HOUSE MEMORIAL 24

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Ben Lujan

A MEMORIAL

DECLARING THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 21, 2009 THROUGH FEBRUARY 28, 2009 AS "ENTREPRENEURSHIP WEEK" IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

     WHEREAS, entrepreneurship is vital to the growth and prosperity of New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, most of the new jobs created throughout the country in the past decade have come from the creative efforts of entrepreneurs and small businesses; and

     WHEREAS, according to the United States department of commerce, more than two thousand three hundred people become entrepreneurs every day, joining more than twenty million self-employed people that together make up more than seventy-five percent of the nation's businesses; and

     WHEREAS, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills identified entrepreneurial literacy skills as a content area critical to success in communities and workplaces in the twenty-first century; and

     WHEREAS, more than seventy percent of young Americans envision starting a business or engaging in some entrepreneurial activity as adults; and

     WHEREAS, the national governor's association supports connecting education with economic growth industries, recognizing that entrepreneurship and small business creation are the growth engines of the economy; and

     WHEREAS, a broad coalition of partner organizations under the umbrella of the youth entrepreneurship network in New Mexico and nationwide are actively engaged in enhancing entrepreneurial opportunities through collaboration and cooperation with the national consortium for entrepreneurial education; and

     WHEREAS, encouraging youth to get excited about entrepreneurship and working to expand the knowledge, skills and attitudes of New Mexico's youth and adults can lead youth to become successful entrepreneurs in the future; and

     WHEREAS, entrepreneurial education and activities are crucial to the long-term growth of local communities, the state and the nation; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico youth entrepreneurship network, composed of over forty career, technical and other student organizations, offers an array of programs, activities and competitive events focused on entrepreneurship; and

     WHEREAS, the United States house of representatives resolved to annually recognize a national entrepreneurship week, which this year will occur from February 21 through February 28, 2009; and

     WHEREAS, declaring the same week as "Entrepreneurship Week" in the New Mexico house of representatives provides an opportunity to focus on the innovative ways in which entrepreneurship education can bring together the core academic, technical and problem-solving skills essential for future entrepreneurs and successful workers in future workplaces;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the week of February 21, 2009 through February 28, 2009 be declared "Entrepreneurship Week" in the house of representatives.

- 3 -