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President/CEO Gary Molberg Finance & Administration Dianne McClish, VP Christy Bigler Mary Garcia Membership Andrea McClintock, VP Lupe Fasano Linda Palmer Communication Penni Bentley, Director Business Development & Governmental Affairs Jason Harrison, VP Kim Woolsey Quality of Life & Arts Becky Zenor, VP Lupe Fasano K. Lynn Kiihn Convention & Visitor Council Jerry Holt, VP Mindy Bradley Jutta Matalka Eric Miller Tina Teague Tiffany Redinger Rick Matchett K. Lynn Kiihn Dulcy Carden Visitor Information Center & Gift Shop Mary Ramirez, Manager Helen Martinez Ann Beach Kay Cochran PO Box 9480 Amarillo, TX 79105 806.373.7800 806.373.3909 fax Amarillo-Chamber.org

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Celebrating the Past and Looking to the Future Chamber Annual Banquet Highlights By: Gary Molberg, President/CEO More than 360 people attended the Chamber’s Annual Banquet held on October 18, 2010 at the Amarillo Civic Center’s Heritage Ballroom. The annual banquet is an opportunity for the Chamber staff, members and volunteers to celebrate our successes and accomplishments of the passing year. It is always a great evening of networking with business associates as well as old and new friends. Attendees networked and saw photos of the previous year’s events during the social hour before enjoying a great meal provided by one of the evening’s sponsors, Panhandle Restau-rant Group. The Chamber’s Annual Report was unveiled for attendees at the banquet. Laura Street, 2009-10 Chamber Chairman, shared comments about the Chamber’s 2009-10 activities and accomplishments before passing the torch to the 2010-11 Chamber Chair, J Pat Richmond, Glazer’s Wholesale Distributors. Special thanks to Street Toyota for sponsoring our banquet and providing the speaker this year. Don Esmond, Senior VP of Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc., delivered an encouraging message about the status and future of the American auto industry. A very special thank you to all who attended and sup-ported the event. We appreciate and thank all of our members and volunteers. Because of you, we again have much to be thankful for.

In this issue: Teachers & Students Touring Businesses Day

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SpeedConnect at Mega Market 3

CVC News 4-5

New Members 6-7

Ribbon Cuttings 8

Renewing Members 9

Texas Commodity Symposium 10

Golden Nail Awards 12

Insurance Solutions 13

Mark Your Calendar 14

Editors Corner 15

LtoR: Don Esmond (Toyota), Laura Street, Gary Molberg & J Pat Richmond.

Click here to view more banquet photos online.

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The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce worked closely with the Amarillo Independent School District to bring teachers and students and industry closer together. They co-sponsored the Teachers and Students Touring Busi-nesses Day on Tuesday, October 26, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Amarillo Civic Center Heritage Ballroom. The event was underwritten by Xcel Energy Foundation. “This program helps open lines of communications between teachers and students and businesspersons. It informs them of current technology in business and industry”, said Becky Zenor, Vice President of the chamber’s Quality of Life Council. The students and teachers began the day at 8 am at the Civic Center Heritage Ballroom with a light breakfast, overview of the day and load the buses at 8:30 am. They returned to the Heritage Ballroom for a wrap-up from 1 pm—2 pm. Approximately 240 teachers and middle school (eighth grad-ers) and high school students (ninth – twelfth graders) toured 24 companies. Some students went on two 1½ hour tours while other students went on three 45-minute tours. “It also gives busi-nesses executives the opportunity to demonstrate how their companies oper-ate. The teachers and students also learn types of education skills needed for the future”, said Denise Blanchard, Program Director for Commu-nity Projects, Amarillo Independent School District. The Chamber and AISD hold this event annually in the fall. If your company would be interested in host-ing tours in the future, please contact Becky Zenor at the Cham-ber, 342-2010 or De-nise Blanchard at AISD, 326-1013 for more information.

