texas Development Council, the Lower Rio Grande Valley Development Council, the Coastal Bend Council of Governments and the Golden Crescent Regional Planning Commission.
Team work is the thrust behind the development of two key issues that will be explored in the August meeting of the Future of the Region Inc. in Corpus Christi. Assisting in this year’s FORI are, from left, seated, Dr. Jim Earhart and Victor Oliveros; standing, Steve Mon Dragon and Blas Castañeda.
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