Business & Hospitality

Briefing

Please patronize these major Chamber investors and other Chamber members listed at www.mineralwellstx.com.

www.mineralwellstx.com October 2011

Come dig fossils with us! National Fossil Day Dig--

October 15, 2011

National Earth Science

Week is October 9th-

15th. Our National Fossil

Day event, the Crazy Fossil

Dig will be held October 15

from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00

p.m. Bring the whole family or

group!

Featuring:

“Tools of the Trade” display

of the various tools used by

fossil hunters while looking

for and extracting fossils.

Fossil identification. Bring

in your finds and we will try to

identify the object and provide

some information regarding it

Hands on samples of the

various types of fossils that

exist in the Texas with sup-

porting materials describing

them

Museum quality ob-

jects found and pre-

pared by members of the Dal-

las Paleontological Society

“FBI” handouts for

kids. The Fossil Bureau of

Investigation is a sub-division

of the Dallas Paleontological

Society and will have materi-

als for kids to join in the fun of

the science of Paleontology.

History Lessons and Guided

walks around the Fossil Park.

The first 25 attendees will

receive a commemorative

Mineral Wells Fossil Park

apron, designed especially for

your next outdoor paleon-

tological adventure!

Tune up your business Just in time for

the holiday sea-son, the Sales and Marketing Boot Camp hosted by the Chamber will run the first three Tuesday’s in October. Each session will run from 8:15am to 9:15am. The cost for mem-bers is $20 per session or $50 for the series. Prospective member $25 per session or $75 for the series. October 4th Session: Ef-fective Promotions and Spon-sorships with speaker John Fletcher, Fletcher Communi-cations.

October 11th Ses-sion: Sales: Getting in the Door and Clos-ing the Deal with speaker Shelley Plemons, Texas Asso-ciation of Business.

October 18th Session: Self-Marketing, Staying Rele-vant and Self-Branding with speaker Valerie Riefenstahl, Texas Association of Busi-ness. This event is sponsored by

Communication Connection-Verizon, Oncor Electric Deliv-ery and Perri Leavelle De-signs.

Crazy Water Festival The Mineral Wells

Area Chamber of

Commerce is pleased

to serve as one of the

main sponsors of the

2011 Crazy Water

Festival, to be held

Oct. 7-8. In its 32nd

year, this year’s festi-

val promises more

activities than ever as

Mineral Wells, discovered in

1881, celebrates 130 years of

Crazy Water.

New to the festival this year

will be a cyclocross race fea-

turing a $2,000 purse.

Cyclocross is an obstacle-

course style event with

“super-crazy” partici-

pants.

Also new this year will

be a Friday night car

cruise and Crazy Water

Beer, brewed by Fort

Worth-based Rahr &

Sons Brewing Company.

The main festival grounds

are in the vicinity of the Fa-

mous Mineral Water Com-

pany at 209 NW Sixth St.

Director’s Note

Business Briefs

This month in tourism

⇒ Enrollment at Weatherford College’s

Mineral Wells Education Center is up 55

percent over last year. Good job to Presi-

dent Kevin Eaton and Associate Dean JC

Colton, who has supervised the resurgence

of programming at the Mineral Wells

campus.

⇒ Dr Saskia Vaughan DDS, MAGD,

received the 2011 Mastership award. To

accomplish this goal, Dr. Vaughan com-

pleted 1,100 hours of continuing dental

education. As a recipient of this award,

Dr. Vaughan joins more than 2,200 active

AGD Masters who understand the impor-

tance of providing great smiles and good

oral health for their patients.

⇒ Congratulations Richeson Group for

breaking ground on your 52nd Dairy

Queen which is located in Santo on the

southeast corner of U. S. Highway 281

South and Interstate 20. Candidates seek-

ing employment can log on to

www.richesondq.com to fill out an appli-

cation.

⇒ Antenna Products announces 2 person-

nel additions to further develop its domes-

tic and international sales and marketing

efforts. Welcome Thomas P. McCuin and

Gus Basualdo.

