Laredo wins host city designation
for Miss Texas USA Pageant

Laredo has been named the host city for the Miss Texas USA Pageant for the next five years. The news was announced at a recent meeting of the Laredo Hotel/Motel Association by Nick Marks Reyna, director of the Laredo Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The competition for host city was just as exciting as the pageant, said Reyna. "When we learned that Lubbock's contract as host city was up, we jumped at the chance to vie for the title. Through the forces of Mayor Elizabeth Flores and City Manager Larry Dovalina and the entire City Council, we swept through our rivals," he said.
During the pageant, prior to the crowning of Miss Texas, event hosts introduced Flores, Reyna, and several city council members as they announced Laredo as the new home of Miss Texas for the next five years.
The pageant promises to bring over $800,000 in projected economic stimulus to the City of Laredo, said Reyna. Contestants, television producers and crews, makeup and hair stylists, and a huge entourage of support staff, family, and friends will fill hundreds of hotel room nights throughout the city. "This stands to benefit our local economy in an unprecedented fashion," Reyna said.
In addition to the pageant announcement, the LCVB informed hoteliers and guests that the City of Laredo had been awarded host city designation by the Region X Council of Catholic Youth. Araceli Vallarta, Diocese of Laredo youth ministry director, made the successful bid presentation in Tyler. Region X covers Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The conference is set for 2006 and will attract over 4,500 participants.
Reyna will travel to Irving, along with Arturo García, president of the Streets of Laredo Urban Mall Association, to bid for the 2005 Texas Downtown Association Convention.
The next meeting for the Laredo Hotel/Motel Association is set for Tuesday, September 9, at the Laredo Country Club, hosted by the Laredo C&VB. For further information on membership call Hotel/Motel Association president D. J. Utterback at 722-1701.