Thanks to these 2010 Participating Businesses:

Amarillo College West Campus AISD Education Support Center

Amarillo Gear Amarillo Globe-News

Ambassador Hotel ASARCO Incorporated

Bell Helicopter Ben E. Keith

Big Texan Steak Ranch Bruckner Truck Sales

City of Amarillo Communications Center City of Amarillo City Hall

First Bank Southwest Operations Center Happy State Bank

Hastings Entertainment Jan Werner Adult Day Care Center

KVII Pro News Lone Star Ballet

National Weather Service Northwest Texas Healthcare Systems

Owens Corning Pacific Cheese

Suddenlink Xcel Energy Harrington Plant

ZARGES Aluminum Systems, L.C.

2010 Teachers & Students Touring Businesses Day Hosted by the Quality of Life Council

Top: 24 students and teachers from Caprock High School toured Xcel Energy’s Harrington Plant. Bottom: 25 students from Amarillo High and Tascosa High Schools toured Ben E Keith.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amarillochamber/sets/72157625247394934/ Click here to view more event photos online.

http://amarillo-chamber.org/cwt/External/WCPages/

http://amarillo-chamber.org/cwt/External/WCPages/

jason@amarillo-chamber.org kim@amarillo-chamber.org

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The Chamber invites you to join other business professionals at

one of our most successful networking events, SpeedConnect at

Mega Market on Thursday, November 18th from 11:30 a.m. to

5:00 p.m. This event will begin with a luncheon, followed by

speed-connecting networking at multiple round-table rotations,

and end with a reception hosted by the Ambassador Hotel. You

get half a day of networking, lunch, reception and multiple

opportunities to win door prizes...all for $60. If you register

for this successful event, you will also have the opportunity to

continue strengthening your business relationships by registering

for the SpeedConnect monthly round-table networking and lunch-

eons held from 11:30 a.m. -1:30 p.m. December – March at the

Ambassador Hotel.

To learn more or to register online visit our website at www.amarillo-chamber.org, click on calendar in the

header then SpeedConnect at Mega Market under Chamber Events. The deadline to register is Monday, November

8th, but because there are limited seats for this event registration will end when seats are filled. If you are unable to

attend the event you can send a guest in your place. If you have questions or need assistance in registering contact

Kim Woolsey or Jason Harrison at 373-7800.

Convention & Visitor Council 2010-11 Year-To-Date Statistics

Tourism

Occupancy Rate 61.37%

Room Nights 92,055

Overnight Visitors 156,494

Visitor Center Guests 635

Group Tours 59

Inquiries for Amarillo Information 2,427

Overnight Travel Impact ($) $26,603,980

Film Office

Information requests 2

Conventions

# of Conventions/Groups in Amarillo 6

Delegates 2,675

Room Nights 1,300

Delegate Spending ($) $859,125

Delegates Booked-Future Conventions 1,400

Delegate Room Nights Booked 465

http://www.visitamarillotx.com/eventsMeetingsWelcome.cfm

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November 2010 5-7 Narcotics Anonymous 200 9-14 Working Ranch Cowboy Association 1,500 Ranch Rodeo World Championship 16-18 Windfield Solutions 60 Texas Regional Conference 30-2 Farm & Ranch Show 2,500 Cygnus Expositions December 2010 5-9 Texas Assn. of College & University Police Admin 150 TACUPA Annual Conference 10-12 Alpaca Group 300

www.visitamarillotx.com/

WELCOME THESE CONVENTION GROUPS TO AMARILLO

Fall has been busy for conventions, events and visitors to Ama-rillo. One weekend in October saw two events at the same time. It was great to welcome the Fifth Annual Pirates of the Canyon Balloon Rally while also saying hello again to the Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association World Finals. The balloon rally attracted about 30 balloons and their crews, and it also attracted lots of locals who just came out to see the colorful hot-air giants. The highlight is always the chance to launch on Sunday morn-ing in Palo Duro Canyon State Park. While the wind wreaked havoc with their launch plans, everyone was still enthusiastic about being in Amarillo. The estimated direct economic im-pact of the balloon rally was $81,000. And next year’s rally is already on the schedule- Oct 28-30.

