Chamber Host Annual Medical Student Reception
The Odessa Chamber of Commerce recently gave a big West Texas welcome to 29 Third-year medical students entering Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center at the Permian Basin School of Medicine on Thursday, May 11th. This is an annual reception put on by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and co-sponsored by Medical Center Health System. With a growing population, the Permian Basin needs more doctors, and it is the hope of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce that these talented young transplants will make Odessa their permanent home.
The Incoming 3rd Year Medical Students Are:
Erin Adams – Dallas, TX
Kofi Agyare – Fort Worth, TX
Kimberly Brown – Lubbock, TX
Adilene Chapina-Guizar – El Paso, TX
Brinkley Cover– Rockwall, TX
Zarif Gani – Jacksonville, FL
Donald Garnsey – Harvey, MI
Lauren Glover – Aledo, TX
Kanishk Goel – League City, TX
Nikhil Gogineni – New Orleans, LA
Beth Green – Baton Rouge, LA
Nadjaliette Hernandez-Lopez – Puerto Rico/Copperas Cove, TX
Daniel Ho – Houston, TX
Cameron Huddleston – Aledo, TX
Jacob James – Haslet, TX
Lyndsay Johnston – Amarillo, TX
Megan Mai – Pearland, TX
Jesse Neely – Lubbock, TX
Robin Okpara – Sugar Land, TX
Radha Patel – Odessa, TX
Kirie Psaromatis – Flower Mound, TX
Nicole Remmert – Willis, TX
Austin Rodgers – Graham, TX
Meron Tesfaye – Ethiopia/Dallas, TX
Kelly Trinh – Houston, TX
Carina Vasquez – El Paso, TX
Jesse York – Midland, TX
Lina Zhang – Memphis, TN
Christopher Zias – Lubbock, TX
Chamber Board of Directors Votes To Endorse ECISD Bond Propositions
The Board of Directors of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce recently voted to endorse the ECISD Bond Proposal A and Proposal B. This action came after extensive presentations from ECISD Superintendent Dr. Scott Muri and Odessans for Education PAC members Lorraine Perryman and Lisa Wyman.
The Board’s Decision to support these two Bond Proposals was based on in-depth research and findings that resulted in information showing the overwhelming need for support of both of these Proposals. The Chamber of Commerce Board is well aware of the need for an influx of an upskilled workforce. Over the past ten years, our community has experienced unparalleled growth. In addition, several large new companies will soon call Ector County home, requiring employment numbers in the thousands, which will break the previous growth records. “We must not only prepare our students for the future job needs and demands, but we must also make sure they are fully equipped with the proper skill sets that will be needed by our current and future employers. That requires repair and upgrades to our aging infrastructure, facilities and technology, as well as providing a state-of-the-art Career & Technical Education Center that will provide our employers with graduates who are career ready. After all, our students deserve the best and as a community, we must strive for an academic setting of excellence,” said Jim Cox, Chair of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.
Secondly, our two major High Schools in Odessa are exceedingly overcrowded, depriving our students of a safe, secure and learning atmosphere every student deserves. Odessa has not built a new high school since 1959 and that does not align with the overall excellence that we feel our students, families and employers should demand. We are decades past the need for a new high school.
“Our needs are great. As time goes on, the price tags to meet these needs increase. Putting off the inevitable is not going to make it any cheaper. We must act now and VOTE YES on both propositions. The students deserve this, our community’s future demands this and our future success depends on this,” added Cox.
The Chamber Board is comprised of 30 board members, elected by the membership of more than 740 companies and organizations making up more than 27,000 employees. Election Day is May 7th with early voting starting on April 25th. We encourage all registered voters to have their voices heard.
Unveiling held for Chris Kyle Memorial Highway
On Tuesday morning the unveiling ceremony for the Chris Kyle Memorial Highway was held at the Chris Kyle Memorial Plaza.
Several local and state leaders were in attendance including State Rep. Brooks Landgraf and Taya Kyle, widow of Chris, who spoke to the crowd.
Senator Kel Seliger and members of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce were also at the event.
In 2017 Rep. Landgraf filed a bill to have State Highway 191 in Ector County named in honor of Chris Kyle on the fourth anniversary of his death.
The Chris Kyle Memorial Plaza can be found along the Highway 191 frontage road heading east near MCH Mission Fitness.
New Odessa Downtown Hotel & Conference Center making progress
Downtown Odessa will soon be home to the more than 200-room, full-service Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, which is currently under construction at 5th Street at Texas Avenue in the core of downtown.
The public/private partnership between the City of Odessa and local hotel investors is an investment of $77 million in Downtown Odessa.
The state-of-the-art conference center boasts 78,271 square feet of conference space, including a grand ballroom and junior ballroom. The project includes an open air plaza facing 5th Street, 300 car parking garage, and the renovation of the historic Ector Theater.
The project is expected to be completed and open in Summer 2019.