YEAR IN review. December 2013 ISSUE. Edition

Transcription

1 A MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE HARLINGEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE DECEMBER 2013 Chamber Board of Directors Dr. Linda T. Burke Chairman Frank Espinoza, Chair-Elect Carlos Cuellar, Immediate Past Chair Lyle Garza, Secretary Ricky Leal, Treasurer Nick Chandra Josh Fields Mike Allex Brenda Ivory Ricky Leal Matt Stone Sue Ann Taubert Business Matters is a monthly publication of the Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. This publication is only available online. A link to it will be sent via E-Blast on the first of each month. For more information Jaclyn Garza at jgarza@harlingen.com Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce 311 E. Tyler Harlingen, TX YEAR IN review Edition December 2013 ISSUE

2 President & CEO M E S S A G E Pam Priour President & CEO PrimeTime is coming! For those of you who were one of the 240 volunteers who participated in The Chamber s Membership Event last summer, you will remember Jimmy talking about PrimeTime. This is the Mini Business Expo or as he put it, A Chamber Mixer on Steroids that is a perk, not only for the businesses that joined Chamber during the event, but also for those businesses that provided volunteers to work the event. That s nearly 600 businesses that will have the opportunity to feature their products or services during the expo for no extra charge! Each of these businesses is offered a table top display at Casa De Amistad on Thursday, February 13 from 5:17 to 7:17 p.m. (remember those times from the Membership Event?). The theme for this expo is Fiesta del Mercado and prizes will be given to the participating businesses for best display decorations. And every participating business is encouraged to provide a door prize for their table. Those winners will be announced publicly at the event. Chamber members who did not participate in the membership event will be able to buy a table space if there is space left over. The general public will be invited and this event will be advertised extensively. Member restaurants and food service companies will be invited to participate it will be like a mini Taste of event. And there will be a cash beer and wine bar. I have been involved with several of these events at other Chambers and they are usually hugely successful. They are very popular with Chamber members because they are short, sweet and FUN!!! It will be loud and crazy and very high energy just like the membership event. There will be music and lots of shenanigans! Don t miss it! This is just one of the many services that your Chamber provides to you as a Chamber Member. These types of promotional/networking events are the gravy on top of the meat that is the main course of membership. That main course is governmental affairs and protecting free-market ideals. Any Chamber s main job is to assure that the geographical region that it serves is a business friendly, pro-growth economic climate. All Chambers jobs are to promote business ideals and protect commerce in a community, no matter the size of business. Good Chamber work benefits all businesses in a community whether they are a member or not. The non-members only make the burden greater on the members. The promotional and networking activities and outlets that a Chamber provides its members are the extra benefits that come with membership. Chambers offer these just like other industry associations do so that members get to know each other. Unfortunately, many Chambers lose sight of the true mission and are distracted by these extras. It is very easy to do. But a successful, relevant Chamber of Commerce is so much more than this. As I ve heard said in the Chamber business for years, Chamber s of Commerce do the work that everyone else thinks just happens. Come participate in a PERK! Fiesta del Mercado will be fun and festive! And most importantly, it will be productive! But hurry and sign up this opportunity will go fast! -Pam Priour

3 HARLINGEN TEXAS E V E N T S 2014 January 8: Harlingen Dinner Club at Jackson Square Events Center Titanium Partners Valley Baptist Health System Harlingen Medical Center UnitedHealthcare Gold Partners Aloe Laboratories Clermont, L.L.C. Hino Gas Sales, Inc. Nevill Business Machines Pena Eye Institute Valley Morning Star Bronze Partners Bert Ogden Harlingen Auto Plaza Bill Guthrie Sports Card Investment Group, Inc. Documation, Inc. Frost Bank Gillman Auto Group Halff Associates, Inc. Harlingen Area Teachers Credit Union Harlingen Economic Development Corporation MacPherson s Medical Supply Mood: South Texas Nolan Perez, M.D. Gastroenterology Platinum Partners Boggus Ford First Community Bank Long Chilton, LLP Silver Partners AEP Texas BBVA Compass Gignac and Associates IBC Bank Linda Trevino Burke, D.D.S. Lone Star National Bank Janine Marie Photography Platinum Surgery Center Salinas, Allen & Schmitt, L.L.P. Shepard Walton King Insurance Group Texas Gas Service United Launch Alliance Valhaven Wealth Bronze Partners Continued Port of Harlingen Authority Security Service Federal Credit Union Taglerock Technologies, LLC Texas Regional Bank Uhlhorn Family Partnerships Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation Valley International Airport January 9: Jammin on Jackson Street with Vance Greek & Friends January 18: Chili for Children Cook-Off January 30: Network Express from La Playa The Sound of Harlingen Performing Arts Center February 13: Prime Case de Amistad February 20: Shrimp Fest & Auction Your Chamber Staff Pam Priour, President and CEO Sarah Trolinger, Governmental Affairs Manager Sylvia Mendoza, Business Manager Shirley Bralley, Membership Manager Katie Whelden, Events Manager Jaclyn Garza, Communication Manager Theresa Hurtado, Customer Care Representative

