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You are here: Community Features GGEDC receives $25K grant from NM Gas Co.

GGEDC receives $25K grant from NM Gas Co.

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Award comes after Lundstrom named top economic development developer

Patricia Lundstrom, the executive director at the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation, announced Dec. 16 that the New Mexico Gas Company awarded a $25,000 grant to the organization to support local economic development efforts in McKinley County.

The announcement came during an event in Gallup with Gallup Mayor Jackie McKinney and GGEDC board president Tommy Haws in attendance. Lundstrom said the one-time appropriation will be re-invested in its entirety back into project development, providing a much-needed capital infusion to advance strategic economic development initiatives currently in the planning and development phase.

“Cultivating strategic partnerships to leverage additional resources for economic development is part of the mission of GGEDC,” Lundstrom said. “This investment in GGEDC will help to establish and grow the transportation and logistics industry in McKinley County - a sector that is on the verge of exploding,” McKinney said. “This partnership supports the city of Gallup’s vision for economic development and revitalization, as leveraging our transportation assets can drive long-term economic growth,” McKinney added.

Funding for New Mexico Gas Company Is made possible through its parent company Emera, Inc., a Top 20 North American utility. As part of the purchase of the New Mexico Gas, Co., Emera agreed to contribute $5 million within five years to economic development projects and programs throughout the state of New Mexico, Lundstrom pointed out.

The grant announcement comes about a month after Lundstrom, a former executive director at the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments in Gallup, was recognized as the Economic Developer of the Year by the New Mexico IDEA. Lundstrom received the award as a result of her work on the planned Gallup Energy Logistics Park in west Gallup. The park is a 2,500-acre rail and industrial project and considered a top economic development project in the Four Corners.

A Milan native, Lundstrom also represents Gallup and McKinley County in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent