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U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, Lt. Gov. Diane Denish Praise Nonprofit Lender’s Rural Focus
ACCION New Mexico is bringing business credit to the doorsteps of Lea County small business owners with the historic launch of the statewide nonprofit lender’s first regional office.

State and local leaders joined residents and business owners in Hobbs Monday to celebrate the expansion at a local business, Sounds Incredible Inc., which was funded by an ACCION loan.

New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish and Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., both entrepreneurs with personal ties to the Hobbs area, praised the expansion as an important step toward providing greater access to capital and support for local small business owners.

“I am delighted to see ACCION New Mexico opening an office in my hometown of Hobbs,” said Denish, who spoke at Monday’s event. “Selecting Hobbs for a local office proves that the Lea County economy is on the rise and that ACCION is a strong partner, committed to creating jobs all over New Mexico.”

In a statement, Pearce highlighted the important role ACCION’s lending plays in economic development.

“Microlending organizations like ACCION play a vital role as we strive to build a future of opportunity and prosperity for every New Mexican,” Pearce said. “They provide essential capital to those who need it most – entrepreneurs, small businesses and other dreamers who can't get the help they need from conventional banks. I welcome ACCION to Hobbs and I look forward to the immense contributions they can make to our community.”

The expansion is the culmination of several years of work by community, business and governmental leaders in Lea County to revitalize and diversify the area’s economy. These leaders examined the effects of more than two decades of economic and population decline as several major oil and energy companies shifted operations, affecting employment and income opportunities in Lea County. The Lea County Community Improvement Corporation detailed the results of this decline and made recommendations for economic transformation in a report issued in November 2003.

The report cited important statistics, including a decline in enrollment in the Hobbs Municipal School District and a higher rate of Lea County residents living at or below the national poverty level than at the statewide level. Among the strategies leaders identified for the economic transformation of Lea County was the development of a vibrant microloan program. Market assessments demonstrated both strong demand for a microloan program and the importance of the local community’s entrepreneurial sector.

ACCION leaders made the strategic decision to open the state’s first regional office in Hobbs after local leaders made a compelling case for bringing ACCION’s unique and effective style of microenterprise development to the area. The community’s strong entrepreneurial spirit and work to develop the financial and community infrastructure to support an ACCION office in Hobbs were important contributions to support expansion. A grant from the J.F Maddox Foundation is funding the Hobbs office.

“Making the decision to locate an ACCION staff person in Hobbs could not have been possible without the leadership and community support from the J.F Maddox Foundation and other outstanding partners in Lea County,” ACCION New Mexico President and CEO Anne Haines Yatskowitz said. “ACCION New Mexico understands how critical this region has been to our state’s economy and is committed to doing all we can to ensure the small business owners of this area get the resources they need to succeed.”

Area banks have also been critical partners in ACCION’s work in the region, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Lea County State Bank and Western Commerce Bank. Bank partners help ACCION deliver business credit to rural parts of the state. In some cases, they provide potential clients with information about ACCION and close ACCION loans on behalf of the organization at their bank locations. In other cases, they contribute financial support to the organization.

“This historic moment in ACCION New Mexico’s history is possible because of the organization’s deft ability to understand economic development at its most grassroots level while maintaining focus on the larger picture economic picture,” said ACCION Board President Robert Wertheim, who is chairman of Charter Bank•Mortgage•Insurance. “ACCION leaders have brought banks, government entities, private organizations and others to the table to achieve greater scale. And they also continue to recognize the critical benefit of working with business owners face-to-face, one loan at a time.”

Veteran local banker Pamela Nance is overseeing the Hobbs office as ACCION’s regional outreach manager. Nance has 17 years of banking experience and most recently served as an assistant vice president at Western Commerce Bank in Hobbs, where she created, then managed, a centralized commercial loan processing department.

The organization’s primary mission is to increase access to business credit, make loans and provide
training that enable emerging entrepreneurs to realize their dreams and be catalysts for positive economic and social change. ACCION offers loans between $200 and $50,000 at competitive market rates to entrepreneurs facing real or perceived barriers to business credit.

Contact:
Leslie Hoffman
ACCION New Mexico Communications Director
(505) 243-8844 ext. 238
(505) 270-0285 cell