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FACES & PLACES 
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 Snow and ice didn't keep 200 Chamber members from the annual Tarrant County Days at the Capitol last week. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price and City Council, Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley (sporting a new beard) and members of the North Texas delegation are pictured here on the steps outside the Texas House chamber. Mayor Price holds the Senate Resolution for Tarrant County Days, shortly after a moving memorial resolution for former Mayor Bob Bolen was read on the House floor. Read our weekly 84th Legislative Session updates here. |
Eats beat(down): After 50 years, Mr. B is tired of watching his weight; he's passing that legacy to the Chamber Vision-airies. An odd coincidence is that about the same time, Healthways/Blue Zones launched in Fort Worth. Mr. B thought he would test its resolve and fortitude and invited top Blues brothers and sisters to watch him dine at Del Frisco's Restaurant. He started with a delicious Del's Delight cocktail and the Shanghai-style fried calamari. Next up, the blue cheese wedge salad. He loosened his belt a notch and ravished the 22-ounce ribeye with a side of jalapeno bacon macaroni & cheese. (The Blue Zoners were teary-eyed by now.) For dessert, Mr. B piled on with cheesecake smothered by butterscotch sauce. Why not? You only live once and at this rate, maybe not even that long. Whether you're blue or bloated, you'll enjoy this dinner for two.
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Greatest Show in Fort Worth: It's never too early to be thinking Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Spring officially hasn't sprung and Texas Rangers/Main St. Fort Worth Arts Festival are first in line, but there's nothing that says tanned legs and lots of them, and beer and lots of it, with some golf thrown in than Colonial. It can't be too early because tickets have been on sale since Adam Scott sank his final putt last May and pocketed $1,152,000. (Tickets for everyone, Scott mate?) This year's Colonial is May 18-24 and while tournament director Michael Tothe is plaid jacketing around the country signing up players, you will be signed in with two passes for the entire week.
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 Hair-raisin' haberdashery: When the history of beauty salons is written, three things will be (silver) highlighted. 1) Leased, closed-in stall space killed the open-air, hair-raising gossip opportunities; 2) Improved, do-it-yourself home products blew-dry business; 3) Steel Magnolias is the go-to movie/play to recall the good ol' days of a little dab'll do ya. Casa Maņana Theatre takes playgoers to Truvy's Beauty Parlor in a small Louisiana parish through this Sunday. Great names in this show -- Truvy, Drum, Spud, Ouiser, M'Lynn, Fern, Belle and Annelle and it's worth IMDB-ing the 1989 movie and checking out the star-studded cast. Two readers win two tickets to this Friday night's performance.
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Film moir: Last month, you could have seen Oscar winner Julianne Moore and Still Alice at the Modern Art Museum before it hit theaters. Beginning this weekend, the Magnolia at the Modern film series offers six films during the next six weekends, your choice from five Friday-Sunday showings in a comfy, intimate theater with no servers darting to and fro during the movie. Mr. B has Cary Darling-ed the offerings and has his Google glasses set for a documentary about the Russian Red Army hockey team and The Trial of Vivian Amsalem, a film about divorce laws. Save your marriage with two season passes to all six films. Congratulations to Feb. 18 Prize Winners:
- Anthony Chamberlain, La Quinta Inn & Suites
- Sue Duncan, Fathom Realty
- Erin Vader, Nolan Catholic High School
- Martin Garcia, Texas Secure Title Company
- Elizabeth Northern, Tarrant County College District
- Brenda Pereda, Interstate Restoration
- Susan Shaw, Shaw Insurance
- Tim Trammel, AM Design
- Sherry Green, Technology Team
Winners will be announced weekly
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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Shoot from the hip: Don't mess with us. The 2013 Cowboy Fast Draw Association national champion and No. 14 in the world is Jesse James of Legal Shield, a Chamber member on retainer to keep trouble away from local execs. James, on average, can unholster his 45s, pull the trigger and hit a target 52 inches high and 21 feet away in 399/1000ths of a second. He even has laser bullets to practice all this in his home.
