The Latest News for You from the Northeast Leadership Forum- May 2020

May 2020 Newsletter

COVID-19 Disrupts Locally, Nationally, Globally

Greetings from your NLF Chair, Nick Sanders

Our cities, county, state and nation continue to deal with the impact of this global pandemic. So far, Texas Governor Abbott has issued over 20 statements of declaration, and many of those have been followed by declarations by Tarrant County and our own cities.

We now live in a Zoom society, where our temporary “new normal” consists of digital meetings held on our computers with co-workers, customers and vendors. It will be quite interesting to see how our society evolves over the next few years.

Your Northeast Leadership Forum board of directors met yesterday morning by Zoom to prepare how and when to move forward in the safest and most respectful manner that protects the health and well-being of our members and guests.

To date, we have postponed our annual award luncheon in March and our May breakfast, when we planned to introduce you to the students receiving our $1,000 scholarships through the NLF Foundation and the Nancy & Alan Hamm Foundation .

Please read below to learn the details of our next breakfast (we are scheduling for Tuesday, July 14, pending the latest recommendations from the governor’s office) and our annual award luncheon will take place on Friday, August 14 , both at the Hurst Conference Center.

We thank each of our area Chambers of Commerce for the valuable assistance they are offering to their members and communities at large. I am personally impressed that these chambers are calling both members and non-members to ask how they can provide resources during this challenging time.

Tarrant County is working with federal funds that will distribute grants to small businesses, nonprofits dealing with social services and other target groups.

I urge you to remain vigilant in treating this COVID-19 seriously. My wife Lynda and I spent several days in the hospital fighting this virus. Sadly, at that same time, our son, Wade, contracted the virus and he passed away on Tuesday, April 14.

Lynda and I are deeply grateful for those of you who have kept us in your prayers. Your care and concern mean more to us than you will ever know.

Please be cautious with this virus and wear a mask.

Now is a time for us to be resilient and to inspire our families and our team at work. It’s a time for tough, yet well-thought-out decisions. And it’s a time to discover you had far more valuable friends than you ever considered.

-Nick

Chamber of Commerce Resources

All our area chambers are reaching out to their local businesses and overall communities to offer whatever assistance they can provide. Our chambers are hosting digital meetings from such platforms as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Cisco Webex and Facebook Live to produce interactive sessions or offer information on a one-way transmission.

Our chambers have helped connect small businesses with area banks participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Please feel free to contact your local chamber of commerce by clicking on the link below to read the chamber’s information or to call their office number listed next to their name.

Our chambers of commerce are the voice of business for our community and we are indeed fortunate to have such committed and caring leaders as their presidents/executive directors and officers.

Colleyville Area Chamber of Commerce

Grapevine Chamber of Commerce

Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce

HEB Chamber of Commerce

Northeast Tarrant Chamber of Commerce

Northwest Metroport Chamber of Commerce

Southlake Chamber of Commerce

817-488-7148

817-421-1522

817-431-2169

817-283-1521

817-281-9376

817-937-1000

817-481-8200

NLF Offers Scholarships to Local, Regional Leadership Programs

One of the signs of a vibrant community and its chamber of commerce is a powerful leadership program that opens the doors for the next generation of leaders. Each of the chambers of commerce affiliated with Northeast Leadership Forum is accepting nominations for its leadership program.

Northeast Leadership Forum is providing a 50% leadership tuition scholarship for one person in each of the chambers of commerce in our area. In addition, NLF is offering a 50% tuition scholarship for one member who is accepted in Leadership North Texas. Contact your local chamber of commerce about their individual 50% off leadership tuition scholarship, and contact Mary Frazior ( mary@heb.org ) regarding your acceptance to the Leadership North Texas scholarship.

This is your opportunity to identify emerging leaders and seasoned leaders within your company or organization to grow their circle of influence and connections. All Chambers of Commerce listed above participate with leadership programs. Please contact them directly for more information .

Leadership North Texas is in the final stages of accepting applications for its graduate level class. Please click below for information and how to apply.

Apply to Leadership North Texas

Remember the Census

The United States Census Bureau has extended its July 31 deadline to August 14 due to the hardships caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

While you are officing or sheltering in place at home, now is an ideal time to complete your 2020 Census form. It takes less than five minutes and all your information is confidential.

The Census provides critical data that lawmakers, business owners, teachers and many others use to provide daily services, products and support for you and our community.

Now through June 19, Census takers are working with administrators at facilities that traditionally house large groups to make sure everyone is counted. Among these locations are colleges, senior centers and prisons. The takers are most likely to catch the college students and seniors at their homes.

From May 27 to August 14, Census takers will interview people in apartments and homes that have not responded to the 2020 Census to help make sure everyone is counted.

