GALLUP, N.M. — The Industrial Workforce Program (IWP), operated by the Southwest Indian Foundation (SWIF), received the 2026 Talent Development & Retention Award from New Mexico IDEA during the Governor’s Economic Development Conference on September 3, 2026, at the Isleta Resort & Casino in Isleta, New Mexico. The honor is one of NM IDEA’s annual Economic Development Excellence Awards, which recognize projects, programs and partnerships that strengthen communities, create opportunity and position New Mexico for long-term growth.
Bruce Armstrong, Economic Development Manager for the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation (GGEDC), accepted the award on IWP’s behalf as IWP program representatives were unable to attend. In his remarks, Armstrong emphasized both the difficulty of launching the initiative and the extraordinary results achieved through sustained collaboration.
“Standing up this program in 2019 required GGEDC to step considerably beyond its traditional economic development mission,” Armstrong said. “We were responding directly to our Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program partner employers who told us year after year that the shortage of entry-level skilled workers was limiting their growth. With the support of a three-year grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, GGEDC, its Board and its partners built a hands-on pilot program from the ground up—and then kept it moving through the COVID-19 pandemic, even when instruction had to pivot from hands-on training to online instruction.”
The original pilot proposed graduating 30 participants over three years. Instead, it graduated 60—twice its target—while establishing a replicable approach combining technical instruction, nationally portable credentials, mentorship and pathways to employment. Armstrong recognized GGEDC Executive Director Patty Lundstrom and former Deputy Director Michael Sage for assembling the program with the active involvement and support of the GGEDC Board of Directors.
Following completion of the EDAfunded pilot, GGEDC transitioned the program to SWIF, where it has continued to expand its reach and impact. Today, IWP provides tuition-free, hands-on construction and automotive training, including instruction for high school seniors through a partnership with Gallup-McKinley County Schools. It also has launched a popular auto mechanics program and is graduating upwards of 80 participants annually. Participants earn stackable certificates and credentials from the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) that are recognized by employers nationwide.
The 2026 NM IDEA award recognizes IWP’s practical, industry-driven approach to talent development. The program combines vocational training with close mentorship, employer partnerships and assistance connecting participants to internships, apprenticeships, jobs and trade schools. Its training supports career pathways in construction, auto mechanics and other skilled trades while helping local employers build a stronger and more dependable workforce pipeline.
On September 4, 2026, GGEDC Board Member and former Gallup Mayor Louie Bonaguidi joined Lundstrom and Armstrong in formally presenting the award to a 10-member IWP team at the GGEDC office. “This award belongs to the instructors, staff, partners and participants who have made IWP a lasting regional success,” Lundstrom said. “GGEDC is proud to have helped launch the program, and we are equally proud of the way Southwest Indian Foundation has strengthened and expanded it.”
Receiving the award from GGEDC on September 4, 2026, Thomas Macik, IWP Program Director, stated, “We are deeply honored to receive the NM IDEA Workforce Award presented at the Governor’s 2026 Conference on Economic Development. This recognition reflects the strength of our workforce-training programs and the partnerships that make them possible”. Macik added, “These programs are the unique result of close collaboration among the Southwest Indian Foundation (SWIF), a nonprofit organization with extensive homebuilding and industry experience, Aequitas Education, city, state and federal stakeholders, and experts from our local private industries.” He stated that the results recognize the programs’ effectiveness. “Their value to our students, employers and the entire region is truly priceless”.
Macik highlighted progress the program has been making with plans that include developing capacity to instruct both high school students and adults, and growing training programs for more trades. The IWP is also developing a new warehouse to provide space to more than double the number of houses SWIF produces each year for low-income families living on the Navajo Nation reservation.
The continued growth of the IWP program is especially important as Gallup, McKinley County, Gallup Land Partners and GGEDC work to secure formal State of New Mexico designation for the proposed Gallup-McKinley County TradePort, a coordinated regional economic development initiative designed to leverage the area’s strategic location along I-40 and the BNSF Southern Transcon, together with available industrial sites, multimodal transportation assets and planned infrastructure, to attract investment and economic-base employment.
Target sectors include advanced and value-added manufacturing, warehouse distribution and fulfillment, cold and frozen storage, food and agribusiness manufacturing, advanced energy, recycling, transportation and logistics. Companies considering these projects must be confident that the region can provide workers with relevant technical skills, safety training, credentials and workplace readiness. IWP directly strengthens that recruitment case by demonstrating that Gallup-McKinley County can identify employer needs, organize effective training and prepare residents for durable careers in industries the TradePort aims to attract.