On July 19th, 90 members attended the Economic Development Update, hosted at
Ridglea Country Club,
where the
Fort Worth Chamber's
Chris Strayer and
Visit Fort Worth's
Mitch Whitten spoke on their specific goals and strategies to attract businesses and people, respectively. Strayer highlighted the Chamber's active prospects and the continued growth between existing business activity and attraction, while Whitten spoke on tourism's economic impact. Read more
here
.
Pictured (L to R):
Mitch Whitten,
Visit Fort Worth;
Benjamin Robertson,
Byrne Construction Services;
Chris Strayer,
Fort Worth Chamber
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PRESS YOUR LUCK
Click on the links below to enter for prizes
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Two-night staycation:
There are 13 brand names in the hotel portfolio of (Conrad, great grandpa of Paris)
Hilton.
Five of those brands are in the central downtown area, with another on the way. Two are in this
two-night staycation
giveaway, the (Happy)
Hampton Inn & Suites Fort Worth Downtown
and Mr. B’s retirement villa, the
Homewood Suites by Hilton Fort Worth Medical Center
. The Hampton has 245 rooms, free Wi-Fi, free fitness center and free hot breakfasts (waffles to die for), but this time of year, you’re going to want to dive into the indoor Cool Pool ASAP. The Hampton guarantees Happy, but the great folks there probably haven’t met your kids. Night 2 at Homewood Suites might be preferable Monday through Thursday because it includes complimentary happy hour buffet and adult drinks. Each
Studio King Suite has a
spacious living room, a kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator, a free breakfast and free parking. There’s a grill, putting green and pool out back. Mr. B’s scooter already is parked in Suite 32.
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Mr. Hamburglar:
Greg Heitzman is very involved in the
Fort Worth
entertainment scene. He produces the Playbill programs at most area theaters and has the online What’s Up entertainment calendar. Greg is making it onto that calendar hisownself with the
inaugural Burger Week.
There’s a kickoff this Saturday and $5 burgers become available Monday through July 21. Proceeds benefit co-sponsor
Meals on Wheels.
The
Business Press
is a sponsor, as is
Pinnacle Bank
, which has a $50 gift card good at any of the Burger Week participating restaurants.
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Added starter:
Financial Additions
, a finance and accounting executive recruiting firm, is celebrating its 20
th
year and has launched HR Additions. The
additional Additions is a perfect add-on
because Financial Additions already supports HR-ers
by working with their departments to place HR candidates. Additionally, Managing Director Beverly Parker is leading this new division. Add up all the excitement and the Additions figure it’s worth a $50 gift card celebration at
Pinstripes
. Business Development star Tonya Falzett added it to this week’s giveaways.
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Starry, starry night:
Mr. B's bud, Anne (not related to Carlos) Santana, sent over a Swiss cheese looking giveaway...and used the word astral. Of course, Mr. B had to look it up -- "
of, connected with, or resembling the stars" -- and wondered why it wasn't astarl? Stars, space, moon? It's Science on Tap, for adults only, at the
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
Friday July 19. To
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing,
Science on Tap: Moonwalk
takes you on a fantastic voyage, including cosmic cocktails. Explore the past, present and future of space travel with stellar hands-on activities, extraterrestrial expert chats and star-studded exhibitions. Not related to Carlos sent over a pair of VIP tickets for two readers.
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Congratulations to the June 26th
Prize Winners:
- Jason Scoggins, Alpha Industries
- Ana Van de Venter, American Red Cross
- Scott Arnold, Kimley-Horn
- Landon Brim, Southside Bank
- Michelle Weseel, Nolan Catholic High School
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A WORD FROM OUR GOLD SPONSORS
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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Reveal with a bang:
Sharon Kidd’s (
Hickman Investments
) daughter and son-in-law revealed the gender of her expected grandchild with a … cannon. They own two cannons for Civil War re-enactments and decided to put them to “a politically correct use. My adorable granddaughter was not thrilled to see blue smoke. Her mind was firmly set on seeing pink smoke.”
