1999 Annual Report Executive Summary*
Middle Rio Grande (FUTURO) Enterprise Community
The designation of the Middle Rio Grande FUTURO Communities, Inc. was made in January 1999. With the award of an Enterprise Community, rather than an Empowerment Zone, work begin on revising the original application benchmarks and operational budget. The official signing ceremony between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and FUTURO Communities, Inc. occurred in Edinburg, Texas on May 26, 1999, during the White House Community Empowerment Zone Conference in the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone. Shortly after the signing, FUTURO selected an interim Executive Director and began the business of disseminating information about the designation and its significance to the Middle Rio Grande Region.
Thus far, on our road to success, we have experienced some impressive "high moments" such as the award of the U.S. Department of Education's Community Technology Centers' grant and the visit from the President's Interagency Task Force on the Economic Development of the Southwest Border. While we have experienced some "low moments" as well, we nevertheless, continue to concentrate our energy on the positive effects that the EC designation has brought to our Region. The communities are beginning to realize and believe in the potential of the strategic plan and their own potential to succeed.