Inside at the Amarillo National Cen-ter, more than 400 competitors were shooting small helium balloon tar-gets while riding as fast as the wind on horseback. Cowboy Mounted Shooting harkens to the legen-dary West, from chasing outlaws to showdowns at countless corrals. Based on a competitor’s experience and the pattern, a single run will vary between 10-25 seconds. As the competition advances through higher rounds, leading to the finals, the runs get faster and the action is really stepped up! The result is a very fast, lively and colorful sport with galloping horses, the smoke and sound of gunfire, and hard riding cowboys and cowgirls. All in all, a thrilling spectacle to watch! “We are always pleased to attract an equine event to Amarillo. But with the CMSA World Championships, we also attract a great piece of entertainment,” Jerry Holt, Vice President of the Amarillo CVC, says. CMSA returns to Amarillo next October, with an

estimated impact of more than $330,000. And November sees the 15th Annual World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo Nov 11-14. More than twenty ranches from across the US are here to settle the annual claim of who is the

best. These cowboys are the real deal, working full time from horseback to manage ranches much the way they were worked 100 years ago. This event is one of Amarillo’s biggest single pieces of Western tourism business, according Holt. The nearly $2.5 million economic impact of the World Champion-ship Ranch Rodeo is felt across the entire Amarillo economy. Tickets for the 2010 World Championship Ranch Rodeo are available through Panhandle Tickets. Ticket prices will range from $14 to $26, depending on the seat location and the night of the perform-ance, with the Friday and Saturday performances close to sell-outs. And don’t forget the kickoff din-ner on Wednesday night, Nov. 10 featuring a per-formance by Red Steagall and the Bunk House Boys. Don’t hesitate- visit www.panhandletickets.com or call 806-378-3096 to order your WRCA Champion-ship tickets.

Conventions & Events Bring Big Numbers to Amarillo By: Eric Miller, CVC Communications Director

http://www.synetra.com/

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aparker@synetra.net

Amarillo Colon and Rectal Clinic, P.A. Sambasiva R. Marupudi MD Junie Chambers, LVN 800 Quail Creek Dr. # 103 Amarillo, TX 79124 (806) 358-7911 Fax: (806) 358-9600 www.drmarupudi.org Serving Amarillo and Tri State area, in caring for patients with colon and rectal disorders for over 27 years. Body Solutions Larry Hulsey Bryan Tackett Kari & Elliott Dupont Cathy Armendariz 6010 SW 34th Amarillo, TX 79109 (806) 356-5010 www.bodysolutionstx.com

Bryan F. Bailey DDS., PA Bryan Bailey Tiffany Bailey 1901 Medi Park, Suite 1015 Amarillo, TX 79106 (806) 367-9990 Fax: (806) 367-9945 Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Dental Network of America Tom McNally Teresa Morris 7901 Wallace Blvd. Amarillo, TX 79124 (630) 691-0310 Fax: (630) 691-0390 www.dnoa.com Dental Network of America is the dental administrator for Health Care Services Corpora-tion, operating through its Blue plans in Texas, Illinois, New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Welcome New Members Thanks for Joining in October

Dining By Design Becky McKinley 5203 Spartanburg Drive Amarillo, TX 79119 (806) 236-1372 Fax: (806) 359-4842 secretsofacaterer.blogspot.com/ Friona Chamber of Commerce Chris Alexander Betty Lamb 621 Main St. Friona, TX 79035 (806) 250-3491 Fax: (806) 250-2348 www.frionachamber.com J. Rex Lemert, PC Luke Holder Mike Ohm 619 S Tyler, Ste 50 Amarillo, TX 79101 (806) 373-7961

Fax: (806) 373-0107 www.jrlpc.com We offer the full range of ac-counting services and provide hands on assistance to clients at all levels. Johnston Homes, Inc. Boyd Johnston 6008 Tuscany Village Amarillo, TX 79119 (806) 678-0598 Fax: (806) 351-0116 www.amarillocustomhomes.com Johnston Homes Inc. is in the business of building high qual-ity custom homes of distinc-tion. Please visit our website www.amarillocustomhomes.com.

