Mesquite STEAM center grant is official

Members of the Frias Trust announced that the trust would be giving the Mesquite Plaza shopping center to Mesquite Works for the establishment of a new STEAM education center for area children. Pictured l to r are Mayor Al Litman, City Councilman George Gault and Frias officials John Mowbray, Jack Hanifan, Dan Wade and Tyler Mowbray.

By VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

A world-class education center for K-12 students of Virgin Valley and Moapa Valley is coming to Mesquite soon.

On Tuesday morning, Sept. 7, executive members of the Mesquite Works board of directors announced that the local workforce development group had received a property gift valued at more than $2 million for the establishment of a community-based center for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) education.

The Charles and Phyllis M. Frias Charitable Trust, named for the late Las Vegas philanthropists, has donated the Mesquite Plaza strip mall on Mesquite Blvd. to the Mesquite Works organization for this purpose.

A crowd of more than 30 people gathered on the west side of the parking lot at Mesquite Plaza to celebrate the announcement on Tuesday morning.

Mesquite City Councilman George Gault, who is also a founding member of the Mesquite Works Executive Board, said that the gift would be a “game-changer” for workforce development and education in the region.

“This will offer the possibility of changing the work-life trajectory of local young people in our communities,” Gault said in an interview with The Progress. “It gives our young people another option.”

Currently most high school graduates in the area leave the area for college or more diverse, higher paying job opportunities, Gault said. A few stay and go to work in a local resort, manufacturing facility or warehouse, he said.

“Instead of those kids starting off in low-paying jobs with little other option, they will be able to enter the workforce with a skillset and a certification behind them,” Gault said. “We can build a skilled local workforce so that we can more effectively recruit companies to the area that can tap into that workforce.”

Gault said that the vision is to reserve the west side of the shopping center as the STEAM center. The center will offer a variety of hands-on educational programs for kids K-12. These include short-term career training for certifications in fields like HVAC, electrical, welding, plumbing, health care services and more. A strong partnership with CSN would include internships and apprenticeship programs in various trades. And supplemental technology, art, and other educational programs would be offered for younger children as well.

Current business tenants of the Mesquite Plaza will still continue to lease their spaces under similar terms. And there will be a push to lease the remaining business spaces that are currently vacant in the shopping center.

“Our goal is to completely rehabilitate this entire facility, fill it up with businesses and use the lease income to support the kids,” Gault said. “We already have an architect working on design for the renovations. We will then bid out the construction work and get that done very quickly.”

One of the conditions in the Charitable Donation Agreement, set by the Frias Trust, was that Mesquite Works would be required to raise at least $100,000 which could be matched by Mesquite Redevelopment Agency (RDA) funds as a base to get the center started. Gault said that Frias representatives, as well as he himself, were surprised at how quickly those funds were raised.

“We started approaching different people, groups and companies and things just took off,” Gault said.

Within a few months, they had raised $96,000, just short of the required amount, from various donors in the community.

“We approached one donor, who has asked to remain anonymous,” Gault said. “We explained what we were doing and they asked us how much we had raised. Then they said, ‘Well, why don’t we just write you a check for $104,000.’ So basically it doubled the required amount.”

Gault emphasized that this is just a start to the fundraising efforts needed to keep the STEAM center operating. “If this were a symphony, this part thus far would be just the overture,” he told the crowd in a short statement at the event on Tuesday. “Now we have to get to the main part. Time to roll up our sleeves and go to work.”

Gault said that he was comfortable with the management and business end of the project. But he admitted that the educational side was not within his expertise.

“For that, we are going to have to rely on the educators in the community as well as our partnership with CSN and others,” Gault said. “They will have to step up and fulfill that part.”

The school administrators in attendance expressed eagerness to play that role.

Virgin Valley High School principal Riley Frei expressed excitement to have so many stakeholders involved in a partnership to improve local education including philanthropy, local and state government, school leaders and higher education.

“I am excited to be a part of it and really grateful to be here in this conversation with such great people,” Frei said. “It is a real honor and I promise you, we will not let you down. It is going to be an exciting ride.”

Moapa Valley High School principal Hal Mortensen was unable to attend the Tuesday event. But he has also been involved with planning for the STEAM center.

“We are excited to build a partnership with the new STEAM center,” Mortensen said. “This is a real area of need for our students. We look forward to building the programs together that will best meet the students’ needs.”

Mortensen observed that MVHS has typically done a good job at preparing students for college. “But we have room to grow for students who may not be wanting to go to college, but want to enter the workforce after graduation. This center will help provide those options.”

Littlefield Arizona School District Superintendent Darlene McCauley said that she felt blessed to be included in Mesquite Works and in the planning for this STEAM center project.

“It all comes down to what are we doing to create opportunities for our children to be successful,” McCauley said. “So we are going to carry on that legacy of creating opportunity with this center.”

John Mowbray, a trustee in the Frias organization, gave a brief history of Charles and Phyllis Frias. He talked about how the couple moved to Las Vegas with very little in 1958 and saw opportunity there.

Charlie Frias soon joined a union and began working as a cab driver for a small taxi company in Las Vegas. He was quickly recognized for his strong work ethic and his devotion to the company.

“He built such trust in the company that, in the early 1960s the owner of the cab company offered to sell it to him,” Mowbray said.

Though it was a struggle, Charlie and Phyllis put together the capital and bought the company. “From a modest beginning with one cab company, they built four more cab companies, an airline shuttle business, a limousine business into the largest transportation company in the state of Nevada.”

Mowbray added that the couple had a soft spot for education, especially in underserved rural areas. They established a trust where their entire estate would go to help children, less-fortunate members of the community and education in southern Nevada.

“I’ve got to tell you, southern Nevada is bigger than just Las Vegas,” Mowbray said. “So our emphasis is to reach out to rural southern Nevada areas to help jumpstart those areas.”

“We are here to help this community,” Mowbray pledged. “We are going to be a partner in this town on this project for quite a while.”

Frias trustee Jack Hanifan expressed confidence that the gift for this project was in good hands with Mesquite Works.
“Today is the day we are handing off the baton to you,” Hanifan said. “We wouldn’t do that unless we had extreme confidence that you will finish this race. We know you can. And the reason for our confidence is that you have broad-based support from the community.”

Mesquite Mayor Al Litman, who was in attendance, recognized Gault for his efforts in putting the project together.
“Think ahead just a little ways,” Litman told the crowd. “You are going to see a totally diofferent looking complex here. You will see lots of kids and lots of life taking place. I thank the Frias Trust for seeing what can happen when someone puts their foot forward. And George (Gault) has certainly put his foot forward here.”