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A MOMENT WITH THE PRESIDENT
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From the Desk of John Hernandez, President of FWHCC
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Mr. Andy Taft, President of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc., recently joined the FWHCC's group of Young Professionals to talk about how to do business in Fort Worth. I have based this month's topic around his conversation with our Young Professional group. To understand how to do business in Fort Worth, it is important to first understand the culture of Fort Worth's business community.
Fort Worth started as a frontier town filled with settlers who knew if the railroads couldn't be built all the way to Fort Worth, the city would not thrive. This fear caused the Fort Worth population to plunge from 4,000 to 1,000, ultimately inspiring the people of Fort Worth to create the Tarrant County Construction Company. The formation of the TCCC raised the city's capital through stock sales, rounded up labor, materials and supplies to begin railway construction in 1875. Six months later, with two miles of track laying on the bare ground, the rails finally reached Fort Worth. Beating the legislative deadline by a whisker, Fort Worth was accessible to the rest of the country by rail. Many believe that this not only saved Fort Worth, but also began the culture of cooperation and the "can-do" spirit for which our city is well-known. We have sculpted a city of refined culture that does business with people we know, trust and understand.
So how do you break in and do businesses in Fort Worth? You prove yourself. You become excellent at your work. You do what you do better than anyone else and let people see it for themselves. Demonstrate leadership, creativity and trustworthiness in an environment where other business people are dedicating themselves to a shared goal. In Fort Worth, it's trust over transaction, cooperation and competition. Avoiding the temptation of allowing emails and texts to substitute for relationships. By doing this, you create a reputation that walks in the door long before you do. That is how you do business in the great city of Fort Worth.
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EVENTS CALENDAR
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New Member Orientation
The FWHCC invites all new members to attend a New Member Orientation on
April 15th. This orientation informs new members of the Chamber's history, promotes upcoming programs and events, and educates new members on how to best take advantage of their membership with the FWHCC. Please register
online.
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Kemp and Sons Ribbon Cutting
On
April 28th,
the FWHCC will be joining Kemp and Sons General Services as they celebrate the opening of their new location. We welcome you to come out and congratulate Kemp and Sons on this major achievement. Lunch will be catered by Los Vaqueros. Please RSVP
online
or call
(817) 625-5411.
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Business After Hours Mixer
Join the FWHCC for a fun-filled night at Cowtown Bowling Palace on
April 28th. Take this opportunity to check out Cowtown Bowling Palace in our very own North Side neighborhood! Enjoy pizza, drinks, and bowling while networking with FWHCC members and prospective members alike. Please RSVP
online or call
(817) 625-5411.
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A Night in Monte Carlo
Artes de la Rosa is pleased to announce their upcoming event, Monte Carlo Casino Night on
April 15th
at the Marquis on Magnolia. This annual event will showcase upcoming theatrical performances, children programs from acting, creative writing, drawing, singing and dancing. Your participation will benefit arts and education at the Rose Marine Theater. Please call
(817) 624-8333 for more information or purchase your tickets
online
.
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Crazy Pants Golf Tournament
The Rotary Club of Fort Worth's annual golf tournament will be held on
April 26th at the Ridglea Country Club's South Course. Proceeds from the event will benefit the charitable funds of the Rotary Club of Fort Worth. This will be a memorable event and one of the premiere golf events of the year! Get your four-man shamble together and enjoy lunch prior to the tournament, followed by heavy hors d'oevres, cocktails, entertainment, raffle, and awards. Please visit the Rotary Club's
website for more information or call (817) 332-7977.
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CHAMBER
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43rd Annual American Salute Gala
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The Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that our 43rd Annual Awards Gala is honoring past and current servicemen and women of our communities.
At the American Salute Gala, which will be held on Friday, May 6th at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, we will celebrate and honor our military forces. We invite you to join us in this effort by partnering as a sponsor, purchasing individual tickets, or donating an item to our silent auction.
In addition, we are using this opportunity to highlight Operation Hoofbeat's work to improve the welfare of veterans and their families through equine assisted psychotherapy and counseling as well as therapeutic horseback riding and volunteering. Sharing our audience in an effort to increase awareness of Operation Hoofbeat's services is one of the many ways we are giving back to our servicemen and women.
Proceeds from the event will be shared amongst our 501(c)3 scholarship fund and programs. For the first time, we will also be sharing a portion of the proceeds from this event with a community partner: Operation Hoofbeat. Please contact Nicole Antonini at (817) 625-5411 for further information regarding sponsorship, ticket sales, and donations. You may also
register or
purchase sponsorships online.
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Young Professionals of Fort Worth
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The Young Professionals of Fort Worth program is officially underway! This past week, we kicked off the nine-month course with an orientation and introduction to Fort Worth with Andy Taft, President of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. Mr. Taft joined our group of young individuals at the Petroleum Club for lunch and spoke on his own experience learning the "Fort Worth Way" of doing business in our beloved city. We have eight, bright, talented young individuals enrolled in this program as of now with just a few spots remaining! Please contact
Nicole Antonini if you know anyone ages 21-25 who may be interested in this program.
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Five Pillars Lecture Series
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 The FWHCC's brand new Five Pillar Lecture Series successfully kicked off in the month of March. David Cooke, Fort Worth City Manager, spoke to over 100 guests at The Fort Worth Club regarding civic engagement in our community. Thank you to our sponsors for making this event possible, including our prime sponsor, Fred Maldonado with AT&T, and our table sponsors: Teresa Montes with Frost Bank and Mark McClendon with Tarrant County College District. We are looking forward to the remaining installments of this series and hope you will join us. Our next lecture will be held on May 25th at The Fort Worth Club where we will be joined by the President of the World Affairs Council of Dallas Fort Worth, Jim Falk. Sponsorship opportunities are available for the remaining lectures.