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Welcome New Members Thanks for Joining in October

KSA Engineers, Inc. Clayton Scales, P.E. Ned Muse 600 S Tyler St., Suite 1403 Amarillo, TX 79101 (806) 335-1600 Fax: (806) 335-1602 www.ksaeng.com KSA Engineers, Inc is an indus-try leading consulting firm that has been providing a broad range of consulting, manage-ment, engineering, planning, surveying & construction ser-vices for over 30 years. Nielsen Communities Tommy Nielsen 2500 S Coulter Rd. Amarillo, TX 79106 (806) 367-9366 Fax: (806) 367-9663 www.thevineyardsofamarillo.com We are a builder developer of the Vineyards of Amarillo. A 550 unit development in North Amarillo. Quality Respiratory Jack & Elizabeth Looney 6635 Canyon Drive Amarillo, TX 79110 Fax: (806) 242-2008 www.qualityo2.com Canyon Drive Sales Inc dba Quality Respiratory Service & Repair repairs medical equip-ment for the Home Health dealers. We cover 5 states out of Amarillo. We have been in business since January 2000.

Randy's Shoes Randy Dayhoff Larry Coffman 2636 Wolflin Amarillo, TX 79109 (806) 353-2404 Fax: (806) 353-0413 www.RandysShoes.com Quality, comfort shoes by name brand companies. Sizes & widths to fit narrow to wide feet. Men's & Women's foot-wear. Special Delivery Infant Adoption Agency Cindy Gilliland 1601 S. Monroe Amarillo, TX 79102 806-367-6755 Fax: (806) 367-7020 www.specialdeliveryadoptions.org Serving the Panhandle with full adoption services. Special Delivery serves the birthpar-ents, baby, and adoptive cou-ple with care and compassion.

www.kgncfm.com/

www.kgncam.com/

www.1009theeagle.com/

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Panhandle Days in Austin Every two years the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce joins forces with local and sur-rounding community leaders to travel to our State Capitol in Austin to meet with elected officials to discuss legislative issues related to agriculture, education, healthcare, en-ergy and other important issues that affect the 26 counties located in the Texas Pan-handle.

Save the Date: February 21-22, 2011

Join us as we travel to Austin during the 2011 legislative session. The fee to attend all events (reception, breakfast, visits with elected officials/staff members) during Pan-handle Days will be $125; fee does not in-clude participant’s hotel or travel expense.

Beginning January 3rd, registration will be accepted online at www.amarillo-chamber.org. Watch for the email registra-tion reminder in January! If you have ques-tions about submitting a legislative issue, contact Jason Harrison at 342-2018 or Jason@amarillo-chamber.org.

1,289 Fans on Facebook

457 Followers on

Twitter

3,788 Photos on Flickr

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ADVO Company 5214 S Washington

Christian Brothers Automotive 5816 S Coulter

Clear Talk 2909 S Western, 100A

Coffee Memorial Blood Center 7500 Wallace

Texas Panhandle Builders Assn. Showcase Home 9203 Buccola

Young’s Sushi “Rocks!” 202 SW 10th

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Amarillo Dental Associates SE Corner 34th & Van Winkle

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4C Fence Construction A C (Bub) & Currie Smith A-1 Floor Co., Inc. AAA Texas, LLC/Travel Access Community Credit Union AFLAC/Glenn Raef Ins. Alice Brooks Insurance All About Music Allergy-X Allstate Insurance/Kevin Vincent Agency AMA TechTel Communications Amarillo Advertising Federation Amarillo Area Foundation Amarillo Art Institute Amarillo Botanical Gardens Amarillo Children's Clinic Amarillo Diagnostic Clinic, P.A. Amarillo Floor Co. Amarillo Globe News Amarillo Museum of Art Amarillo Piano & Education Center Amarillo Residence Inn by Marriott Amarillo Tejas Chapter of ARMA Amarillo Travel Network Amarillo Urgent Care Amarillo Welcome Homes LLC American Equipment & Trailer Andrus Brothers Inc Animal Lodge LLC Animal Medical Center Apex Technical Services, Inc. Ascension Academy Atmos Energy B & B Septic Systems Barnes Jewelry Bell Trailerplex Blue Sky BritKare Home Medical Brown Automotive-Group LP Buns Over Texas Burger King - Amaregal Burr Insurance Agency Cactus Feeders Inc Camp Fire USA-Panhandle Plains Council Care Today Urgent Health CareNet Pregnancy Centers Carpet Tech Chaparral Cleaners