Your participation is likely to help our area secure an additional congressional seat.

Please learn more by following this Census 2020 .

Chamber of Commerce News

The Colleyville Area Chamber of Commerce has announced the selection of Chelsea Rose as its new President/CEO. Many of us knew Chelsea when she served as Special Event Coordinator for GRACE in Grapevine for almost three years. She left to become Director of Communications and Events at Catholic Charities in Oklahoma City.

Chelsea began serving in her new capacity with the Colleyville Area Chamber at the start of April. She replaces Carolyn Sims, who served as President for two years. Carolyn has just been announced as Manager of the new Colleyville Business Center on Highway 26 in the former Wachovia Bank building, which is being operated by the City of Colleyville.

We wish both Chelsea and Carolyn our very best.

New Date for the NLF Annual Award Luncheon

We have responded to the social distancing aspect of the coronavirus by moving our event date from this past Monday, May 11, to Friday, August 14 , still at the Hurst Conference Center .

We are pleased to announce that our keynote speaker, former NLF wide receiver and Olympian, Johnny Quinn, has been able to shuffle his schedule to accommodate us.

We look forward to presenting the 2019 Distinguished Leadership Award to Randy Clinton, CEO of the Community Enrichment Center .

You can look forward to us recognizing one honoree from each leadership program in Northeast Tarrant County because we provide scholarships to these programs.

Please enter this date on your calendar (and let’s hope that our third time is a charm!) and we will keep you posted if there are any changes.

Special note: We are placing your health and safety as a top priority. We will comply with the latest directive from Governor Abbott’s office in regard to social distancing. We have arranged with the Hurst Conference Center that we will have a larger room than usual in order to accommodate our attendees in an appropriate manner.

You can reach out to John Fletcher (817-205-2334 or john@thefletch.org ) to order your tables or confirm your sponsorship.

NLF Foundation Scholarship Program for Graduating High School Seniors

The disruption of school classes will NOT deter the Northeast Leadership Forum’s commitment to award $1,000 scholarships to graduating seniors from public schools in Northeast Tarrant County.

Even though traditional graduation ceremonies will not be held at our public high schools, your NLF scholarship volunteers have been hard at work and have selected the recipients, who we will announce in our next newsletter.

For the second year in a row, we thank the Nancy and Alan Hamm Foundation for providing their generous contribution.

May Breakfast Moves to July 14

We are moving our scheduled May 11 breakfast to Tuesday, July 14 , at the Hurst Conference Center , at 7:30 a.m., so please place this date and time on your calendar.

Please look forward to details on our program. This will be our first opportunity to gather as a group since the coronavirus first disrupted our lives. In order to plan the appropriate room layout for social distancing requirements, we ask you to make a reservation for yourself and for any guests.

As mentioned above, we will practice the recommended safety precautions. Our intent is not to place anyone in harm’s way.

Keep NLF Dynamic and Growing

Your NLF board voted to accept Mindy Monroe, President of Legend Bank in Fort Worth, as the newest member of our organization. Please look forward to a profile about Mindy in our next newsletter.

As you interact with business and community leaders who impress you, please invite them to our next meeting, which will be our breakfast meeting on Tuesday, July 14 . We will feature a panel of local entrepreneurs discussing the challenges that entrepreneurs face both normally and through this pandemic.

These influencers are making a difference in our area, so let's invite them to participate in NLF. Membership is the lifeblood of our organization.

For any prospective NLF members you know, click here to download the membership application. We want both established and emerging leaders to continue joining our organization to further the dynamic growth of Northeast Tarrant County.

We ask you to warmly welcome visitors and new members to our breakfast meetings. Growing the power of networks is one of the main benefits of NLF.

Reports from Tuesday’s Board Meeting

Heart of North Texas: Committee chairman, Eli Mercer, is gathering his committee together, so please mark your calendar for Friday, November 6, at the NRH Centre, home of this past November’s sold-out event. We will respect all social distancing guidelines at the time of the event.

Chambers of Commerce Roundtable: Chamber executives have met twice recently on Zoom to discuss how to best serve their members. Chambers are hosting meetings for boards, committees and offering programs via Zoom in order to stay engaged with members. Since chambers are 501(c)(6) instead of 501(c)(3) organizations, they are ineligible to participate in the PPP loan/grant program. However, chambers are eligible for the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan programs.

Mayors Roundtable: Nothing scheduled yet and recent meetings have been canceled.

Superintendents Roundtable: No word on their status as they are all busy overseeing the completion of the school year, testing and administering graduation.

Economic Development Directors Roundtable: Have met three times on Zoom to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on their local municipalities. Many of our cities are canceling summer programs and 4^th of July events. Please check with your local city for complete details, because some announcements are expected soon that could impact some summer openings.