Photos by Mary Alice Murphy
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
At the beginning of the meeting, all attendees gathered for a photo of them with red noses to support Red Noses to address children's poverty issues.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Big Brothers, Big Sisters receives $31,000 for Grant County One-to-One Mentoring Initiative. Accepting the award from Bruce Ashburn, left, is Dawn Starostka and April Ortiz, with Freeport's Kevin Cook announcing and passing the checks to the sponsors.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Sponsors Priscilla Lucero and Cari Lemon at left and right, hand out the $50,000 to the Community Partnership for Children: CPC/LINKS Expanding Childcare and Collaboration. Cook, at far right, looks on.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Sponsors Cari Lemon and Sherry Burd-Kested surround Literacy Link-Leamos director Mary Beth Folia, who received $22,000 for Preparing Adults for Local Skilled Jobs.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Ben Potts, left, of Silver Consolidated Schools receives $89,000 for Project Pick Six to improve STEM education, from sponsor Patrick Hoskins, as Cook watches.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Sponsor Sabrina Pack gives $6000 to the County of Grant's Commission Chairman Billy Billings and Ben Potts, who will help upgrade the technology infrastructure of the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Cook talks about the $20,000 being awarded to the Southwest Center for Health Innovation for FORWARD NM by sponsor Priscilla Lucero.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Charmeine Wait, center, Silver City MainStreet Project director, receives $62,000 for Main Street Plaza Phase 1 restrooms from sponsor Sabrina Pack and Cook
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Santa Clara Mayor Richard Bauch, left, accepts $35,000 for Santa Clara Public Park Improvements for all ages, from sponsor James Marshall and Cook.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Silver City Mayor Ken Ladner, second from right, and Assistant Town Manager James Marshall, left, receive $50,000 for an economic diversification implementation project, from sponsors Lucero and Erich Bower, second from left and center, as Cook looks on.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Shannon Rivera of the WNMU Early Childhood Center receives $10,000 for Grow Your Own from sponsor Hans Larisch and Cook.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
All awardees has their photos taken in a group with Cook. From left are Bala Salgado, Anna Daggett, Charlene Gomez, Terry Anderson, Shannon Rivera, Ben Potts, Mary Beth Folia, Ken Ladner, Dawn Starostka, April Ortiz, Charmeine Wait and Richard Bauch.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Dereck Ratcliff, chamber president, wears a red nose to support programs that address children's poverty.
Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce hosts Freeport CIF awards 050318
Cook stands with members of the selection committee, Bruce Ashburn, Sabrina Pack, Patrick Hoskins, Sherry Burt-Kested, Erich Bower, Priscilla Lucero, James Marshall and Cari Lemon. Member Hans Larisch had already left.
At the monthly meeting of the Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce, Kevin Cook, Community Development Manager for Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. handed out checks to Community Investment Fund grant recipients. The non-profit organizations received a total of $375,000 at the luncheon.
The Grant County Community Investment Fund was established in 2011 as part of Freeport-Mc-MoRan's objective to support sustainable benefits for the communities in the areas where the mining company operates.
The 2018 grant recipients include
• Big Brothers, Big Sisters, which received $31,000 for the Grant County One-to-One mentoring Initiative;
• Community Partnership for Children, which received $50,000 for CPC/LINKS: Expanding Childcare and Collaboration;
• Literacy Link-Leamos, which received $22,000 for Preparing Adults for Local Skilled Jobs;
• Silver Consolidated Schools, which received $89,000 for Project Pick Six to provide regional educators with high-quality professional development to improve STEM education;
• County of Grant, which received $6,000 to upgrade technology infrastructure at the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center for conferences;
• Southwest Center for Health Innovation, which received $20,000 for Preparing for Health Careers in Grant County and FORWARD NM to provide summer academies to local students;
• The Corporation for Downtown Development dba The Silver City MainStreet Project, which received $62,000 for the Main Street Plaza Phase I restrooms;
• The village of Santa Clara, which received $35,000 for Santa Clara public park improvement for all ages;
• The town of Silver City, which received $50,000 for an economic diversification implementation project to utilize existing plans; and
• Western New Mexico University, which received $10,000 for Grow Your Own to develop a plan to increase the number of highly qualified teachers in the local school districts.