PHARR, RGV – Alex Meade spoke about his vision for the City of Pharr at a City Commission meeting on Monday, the first such meeting since he became city manager.
Meade said he is honored to have been appointed by Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez and the City Commission and hopes to make the residents of Pharr proud.
“As a native of the Rio Grande Valley, I have dedicated my entire professional career to ensuring that our communities across the region have the necessary tools and resources to be successful and economically prosperous,” Meade said.
“Throughout my career in both the private and public sector I have had the opportunity to work with local, state and federal partners on notable economic development, capital investment, and workforce development projects, with the primary goal of providing economic opportunity for families in our community.”
Meade added:
“Under Mayor Hernandez’s leadership I have witnessed the City of Pharr become the hub for growth for business, international trade, retail and hospitality. Most importantly, Mayor Hernandez and the Commission have helped Pharr emerge as a city that is focused on providing its citizens with the highest quality of life and opportunities.
“In my role as your city manager I will work closely with the Commission to continue to expand regional partnerships and opportunities. It is exciting to be part of the city and work with a leadership that pushes you top be innovative while at the same time serving as a model for the rest of the Rio Grande Valley.”
The meeting was held at the Pharr Events Center rather than City Hall to accommodate the many well-wishers and friends Meade has. A reception was held at the end of the meeting.
Mayor Pro-Tem Bobby Carrillo’s remarks
Mayor Hernandez could not be at the meeting and his place was taken by Mayor Pro-Tem Roberto ‘Bobby’ Carrillo.
Here is what Carrillo had to say:
“I have found that the best method of ensuring success is to surround yourself with intelligent, passionate and motivated individuals whose vision is aligned in a positive direction to move our community forward. As you can tell in our city’s administration, we have the highest caliber of talent among our directors, whose work is consistently recognized for notable awards in their respective fields. We are also proud of the work you do to enhance city services for our Pharr families.
“When we were charged by our city commission with identifying the right person for the city manager, our mayor was drawn to Alex Meade’s history of success at helping communities across South Texas expand the capacity for growth to be ready and competitive.
“Alex is an innovative, forward-thinking, and well-respected professional. He holds a master’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration. His education, combined with his professional experience has provided him with the critical knowledge, education and training to effectively and expertly manage a city. Alex has worked with many communities in South Texas, with our state legislators and agencies on projects of regional importance and with our federal delegation to help ensure South Texas receives the attention and resources it deserves.
“In his most recent tenure as chief executive officer of Mission Economic Development Corporation, Alex successfully implemented community-oriented programs designed to build capacity and opportunities for job training and workforce development and recruit, attract and retain business investments with high-paying jobs.
“Alex also plans to implement operational effectiveness to improve delivery of city services, benefiting our Pharr families. This is the kind of forward-thinking and innovation we welcome in Pharr and we know that Alex is going to be a great fit.
“On behalf of the Pharr City Commission, administration employees, and the Pharr families I would like to formally introduce our new city manager, Mr. Alex Meade.”
There was much applause in the audience for these remarks.
Alex Meade’s remarks
Here are Meade’s remarks:
“I really appreciate you all being here today. As many of you know, many of the folks I used to work with, this is not my kind of thing and I really don’t like this much attention. But, I do appreciate you being here. In fact, I was joking, I was trying to tweet, trying to get people to not come to this event. Maybe the mayor saw it and that is why the is not here.
“I am very excited to be here today to begin this new chapter of my life. I want to thank you, the community, for joining us here today, and welcoming me as your new city manager. I would also like to thank the mayor, Ambrosio Hernandez and the Pharr City Commission for the support and confidence you have placed in me as your new city manager. I would especially like to thank my amazing wife Cassandra for her encouragement on this new and exciting adventure. As you know, she is a Pharr native and a proud graduate of PSJA Bears. I figured I would add her in there to get some street cred.”
There was much applause for this line.
Meade continued:
“Mayor Hernandez, your dynamic and visionary leadership in your few short years as mayor has propelled Pharr into a regional leader in the Rio Grande Valley, in our great state of Texas, on a national scope and even in the international arena. I am excited to join this community to further develop this regional vision of opportunity and prosperity for our Pharr community and our Pharr families. As a native of the Rio Grande Valley, I have dedicated my entire professional career to ensuring that our communities across the region have the necessary tools and resources to be successful and economically prosperous. Throughout my career in both the private and public sector I have had the opportunity to work with local, state and federal partners on notable economic development, capital investment, and workforce development projects, with the primary goal of providing economic opportunity for families in our community.
“Most recently, as Commissioner Carrillo mentioned, as the CEO of the Mission EDC for the last seven years, we helped to attract projects that offered significant job creation and capital investment to the community. Folks in our community drove progress and innovation. We facilitated the successful launch of education and community programs such as Code The Town, which promotes computer science and teaches cyber security programs to the community, as well as entrepreneurial programs such as Ruby Red Ventures, a shark tank-style program that we held in Mission. As someone who thrives on economic opportunity my heart has always been in helping acculturate strong communities through engaging partnerships, workforce development, and improving economic vitality for our region.
“My educational background, as the commissioner mentioned, is in economics and I have a master’s in business and a master’s in public administration. I am also certified as an economic development and finance professional and I am certified as a public manager. I believe that with my extensive background in economic development and public administration I will bring a wealth of not only experience but new knowledge and ideas to Pharr as your city manager.
“Under Mayor Hernandez’s leadership I have witnessed the City of Pharr become the hub for growth for business, international trade, retail and hospitality. Most importantly, Mayor Hernandez and the Commission have helped Pharr emerge as a city that is focused on providing its citizens with the highest quality of life and opportunities. In my role as your city manager I will work closely with the Commission to continue to expand regional partnerships and opportunities. It is exciting to be part of the city and work with a leadership that pushes you top be innovative while at the same time serving as a model for the rest of the Rio Grande Valley.
“There are many important projects that are going on throughout our region at this very moment. From transportation to drainage to higher education to international trade, they all require a regional mindset, an ability to work in partnership with our neighbors throughout the RGV. As city manager I am excited to work with the mayor, the city commission, the hardworking employees to implement new ideas and governing strategies to improve and streamline city services and programs thereby benefiting our quality of service and the community at large.
“It is truly an honor to be able to work alongside visionary leaders like Mayor Hernandez and the Pharr City Commission and its hardworking and dedicated employees to improve the quality of life for our families and bring growth and opportunity to our region. I will tell you this, in the couple of days that I have been at the City, the staff and directors are unbelievable, the staff that I have met are second to none. And I can tell you that as a lifelong public servant focused on economic and workforce development, innovative partnerships and advocating for our region, I am ready to serve the City of Pharr with humility, honor, dedication and commitment to better our community and region. I can tell you that with a staff, the deputy city manager, the directors that we have there, I feel very comfortable and very confident that we will be able to take Pharr to another level.
“So, I thank you for your trust. Your support here tonight means so much to me as I look forward to meeting and serving you and this amazing community. I am excited to meet each and every one of you and I hope to make you proud. Thank you.”
