New Mexico Lt. Gov. Diane Denish is going to host the National Lieutenant Governors Association Executive Committee and New Member Meeting at the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe on Wednesday through Friday.

But the interesting bit of the press release announcing the meeting came at the end, with a bit of foreshadowing:

The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) is the professional association for the elected officials first in line of gubernatorial succession in every state and U.S. territory. NLGA maintains its founding mission providing a medium for the exchange of views and experiences on subjects of importance; fostering interstate cooperation; promoting the effectiveness of the Office of Lieutenant Governor; and by improving the efficiency of state and territorial administration through education on issues and leadership training. NLGA works with members to lead today, prepare for tomorrow. For the past 100 years, one in every four governors was first a member of NLGA.

Emphasis is mine.

Denish is in line to join those one in every four members after Gov. Bill Richardson’s expected appointment as the next secretary of commerce. While it is rare in New Mexico for it to happen, within a few months it is almost certain that Denish will no longer be hosting — or attending — NLGA events.

Instead, Hector Balderas or some other Democrat named as a possible future No. 2 will be doing so.

But back to the actual event.

“Lt. Governors across the nation are facing economic challenges. Sharing best practices for leadership and efficient and effective government is important in keeping states strong. The Children’s Cabinet is a successful example of agency coordination to leverage the resources of 16 state agencies and at least 7 community organization partners,” Denish said in a statement.

“Creating jobs and building our economy require strong commitment to small business and homegrown entrepreneurship,” she continued. “The reorganization of the SBIC into an entity that improves small-business access to equity investments and microloans has benefited more than 1,500 New Mexico businesses since 2003.”

The “creating jobs” portion of that will be vitally important to not only New Mexico, but every state, with the United States officially in a recession.