Please contact Nicole Antonini with any questions in regards to the speaker series or sponsorship opportunities.
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COMMUNITY
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The FWHCC is excited to partner with the Blue Zones Project. Not only is the FWHCC office a Blue Zones certified workplace, we are supporting the initiative by raising awareness in our community.
Blue Zones Project is a well-being improvement initiative designed to help make healthier choices easier in Fort Worth. A vital part of Fort Worth's Healthiest City initiative, Blue Zones Project encourages changes to our community that lead to healthier options. When our entire community participates -- from our worksites and schools to our restaurants and grocery stores -- the small changes contribute to huge benefits for all of us: lowered healthcare costs, improved productivity, and ultimately, a higher quality of life.
What began as a New York Times be
stseller by
National Geographic
Fellow Dan Buettner has evolved into a global movement that's inspiring people to live longer more active lives. With support from Mayor Betsy Price, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and Texas Health Resources, Blue Zones Project will build on the momentum we've already created to help our city make positive changes.
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The FWHCC is proud to announce its new partnership with La Gran Plaza: Seminario para Negocios Hispanos. In the month of March, we presented our first Spanish Business Educational seminar in partnership with La Gran Plaza and with the support of Comerica Bank. The event was a success and the attendees returned a response of gratitude and great interest in future courses.
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The FWHCC had the honor of speaking to a group of students regarding education, perseverance and the importance of personal responsibility. This group, the Circle of Winners, has a 100% success rate, meaning all students end up attending a higher education institution for at least one semester. The FWHCC believes that understanding the importance of our youth is only part of the need for a better tomorrow; contributing directly to their success is another component that cannot be overlooked. The FWHCC carries out this belief with it's community involvement and scholarship fund. If you are interested in contributing to this fund, please click here.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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The North Central Texas Regional Certification Agency (NCTRCA) has recently undergone some significant enhancements. Under the supervision of Chairman
Andr
é McEwing, the changes at NTCRCA are focused in six major areas. Those areas include: contracting with Armond Group, certification staffing agency; revision updates to the MWBE, DBE, and ACDBE standard operating procedures; revision updates to the interlocal member agreements; revision updates to the NTCRCA bylaws; NTCRCA office expansion to improve customer service; and expansion of site visit capability.
Mr. Andr
é McEwing is currently the Supplier Diversity Manager Manager for the Tarrant County College District (TCCD). He was formerly the Executive Director of Southeast Fort Worth, Inc. AS of 2012, Tarrant County College District consists of 6 campuses with over 50,000 credit students and is the sixth largest college or university in Texas.
Mr. McEwing attended TCCD formerly Tarrant County Junior College and Morehouse College, receiving a BA decree with a concentration in Banking and Finance and a Masters of Sustainability from the University of Texas Arlington School of Urban and Public Affairs.
Mr. McEwing has considerable executive management, sales, finance, accounting and budgetary experience having worked for Lockheed-Martin Aeronautical Company, Pepsi Cola Company, Nabisco, and Waste Management which provided Mr. McEwing with a wealth of experience to support small and future minority business owners while working at the Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce. He is the current Chair of the Board of the NCTRCA, Vice Chair of the Fort Worth Transportation Authority Board, and Board member of the American Public Transportation Association.
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MEMBERS
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Ryan Akins serves as Regional President for Dale Carnegie Training for North Texas. He believes that every person deserves the opportunity to unlock their full potential. He provides that opportunity to executives and businesses through training programs focusing on communication skills, leadership skills, presentation skills, and team engagement.
Ryan is FWHCC President, John Hernandez's speech coach. Ryan has helped John prepare for a number of public speaking opportunities, including The Evolution of the Hispanic Chamber in February.
Prior to Dale Carnegie, Ryan worked for 10 years in private equity, with a specialization in commercial real estate assets. While at The Bascom Group, he worked with institutional debt and equity partners to acquire and oversee over 9,900 apartment units in the state of Texas, with total capitalization of over $750 million. Ryan also led the renegotiation of commercial real estate loans with multiple lenders during the financial crisis of 2007-2009.
Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Southern California and a Masters in Business Administration from Thunderbird. He is a licensed real estate broker in the State of California, and is a CCIM designee. Ryan also serves on the board of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc, and on the membership and junior activities committee of the Fort Worth Club. He is also an active member of the Red Shoe Society, benefitting the Ronald McDonald House of Fort Worth.
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A
s the FWHCC evolves, we are working to integrate our systems. These changes are aimed at creating a much more fluid and simplified method of communication between our members as well as the community.
To allow all our new members maximum visibility, New Members and Member Spotlights will be moved from our newsletter to our website. All new members will have the opportunity to be featured on our website for the next full month after their join date.
We would like to encourage all of our current members to log in to their member account and explore the changes. Once logged in, please visit the online business center where you will find bids and can post current open positions. The new bids section enables direct submissions to your business according to your specific industry.
We would also like to encourage members and non-members alike to post their upcoming events in our Community Events Calendar. This is a calendar specifically designated to promote upcoming events in our community.
Our Member News page is specifically for the use of our members to post happenings, promotions, and announcements regarding their businesses or organizations. This news will be shared with other members of the FWHCC through our website.
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Thanks to Our Corporate Partners
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GOLD
SILVER
BRONZE
PARTNER
ASSOCIATES
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