Guest Speakers for January 16 HTC Meeting - 12/30/2008

PRESS RELEASE

Las Cruces, NM December 30, 2008

High Tech Consortium Announces Guest Speakers for January 16, 2009 Public Forum

Spaceport America Status Report and DACC Bond Issue Discussion highlight January 16 High Tech Consortium Meeting.

The New Year will be starting off on a fast track at the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico (HTC).

On February 3 area residents will be asked to renew the current 1 Mil tax levy for capital community college improvements.   Dr. Margie Huerta, President of Dona Ana Community College and the head of Lt. Governor Denish’s Education Transition Team, will be present to provide insight into the planned usage of funds and how it will impact our community.

As we all should know, Spaceport America made major strides during 2008 and expectations for 2009 are great.  Key accomplishments of 2008 included selecting the Construction Management firm to oversee the construction of the nation’s first purpose-built spaceport and December’s issuance by the FAA of a Launch Site Operators License.  Mr. David Wilson, Managing Partner of Wilson Binkley Advertising and Marketing will review the past year’s accomplishments and present the Spaceport’s plans for 2009.  The construction and commercialization of Spaceport America is a major opportunity to expand the business base and visibility of our region.

The HTC meeting will be held starting at 3:00 PM at the Community Action Agency320 Wyatt (at El Paseo).  The meeting is open to the public (no admission charge), but space is limited.  For reservations, contact HTC at 575-524-4659 or via e-mail at info@htcnm.com.

For further information contact:

Gary Gomes

President

High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico

Cell:   575-202-6383

E-mail:  ggomes@soundviewnet.com

Digital Media Summit 12-12-08 - 12/8/2008

Digital Media Summit II
Las Cruces City Hall
December 12, 2008
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

I. Introduction – Gary Gomes
A. City of Las Cruces Welcome
B. Digital Media and New Mexico Education – Dr. William Flores
1. How is the educational system providing workforce for next generation media?
2. Evolving role of digital media in New Mexico schools
3. Plans
C. MISP/MIX and New Mexico state-wide initiatives – Dr. Ed Angel

II. Film Industry – production & education – Mark Vasconcellos, Jonathan Benson and Chris Kientz
A. Identify/clarify our niches – there is more than feature films
B. Issues and needs facing us and how are they addressed?
1. What does the city, county and state need to do?
2. What opportunities exist and what role does non-film local business need to play?
3. What educational institutions need to do?
C. Coordination/function of film liaison (is something more needed?)
D. How to regionalize our efforts – “Border Film Commission”

III. Animation & Game design – Michael Brown, Barbara Chamberlin & Glyn Anderson
A. Identify existing local technology clusters
B. Clarify our niches
C. Lead applications in business, entertainment, education, military and medicine
D. How do we transfer the technology to the commercial sector?
E. Issues and needs facing us – What we need to do and how to get it done

IV. Other Business Applications of Digital Media Technology– Gary Gomes, Paul Schranz, and David Cecil
A. Summarize the opportunities
B. Current examples of technology applications
C. Identify/clarify our potential niche focus areas
D. Education/skills set needed
E. Other resources required
F. How do we reach critical mass?

HTC Officers for 2009 - 11/13/2008

~~ For Immediate Release ~~

High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico

HTC Officers Elections

Board Positions this year are:

Kuhn hopes to take the community high-tech - 7/28/2008

LAS CRUCES — Carolyn Kuhn believes southern New Mexico will be able to rival other locales, like Huntsville, Ala., as a go-to place for high-tech industries.

see Las Cruces Sun News http://www.lcsun-news.com/business/ci_9999191 

That's why Kuhn, who is the chief operating officer with the Community Action Agency and runs her own software business, feels the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico is such an important organization. In fact, she is president of the nonprofit group.

"When it got started, seven or eight years ago, it was kind of an informal group," she said. "I got to meet some great people in different areas (of expertise). It was a great networking group and it still is today."

She said the HTC, which supports education and science fairs, is also an important outlet for businesses.

"One of the most important things about HTC is it allows high-tech and education and R&D and people interested in different areas of technology to come together and share ideas or collaborate on projects," she said. "Plus, people can find vendors they might not know exist."

The HTC meets once a month and also holds several events throughout the year.

On Aug. 15, Ron Taft, a small business advocate, is scheduled to give a free seminar titled "Doing Business with White Sands"

HTC Membership Drive - 7/19/2008

Established in 2002, the High Tech Consortium is a volunteer organization headquartered in Las Cruces, NM. Our mission is to work collaboratively with business, government, individuals, research organizations, the education community and others to encourage the development of a vibrant high tech economy and high quality of life in southern New Mexico.

HTC has provided a forum for leaders in government, scientific research, business and education to collaborate and advance important initiatives. Our accomplishments include:

• Guiding support for aerospace education degree programs at New Mexico State University;
• Collaboration among member firms and individuals for public and private contracts and grants;
• Support for high tech, high paying job initiatives at the State and local level;
• Support for innovations in math and science education and early career preparation opportunities to prepare the local workforce to meet the requirements of  high tech industries;
• Leadership on State and local advisory technology groups;
• Forum for conferences on important topics, including broadband, homeland security, digital media, commercial space initiatives and more.

We rely on the contributions of members and others to sustain our efforts throughout southern New Mexico. Please renew your membership today! If you are not currently a member, I encourage you to visit our website to learn more about our activities: www.htcnm.com you are also welcome to join us at our upcoming meeting on Doing Business with WSMR August 15, 2008, 3:00pm-4:30pm at Community Action Agency in Las Cruces.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Kuhn