Sullivan Field is undergoing a major renovation. A new 7 lane, green and
gold, Mondo track surface is being installed as well as complete state
of the art lighting. In addition, a beautiful brick sidewalk will be
installed from the ticket booth to the home bleachers. You can have a
personalized brick added to this walkway.
Click here for more information.
Valerie Armijo
Okay, I first have to say that when I ran into Newell Ramsey about 2
weeks ago by chance and he asked me if I'd be going up to Los Alamos
this summer for our 20th reunion...I did have to stop for a moment to
think about that. Not whether or not I would be going to the reunion,
but how 20 years could have flown by...just like that!
Well, you asked for it so this is my story...
Upon graduation I headed for ENMU in Portales. A bitter, sweet
experience this was in that this is where I met my ex-husband, Rob.
After having spent 14 years with him, we divorced. We spent most of our
years together in Albuquerque and since I had way too much fun taking in
the college life; I had to endure the long and painful process of
working full-time and going to school part-time. Lucky for me...I loved
my job as a Marketing Representative for a paramedical company (having
spent 8 years there). In 1998, I finally earned a Bachelors' degree in
Business Management. Just prior to splitting up with Rob, we were
blessed with two beautiful angels...Jasmine & Savannah. Jasmine was 18
months old and Savannah just 6 weeks old when my ex-husband decided to
start a new life with someone else and out-of-state.
The girls and I moved back up to Los Alamos to be closer to my
parents. I became the Operations Manager for The Plus Group (the
administrative contractor to LANL) and soon began work on a Masters'
degree in Business Administration. I worked full-time, went to school
full-time, had both of my daughters in daycare and spent what little
free time I had with a very special guy named Ken who kept me motivated
and inspired me to keep plugging away whenever times got rough. I was
also lucky enough to have my wonderful parents as part of my team; they
cared for the girls the nights and weekends I had class and on Friday
night date nights. At last, we obtained our MBA in 2002!
I was soon approached by State Farm recruiters and decided to pursue
an entrepreneurial opportunity with them. I opened up a State Farm
Agency in the far NE heights of Albuquerque. My team and I built a very
successful agency, but I found myself working an excessive amount of
hours. I noticed the negative impact this was having on my girls and on
several of my other close relationships as well. With much regret
(because I enjoyed the business so much), I decided to close my agency
in the Fall of 2006.
My daughters and I bonded through the holiday season for 2 solid
months...what a blessing that was! Jasmine is now 9 years old and is fun
loving and carefree. Savannah is 7 years old and is creative and
meticulous. They love to play volleyball, basketball and cheerlead.
They're also bombarded daily with hugs and kisses from me. I love,
love, love being a mom; it is my passion!
Anyhow one of my goals was to soul search for about 6 months and to
see where that took me career wise, but that lasted all of 3 months. By
the time the New Year rang in, I found myself partnering with several
other insurance professionals in the area in an effort to launch a
multi-line insurance agency out of my home. We are slowly unveiling all
of the products and services that will be offered through Valerie Armijo
Insurance Agency, Inc. and Armijo, Smith & Associates, LLC. The beauty
of it all is that I now have the luxury of dropping off and picking up
the girls from school everyday and I have the flexibility to do whatever
else I want to do with or without them!
I guess... maybe some of you are wondering about "Mr. Right". Well, I
do believe he is out there! And after almost 7 years of being divorced,
my ex-husband and I have a really good relationship. Since the day I
divorced, I made a silent promise to my girls that I would do my part to
make this whole experience as painless as possible for them. As
previously mentioned, I was lucky enough to spend 3 unforgettable years
with my soul mate-Ken. He is still my inspiration and I am happy to say
that we still share a very special friendship. As far as needing a man
and I know guys hate to hear this, but we don't need one. We would love
to have one and embrace the idea of having one, but we don't spend a lot
of time worrying about that. It will happen...when it happens!
So for now we thank our lucky stars every night that we have our
health, each other and our family (my parents live one street West of us
and my brother, Leonard-Class of '88 and my 2 year old nephew, Hunter
have an adjoining backyard to ours). We have a home in Paradise Hills
with a hot tub, waterfall and gazebo in the backyard and so if any of
you are ever in the area and are in need of babysitters...we are as good
as it gets...look us up!
