WESLACO, Texas - Adam Gonzalez, CEO of the Council for South Texas Economic Progress, says he had a very productive trip to England, France and Germany.
“I had the privilege of traveling with the Texas Economic Development Corporation, which is the economic development arm in the Governor's office. I also had the privilege of traveling with the Secretary of State and also the First Lady. And ultimately, the Governor joined us on the latter part of our tour in Paris.”
Asked what the tour was all about, Gonzalez said: “I was really promoting the region, promoting the seven-county region, promoting the assets that exist here. Also, the great educational system that exists here. Not only in the K-12 space, but also in the higher education space.”
Also on the trip was the Borderplex Alliance, from the El Paso-Juarez-Las Cruces region, and greater:SATX, a group that helps foster economic development in San Antonio and neighboring cities.
It was put to Gonzalez that very few people in Europe, outside of this reporter’s family, have heard of the Rio Grande Valley. Perhaps, he said, but they have definitely heard of Texas.
“I was received well. I made many, many contacts, not only with some site selectors, but also with specific people in industry that we will definitely be following up with. Some in the aerospace industry, some in the tech industry, that are very interested in looking at our region,” Gonzalez said.
“And that's really what COSTEP is about. It is about creating awareness of what we have here, the jewel that we have here, and not only in the Rio Grande Valley, which we consider the four-county region, but also the Laredo side and just promoting the entire region as a whole.”
Gonzalez was asked what the key selling points were in his presentation to site selectors.
“Definitely the young workforce that we have. Our educational system to train that workforce, and definitely the synergies that exist here and the collaboration that exists here to try to attract business,” Gonzalez responded. “Also, the binational dynamic that we have with Mexico is big.”
Gonzalez said there was a lot of interest when he told potential investors that the Rio South Texas region has, unlike western Europe, a young workforce.
“Companies are very interested in this area because of the young workforce that we have. Our median age, combined, is roughly about 30 years of age, which is really just the beginning of a career. So, these people have many years of work ahead of them. Our birth rates, natural birth rates, and inward migration is very positive. So we definitely have the workforce of the future for them (the potential investors).”
So, Gonzalez was asked, would it be correct to say that Europe is interested in the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo?
“They are very interested in Texas. I definitely had a chance to feature our seven county region, what we call Rio South Texas.”
Asked if he would like to give a shoutout to the Governor’s Office, Gonzalez said: “Yes, definitely. I want to shout out because they put a great program together, the Texas Economic Development Corporation and also the Office of the Governor. They were very instrumental in setting up this trip and they had the right key stakeholders in each one of the countries lined up to meet with us. Each one of us were able to feature our individual region.”
Here is a video interview with Adam Gonzalez that focuses on the work of COSTEP and his trip to Europe:
https://youtu.be/DiD8KNNT4jE
Editor's Note: The above news story is the second in a two-part series on Council for South Texas Economic Progress. Click here to listen to Part One.
