This article originally appeared in the Hobbs News-Sun.
A national golf tournament, live music, and a one-of-a-kind Cinco de Mayo festival, that is just a typical weekend in Lea County, New Mexico! For well over a decade now, Lea County has quietly established itself as an entertainment mecca with multiple organizations dedicated to arts, culture, and live events. If you do not already know about it, maybe it is because we have been a little too quiet. That is a problem we are seeking to solve with LifeInLea.com.
For well over a decade and a half, the JF Maddox Foundation has hosted a community calendar website called HobbsEvents.org. We worked to link organizations, venues, and events to the community by investing in a website that highlighted the goings-on across Lea County. The website has been successful, receiving upwards of 1,000 visits a day. When traffic began to wane during the pandemic, it gave us a great opportunity to explore new ways of improving the website.
After meeting with community organizations, hosting focus groups, and contracting with professionals, we are proud to unveil LifeInLea.com. The new website incorporates life across the entire county and emphasizes the organizations that make this community great. Whether you are looking for live music, theater, lectures, or family fun of all sorts, LifeInLea.com has what you need. But the website is just the beginning. Soon you will see radio, newspaper, print, and billboard ads. You will see the LifeInLea.com brand across banners and at local events. All of it will be with the intent of bringing awareness of what this community has to offer.
The goals of the website do not stop there. We want to promote local events, collaborate with organizations, and help people get connected. If someone is visiting, you will see our community calendar brochures at hotels and restaurants. If you are from here and follow us on social media, you will find opportunities to plug-in and volunteer. The website is envisioned as a community engagement tool beyond what we have seen before.
We encourage you to please visit the website. I am confident that you will learn about some new events and organizations that you did not know existed. We set out to make a tool that shows off our wonderful community. That may be the easiest task we have ever undertaken because the people here have already made Life in Lea incredible for all of us!
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David Reed is the Chief Operating Officer at the JF Maddox Foundation, a family foundation in Lea County, New Mexico. Alongside its partners, the foundation invests in education, social services, and community development for a greater quality of life for Lea County residents.
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