4 A MONTHLY NEWS LETTER OF THE HARLINGEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE December 2013 Year In Review JANUARY Mayor Chris Boswell legislative committee meeting held at the Harlingen Chamber for the 83rd Texas Legislative Session: Statement of Issues Produced MAY Right:Conference call with Chancelor Cigarroa regarding the university merge Photo of: Randy Whittington State Representative Eddie Lucio III State Representative Rene Oliveira SEPTEMBER Congressman Filemon Vela Legislative Luncheon Start of the LH & YLH Programs Top Photo: YLH with Mayor Boswell, Commissioner Leal & Commissioner Tudor FEBRUARY Chamber switches over to an electronic based system to deliver all Chamber daily, weekly and monthly publications. Creation of new website Left: Austin trip for Med School Legislation 2000 signatures on letter from Mayor Boswell to House High Ed Committee Chair JUNE For the third year in a row, the nation s first bale of cotton was picked by Rodriguez Brother s Farms. The Harlingen Chamber s Cotton Committee sponsors this every year. OCTOBER Formation of Leadership Harlingen Alumni Association Business After-Hours Taubert Farms & Ranch

5 A MONTHLY NEWS LETTER OF THE HARLINGEN AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE December 2013 Year In Review MARCH Left: Governor Rick Perry speaking with Leadership Harlingen Group and Austin Trip Committee APRIL Right: Both the Senate and the House recognized March 6, 2013 as the Harlingen Day at the Capitol. JULY AUGUST Bottom: Governor Perry signs SB24 at UTB Top: Univerisity of Texas System Board of Regents Vice Chairman Gene Powell & Juliet Garcia, President of UTB NOVEMBER Top: New Membership Draft brings in 355 New Members 200+ Attendees at the Annual Banquet Bottom: Director s Award: Boggus Ford Greg Quisenberry Top: Heritage Winner: Mayor Chris Boswell Moderator: Davis Rankin of KURV Radio Mayoral Candidates Mayor Chris Boswell* Rick Morales City Commission District 1 Candidates Commissioner Danny Castillo* Juan J. Gonzalez Gail Moore City Commission District 2 Candidates Frank Puente, Jr. Tudor Uhlhorn* Left to Right: Brady Taubert, Chairman of Harlingen Cotton Committee, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples and Karen Taubert at the 60th Annual First Bale Auction and Scholarship Fundraiser on August 8, DECEMBER Great Success at the Red McCombs Luncheon: Sold-Out Event!

6 MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Shirley Bralley Membership Manager Happy New Year! Wow, so many exciting things happened in Did you know that your Chamber grew A LOT 390+ new members. Ambassador s participated in 24 ribbon cuttings that s a lot of new businesses and new locactions. The Chamber updated its website, to offer members the opportunity to have or expand a web presence. Many of you have begun to customize your business micro site that is within the Chamber website. Each business microsite can include such things as business hours and areas of specialization. It can be linked to your Facebook page, a Linkedin account and pictures or video can be uploaded. You can even list events, upload invitations and link them to the Chamber community calendar of events. I encourage you each to update and customize your micro site and to use the Chamber website when looking for a business or service. Please call or stop by the Chamber office for each member s login information. 2014, will see the return of Network Express. Using a roundtable concept, members will be given the opportunity to introduce themselves and give a brief overview of their company and/or business and services. Are you a Chamber member representative that is between the ages of 20-40? If so, get involved in the newest reformatted committee of the Chamber, HYPE-Harlingen Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs. This committee of young and upcoming Chamber business and community leaders will host events to grow their business knowledge and network as well as show a strong presence of young faces at general Chamber events. For many businesses, the new year began on a fiscal schedule in Oct, but there is still something about January that gives hope to new possibilities. The Chamber s goal/resolution for the fiscal year as well as 2014 is to continue to advocate for all businesses and promote economic prosperity and growth for the community and to continue to provide quality member services. I will continue to get out more often to meet with you all and as always, I encourage you to stop by the Chamber office anytime. I love learning about each of your individual businesses! - Shirley Bralley REMINDER: Remember, if you have changed your address, moved your business, changed your phone number, added a website, or have had personnel changes, please call or stop by the Chamber office to ensure we have all your information correct. If you know of a business that does not get any communication from the Chamber, please have them call or stop by. Looking for ways to get involved w/the Chamber? Your Chamber is expanding its Ambassador program and is looking for representatives from different business categories. Ambassadors are what I like to refer to as Chamber members on steroids! They are members who attend most events and love visiting with other businesses to promote the Chamber as well as your own business. For more information and an application, please contact any current Ambassador or Shirley Bralley

