Governor Bill Richardson Announces Appointments to Spaceport Authority

Governor Bill Richardson announced two appointments to the Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority last Monday.

Benjamin E. Woods, of Las Cruces, who has served on the Board since 2005, has been designated Chairman. Woods has worked at New Mexico State University since 1990, most recently as Senior Vice President for Planning, Physical Resources and University Relations and received the Governor's New Mexico Distinguished Public Service Award in 2006. Woods was reappointed to the Board of the NMSA in 2009 and, as chairman, will serve by statute as the designee of the Secretary of Economic Development, Fred Mondragon.

Governor Richardson also announced that he has appointed Patrick H. Beckett, of Las Cruces, to the Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority. Beckett will fill the board seat vacated by Woods' appointment as chairman. Beckett served as chairman of the state's Cultural Properties Review Committee for ten years and was president of the New Mexico Archeological Council and the Archeological Society of New Mexico. He is a past president of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association. In addition to his background as an archeologist and ethnohistorian, Beckett worked early in his career for Zia Engineering in Los Alamos as an engineering aide on projects related to the Apollo moon landings. Beckett is the founder of COAS Publishing and Research and is a fifth generation Las Crucen.

"These two New Mexicans bring years of experience plus financial and cultural understanding to their respective roles on the Board of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority," said Governor Richardson. "I am confident they will provide the leadership that will be required to make Spaceport America the launch pad for the nation's commercial spaceflight industry while it also remains respectful and conscientious about the natural environment and deep history of the region around it."