 Clothes horse: Quoting Neal Shields, financial adviser at Wells Fargo
-- "On a buffet, most people pick soups by taste. I go by which color will look best on my necktie."
She knows her history: One really cool item Mr. B learned while paying attention during February celebrations for Black History Month is that Carleen Goodridge-Anderson, owner of Nosredna Boutique Catering, is the great granddaughter of William V.S. Tubman, who is regarded as the "father of modern Liberia." Tubman, President of Liberia, reportedly was the first African head of state invited to stay in the White House. The invite was from President Kennedy.
Step right up: Brian Happel, Fort Worth market CEO for BBVA Compass, is wearing a pedometer, counting and aiming for 7,000 steps daily. As part of its health insurance program, the bank offers employees the pedometer for $4 a month. Make your steps and you can earn back up to $800 annually in healthcare costs.
#notice a trend?Mayor Price Is Right gives her State of the City today during the Chamber's luncheon at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Here is a sampling of #hashtags suggested last week when readers entered to win tickets to the luncheon. #BikeIt; #wearahelmet; #bikingbabe; #PlaceYourBets; #BestieBetsy; #keepfortworthpricey; #firstlady; #bikingbetsy; #mayorette; #mayorpriceisright; #comeondowntoFW; #BIKESnotCARS; #BikeShortsMeanBusiness; #MayorBetsyOnTwoWheels; #TwoWheelsAreBestBetsy.
Drawing a county line: Can't help but think Capital One Bank is missing a marketing opportunity. Why is Vice President and Relationship Manager Lisa Tarrant working in Dallas?
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"We have GPS on all our drivers, an operations center that tracks everything they do. We're pretty legit...a long way from that trailer in Hurst."
-- Cally Smoke, MMG Construction
on technology aiding her port-a-potty business
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 Hunting an escape from Mr. B: Amanda Hunt is a Chamber marketing intern, a senior at TCU. She's paid worse than Mr. B's 39 cents an hour. She can't afford to do laundry. She had to borrow her roommate's clean blouse to attend a Chamber luncheon. Born in Australia, raised in Austin, she's studying strategic communications. She got some strategic communications from Mr. B -- "Get out of PR/marketing, get into business development."
An unwanted association: Mr. B was wondering if Klotz Associates, an engineering firm, was related to Red Klotz, player coach of the Washington Generals basketball team. "I don't think there's a close relation to Red, sorry mate," said Duane Hengst, regional manager. That's probably good; Klotz' record versus the Harlem Globetrotters was estimated at 6 wins, 14,000 losses.
4-peat: Cooksey Communications is a 2015 "Blue Ribbon Small Business Award" winner by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, one of only 100 small businesses recognized nationally. It's the fourth time Cooksey has been honored; the national winner is announced in June.
How early is too early? The timing of this visit tomorrow for Chamber Am-Bass-Adorables is quite unfortunate: World of Beer, 3252 West 7th, at 11:00 a.m.? Oh well, it's 5 o'clock somewhere. Next Thursday, the sultans of scissors visit Work Personnel Services, 3901 West Vickery. They better hope they're not drafted to work the rest of the day.
Sign of a sales promotion: Cockrell Enovation is just back from Las Vegas and the International Franchise Convention. Marketing strategy, according to Christy Blackwell, was to talk "Turkey" instead of Cockrell. They created a booth featuring a restaurant called "Turkey Town" and printed theirownselves fun signs of a whole turkey sandwich, dressing sandwich, etc. Curiosity got people to stop by and it didn't hurt that there was a drawing for $50 of lottery tickets.
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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NEW! 2015 GREATER FORT WORTH MEDIA DIRECTORY
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The only comprehensive news media directory for the greater Fort Worth area. It covers print media for the Fort Worth metro area (Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Hood counties), as well as television and radio contacts for the DFW Metroplex. Online news and local blogs too. Listings include e-mail addresses, fax numbers, circulation figures and distribution areas. Available in PDF, Exel or combo (both PDF and Excel versions). Purchase it today! Prices begin at $30.00*
Contact Christine Gores to purchase or for additional information. *Member price. Price excludes tax..
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