Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation donors had the chance to see what $1.2 of donations can do.
The foundation hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony Aug. 15 for its new Center for Educational and Nonprofit Leadership. Donors, who had purchased tickets for the foundation’s 12th Annual Banquet, priced at $150 to $25,000 packages, were invited.
However, Española Valley non-profit organizations and schools have been making use of the center for free since June, according to Facility Manager Tony Fox.
The Foundation is a public charity that invests in education, learning and community development in Northern New Mexico, through scholarships, grants and outreach programs.
The 7,000-square-foot conference center features two board rooms, a large conference facility, 19 offices, a full-service kitchen, parking for 55 cars and an outdoor courtyard and patios. The conference center houses state-of-the-art audio and visual equipment and can seat up to 80 people. Ground breaking for the center took place a year and a half ago.
“We built it as a community center,” Executive Director Susan Herrera said.
The center is to be a resource for workshops, meetings, conferences and creative collaborations, she said.
So far the Math and Science Academy, New Mexico MESA, the Los Alamos School District and the Rio Arriba Teen Pregnancy coalition are some of the groups that have met there. There is no fee to use the space unless organizations use the facility’s catering kitchen, Fox said. The catering fees are just enough to offset maintenance, he said.
Española School District Superintendant David Cockerham said around 100 of the District’s teachers have graduated from the Academy, which has used the center.
“It’s really great to see the building occupied and being used for what it was intended,” Board Treasurer Liddie Martinez said.
Six of the center’s offices will be rented out at fair market value, according to Fox.
“Our first priority is to fill the space with an organization that shares community interest and is focused on economic and community development and education,” Martinez said.
The rest of the center’s offices will be home to the Foundation’s corporate staff and programs such as the Los Alamos Employees Scholarship Fund, the First Born Program and the Education Enrichment and Outreach grants.
The center is a long way from where the foundation originated — in Herrera’s car, Martinez said,
“She used to have her car filled with boxes and go from place to place,” she said.
When the Foundation outgrew it’s small office at the Lab it moved to an office in Santa Fe, which is where it remained from 1998 to 2003. In November 2003 the foundation moved to Española, where it rented an office in the Legacy Office Building, next to the new center on Industrial Road.
“Logistically it made sense to be closest to the constituents we serve,” Fox said.
Española is the hub of the communities that the Foundation targets, Martinez said.
Lab Community Relations Representative Tom Cordova said the center represents the stability that the committee is committed to supporting the region.
“It goes to show they’re going to be here for a long time,” Cordova said.
A community group or school interested in using the center, should call 753-8890.