Daniel B Flores

Guadalupe County Veterans Memorial and Community Center Daniel B Flores

Guadalupe County officials began planning for what would eventually be known as the Guadalupe County Veteran Memorial and Community Center in 2013. At that time the old Guadalupe County General Hospital building located on Lake Drive near Park Lake was vacant. The Guadalupe County Hospital had moved into a new and modern facility located on Camino de Vida on the southwestern part of Santa Rosa. The new hospital was located across the street the Santa Rosa Consolidated Schools new middle school facility. The county commission, after much input from area citizens, decided to convert the old hospital into a facility to honor Guadalupe County veterans. County commissioners at that time were Vince Cordova, Alvin Maestas and Ernest Tapia. The county manager was George Dodge, Jr. The county applied for a Community Development Block Grant, CDBG, from the state, to proceed for the development of the Veterans Memorial and Community Center. The commissioners and county manager were successful in getting a federal CDBG grant of $500,000 for their project. Guadalupe County also provided $237,000 in local funds. The County was also successful in getting an additional $125,000 Capital Outlay appropriation from the New Mexico Legislature. The appropriations were sponsored by State Senator Pete Campos and State Representative George Dodge, Jr., on behalf of their Guadalupe County constituency. County officials proceeded with ground-breaking for the new facility on, appropriately, Veterans Day, November 11, 2014. The ceremony on the east grounds of the old hospital was well attended by veterans, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and the more recent Middle East conflicts. On the current Veterans Day, November 11, 2016, Guadalupe County officials will be holding a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new facility. The current county commissioners are Albert Campos, Jr., James Moncayo and Ernest Tapia. They will be joining county manager George Dodge, Jr., for the ribbon cutting ceremony of the new county facility. Their new facility exemplifies progress they are making in their commitment to the veterans and the citizens of Guadalupe County.