SENATOR SHAPLEIGH TO AWARD EL PASO ENTREPRENEURS TERESA AND CARLOS GÁNDARA WITH "ADELANTE CON GANAS"
March 19, 2009
"Day in, day out, Teresa and Carlos work hard to keep a small business alive - paying the bills, selling products, covering employees with health insurance - doing the right thing. Small businesses like Pencil Cup Office Products, Inc. keep America working"
Written by Senator Eliot Shapleigh, www.shapleigh.org
EL PASO- On Friday, March 20, 2009 at 4 p.m. at Pencil Cup Office Products Inc. in El Paso, Senator Shapleigh will honor Teresa and Carlos Gándara with the "Adelante Con Ganas Award." Every month Senator Shapleigh awards one or more persons who have made an extraordinary commitment to service, family and community.
El Paso native Teresa Gándara and her husband, Carlos Gándara are owners and operators of Pencil Cup Office Products Inc., an office supply and furniture retail and distribution company, that they started in June 2001. Pencil Cup Office Products Inc. has contracts with El Paso area school districts, federal agencies and Fort Bliss, the Greater El Paso and El Paso Hispanic chambers of commerce, and local businesses.
"Day in, day out, Teresa and Carlos work hard to keep a small business alive - paying the bills, selling products, covering employees with health insurance - doing the right thing. Small businesses like Pencil Cup Office Products, Inc. keep America working," Senator Shapleigh said.
Teresa Gándara spent 11 years working for the El Paso Independent School District, first as a physical education teacher and coach at Terrace Hills Middle School, and then as assistant principal at Bassett Middle School.
In summer 2008, Pencil Cup Office Products Inc. was chosen over thousands of other businesses to be named Small Hispanic Business of the Year by the Texas Association of Mexican-American Chambers of Commerce. Teresa Gándara is on the board of directors of Homegrown El Paso, which advocates for companies and consumers to buy from locally-owned businesses. The Gándaras have worked hard to ensure that their 14 full-time employees receive health insurance through their company.
Teresa and Carlos Gándara and Pencil Cup Office Products Inc. highlight the importance of Texas' small businesses, buying locally and America's entrepreneurial spirit. El Paso has 18,000 small businesses, where most new jobs in El Paso are created.
The Gándaras will be presented with the Adelante Con Ganas award at 10 a.m. at Pencil Cup Office Products Inc., 1701 Texas Ave. in Central El Paso.
What: "Adelante Con Ganas" Award to Teresa and Carlos Gándara
When: Friday, March 20, 2009 at 4 p.m.
Where: Pencil Cup Office Products Inc., 1701 Texas Ave. (map)
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