Post by Okwes on Jul 2, 2006 16:23:52 GMT -5
Entrepreneur helps tribes
Native roots drive wastewater treatment firm
Max Jarman
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 2, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html
<http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html\
>
Jimmy Alvarez has found success as an engineer and builder without
compromising his tribal values.
He is a big man with a long silver ponytail that is partially covered by
a trademark cowboy hat. His warm demeanor and beaming smile instantly
put anyone at ease.
On his office wall, Native American art shares space with maps of
various Native American reservations and a poster of "common activated
sludge micro organisms." [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
<http://q.azcentral.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.azcentral.com/bus\
iness/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html/1556844214/ArticleFlex_1/Oas\
Default/chapman_dodge_target_may/dodgebanner_160x600.gif/353334333333643\
03434613738313930> [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
His Mesa-based company, Plumas Consulting Inc., designs and builds
wastewater-treatment facilities exclusively for Native American
communities.
In doing so, he has improved the health and lives of thousands of people
whose communities often had decrepit sewer systems and, in some cases,
none at all. He is known on Native American reservations across the
country.
"I've always been proud of my heritage, and it makes me feel good to
help other Native Americans," he said.
In his spare time, he makes traditional leather hair bands like the one
that holds his silver hair back into a long tail. It's an item that has
been made by his tribe for centuries.
Plumas, which means feather in many Native American languages, has
benefited from Indian gaming, which is giving tribes across the country
the financial wherewithal to improve the infrastructure in their
communities.
"The first priority for the money is to improve the health and welfare
of the tribal members, and that has often included new wastewater
systems," he said.
Plumas has built such systems for the Navajo Nation, the Bear River
Tribe and the La Jolla Reservation in California, the St. Croix tribe in
Wisconsin and the Sioux Nation in South Dakota.
Alvarez and his business were honored June 16 with the annual First
American Leadership Award for Entrepreneurship presented by the National
Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
He's currently working on the design for a wastewater-treatment plant
that will serve a $300 million casino and resort hotel his tribe is
building near San Diego.
Alvarez, 59, is one of 63 members of the Jamul Tribe in San Diego
County, one of 13 tribes that comprise the Kumeyaay Nation.
"He's one of the hardest-working people I know," said Jamul Tribal
Chairman Lee Acebedo. "He bends over backwards for his clients."
But Acebedo also knows Alvarez as a good friend. "He's loyal and always
there for his friends," he said.
Alvarez moved to Arizona 10 years ago for relief from painful rheumatoid
arthritis that was aggravated by San Diego's climate. It was about that
time that he formed his business.
He previously worked as a consultant helping non-Native American
contactors obtain construction work on the reservations.
Eventually he was approached by several tribes and asked to form his own
business to do the work he was arranging for the outside companies.
"They were more comfortable dealing with me," he said.
His business now grosses between $5 million and $10 million a year and
has seven in-house employees and about 20 in the field.
He maintains close contact with the Jamul Tribe, and often returns to
the Jamul Indian Village for ceremonies and other events.
He started working construction with his father in San Diego and used
those skills, plus Bureau of Indian Affairs grants, to obtain degrees in
economics and engineering from the University of California-San Diego.
"I started with a pick and shovel out of the back of my car," he said.
After college, Alvarez spent a year at California Western School of Law
in San Diego before dropping out due to family pressures.
"I fancied myself as a high-powered corporate attorney, but it wasn't in
the cards."
But Alvarez wouldn't trade any of his experiences.
"This is the most interesting and rewarding work I've done my entire
career," he said.
Native roots drive wastewater treatment firm
Max Jarman
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 2, 2006 12:00 AM
www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html
<http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html\
>
Jimmy Alvarez has found success as an engineer and builder without
compromising his tribal values.
He is a big man with a long silver ponytail that is partially covered by
a trademark cowboy hat. His warm demeanor and beaming smile instantly
put anyone at ease.
On his office wall, Native American art shares space with maps of
various Native American reservations and a poster of "common activated
sludge micro organisms." [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
<http://q.azcentral.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.azcentral.com/bus\
iness/articles/0702biz-execprofile0702.html/1556844214/ArticleFlex_1/Oas\
Default/chapman_dodge_target_may/dodgebanner_160x600.gif/353334333333643\
03434613738313930> [http://www.azcentral.com/imgs/clear.gif]
His Mesa-based company, Plumas Consulting Inc., designs and builds
wastewater-treatment facilities exclusively for Native American
communities.
In doing so, he has improved the health and lives of thousands of people
whose communities often had decrepit sewer systems and, in some cases,
none at all. He is known on Native American reservations across the
country.
"I've always been proud of my heritage, and it makes me feel good to
help other Native Americans," he said.
In his spare time, he makes traditional leather hair bands like the one
that holds his silver hair back into a long tail. It's an item that has
been made by his tribe for centuries.
Plumas, which means feather in many Native American languages, has
benefited from Indian gaming, which is giving tribes across the country
the financial wherewithal to improve the infrastructure in their
communities.
"The first priority for the money is to improve the health and welfare
of the tribal members, and that has often included new wastewater
systems," he said.
Plumas has built such systems for the Navajo Nation, the Bear River
Tribe and the La Jolla Reservation in California, the St. Croix tribe in
Wisconsin and the Sioux Nation in South Dakota.
Alvarez and his business were honored June 16 with the annual First
American Leadership Award for Entrepreneurship presented by the National
Center for American Indian Enterprise Development.
He's currently working on the design for a wastewater-treatment plant
that will serve a $300 million casino and resort hotel his tribe is
building near San Diego.
Alvarez, 59, is one of 63 members of the Jamul Tribe in San Diego
County, one of 13 tribes that comprise the Kumeyaay Nation.
"He's one of the hardest-working people I know," said Jamul Tribal
Chairman Lee Acebedo. "He bends over backwards for his clients."
But Acebedo also knows Alvarez as a good friend. "He's loyal and always
there for his friends," he said.
Alvarez moved to Arizona 10 years ago for relief from painful rheumatoid
arthritis that was aggravated by San Diego's climate. It was about that
time that he formed his business.
He previously worked as a consultant helping non-Native American
contactors obtain construction work on the reservations.
Eventually he was approached by several tribes and asked to form his own
business to do the work he was arranging for the outside companies.
"They were more comfortable dealing with me," he said.
His business now grosses between $5 million and $10 million a year and
has seven in-house employees and about 20 in the field.
He maintains close contact with the Jamul Tribe, and often returns to
the Jamul Indian Village for ceremonies and other events.
He started working construction with his father in San Diego and used
those skills, plus Bureau of Indian Affairs grants, to obtain degrees in
economics and engineering from the University of California-San Diego.
"I started with a pick and shovel out of the back of my car," he said.
After college, Alvarez spent a year at California Western School of Law
in San Diego before dropping out due to family pressures.
"I fancied myself as a high-powered corporate attorney, but it wasn't in
the cards."
But Alvarez wouldn't trade any of his experiences.
"This is the most interesting and rewarding work I've done my entire
career," he said.