March 2, 2016   
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FACES & PLACES POW                                                                                  
Last Tuesday, over 130 people attended the Chamber's well-known Membership 101 event at the Ridglea Country Club. Guests enjoyed the club's famous lemon bars and other refreshments while networking with both new and current Chamber members alike. Members also learned how to make the most of their membership and were allotted time to build their business network.

L to R: Tori Rutledge and Frances Ramos, both with Salon Dexterity; and Chamber Action Ambassador John Porhamer (aka, "the man with the hat"), Cowtown Insurance Service, Inc.

See more photos in our gallery and videos on our YouTube Channel.
PRESS YOUR LUCKPrizes
Click on the links below to enter for prizes

Saving your greens: It has been a few weeks now and Mr. B can't stop salivating over thoughts of the Dean & DeLuca bacon-wrapped salmon.  It's just so bagels, lox, cream cheese and slivers of tomato ... with strips of bacon. Dean & DeLuca is melding cultures and bringing diversified families back to the table as a partner for the Dean & DeLuca Invitational at Colonial Country Club. Colonial's Dennis Roberson is helping you to the table with two one-day tournament passes good any day May 23-29.
 
This would be my break: Spring break is nigh and the kids will be home unless you're fortunate to ship them off to granny's. If not, yikes! Chuck Heist might hoist your staycation to unbelievable heights, with or without the kids. Sales Director Chuck heisted a complimentary two-night, Friday-Saturday stay at the TownePlace Suites - Fort Worth SW. You'll be hitting the town(e), where there are 94 spacious all-suite rooms, each with a TV, WiFi, fully-equipped kitchen, full-sized refrigerators and conventional ovens. You won't have to cook breakfast, though; it's on the house ... or maybe in the lobby.  If you wait until summer, there is an outdoor pool with a large patio area and BBQ grills. And if you're not a lazy weekend person, try the fitness room. For you or to send an unwanted house guest, this is the (Towne)Place.

A toast to Pavlov: There is this distillery in San Antonio co-owned by Fort Worth's Brian Lowrance. It produces enchanted vodkas, whiskeys and a just-launched blended whiskey named after one Texas Ranger. Fort Worth ad agency Pavlov has the account and Mr. B and Monta, the Princess of Prizes, asked Pavlov's Faire Claire if we could play ball with the Ranger. She sent over a bottle and it received a grade of home run! Ingredients include pure limestone-filtered Edwards Aquifer water and hints of vanilla, caramel and toasted nuts. You can find it on shelves locally or just be one of two winners of two bottles from Pavlov. (Monta and Mr. B are charging a commission on this giveaway.)

Butterflies are free: The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) is partnering with The Center for Transforming Lives and bringing high quality science curriculum to 4-year-olds. Can you imagine the kiddos exploring BRIT's "Butterflies in the Garden, The Mayan Experience," an exhibit of 10,000 beautiful, exotic Central American butterflies of every hue and size that all flew here together in first class on an American Airlines jet? Until April 3, you can watch them land on tropical flowers and lush foliage -- maybe even on your finger -- and discover the amazing life cycle of the butterfly. Chris Chilton, our Mayan man of marketing, flew over with four tickets and a $25 gift certificate.


Congratulations to March 2 Prize Winners:
  • Diane Mills, Century Mechanical Contractors
  • Nathan Draughn, BB&T
  • Cheri McDuff, UMB Bank
  • Peter Lindsay, Sproles Woodard
  • Chandry Buck, Victory Awning
  • Karen Holcomb, Northern Realty Group
  • Tony Prenger, Pinnacle Bank
  • Ricky McBride, Denke CPA
  • Sean Evans, Merrill Lynch
  • Emmanuel Armah, Oncor
     
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS
 
  
HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAIDSoundBytes
Brains vs. brawn: Christopher Beavers, a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch and a senior veep there at a very junior age, recently interviewed Robert Kaplan, President of the Dallas Federal Reserve, for 45 minutes during a Harvard Club luncheon. Mr. B's alumni group -- go Florida State -- probably would rather hear Christopher interview his wife, a recently retired Dallas Cowboys cheerleader.

Cutting edge: Clint Biggs' "grunt" work on the real estate for Underwood Law on behalf of Stan Kroenke's purchase of Waggoner Ranch earned him a "beautiful" Waggoner Ranch pocket knife. 