Class 4 Winds & Renewables, Inc. Club Z! In-Home Tutoring Services Connor McMillon Mitchell & Shennum PLLC Coulter Gardens & Nursery Crazy Larry's Pit Bar-B-Que Culligan of Amarillo Custom Food Group Danny's Volks Stuff & Scooters Daphne's Tour & Travel Decorating Den Interiors Dennis Maloney, iSendCardZ.com Denton & Baker Insurance Dianne Wall Insurance Agency Dobbs Corporation Document Shredding & Storage, Ltd. Downtown Athletic Club Dustee's Education Credit Union Edward Jones/ Corinna Isbell Encompass Chiropractic Everyday Yellow Pages Express Employment Professionals Faith City Ministries First Baptist Church of Amarillo FOUST INC. Frank's Repair Plumbing, Inc. French & Company Realtors Friona Industries L P G & P Associates G A I Surveying & Mapping/ Gresham & Associates Inc. Gilliland Insurance Assoc., Inc. Greater Southwest Music Festival Green Chile Willy's Grill Greg Cook Insurance Gwen Murphy & Associates Hampton Inn Happy State Bank Hess, Angela K. C.P.A, P.C. Holiday Inn Express - Canyon Home Plate Diner Inc. Homewood Suites by Hilton ICAM Institute of Amarillo Integrity Motors Jill Mathews Insurance Agent, Inc. Joe Taco Mexi-Cafe John & Sally Skaggs Kelley Roofing Kelly Wood Co.

KFDA NewsChannel 10 CBS TV/DT KVII-TV Lavin Architects Law Office of Chris Stewart, P.C. Lawyer's Title Insurance Corporation Leon Church Lovelady, Christy + Associates LX Cattle Co. Lyons Home Comfort Store Mager Chiropractic Marsh Electric Martha's Home Mary E. Bivins Foundation McCormick Company McCoy Myers & Associates Microtel Inn & Suites Miller of Amarillo Murphy Financial Advisors National Multiple Sclerosis Society-Panhandle Office Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Palo Duro Canyon State Park Palo Duro Meat Processing Palo Duro Retirement Village Pantera Energy Company Pat Davis Properties Penelope Davies Plains Dairy L.L.C. Plains Plumbing Company Inc Plum Creek Specialty Hospital & Healthcare Center Pope Reproduction & Supply Possibilities Precision Respiratory Services Inc. Prudential Ada Realtors Quality Mechanical Linc Service Ralph Duke Photographer Randy Miller Insurance Agency, Ltd. Remington Case LTD Partnership Renew Media Group, Inc. Rickey Culp Builders Inc Riney & Mayfield, LLP Ritchey Hicks, PC Samaritan Pastoral Counseling Cntr SERVPRO of West Amarillo Sharkys Burrito Co. Shemen Dental Group, LLP Shirley Thomas AISD/Belmar Elementary

Shiver-Megert & Associates, LLP Shreiner Plumbing Inc. Sims, Randall C. Sisters' Scraps Quilt Shop Sleep Inn & Suites West Sound Systems Limited Southwest General Contractors St Andrews Episcopal School Starbucks Coffee Company State Farm Agency Field Office State Farm/Michael Fox Steve Sypert Insurance Company Stewart, Martin, Dudley & Webb, L.L.P SWIRL /D&S Beverages, Inc. Tascosa Office Machines & Office Solutions Texas Corn Producers Board Texas Panhandle War Memorial Foundation, Inc. Texas Tire & Tube Inc. Texas Wheat Producers Association The Bridge Children's Advocacy Ctr The Real Estate Book The User-Friendly Phone Book, LLC. The Wild Iris TNT Properties, Inc Toot'N Totum Food Stores, LLC Turn Center U.S. Cleaners United Way of Amarillo & Canyon Vitel Communications Corporation Wellborn Sign, Inc. West Texas Building Supply, Inc. Whitaker Real Estate Whit-Co Checks Whit-Co Stamps & Engraving Whitney Russell Printers Wilkinson Mortgage Capital Williams-Boyce Agency, LLP Wirt Insurance XanGo Independent Distributor/ DeeAnn Dyas Your Decor Zachry Engineering Corporation

