PHARR, Texas - When he goes to trade shows to promote the Rio South Texas region, economic development specialist Rick Carrera says he often to explain that there is life south of San Antonio.
Carrera, economic development director with the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, gave an in-depth presentation at the most recent Rio Grande Valley Partnership “Commercialization & Investment Tour.” It was hosted by Pharr Economic Development Corporation and held at the Pharr One Center.
“The majority of my time I am actively marketing the region to entities that are outside of the state of Texas,” Carrera said, during his 15-minute power point presentation.
“And when I go to conferences… I will often sit with people who think South Texas is San Antonio. They don't know that anything south of San Antonio exists. And when I tell them there's four hours of drive time south of San Antonio, they're amazed. You know, they just don't know that the area exists.”
Not only does Carrera have to provide a geography lesson, he also has to fight against stereotypes created by the national media.
“When they do know the area exists, it's not necessarily a positive correlation based on national media and the things that you hear,” he said.
“I tell everybody that there is life south of San Antonio. Not only is there life south of San Antonio; there’s an opportunity, a really good business opportunity.”
Carrera said he also stresses the unique advantages that exist for corporations investing in the Rio South Texas region.
“We really leverage the advantages of being on the Mexican border as much as we possibly can. We're in a very, very unique situation. Some companies still want to have a presence in the United States but be as close to Mexico as they possibly can. That is an advantage that we have, that most areas in the country do not have.”
Carrera said he also promotes the Rio South Texas region in Mexico.
“In addition, we work with our partners in Tamaulipas and some other industry professionals in Tamaulipas to also promote ourselves to Mexico as well.”
Carrera said COSTEP does not try to steer an investor towards a particular part of the region. As long as they land somewhere between Laredo and Brownsville, COSTEP is happy.
"My job is to at least get them here to the area. And once I get them here to the area, then we figure out where they need to be. What's the best city, what's the best location for them.”
Editor's Note: Here is a video recording of Rick Carrera's presentation at the RGV Partnership's Commercialization & Investment Tour" event in Pharr:
