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FACES & PLACES 
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 Big Boss Bill gave the entire Chamber office time to go vote early, which you can do until Friday. All these non-workers cast write-in ballots for even more time off. There are local elections and a slew of propositions on the ballot. Mr. B is wondering if Matt Geske's wife knows he works only with women? L to R: (Front Row) Doris Becker, Monta Noe, Jennifer Vuduris, Cynthia Miller, Patti Steelman. (Back Row) Andra Bennett House, Rosalind Sullivan, Matt Geske, & Glen Spoons. Photo was taken by early voter staff member Christine Gores (not pictured). |
Exit, gracefully: Mr. B called Mark Grace at Gus Bates Insurance and hatched a plan to tag along with him to Grace Restaurant and act like he owned the place...free food and drinks...woohoo! Most fortunately, Mark was coming from a convention and was attired with name tag. What service we received! And the food, OMG! Some oysters, a little Oscar, a filet, a wedge salad, some cabernet. We said Grace over our good fortune for Mark's name until the waitstaff appeared with the bill. Mark's billfold was mysteriously missing; Mr. B has no need for a billfold. We're still washing Grace's dishes. You, however, won't have that problem with this dinner for two.
Visit, but don't stay here: Thanksgiving is less than a month away and Dez and Romo will be at AT&T Stadium playing those Panthers and lots of kinfolk -- even some from North Carolina -- will be invading this area for Thanksgiving and we don't want them staying at our places. Who's going to clean up for them...and after them? Cleanse your mind of such negativity because Mary, Mary quite complementary and complimentary has a room for one night for two readers at the Homewood Suites - Midtown and Medical District and Mighty Fine Accommodations. The peace of mind at Homewood will be as good as that piece of holiday pecan pie. If you stash the interlopers Thursday night, they'll have a free hearty breakfast for all the Black Friday shopping.
 Calling your number: Robert Brunner, the Senior Managing Director of FTI Consulting is a busy (not running) numbers man, holding down what appear to be two full-time jobs. He heads the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Litigation practice group and the global Financial & Enterprise Data Analytics practice. Fortunately, he isn't too busy to appear Nov. 11 as the featured interview with Dean (He's a) Homer Erekson during the TCU Neeley School of Business Executive Speaker Series. FTI has more than 4,400 employees in 27 countries and is retained for innovative advice and solutions when addressing critical challenges. If it's not a challenge for you to make a 7:30 breakfast, the Chamber has a seat for you.
Being patients: You've heard stories about patients that go to the hospital and catch something else. The problem of patient safety is real and UNT Health Science Center is trying to be part of the solution. November 6-7, UNTHSC is hosting The Leading Innovation in Patient Safety: Best Practices and Global Strategies Summit of healthcare officials, patient advocates and innovators. Presenters include experts who have served with the Veterans Administration, Centers for Disease Control and healthcare systems such as the Mayo Clinic. The Friday program will focus on Tackling the Triple Crisis in Quality and Safety. Saturday's focus is Turning Innovation Barriers into Accelerators. There is a dinner Friday night. UNTHSC's Andrew Crim skimmed four full conference registrations.
Touchdown with T.D.: T.D. Smyers once was the Commanding Officer of the Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base and today is the CEO of the American Red Cross North Texas Region. He has plenty of experience and great ideas about leadership. Great Ideas fireside chats, a quarterly luncheon of IDEA Works FW, are conversations with thought leaders, business leaders and visionaries. A perfect fit! Smyers' fundamental leadership philosophy is focused on four essential elements: transparency, integrity, risk tolerance and embracing continuous change. Embrace a change in your lunch routine and win one of these spots to the Nov. 3 fireside chat courtesy of sponsor Pinnacle Bank.
Congratulations to October 21 Prize Winners:
- Brenda Worley, The Learning Center of North Texas
- Jessica Johnson, Rogers Wealth Group
- Chad Snyder, Collier's
- Rhea Jackson, Cendera Center/Sedona Productions
- Steve Leaman, Leaman Container
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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Aces in places: During a recent fundraiser golf tournament, Texas Capital Bank Executive Vice President Barry Kromann ho-hummed a this-is-getting-routine, second career hole-in-one. OK, he was pretty excited. The #5 hole, 192 yards, at Shady Oaks Country Club. "I won a Jeep Renegade and a 4-day/3-night stay at any Fairmont resort," he said. "I used the same iron, a 3 iron that I used to make my first hole-in-one several years ago at Barton Creek in Austin."
NextGen: Williams Trew/Ebby Halliday realtor Blake Berry is the grandson of founder (and legend) Joan Trew.
