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The arrival of April means
spring is here. Even though this year’s northern New Mexico winter wasn’t much
to write home about, warm weather is always welcome.
Language historians say the
word “April” could be related to “Aphrodite,” the Greek goddess of love. Whether
this is true or not, it sounds right, because spring is the time when the cycle
of life begins. It's a time for renewal, physically and spiritually. It’s time
to cultivate our gardens, clean our houses, open up all those things we closed
down for winter, and take the time to enjoy the flowers and all the other new
life appearing around us.
As you'll read in this
newsletter, it's also letter opening time for Lab employees, further preparing
them and the community for the new Laboratory manager come June 1. I hope you
find time every day this month to relax and take in this delightful season. Make
it a wonderful April!
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| Never Too Young
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Six years ago, while
working at his family's restaurant in Santa Cruz, Javier Atencio had more
on his mind than waiting on tables and taking orders. He was dreaming about
someday owning his own restaurant.
It didn't take long for
Javier's dream to come true. At the age of 26, carrying on a family tradition of
over 40 years, Javier is the owner and manager of two restaurants—El Parasol
in Los Alamos and El Parasol in Santa Fe. To top it off, he's been nominated
for the honor of New Mexico's Small Business Entrepreneur of the
Year.
Both El Parasol locations
are well known for outstanding food and fast service. The Santa Fe location won
Best of Santa Fe Restaurant Awards in 2003 and 2004, and the Los Alamos location
won the Los Alamos Monitor Best of Los Alamos Restaurant Award in
2005.
Anna Mueller of the
New
Mexico 8(a) Association, which has helped the Atencio family obtain
businesses financing, nominated Javier for the New Mexico Small Business
Entrepreneur of the Year award. If he wins, Atencio will be invited to
Washington D.C. to participate in the national awards program to take place
later this month.
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| Future Scientists
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If you know a student in
elementary school who likes working with robots, tell her she's in luck. Robots
and more will spring into action Friday, April 28, 4-7 pm, during
Science Circus at the Bradbury
Science Museum in Los Alamos. The event, free and open to the public,
consists of three hours of hands-on science activities and demonstrations for
children designed to show how much fun science can be.
Other subjects to be
explored at Science Circus include the anatomy of eyes, water sounds, plant
science, and surface tension. “A little something for everybody,” Bradbury
Science Museum Director John Rhoades says, “all part of our program to
help kids learn science and to get kids thinking about science as a
career.”
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| And the Winners
Are... |
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Congratulations to the
newly elected mayors listed below. And congratulations to newly elected council
members and to all those citizens who showed their commitment and dedication to
democracy by running for office.
- Española - Mayor Joseph Maestas
- Las Vegas - Mayor Henry Sanchez
- Santa Fe - Mayor David Coss
- Taos - Mayor Bobby Duran
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| Santa Fe & Small
Business |
The Santa
Fe Chamber of Commerce has announced that Coronado Paint and Decorating
has been selected to represent the Southwest for the 2006 Small Business of
the Year award. Coronado is one of just seven small businesses nationwide to be
in the running for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce honor.
Coronado was cited for
enlightened business policies, including profit-sharing and support for employee
education and advancement. The award will be announced on May 11.
Meanwhile, the City of
Santa Fe is looking for nominations for its 2006 Small Business of the Year
Award. Santa Fe's award will recognize a small, for- profit business that excels
in areas such as job creation, pay levels, career advancement, benefits,
family-friendly policies, community involvement, and workforce
diversity.
Only locally owned
businesses with employees are eligible. Self nominations are encouraged.
Nominations must be received by May 27 at 2 pm.
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| Student Leaders Score
Big! |
Students from northern New
Mexico schools won high marks on March 15 at the Business Professionals of
America (BPA) State Leadership Conference in Albuquerque. Groups from West
Las Vegas and Tierra Amarilla Middle Schools were among those winning top
scores.
The competition measured
students’ application of strategic planning and problem solving skills to
realistic business cases. Teams, which consisted of two to four students, were
evaluated for their use of time, organization, understanding of problem solving
techniques, and presentation.
BPA is a national
organization for students interested in business careers. Its goal is to foster
excellence in leadership, poise, business skills, and a lifelong enthusiasm for
learning.
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| It's in the Mail
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The transition to the
Laboratory’s new contractor took another big step forward on March 15 when
Los Alamos National Security (LANS) sent current employees formal offers
of employment under the new contract. All Lab University of California employees
in good standing were sent letters. Each has sixty days to accept or reject
their offer. LANS will assume management of the Lab on June
1.
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| Lets Get Connected
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The Greater Española
Valley Community Development Corporation (GEVCDC) will host its first
community/regional summit on April 20. The event is designed to bring
economic and community development organizations together to discuss GEVCDC
goals and objectives and to build a consensus on working together.
The meeting will take place
3–5 pm, with a short reception to follow. For location and other information,
please contact Olivia Martinez at 505-667-4583.
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| Recognizing
Volunteers |
On March 11, the Laboratory
and the LANL Foundation announced a new program to recognize outstanding Lab
volunteers. The program is called Vecinos, or Neighbors. Each month
Vecinos will donate $1,000 to a nonprofit, school, or Pueblo
organization in honor of a volunteer Lab employee, student, or
subcontractor.
Lab employees have a long
history of volunteering in our community. Tutoring math at a junior high in
Española. Serving dinner at a soup kitchen in Santa Fe. Building a house in Las
Vegas with Habitat for Humanity. These are just a few examples of the volunteer
work Lab employees can be found doing on their own time. The Vecinos program is
an opportunity for community organizations to receive significant monetary
awards in recognition of these efforts by Lab volunteers.
The Community Relations
Office (CRO) is partnering with the LANL Foundation to coordinate the program.
Deadline for nominations will be the first of each month. To learn how to
nominate an outstanding volunteer, please go to the Vecinos
website. You can also email Vecinos at vecinos@lanl.gov, call CRO at 505-
665-4400, or call the LANL
Foundation at 505-753- 8890.
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| It’s Five in a Row
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For the fifth year in a
row, a Laboratory scientist has won the Asian-American Engineer of the Year
award from the Chinese Institute of Engineers-USA. The award went to Ning
Li, project and team leader for heavy liquid metal coolant technology and
materials development in the Condensed Matter and Thermal Physics
Group.
The CIE-USA award is made
for outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, the public welfare,
and humanity. Li was recognized for his leadership in developing important
heavy-liquid metal nuclear coolant technology for advanced reactor and waste
transmutation processes.
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| COMMUNITY CALENDAR
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April 6-7: Quality NM Annual
Awards Luncheon, Albuq.
April 10 -11: SBIR/STTR
Annual Conference, Albuq.
April 12-13: SBA National Small Business Week
April 12: NM Info. Tech. & Software
Assn. Membership Luncheon
April 19: Basics of Financial Mgmt. for
Nonprofits, Santa Fe
April
20: SFCoC - Santa Fe Business Expo, Santa Fe
April
20: SBDC - Marketing on the Internet, Espanola
April 20-22: NM First - Educating NM's
Talent Pool
April 25:
SBDC Marketing Plan Basics, Los Alamos
April 28: Science Circus, Los Alamos
May
11: SBDC Info. Session for CRS Taxpayers, Los Alamos
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