Monday, October 10.
The Homegrown membership competition has started off with three new members being added to our Alliance. Your Board Represenative, Pat Gorman has claim to two of them. Welcome to these businesses AVX, 360 Maquiladora Consultant, and Gorman Co.,
Remember you have only 3 weeks left to participate in this competition.

Good Morning Homegrown Members!
Today is Monday, October 3 and the Membership Drive for Homegrown El Paso is officially off and running.
The Board of Directors for Homegrown El Paso challenge all members to participate in this event . The idea is to see who can recruit the largest number of new members between Oct 1 – Oct 31st.
Who will win this year’s competition? In the past the strongest competitor has been Terri Gandara. She traditionally recruits anywhere from 5 to 8 new members during this time. This year Pat Gorman has vowed to beat her. It will be fun to watch their progress. Who knows maybe someone else will give these two a run for the money & prizes.
You may log onto our Website www.homegrownelpaso.com and click on the Blog link anytime to get weekly updates on the progress of this competition. Your comments are welcome.
Rules and prizes are on the Website and the Blog.
Today the Board participants include:
Heather Cuthbertson ,President : Mortgage Advisor
Pat Gorman , VP: Gorman Industrial Supply
Sammy Smith ,VP: Plaza Properties
Don Baumgardt, Treasurer: Pinata Publishing
Vanessa Andrade, Recording Secretary : Brightside Thinking
Terri Gandara, Board Member: Pencil Cup Office Products
Ares Saldana , Board Member : Phidev Inc.
Sue Anderson, Board Member: Pizazz
Ken Shillinger, Board Member: Modern Iron Works
ArmandoArmendariz, Board Member: United Bank of El Paso del Norte

Other members participating are:
Dick Sears…Texas Chili Warehouse
Chris Berry…Good Luck Café
Christina Dominguez…Delicious Di’lites
Yvonne Solis Aguilar….Integrated Human Capitol
If you wish to participate contact Nancy for your membership packet and more information about the competition.

Go Local
Homegrown Membership Drive 2011
Begins: October 1st,
Ends: October 31st

Board members of Homegrown El Paso challenge other Homegrown members
join them in participating in a fun event that will
help our membership grow, encourage team work
and
award the winners some great prizes.

This membership will be good until Jan. 1st, 2013
and
will guarantee a business listing in the 2012 HG Business Directory
Rules:
1. Any member may participate ( as an individual or as a business team)
2. You may sign up to participate by contacting Nancy Ontiveros at contactme@homegrownelpaso.com
3. Each participant will receive a packet with:
• Homegrown information that you will want to share with your potential recruit.
• An information sheet with the rules that pertain to your participation.
• A tally sheet to keep track of your recruits and information about how to give HG your updates so they can be posted on the Homegrown website.
• All payments and registration forms must be delivered to Nancy at 200 S. Alto Mesa no prior to or no later than Tuesday, Nov. 1
4. Upon delivery of the new member’s registration and payment Homegrown will send a welcome packet to that company. This year the packet will include a $25.00 gift certificate to Economy Cash & Carry along with a welcome letter, Go Local insert, HG Window decal, HG vehicle identification sticker and information on how to market their Homegrown Membership.

Prizes:

1. The individual or team that recruits the largest number of new members will win a $250.00 gift certificate to the Homegrown Business of their choice (in the event of a tie the prize will be equally divided).
2. All participating members who qualify (must have recruited at least 3 new members) will be entered in a drawing at the end of October for a complementary full page advertisement in the 2012 HG Business Directory. An $800.00 value.
3. All new member businesses will be entered in a drawing for a complimentary, full page ad. in the 2012 HG Business Directory. An $800.00 value.

Any questions contact the Membership Committee: Pat Gorman, bosspwg@aol.com
Ken Schillinger, miwinc@swbell.net Nancy Ontiveros contactme@homegrownelpaso.com

Saturday I decided to work a little harder on my Go Local Challenge.  The local farmers’ markets have been up and running for a month or so and the quantity of produce is increasing.  I thought it would be a great way to stock up for a few days.

I left Mission Hills just after 6am on my bike and took a tour down Executive and then out Paisano and McNutt to Santa Teresa before riding back to Ardovino’s Desert Crossing for the 7:30am opening of the market.

Since I was on a bicycle I had to be careful how much I purchased.  I had a small pack on the back rack and a messenger bag to fill.  I filled them well with 3/4 lb of purple beans, 2 yellow squash, 2 green squash, 5 peaches, a brick of cheddar goat cheese, a jar of chipotle goat cheese spread, AND a dozen eggs and a whole frozen chicken!

Some of it was organic, some was hormone free and it all looked great!  El Paso’s roads are not very bike friendly, so the ride home was pretty rough.  I was happy to see that my huevos were intact when I got them home (and so was my wife!).

The big breakfast burrito that I had before I left the market got me home and the yellow squash, sauteed with onions and garlic were the best part of lunch.  Later in the week I’ll tell you how the rest of the food turned out.

I also saw some friends at the market and one offered to take my purchases home in her car so I didn’t have to carry them all the way.  It sounded like cheating.  The sense of community that comes from seeing friends and civically active neighbors at the market are also a great benefit of going local.

I’m starting my official week today.  I can’t report many purchases since I’m also a part time minimalist.  I ate all three meals at home – produce from JR’s and meat from the grass-fed, hormone free 1/2 cow in my freezer. He may not be local but he is from near Carizzozo – we get one every year.

I did stop in 2 local businesses:  a visit to Little Diner in Canutillo to say hi to the owner and get a glass of tea to go – it’s hot.  And, for later, BEER!  I went to the Cowtown Liquors on N. Mesa. I looked at the prices on the everyday stuff – Budweiser and Lone Star and I’m pretty sure they beat anyone else’s price.

A beer and a buck saved – what could be better.  I promise to spend more money tomorrow!