San Juan County honors local businesses for national, global recognition

San Juan County commissioners last week honored two local businesses whose work moved from San Juan County into national and international spotlight, using Significant Achievement Awards to recognize innovations that have already changed the profile of the region. Commissioner GloJean Todacheene presented the awards to Justin Pioche, chef and owner of Piochi Food Group, and Perri Schoser, production manager for Jack’s Plastic Welding in Aztec.

Pioche’s recognition followed his win on Food Network’s Indigenous Inspirations episode of Chopped, where he earned a championship title and a $10,000 prize. Todacheene said the episode was the first time Chopped centered a competition around Indigenous foods and traditions, a distinction that put San Juan County’s cultural knowledge on a national platform. She said Pioche’s success reflected the region’s traditions, elevated Indigenous voices and supported youth through food and storytelling.

Pioche said his company hopes to create more job opportunities in the Farmington area, tying the television win back to a local economic goal. He also thanked his mother, his sister and God, and said the triangle logo for Piochi Food Group represents the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The recognition made clear that the attention Pioche brought home was not only about one competition, but about the wider reach of Indigenous cuisine and the possibility of turning that visibility into jobs.

Jack’s Plastic Welding brought a different kind of notice to Aztec. Under CEO and designer T.J. Garcia, the company designed and built inflatable recovery rafts that NASA used for U.S. Navy teams to retrieve astronauts after Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean during the Artemis II recovery operation. Todacheene said the project represented years of local innovation, testing, design and specialized craftsmanship developed in San Juan County.

She added that the NASA collaboration advanced new welding techniques and engineering processes that are now benefiting the company’s broader product lines and manufacturing capabilities. For a rural county that rarely gets the same attention as larger urban centers, the awards highlighted two homegrown operations that translated local skill into work with national and international consequences, from Indigenous cooking on television to aerospace recovery equipment in the Pacific.