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Parent trap?
Jerry Thompson, a veep at
Inwood Bank
, is the incoming board chair for The Parenting Center. Jerry has been a parent almost three years. “They don’t expect me to prepare curriculum,” he said.
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As if she didn’t have enough to do:
Becky Renfro Borbolla
, a veep and owner at
Renfro Foods
, has been elected Co-Chair of the Specialty Food Association. Have you noticed Mrs. Renfro’s spiced up its look with re-labeled jars and tops?
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Cash money:
B2B Insider
Money Maven Benita Falls Harper of the
Fort Worth Employees’ Retirement Fund
has shed her interim title and is the Executive Director. Mr. B is pursuing a huge money giveaway for the newsletter.
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Crafty strategy:
John Pritchett, founder at
Wild Acre Brewing Company
, says his craft brews are distributed across Texas anywhere north of Waco. By 2020, he hopes to be in Austin and San Antonio, but … “We’re super strong in home markets; Plano would be better for us than Houston.” John ran Budweiser distribution for
Ben E. Keith
; one of his investors is former Coors distributor
Larry Anfin.
(Mr. B is hopeful John is a potential giveaway partner.)
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“My name didn't help much when I was playing basketball.”
--Bric Shelton,
Visit Fort Worth
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Busy versus productive?
Ask someone how work is and many answer, “busy.” So Alyson McDonald,
Welcome Mat Services,
did a Google search on the busy/productive differences, as had 63 million others. Then she did a 30-minute, entertaining talk to her
Chamber
leads group. Now, when asked how’s business, Mr. B instead will reply, “well rested.”
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Feature attraction:
Some comments from Mitch Whitten, the Executive Vice President of Marketing & Strategy for
Visit Fort Worth
, at a recent
Chamber
meeting:
- Visiting friends and relatives is the top destination driver to Fort Worth. About 70 percent of visitors come from within 250 miles, with Austin a leader and Houston coming on.
- Airbnb in downtown Fort Worth? “Tough question. We’re waiting and working with the city to see how it wants to address it; studying it, no plans yet to bring it online.
- “TEXRail puts us in a different class, elevates our whole brand.”
- Panther Island adds a great summer amenity. We’ll know something in the next six months how we can escalate it.”
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Leave it to …:
Michael Ryan,
Four Thirds Creative
, just tested joke No. 2,127 on his kids – “Have you seen that new documentary on beavers? It’s the best dam video I’ve ever seen!”
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Dr. in the house:
DPC Healthcare
has launched a mobile unit that equips its physicians with a functioning clinic to bring to employer worksites and other locations. The
Mercedes Benz
Sprinter Van allows docs to diagnose and treat acute illnesses, manage chronic diseases, conduct routine physicals, take blood and urine specimens, provide well-woman exams, administer vaccines and IVs, offer physical therapy and more.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
Click icons below for details and to register
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Vision FW: Community Service Project
July 11 - 6:00 p.m.
Tarrant Area Food Bank
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Small Business Summit 2019
August 1 - 1:00 p.m.
Texas A&M University School of Law
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Chamber Engagement Insight
July 18 - 3:30 p.m.
WeWork
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State of Public Education 2019 Luncheon
Sept. 12- 11:30 a.m.
PalmWood, Frost Tower
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Vision FW: July MeetUp
July 31 - 5:30 p.m.
Funky Picnic Brewery & Cafe
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Ribbon Cutting
(see events)
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The Event Venue Directory is an alphabetized spreadsheet that houses dozens of venues for your next meeting, rehearsal dinner, wedding, reception, and more.
*Downloads are free for members and $25 for nonmembers in our
online store
! Be sure to login with your member password before ordering.
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For sponsorship inquiries in
B2B Insider
, contact
Jennifer Vuduris
or call (817) 338-3335
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.
ensure delivery of this email.
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