Joe grew up in Tucumcari, but graduated from high school in Roswell. He attended ENMU from 1985-1990, earning a bachelor’s in graphic design with a minor in music.
Heather, raised in a Portales farming family, attended Eastern from 1987-1991 and received a bachelor’s in journalism with a minor in music. She later completed a master’s in political communication from the University of Maryland.
Here’s their story of how they met and what they have done since:
How/where/when you met:
Heather: We met through common friends when Joe came to ENMU for college and I was still in high school. We never dated in college, but ran with the same circle of friends.
We didn’t manage to start dating until we’d both graduated and started careers. I was in Washington, D.C., and Joe was in Dallas.
Ultimately, Joe moved to Washington. We got married and lived there for six years.
You were both leaders, in your own ways, during your time at ENMU. What did you do in college?
Joe: Student government, senator and, later, vice president. Learned problem-solving and bit of diplomacy, plus gained leadership skills from those experiences. Also played intramural sports and did a good bit of theater. Graduated Summa Cum Laude.
I was proud to have paid for the lion’s share of my college education by having earned scholarships, working various jobs and repaying student loans.
Heather: Did student news. Wrote for and later edited the Chase. I think I’m the only “second generation” Chase editor. My mother, Glenda Balas, edited the newspaper during the early 70s. Also sang in choir all four years and loved it. Worked 2-3 jobs each semester to pay for school.
Best part of dating at ENMU:
Both: Well… We weren’t smart enough to date each other back then. If we could have, a likely date would have been dinner at La Hacienda Restaurant (that served the BEST beef and bean burritos smothered in green chile) and a movie on dollar night at the Tower Twin theatre or the always-fun Portales drive-in.
When did you get engaged/married?:
Heather: We got engaged in Washington, D.C., in spring 1995, near the Lincoln Memorial. We got married summer of the same year on a family ranch at Bull Canyon near Cuervo, New Mexico.
Joe: Long courtships and fast engagements are best.
Do you have any children?
Both: Two very fun kids: 15-year-old daughter, Devon, and 13-year-old son, Grant. Both were born in the San Francisco Bay Area, where we lived for seven years. We returned to New Mexico in 2004 and now live in Corrales.
What are each of your careers now?
Joe: I am an entrepreneur. I have owned my own graphic and web design businesses for over 20 years, servicing clients ranging from Fortune 500 to small businesses. During that period, I also played key roles in numerous healthcare and technology startups.
After working in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, I settled in Albuquerque, where more recently I launched — along with co-founders -- four online businesses: TwoHourWebsites.com, NMlawTools.com, RealtyEngine.net and BackupBC.com.
The common thread among all my professional endeavors is practical and creative solutions using design.
Heather: I am president of New Mexico First, a statewide public policy organization that advances bipartisan reform in education, the economy, healthcare and natural resources.
The organization engages hundreds of people each year in public policy and produces independent, nonpartisan policy reports for lawmakers, educators and community members.
We actually have a statewide town hall next month on growing a more vibrant economy in New Mexico. People can register for this two-day deliberation at www.nmfirst.org.
Previous employers include Commission on Presidential Debates (the 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections), the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the California Center for Civic Participation.
What are your favorite hobbies as a couple?
Joe: Who has couple hobbies? Does house cleaning count?
Heather corrects: Actually, Joe plays league tennis. I garden, raising tomatoes, peppers, peanuts and zucchini this year. My secret mission in life is to eradicate squash bugs.
Tips for couples who attend ENMU together (like neat date spots or activities to do together):
Heather: Here’s a unique activity that can ONLY happen in Portales: Park at the eastern edge of town, near the Air Base Highway, during peanut harvest (October). Roll down the windows and smell the peanut dryers, watch dozens of produce trailers roll in and out, see the farm workers have a late night supper and know that this hub bub will go on until at least 2 am. During harvest season, the edges of Portales come to life – late, late at night – and most college kids miss it completely.
Joe: That’s because they’re doing something fun.
Which faculty influenced you the most?
Joe: JoAnn Gibson recruited me to attend ENMU. She was so sweet; she made me feel like the most important person in the world.
Then, Dave Noblett encouraged me to take a graphic design class, which changed the course my life. I can’t thank him enough.
I enjoyed two semesters of Art History with Greg Senn, two of the most interesting classes I’ve ever taken.
I really liked Dr. David Gehrig, choir director, who made music both challenging and enjoyable.
Heather: Sue Strickler sparked my interest in public policy and social change. She probably was the undergrad professor who influenced me the most.
I also loved being in choir with David Gherig – where I secretly had a crush on Joe.
Another terrific faculty member was Dallan Sanders, who was a creative mentor to many ENMU students.
I enjoyed Cathy Martin’s journalism classes.
Fun memory:
Both: We recall late nights putting together student publications. There was no desktop publishing, so both The Chase and the Silverpack were pasted up manually.
We printed the text on a typesetter and pasted the content into place using hot wax. The student news staff often delivered the paste-ups to the Portales News Tribune (which printed the paper) right at the 6 a.m. deadline after working all night long. It was actually totally fun.
What did your ENMU experiences teach you that helped later? Any advice?
Heather: I learned to appreciate the important role of public policy and how to write about it; a skill I use every day.
Also, my first work-study college job was in the ENMU placement office. I saw first-hand that the students who excel in school got more and better job offers. I suppose that’s a useful lesson to learn your very first semester!
Advice:
Heather: Take time to appreciate the luxury of learning for learning’s sake.
Instead of saying, “How am I ever going to use history?”
For example, revel in the one time in your life when you will have the time to indulge in history.
And, yes, you will use algebra.
Also, enjoy friends and hang on to them. More than 25 years later, my closest friends are still my college friends.
Joe: I learned it was OK to do things outside my comfort zone. It’s OK to take risks. Anything you do in public life, some people will like. Others won’t.
Be open to unexpected possibilities. I started college as a music major, but took a graphic design course and knew almost immediately that I’d found my career.
This tidbit occurred to me very recently: live your college years not as if you were an anonymous student, but as if someone might interview you for an article someday.