Film at 10: Fort Worth officially has a certified film commission so when you see the likes of Matt Damon, Kerry Washington, Jim Cramer, Harrison Ford, Amy Schumer, Jay Leno, Guy Fieri, etc around town, that means film commish Jessica Christopherson is working her magic. The Chamber and Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau and others helped make Red Sanders' (Red Productions) vision a reality. The commission will assist movie, TV and commercial production crews with locations, talent and anything else they might need. Oh, and video game producers, too. "Museums make Fort Worth a great city for visual art," Red read. "We're trying to make it great for film."
This re-creation is no bull: North Side Arena, now Cowtown Coliseum, had more operas than rodeos in its early days. Famed Italian tenor Enrico Caruso performed there in 1920 and the Fort Worth Opera will re-create the performance in April 2016 to kick off its Opera Festival. Enrico is expected to be a no-show, but word is that a "top tenor" has been booked.
 Tea-ing it up: Mother Parkers Tea and Coffee USA provides coffee for many McDonald's and for Tim Horton's everywhere but its coffeehouses. The company tests 500,000 cups a day. It is expanding 40-50 jobs from 175 in Fort Worth, its U.S. headquarters.
Lead with your left: Chamber Leads Groups are popular; the demand for membership is greater than the supply. Sue Duncan just started 5-Star Business Connection. And now, master salesperson Donnie Boivin of Sandler Sales Training has been directed and is dedicated to doubling supply to 10 different groups. He says new Keller-area, southwest Fort Worth and downtown groups are very, very close and east Fort Worth is on his horizon. What's he look for in a leader? "A dynamic person that also can recruit," he said. "If they can't recruit, the group will die." The future is now: Michael Sherrod, the William M. Dickey Entrepreneur in Residence at TCU's Neeley School of Business, had a few thoughts about the future of business and entrepreneurs during a talk at the Business Assistance Center earlier this month.
- It's a changing business landscape --Airbnb and Uber are businesses without physical assets. They are software companies connecting people for services. Five years ago, Bell Helicopter did not think drones would be a competitor. Ford and GM never imagined Tesla and Google as competitors.
- By 2020, 40 percent of all workers will be 1099s. Sherrod predicts the government will add a third worker designation...employee, contractor and a hybrid employee/contractor.
- Learn to network offline and online. Local can sell to the world if you can deliver. Local delivery is the next hurdle to overcome. Amazon, Google and Uber will be delivery agents.
- Having raised less money than you need is not a bad thing. It helps set boundaries. People with too much money have a tendency to waste it. "Never be ashamed of being a tightwad."
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"Our football success has definitely helped us."
-- Ann Louden, Chancellor's Associate for Strategic Partnerships at TCU
Her 2015 Frogs for the Cure video debuts tomorrow night at halftime.
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Taking ownership: Brad Arlington was born in Arlington and lives in Arlington Heights. Logic has it that soon enough his workplace would be re-named Arlington Hub International.
 A real renaissance: Next month, development of a 3-acre, $3-million pool and water park is scheduled to begin for the southeast YMCA at Renaissance Square. And the national charter school at Renaissance, with funding from Buffett and Gates, has expanded 84,000 square feet.
Last week: Comments from two notes last week worth mentioning.
- Six men wrote that their wives would love winning The Velvet Box gift card. Who are they kidding?
- And Elizabeth Northern of Buxton had an add-on to the item about memorable work absence excuses -- "I'd like to add my favorite (not from personal experience....): 'I drank too much last night and fell asleep on someone's floor, and now I don't know where I am.'"
P.F.'s flying: Chamber Am-Bass-Adorables are annually worked to death; this is not your father's Wal-Mart greeter job. Wait til next week's B2B Insider and you read their agenda ... holy slave labor, Batman! This week, it's a bit more routine, with a visit for outstanding grub and oh, a ribbon cutting, at P.F. Chang's at 400 Throckmorton next Wednesday at 3pm.. If an Adorable runs into Kim Batz, B2B readers would love her to know all about the giveaways. Photos from this event and most Chamber events can be seen here. Educating Rita: R eadin', 'Ritin' and 'Rithmetic are out and the new 3Rs of education, according to Fort Worth ISD super Dr. Kent Paredes Scribner, are Rigor, Relevance and Relationships. |
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MARK YOUR CALENDARS
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 Date Event Name
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MAILING LABELS FOR YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS!
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 Use for direct mail to Chamber businesses. (Avery 5160) Available formats:
- Geographic area set (North, South, Central, West, East; see map here. Contact Christine directly to order.)- $75 for Chamber members
- Full membership set (approx. 2,000 addresses)- $300 for Chamber members
Sorted by zip code. Contact Christine Gores to purchase or for additional information. *Member price. Price excludes tax. |
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