7 R I B B O N C U T T I N G S Congratulations to All! Westbrook Medical Clinic Dec. 11, Camelot Plaza Harlingen, Texas M E M B E R S La Cross Financial Divine Face & Body Spa SAM S Club #6269 Goodwill Industries WingBarn join HYPE Sports Clips Haircuts Dec. 27, West Lincoln Ave. Suite A Harlingen, Texas NOVEMBER AMBASSADOR OF THE MONTH: Danny Payton Payton Electric Congratulations! Network Express January La Playa Mexican Cafe 5:30-7:30 p.m. Harlingen Additional Information will be sent via e-blast. -Influence inspire connect -Networking Opportunities -Chamber Members under 40 Harlingen Young Professionals & Entrepreneurs Contact Jacob Boggus, HYPE Chairman, or Shirley Bralley, Chamber Membership & Development Manager at

8 Chamber E V E N T S Katie Whelden Events Manager kwhelden@harlingen.com Happy New Year everyone! I sure hope everyone had a great holiday time spent with loved ones and are ready to jump into a new year. The year 2013 was full of events here at the Chamber and 2014 is going to start off on the same path. I wanted to do a small recap on the Red McCombs Luncheon. We had a great turn out at the Jackson Square Event Center with over 200 guests who came to hear the business entrepreneur Red McCombs. His speech was nothing short of intriguing and inspiring! It is safe to say Red has been the talk of town for a few weeks now. I want to send our special gratitude to the sponsors, Boggus Ford Harlingen, Shepard Walton King Insurance Group, MacPherson s Medical Supply and Harlingen Medical Center for making the event possible. Also, thank you to those of you who came out to the Luncheon. The events are created and planned for you as a member, so please continue to attend! You never know what you may learn or relationship you may build if you don t venture out. The Chamber s Lunch and Learn events have continued to be a sell out! Our last Lunch and Learn topic was Social Media presented by Tom Keeler, President and CEO of KGBT-TV Action 4 News and sponsored by Digital Doc. Keeler gave an eye-opening presentation about the importance of social media to each and every business. We plan to have another sell out in the New Year on January 15 for the next Lunch and Learn. Dr. Barbara Baggerly-Hinojosa, a Professor who teaches about business leadership, will give a presentation to the chamber members about conflict management in business. As Red McCombs said, education is important; never stop learning. So, please come join us over your lunch hour and soak up some knowledge! PRIME TIME! February 13, 2014 the Harlingen Area Chamber will host Prime Time at the Casa De Amistad from 5:17pm 7:17pm. Remember that crazy, wild and successful Membership Event this past summer? Well Prime Time is a follow up from that success. Prime Time is a Business EXPO for the NEW MEMBERS that joined during the 2013 Membership Event and the volunteers that helped recruit them. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a mixer on steroids that you are not going to want to miss. Prime Time will give you the opportunity to expand your network, meet suppliers and potential customers. We all need more of that right? Registration will begin right after New Year s Day. For those of you that joined during the Membership Event and who put in the sweat and tears to bring in new members, this is for you and you deserve it. If you have any questions about details of these events or have interest in sponsorship opportunities, please do not hesitate to call or me any time. Events Manager, Katie Whelden kwhelden@harlingen.com or With Tom Keeler, KGBT-TV Using Social Media for Business

9 L U N C H E o N WITH RED MCCOMBS We are about to see a whole new awakening in the state of Texas and it is going to come out of the Rio Grande Valley. It is going to come out from you. There are things that are going to be happening here that five years from now you look back and you wouldn t have dreamed are going to take place. -Billy Joe Red McCombs HARLINGEN TEXAS 2014 La Fiesta del Mercado PRIME time NETWORK enhance VISIBILITY enhance IMAGE enhance PRESENCE in the Marketplace February 13, :17-7:17 p.m. Casa de Amistad 1204 Fair Park Blvd. Harlingen REGISTER TODAY!