Tenth Annual Texas Commodity  Symposium Program Announced 

LUBBOCK, Texas (October 20, 2010) – The tenth annual Texas Commodity Symposium will be held Dec. 1, and is hosted by the Corn Producers of Texas, Plains Cotton Growers, Inc., Texas Grain Sorghum Association, Texas Peanut Producers Board and Texas Wheat Producers Association. The Symposium will be held in conjunction with the Amarillo Farm and Ranch Show in the Grand Plaza Room at the Amarillo Civic Center. Registration is free and will begin at 8:30 a.m. and the Symposium will begin at 9 a.m. This year’s Symposium will conclude with the annual Ag Appre-ciation luncheon hosted by the Texas Commodity Symposium and the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Ag Council. Reser-vations will be accepted online beginning November 11th at www.amarillo-chamber.org, click on calendar and Ag Luncheon under Chamber Events. “We’re excited to offer attendees an interesting program this year that addresses issues that will not only affect the agricultural in-dustry, but also everyone in the West Texas region,” CPAT Ex-ecutive Vice President David Gibson said. “We encourage pro-ducers and businessmen alike to attend the 2010 Texas Commod-ity Symposium.” This year’s symposium will examine a variety of issues that im-pact agricultural producers and businesses alike. Fea-tured topics include current agricultural policy, NRCS updates and FSA updates. Darren Hudson, professor and Larry Combest Chair for Agricultural Competitiveness and director of the Cotton Economics Research Institute at Texas Tech University, will address the scenario of what would happen to the economy of Texas cities and towns if farmers were no longer allowed to irrigate their crops. Additionally, Jim Wiesemeyer will discuss the impact the upcom-ing federal elections will have on the agricultural industry and the United States as a whole. "This is a great opportunity to hear a diverse group of speakers that will address the main issues affecting agriculture on the Texas High Plains," PCG Executive Vice President Steve Verett said. For more information about the symposium, please contact Stephanie Pruitt, CPAT communications director, at (800) 647-CORN (2676) or stephanie@texascorn.org.

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http://cattlecall.com/

http://cattlecall.com/

http://cattlecall.com/

Chamber Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmarilloChamber

CVC Facebook (Tourism): www.facebook.com/AmarilloTravel.Tourism

CVC Facebook (Conventions): www.facebook.com/AmarilloConventions

Chamber Twitter: http://twitter.com/amarillochamber

CVC Twitter: http://twitter.com/amarillocvc

Chamber Videos: www.youtube.com/amarillochamber

Chamber Event Photos: www.flickr.com/photos/amarillochamber/

Why is shopping local important? When you spend $1 in the local economy, you also pay 8.25 cents in sales tax. Of that money, two pennies stay here locally to help keep your property taxes low, fund economic de-velopment and jobs, and it pays for the services you enjoy from the city. The city of Amarillo depends on several sources of revenue to operate. The largest amount of income comes from two areas: sales tax and property taxes. Both of these revenue sources need a healthy local economy. That money helps pay for services you depend on, like fire and police protection, parks and recreation, paved roads, and water and sewer service.

http://amarilloshopsmart.com/ www.facebook.com/shopamarillo

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www.axigent.net

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www.scottco.com/

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CHAMBER ANNOUNCES 2011 GOLDEN NAIL AWARDS COMMITTEE By: Becky Zenor, VP Quality of Life & Arts

