Good morning everybody. I've always said and I say it with a lot of love. I love your energy Mayor Villarreal, you’re doing a tremendous job here. You drive by the city and it’s exploding with the economic development. I will give you (Mayor Villarreal) all the credit, and Dalinda Guillen, Rose Benavidez, and, of course, the Judge as well. You guys are giants in this (economic development) and you guys are leading the way for Starr County.
I believe as mayor for the city of Roma, we’ve reached the point where it's Roma’s time to be a part of that economic development. And it's happening. It's happening through our industrial park which, I know, the young men that we have as part of our staff, assistant city manager Mr. Alfonso Ramirez, and Mr. Danny Garza, our planning director, will be talking about with a lot of enthusiasm, later. But the potential is bright and it is there.
One thing that I want to keep in mind… RGV Partnership, you guys, your organization has taught me to really think big, and to think about us being united and that's the way we should be. A united front throughout the Rio Grande Valley, South Texas. But I do want to emphasize something and it's really important. A lot of times we say from Brownsville to Rio Grande and that's great. I want us to continue doing that. Rio Grande is the county seat. But remember it's actually Brownsville to Roma. (Applause). So let's say it, Brownsville, Rio Grande and Roma.
We cannot forget the Roma part of that because Roma is going to be a thriving city in the next five to 10 years. We're seeing it. We’ve got a lot of people working really hard, resiliently, for this, and I'm very proud.
A lot of times we hear a little bit about what other parts of the Valley have to offer. Let me tell you about what we have to offer here. A lot of space, a big workforce ready to get going, a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of history and cultural wealth.
A lot of people talk about, well, I went to Fredericksburg this weekend and, great for them… I went to this part of Texas, great for them. But I want to say that Rio Grande, Roma, we're the next Fredericksburg and beyond because of our history and our history is much, much, deeper than those communities. Not taking away anything from them. There's so much cultural, historical wealth in our area.
So at this time, I just want to welcome everybody. I appreciate you all making the trip to Starr County. We're so proud of our county and our leadership and great things are coming to, of course, Rio Grande, they've taken the lead, and we're trying to follow along and to do our part so that Roma too can have a prosperous economy and to raise the quality of life for our citizens, and for all the people of Starr County. Thank you so much. God bless you all.
Editor’s Note: The above commentary was provided by Roma Mayor Jaime Escobar, Jr., at a “Commercial & Investment Tour” event hosted by the Rio Grande Valley Partnership and held at South Texas College’s Starr County Campus on Dec. 14, 2023.
In his remarks, Escobar referenced Starr County Judge Eloy Vera, Rio Grade City Mayor Joel Villarreal, Starr County Industrial Foundation President Rose Benavidez, and Rio Grande City EDC Executive Director Dalinda Guillen.
