I love New Mexico!
Sometimes, we tend to forget about all the great scenery in our home state. From the high mountain ranges down to the Chihuahuan desert landscape, New Mexico has so much to offer.
Recently, John Anderson and I have been traveling across the state to meet with our fellow bankers, and driving through the countryside was a great reminder of our state’s beauty.
We still have some visits left to make, but let me tell you what we have done so far.
To start, traveling with John is a joy. Never a dull moment, including getting lost. John used his internal compass to guide me back to the hotel.
We started out heading south to Carlsbad. I am amazed at the number of wind turbines that have cropped up along the pathway south. They are almost mesmerizing to watch make those slow circles, and it’s difficult to pay attention to the road sometimes. The Permian Basin continues to drive the economic engine in southeastern New Mexico. Our bankers have been forcefully supporting the industry and its related businesses, especially restaurants and hotels.
Our next stop was Roswell for lunch with the local bankers. We were treated to a fantastic time. Roswell has some oil and gas economic activity and is also part of the 12th-largest dairy-producing county in the United States. Tourism is always great, and they hosted the National Championship Air Races this past year.
On to Clovis and lunch at K-Bob’s. Clovis is doing well, with the Air Force base and agriculture strongly supported by the local banks. Interestingly, as some smaller community banks have been on the closure list due to bank acquisitions, Bank of Clovis, headed by Randy Harris, has taken over several of these locations to continue to support the rural communities that rely on banks that are within a reasonable distance to their farms, ranches and businesses.
Our lunches in Santa Fe and Albuquerque were also very productive. The impact the state of New Mexico and the federal government have on the economies of both locations is enormous. Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories are in the process of creating a research triangle between Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Albuquerque. There is great optimism about the impact this could have in the next 10 years, with opportunities to bank the needs of the national players while also financing technology spin-offs from the labs.
There is more travel to come. My college home of Las Cruces is on the list; maybe after the wind stops in March, we can have a meeting with our friends from Farmington.
John continues to do a great job of representing all of us. We are lucky to have him. Our legislators respect and rely on him for advice on banking matters.
Also, don’t forget to save the date for our annual convention, June 18-19, in Santa Fe. We have a block of rooms available at La Fonda with special pricing, which you can reserve now.
Best wishes to all for a safe and prosperous New Year!