Safe havens: Want to see if your company is prepared for an active shooter threat, or better yet, how to be prepared in Tarrant County? Go to www.fwscc.org. Safe Communities America and the Fort Worth Chamber hosted a security seminar last week with the Fort Worth police and fire departments, city officials, MedStar, Lockheed Martin, Hillwood, the FBI and others.
  • Valerie Washington, assistant city manager, says the city will communicate on social media during an active threat. She alerted attendees that "Police, Fire and MedStar brainstorm together; they do tabletop exercises and walk-through scenarios. That should give you great comfort."
  •  Bryan Jamison, a lieutenant in the police department, says gunfire is a driving force ..."We are moving fast toward it. We enter, stop the threat." The police priorities then are to try to stop the dying, complete rescues and secure the premises.
  • Tarrant County D.A. Sharen Wilson says her office is not a first responder but is a key component for victim assistance services. And, "if a shooter survives, we get involved. That's why we have the death penalty."
Almost there: Alphabetic Jody Wallace, RID, CID, IIDA, ASID, heads up American National Services' new division -- interior design. She does commercial work, not residential. People are confused, though, and she explains by saying, "I'm more like an 'almost architect'."

Forgetaboutit: John Fletcher shared his Chase calendar and today is "Get Over It" day. Great business advice.

Keys to success: Way, way back, pre-Uber in Los Angeles, Evan Eastman drove a Town Car for a chain of bookstores, picking up visiting celebs. One of those was Jon Schmidt, who is in town this week with the Piano Guys. "He's incredible!" said Evan, who is with Spectrum Business and no longer a paid driver. "If you haven't, watch him play upside and backward on the piano with his head under the keys ... amazing!"

Calm before the storm: Melinda Edwards is new to the Ben Hogan Equipment Co., which is new to the Chamber. She lives on the fairly new Edwards Ranch Road and loves how "quiet it is." About the time Hogan manufactures left-handed clubs (in a year?), Edwards Ranch Road won't be so quiet.

Just trippin': Chamber signature travel trips are open to members, business associates, your friends or family...OK, everyone is in and the group discount makes this deal even more fabulosa. Mr. B has heard from so many that have attended previous trips that they are absolutely fantastic. Mr. B only has heard and not been because ... well, his boss isn't called Miserly Mistress for no reason. The next two trips are Oct. 1-8, 2016, A Taste of Ontario & Quebec Fall Foliage, and April 2-10, 2017, River Cruise in the Wine Region of Bordeaux, France. (Bring your license; you might be carded for wine.) That discount only is offered until April 14 and could help you pay taxes the next day. Contact Monta for more information.

"Texas Wesleyan football undefeated since 1941."

                                                -- Office of Marketing & Communication's printed t-shirt

Marking his territory: It now is clear why Robbie Briggs merged about 16 real estate agencies in Tarrant County under the Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty banner. He is so competitive he couldn't contemplate losing in the Chamber's new member registration competition late last month. 232 businesses joined the Chamber during a 2-day blitz, 117 of them Briggs Freeman realtors. OK, so that's a stretch. In fact, among the new signees are tons of new restaurants (giveaways in our future?) and service providers.  The top-selling individual was Neils Agather of Burnett Foundation. Michael McDowell of Burnett Oil Co., Inc. led the top team, and John Avila of Byrne Construction Services had the top overall group. For the complete story, click here.

Business is booming: FW Inc., a Fort Worth Texas magazine business publication completing one year in June, plans to go from quarterly to bi-monthly beginning in August.

Not fabricating this: Mike Michaelis -- which could be auto-corrected to Michael Michael -- is veep and COO of R&RC Fabricating and Contracting. The company specializes in HVAC work. Mike says there are duct-less units ready to take over the world. Mike got his start and met his wife working for NASA outside New Orleans.

Select someone that likes you: Michael Cuevas, a recruiter for the University of North Texas system, was talking about her job openings. "And finally," she said, "I'm looking for someone to be my boss, the Director of Talent Acquisition."

Come on by, folks: Next Wednesday at 2:45, Chamber Am-Bass-Adorables will be running with paint brushes as they artistically design a ribbon to cut at Artisan's Haven at Vagabond Treasures, 4236 W. Vickery Blvd. It's a venue for artisans to sell in a retail environment.
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