10 Governmental A F F A I R S Sarah Trolinger Governmental Affairs Manager strolinger@harlingen.com January 29: Guest Speakers: Mayor Chris Boswell. Chairman of South Texas Medical Foundation, Randy Whittington Update on progress of the 4-year medical school coming to Harlingen. February 26: Special Guest: City Commissioner Victor Leal Rep. HarlingenDistrict 5 Business member listening session March 26 Special Presentation: Windstorm Insurance Legislative Update Presented by:josh Fields Shepard Walton King Insurance Group April 30: Water, Water, Water Guest Speakers: Wayne Halbert, Tom Mc- Lemore, PM at Harlingen As 2013 comes to a close, it is difficult to successfully recapitulate the legislative issues the Chamber has been involved in this past year into this one short column. Take the UT merger and medical school, for example: those decisions and experiences of 2013 could fill an entire book, if it were up to me. PUF and sausage-making are commonplace terminology now, and I can t begin to express how blessed I feel to have been part of so many momentous events. However, it isn t the issues or events that matter; rather it is the folks along the way that have directly and indirectly inspired and cultivated growth. Let s recap using our 2013 Buenos Dias schedule: May 28: Special Guest: City Commissioner, Mike Mezmar Rep.HarlingenDistrict 3 Business member Q&A session: Let your voice be heard June 25: Listening Session Guest: City Commissioner, Tudor Uhlhorn Rep. Harlingen District 1 July 30: Transportation Series Part 1 of 2 Special Guest: CCRMA Chairman David Allex Allex International Properties August 27: Transportation Series: Part 2 of 2 I-69: Past, Present and Future Special Guests: CCRMA Chairman David Allex Allex International Properties Alliance for 1-69 Board Member Alan Johnson, Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation September 24: A listening session with: Mayor Chris Boswell October 29: State of Business in Cameron County: Strengths, Weaknesses & Growth Potential With Cameron County Judge Carlos Cascos -Sarah Trolinger

11 Leadership Harlingen Wraps Up 2013 Sessions with Visits to Local Law Enforcement Agencies Thirteen members of the XXVIII Leadership Harlingen program visited local law enforcement agencies Thursday, December 12, which included the Harlingen Police Department, the Cameron County Sheriff s Office and jail and the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Olmito, Texas. Business leaders made their first stop to the Harlingen Police Department. Leaders toured the facility with Officer Anderson and Officer Gonzalez. Officer Tim Flores wrapped up the tour with a presentation on gang violence in Cameron County. After hearing Officer Flores s presentation on gang violence in Cameron County, I think we can all express how thankful we are to the Harlingen gang unit and the positive impact the unit has shown upon reducing gang violence in Cameron County, says Jared Ede, Leadership Harlingen Committee Chair. The group then traveled down to Olmito, Texas to tour the Cameron County Sheriff s Office and jail. Leaders experienced an extensive tour and presentation made by Officer Moore of the new facility as well as learned the processes and procedures performed. It is both amazing and commendable that the officers, when presented with challenging and sometimes violent situations on a daily basis, handle such incidents with patience and maintains composure, says Pamela Merla, participant of this year s Leadership Harlingen Program. The fact that they are able to defuse such dangerous situations armed only with their training and reflexes are phenomenal. The last visit was made to the U.S. Border Patrol Station in Olmito, Texas. Leaders toured the facility and were stunned to see the amount of remote controlled video cameras that are present in surveying the border across the local area. Each session is planned and executed by a group of Steering Committee members throughout the year. This month s session was organized by committee chair, Jared Ede, Tre Peacock and Jonathan Medina. The next Leadership Harlingen session will be in the upcoming new year, January 16, The topic will cover local city government.

12 Communications NOTE Jaclyn Garza Communications Manager New Year, New You!...What s new in the upcoming year?...and are you up-to date with all new trends in 2014? Do any of statements sound familiar? These headlines consume the media year after year. And well, the satisfaction anyone can get out of these headlines is actually being able to say yes. The mind is a powerful place to live and we are the only ones that are in control of what we are able to produce and learn year after year. Here at the Chamber the goal is to promote, support and protect business and I think the Chamber 2013 Year in Review timeline shows exactly that. As you noticed on page four and five of this issue, your Chamber has accomplished many great things. Starting in early January when your Harlingen Chamber was the meeting hub for Mayor Bowell s legislation committee for the 83rd Texas Legislative Session, to receiving signatures requested by the mayor regarding the UT merge in May and to ending the year with two sold-out events made available to the Chamber membership. In the 2013 year, the Chamber s communication line was also switched over to an electronic-based system. All daily, weekly and monthly publications are now dispersed through and all Chamber social media platforms were established. When it comes to the state of social media, the past year could be summed up in a few words: real time marketing, content, video and mobile. In a space that is continuously changing and technology that is advancing quickly, it s important to jump on the social media bandwagon and utilize it to your advantage for your business. Engage with your customers and create an on-going conversation with them. Doing things such as providing weekly or monthly giveaways to get online participation from current and potential customers will drive traffic to your website, Facebook page and most importantly to your business. The Harlingen Chamber has a Facebook page with a total of 902 Likes and Twitter account with 237 followers. At the start of the 2014 year, the Chamber would like to see more Members tune into these social media platforms and be a part of the conversation by increasing those numbers by the thousands. Follow us on and Like Us on Facebook: Harlingen Area Chamber of Commerce. We want to hear about your business and so does the rest of the community. Be in the know. Create your own trend in Cheers! - Jaclyn Garza