News Release
May 31, 2002
Unique Handbags Send Kids to College, Propel
Business Owner to Entrepreneur of the Year
Albuquerque: Some of the most innovative and successful
small business owners in New Mexico, often overlooked in traditional
awards programs, will be recognized during today’s annual
PNM Entrepreneurial Awards program.
The Entrepreneur of the Year award will go to Albuquerque’s
Yolanda Chavez, owner and founder of Carmen Handbags, a business
that was borne out of Chavez’ desire to send her two
children to college.
Chavez and six other New Mexicans will be honored at a luncheon
today at Albuquerque’s Sheraton Old Town, 800 Rio Grande
Blvd., N.W. The awards portion of the program begins at noon.
U.S. Rep. Heather Wilson will be the keynote speaker for the
program.
Fifteen years ago, Chavez starting sewing handbags herself
and selling them door-to-door in Albuquerque’s Old Town
area. Today, Chavez has her own storefront in Old Town as
well as a manufacturing facility in the city’s South
Broadway area. Carmen Handbags makes more than 70,000 handbags
a year for clients worldwide.
“Yolanda and the other winners today represent some
of the most dedicated, hardworking and persistent small-business
owners in New Mexico,” said Jeff Sterba, PNM’s chairman,
president and CEO. “They’re really the backbone
of New Mexico’s economy, and we’re honored to play
a part in recognizing them.”
“Hearing the awards winners’ stories of struggle
and perseverance reaffirms my commitment in human creativity
and human passion,” said Agnes Noonan, executive director
of WESST corp, a statewide business assistance organization
and host of today’s event. “PNM deserves a lot of
credit for having the vision to honor these incredible individuals.”
Awards will also be given today to:
- Yvonne Braziel and Yvette Peacock, owners of Del’s
Restaurant in Tucumcari, as Rural Entrepreneurs of the Year:
Braziel and Peacock own and operate Del’s Restaurant,
an alluring landmark and resting place on historic Route
66 in Tucumcari since 1956. The restaurant and its employees
are committed to the principles of quality improvement.
In addition to providing more than 30 jobs to the local
economy, Braziel and Peacock also are heavily involved with
local community and business organizations. They also recently
established Del’s Restaurant Scholarships, which are
awarded to four local students each year.
- Crystal Holiday and Patricia Lindenfelser, owners of Generations
Personal Care Agency in Farmington, as Emerging Entrepreneurs
of the Year: Holiday and Lindenfelser recently launched
Generations Personal Care Agency as a way to create jobs
and provide long-term home care to Medicaid recipients in
rural northwest New Mexico. Under the agency’s Personal
Care Option, Holiday and Lindenfelser actually hire and
train a family member or friend of a Medicaid recipient
to provide in-home care to the receipient. As a result,
a family member or friend earns an adequate wage while the
recipient is able to remain at home rather than be taken
care of in a long-term care facilty.
- Julie Coleman, owner of J.C. Electric in Portales, as
recipient of the Pioneer Award: Coleman is the successful
owner of a business in Portales that specializes in electronic
motor repair and rewind. She is a third-generation rewinder
with more than 20 years of experience. As a woman in a traditionally
male-dominated field, Coleman has shown a commitment to
bringing other women into the field. Her first full-time
hires after starting the business full-time in 1999 were
participants in a welfare-to-work program.
- Susan Voigt, owner of Imaging Mental Health in Roswell,
as recipient of the Rising Star Award: Voigt receives the
Rising Star Award for having overcome great obstacles in
starting and maintaining her art-therapy business in Roswell.
Most of Voigt’s patients are adolescents, and many
of them receive treatment through Medicaid benefits. As
a sole proprietor, Voigt says the intricacies of insurance
protocols, denials and resubmissions can be both a financial
and emotional test. And despite reductions in Medicaid reimbursement
levels, Voigt’s business remains successful.
- Donna Fletcher, owner of Downtown Child Care in Albuquerque,
for the Leadership Award: Fletcher has operated two nationally-accredited
early care and child education centers for 15 years, while
simultaneously raising her own children and also earning
a early childhood and multicultural education degree from
TVI. In addition, Fletcher has been an outspoken policy
advocate for early childhood education and has been instrumental
in passage of several early childhood education bills in
New Mexico.
- Jill Duval, publisher of New Mexico Woman Magazine, for
the Entrepreneurial Advocate of the Year Award: Duval, a
long-time advocate for women-owned businesses in New Mexico,
publishes New Mexico Woman Magazine and the New Mexico Women’s
Business Directory and is host of the Top 25 Women-Owned
Businesses, an annual event that celebrates the state’s
largest women-owned enterprises.
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