⇒ Congratulations to Eagle Sound, Inc.

We celebrate your 30 years in business.

Chamber Team Board of Directors Regan Johnson Johnson Construction and Renovation Chairman of the Board Dacey Malone Titan Bank Chair-Elect Bart Freeman PecoFacet Vice Chairman Eddie Gregory First Financial Bank Finance Chair Diane Brown Palo Pinto General Hospital Secretary Brian Shoemaker Chicken Express Immediate Past Chair David Barrett IESI Pat Bazzell Farm Bureau Insurance Julie Dallas Crawford, Carter & Thompson LLP Bart Freeman PECOFacet Kiran Patel Best Western Clubhouse & Suites Brad Wilkerson First State Bank Major Investors Chairman’s Council: First Financial Bank & First State Bank Executive Member: Baum-Carlock-Bumgardner Funeral Home, Best Western Clubhouse & Suites, Texas Gas Service, First National Bank of Santo Staff Beth Henary Watson Executive Director Marcelinda Williams Membership Director Susan Boyd Office Manager Michelle Jorjorian Tourism Sales and Marketing Director

Mission The Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau advances, supports and promotes the economic vitality of the Mineral Wells Area and Palo Pinto County.

Contact Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce 511 E. Hubbard St. P.O. Box 1408 Mineral Wells, TX 76067 Phone: (940) 325-2557 Fax: (940) 328-0850 Web: www.mineralwellstx.com E-mail: info@mineralwellstx.com Follow us:

The late summer and early fall has been

exciting on a couple of fronts.

First, we’re gearing up for Shop Local and

Win!, the two-month shopping promotion

Nov. 1 through Dec. 24. Chamber staff met

with interested downtown merchants mid-

September, and they had some great ideas

about how to make the program better work

for downtown. Also, remember the one-day

market event is now two days, Dec. 9-10, at

Clark Gardens in partnership with the

park’s fun-filled Old Fashioned Holiday.

Second, we’ve been working with our local

educational institutions—from junior high

to high school as well as Weatherford Col-

lege—to better inform students and the

community about career opportunities

available in Mineral Wells. We hope to pilot

a program this fall with Mineral Wells Jun-

ior High, and we handily salute Mineral

Wells High School and its foray into inte-

grating its workforce classes with specific

needs of local companies, particularly in the

welding department.

Stay tuned to the Business and Hospital-

ity Report for further updates!

Sincerely,

Beth Henary Watson

Executive Director

This month is an eventful month in tour-

ism. We will start the month of October off

with the Clark Garden’s Annual Fall Festival,

now called North Texas’ Spiciest Festival,

featuring a chili cook-off, children’s activi-

ties, Half Marathon/5k Run, food and bever-

ages, music and entertainment, cooking

demonstrations, and salsa tasting.

The Crazy Water Festival is featuring a

new event this year, the Crazy Cyclocross

race. Come join us the weekend of October 7-

8 for this highly anticipated event!

The Kiwanis Crazy Kicker scheduled for

October 15, is a recreational bicycle ride

through Palo Pinto County that includes 22,

37, 55, 65, and 100 mile routes. Three long-

est rides feature Cherry Pie Hill a highlight

with its amazing view and challenging 6,000

feet of 5-8% slope. All riders who complete

Cherry Pie Hill will be awarded a button that

says: "I survived Cherry Pie Hill!" You can

see Possum Kingdom Lake, Palo Pinto Lake,

or the Brazos River; or all three! Tech sup-

port, great on-course signage, sags, motorcy-

cle escorts, and rest stops with delicious

homemade cookies. Post-ride hot dogs and

live music. Long-sleeved t-shirts to the first

400 riders! Register now at athlete360.com!

After leaving the Kiwanis Crazy Kicker you

can come hunt fossils with us at the National

Fossil Day Dig.

