As successful as Santos International has been they have not reached their total potential. Not because of their fault but because we have a lot to do in this region.
We are an area that is right in the middle of three very large economies - the U.S., Texas, and Mexico. But the industry cannot take their business and your business to its highest potential without having the right partnerships.
I remember in the old days, all of you all here are too young to remember… but (under) DFR we had problems with the banking industry. And he was very concerned that we were going to lose that industry. Imagine if we did not have banks today. And he (DFR) told the American public, government cannot solve this problem by themselves. We need a partnership between government and people. If you take your money out of the banks we are going to lose this industry, all of us altogether.
So, what am I suggesting? That this region hasn’t reached its potential. Isn’t that exciting? To know that tomorrow can be even so much better than today. But what is it going to take?
Some of you have heard me give this analogy before. I was watching TV one day and it showed Tony Robins, I believe. He was a motivator. And this young lady said, you know, Mr. Robins, I am a single girl and I really, really, really want to find a good husband. Can you help me? And Tony said, well of course I can. He said, it is only going to take you three steps. He said the first step is to close your eyes and describe the future husband you want exactly. Because if you don’t know exactly what you want, how are you going to get it? So, describe it exactly. She said, I got it, I know exactly what I want. She was just so emotional. He said, okay, the second step is, you are going to have to figure out where to find this man. Okay, she said, I think I can do that. She was waiting for the third one. And the third one was, now, young girl, you are going to have to figure out how to attract that person.
Isn’t that economic development, Keith? Isn’t that economic development?
So today I am proud to tell you that we started - and I am going to be quick here - a program where we are bringing together nonprofits, municipalities, universities, every aspect that we find ourselves with here, to come together and once and for all find the true identity of who we are.
And once we find that true identity of who we are, how are going to sell and market ourselves? Because we have the potential to be the best anywhere because of geography. And not only geography because of the people that we have here. There is a saying in Spanish that is very important here. We need the ganas. We need the ganas. And I am very proud that we started an initiative to bring together people to identify what we want, where we can go find it, and what we are going to have to do to attract it.
And I am going to close with this. Your industry cannot be successful by yourselves because you need the proper infrastructure. There are certain things that you cannot do that government can do. So, we need to advocate for the things that were mentioned, because let’s celebrate the things that we have but let’s work hard on the things that we don’t have.
So, today is a celebration. A celebration of a successful business. But that successful business has a duty to the next generations and to all of us, to be part of that effort to make it better and make the future better than anybody else.
I want to thank the Santos investment. For their continued support of this area and their success because they make us proud. Thank you, Jimmy, Thelma, and everybody else in Santos International.
Editor’s Note: The above commentary is based upon the keynote remarks Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez made at a celebration for Santos International’s 50th Anniversary. The event was held May 16, 2024, at the McAllen Country Club. Click here to watch a video recording of Judge Cortez’s remarks.
