Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez will receive this year’s Las Cruces International Film Festival “Hometown Hero” award at a ceremony during the 10th annual film festival, April 9-13.
The festival is presented by New Mexico State University and Visit Las Cruces and entirely run by NMSU film students under the guidance of Ross Marks, NMSU Creative Media Institute professor and festival executive director, who founded the festival 10 years ago. He teaches courses for NMSU students to learn how to prepare and produce a film festival. The LCIFF is now the largest student-run festival in the country.
Each year, the festival presents a “Hometown Hero” award to recognize someone with ties to the Las Cruces area who has made significant contributions both in the Las Cruces community and beyond.
Enriquez will receive the award during the LCIFF awards ceremony at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 12 at the Rio Grande Theatre, 211 N. Main St. VIP tickets to attend the award ceremony are available now for $200 at www.lascrucesfilmfest.com.
Enriquez’s career includes stints as a business owner and manager, firefighter, arson investigator and director of community services, which included the building division, environmental code enforcement division, animal control, city inspections, licensing and fire investigations. He also served as Las Cruces’ fire marshal, deputy fire chief, fire chief and assistant city manager.
“Mayor Eric Enriquez’s commitment and love of the city of Las Cruces is apparent in everything he does,” Marks said. “He makes the city a better place just by being himself. He leads with compassion and kindness. The Las Cruces International Film festival is proud to honor Mayor Eric Enriquez and his extraordinary body of work. He is just getting started. We expect even more great things from him. He a true leader and a visionary.”
Past recipients of the award include New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, Russell Allen, Belia Alvarez and Curtis Rosemond, Irene Oliver Lewis, Greg Smith, Marci Dickerson and Wanda Bowman.
Enriquez was born and raised in Las Cruces and is an alumnus of NMSU, earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a focus on finance. He was selected to attend the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Leadership, University of Virginia courses in city government, Fire Service Executive Development Institute and the National Academy of Fire Services.
For more than 20 years, Enriquez has been a volunteer dedicated to helping youth. He has been involved with boards such as the Mountain View Regional Medical Center, the Boys & Girls Club, the Court Appointed Special Advocates for children organization, Sherri’s House of Hope and the Drug Coalition Committee.
The five-day festival runs April 9-13 at the Allen Theatres Cineport 10. Marks expects to see more than 12,000 movie fans this year. VIP passes are $200, All-Access Passes are $100, Day Passes are $35 and admission to the Outstanding Achievement celebrity screening is $35. This year’s recipient of the Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment award is Academy Award-winning actress Helen Hunt. Tickets are available now.
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CUTLINE: Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez will receive the “Hometown Hero” award at the 10th annual Las Cruces International Film Festival. (Courtesy photo)