Ribbon Cuttings & Event Photos

Bar B Indoor Arena of Mineral Wells 5412 S. Hwy 281 Mineral Wells, TX 76067 Dairy Queen of Santo SE Corner Hwy 281 & Interstate 20 Santo, TX 76472 Farm Bureau Insurance– Ryan Roach 301 SE 3rd Street Mineral Wells, TX 76067

Mr. Jim’s Pizza 1100 SE 1st Street Mineral Wells, TX 76067 Pasta Fina 301 SE 25th Avenue Mineral Wells, TX 76067 The Bead Barn 113 NE First Ave Mineral Wells, TX 76067

Mineral Wells Athletic Booster Club 3801 Ram Blvd Mineral Wells, 76067 Airgas Southwest 319 N.E. 23rd St. Fort Worth, TX 76164

New Chamber Investors

Renewing Chamber Investors

American Cancer Society Appliance Center/Radio Shack Brazos Mall Merchant Association Brenda's Catering Brock, Eric MD, Orthopedic Surgery, PA CASA for the Cross Timbers Area, Inc - CA Catholic Charities Diocese of Fort Worth, Cole's House of Flowers Country Club Estates Dairy Queen of Santo Farm Bureau Insurance-Ryan Roach First Christian Church

Lyn & Steve Butcher Maverick Computer Services Millsap Valley Orthopaedics & Sports Med Mineral Wells Heritage Association - Mineral Wells Senior Center NSC Properties Penny’s Flower Shop Public Transit Services Pythian Sisters Mineral Wells Temple #14 Robert Upham Rock Creek Road Baptist Church Snapshots of a Memory by Danielle

Stephen Byars TechWire THG Energy & Technology Solutions, LLC Thomas Simonton Upham Oil & Gas VF Factory Outlet Wade's Mineral Wells Propane Weatherford College Women's Pavilion, New Solutions Med Spa

Chicken Express was named Chamber Member of the month for all of their community support.

Mr. Jim came to town to congratulate Connie and Richard Ball and welcome them to Mr. Jim’s Pizza.

Natty Flat Smokehouse & Gift Shop offers Barbeque, gifts and homemade fruit pies all in one place.

Richeson Group breaks ground on their 52nd Dairy Queen in Santo on Interstate 20 & hwy 281 South.

BULK RATE

US Postage PAID

Mineral Wells, TX

76067

Permit No. 72

Mineral Wells Area Chamber of Commerce

& Convention and Visitors Bureau

P.O. Box 1408

Mineral Wells, TX 76068

2011 Chamber Award Winners Monthly ROI Report

Chamber

Members— 419

Handouts – 1,070

Relocation Packages – 21

Member Referrals – 118

Tourism

Handouts – 968

Tourist Packages – 19

Guests – 88

Promotional Items— 61

Website

Page Requests — 10,121

Chamber Save the Dates ∗ Marketing Boot Camp Oct 4, 11 & 18 8:15 –9:15am.

∗ Crazy Water Festival Oct 7 & 8.

∗ Tourism Grant Instruction Meeting Oct 11 3:00pm.

∗ Kiwanis Crazy Kicker Bike Ride Oct 15.

∗ Fossil Park Day Dig Oct 15, 10-2pm.

Spirit of Mineral Wells Famous Mineral Water Company Community Beautification Ronny Collins Community Beautification Mary Creighton Economic Development Link Field Services Outstanding Small Business of the Year Double H Tire Outstanding Individual Member Steve Perdue Outstanding Organization Palo Pinto County Farm Bureau Outstanding New Business Hayes Station Tourism Award City of Mineral Wells Fossil Park

Customer Service Award Pulido’s Mexican Restaurant Customer Service Award Pet Western Animal Hospital Outstanding Industrial Partner IESI Outstanding Industrial Partner Keg 1 LLC Chairman’s Award The Prestwood - O’Neal Home Foundation, Inc. Volunteer of the Year Sherri Friend Ambassador of the Year David Austin Business of the Year Farm Bureau Insurance Employer of the Year First State Bank

$$$$$$$$$$

The Chamber newsletter is supported by Weaver’s Print Shop and Bennett’s Brazos Printing.