The members of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce Arts Committee will coordinate the 2011 Golden Nail Awards. The Golden Nail Awards Gala will be held on Thursday, April 21, 2011 in the Heritage Ball Room at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Arts Committee of the Amarillo Cham-ber of Commerce sponsors the Golden Nail Awards. Established in 1982, the purpose of the Golden Nail Awards is to honor those financial, in-kind and volunteer contributions to the fine arts in Amarillo and the Panhandle area. Individual winners of 2010 were Dr. Victoria Thompson, Sena Brainard of Pampa, Lois Hull of Canyon, Mr. and Mrs. J. Alfred Smith, B&W Pantex, Glazer’s Wholesale Distributers, Paul F. & Virginia Engler Foundation, David D. & Nona S. Payne Foundation, Wendell Goin of Claude, Doris Kazmarek, Beverly Plank, Betty Farrell, Maureen Roberts, the Plainview Herald, The Eagle, FM 1009, and Jim Jordan. Three Golden Touch Awards were presented: Lone Star Ballet’s “Time Steps: Rock of the Ages”, “Nights of the Museum, a collaboration among the Amarillo Mu-seum of Art, Don Harrington Discovery Center, American Quarter Horse Museum and Hall of Fame and Panhandle Plains-Historical Museum, and High Plains Public Radio’s “Visit with the Artist.” Nominations are invited from individuals as well as organi-zations. Nomination forms are available at the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce office, 1000 S. Polk in Amarillo. The deadline for the nominations is February 14, 2011. Golden Nail Committee members are Kay Paine, Melody Alexander, Marlies Ballengee, Chip Garrison, Jim Kemp, Kathy Sheldon, Sally Skaggs, B.J. Smith and Dale Smith. For more information on the Golden Nail Awards, please contact Becky Zenor at the Amarillo Chamber of Com-merce at 342-2010 or becky@amarillo-chamber.org.

www.ArtsInAmarillo.com

www.artsinamarillo.com

www.artsinamarillo.com/

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Sensible Solution...an Alternative Coverage to Workers’ Comp For more info: Dianne@amarillo-chamber.org

To date well over 1,000 lives are covered in seven Amarillo businesses that have chosen Amarillo’s Sensible Solution as alternative coverage for workplace injuries. The Amarillo Chamber of Commerce partnered with Jackson-Lloyd Insurance Management to provide “Amarillo’s Sensible Solution”, an insurance choice for workplace related injuries with lower premium payments as well as a vehicle for control-ling claims costs. This plan has been developed to protect the business interests of the membership by providing real insur-ance protection in an affordable way. Only one dozen of the local insurance agents are qualified to

Edmond Deaton & Stephens Rod Duckworth 356-6000 rodd@edsinsurance.com Mark Bridges 356-6000 markb@edsinsurance.com

Dale Tipton 356-6000 dalet@edsinsurance.com

Fuqua-Bryson Benefits Group Michelle Bryson 350-6660mbryson@fbbenefitsgroup.com

Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Co of Amarillo (HRH) Matt Benton 376-8275 matt.benton@hrh.com

Neely Craig & Walton

Brandon Neely 376-6301 bneely@neely.com

PIA Insurance Al Cunningham 374-4621cunningal@piainsurance.com

Jeff Perkins 374-4621perkinsj@piainsurance.com

Upshaw Insurance Agency Dan Tally 468-0400dant@upshaw-insurance.com

Jay Campbell 468-0400jayc@upshaw-insurance.com

Williams-Boyce Agency, LLP Steve Foote 376-4247sfoote@williamsboyce.com

Willis HRH

Jeff Ray 376-4761

For information on the Health Care Cooperative products, contact Dianne McClish at 373-7800 or visit our website.

provide information related to the three policies available to chamber member businesses. Amarillo’s Sensible Solution offers three different policies avail-able to chamber members. Each policy contains differ-ent pricing levels to fit any budget, thereby enabling not only large employers but small employers the ability to choose their desired level of coverage for on-the-job injuries. Business members can be assured that their employee injury claims will be treated by Amarillo hospitals and doctors with quality care that each employee deserves. Policy highlights and an exclusive panel of local insurance agents are available on the chamber website www.amarillo-chamber.org under the HEALTH CARE tab and Workers’ Comp Alternative quicklink. An exclusive panel of local insurance agents will assist the Chamber membership with sales and service.

www.jackson-lloyd.com/

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AMARILLO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Chamber Annual Report is published by the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce, 1000 South Polk, Amarillo, Texas 79101. It is pro-vided free of charge to Chamber members. Address correspon-dence to Chamber Communications at the address listed above, or call 806.373.7800, fax 806.373.3909.

2010-11 Board of Directors Executive Committee

Chair J. Pat Richmond Chair-Elect David Hemphill President/CEO Gary Molberg Past Chair Laura Street Finance Al Cunningham Membership Council Robert Murray Business Council Bill Jenkins Governmental Affairs Council Bill Harris Quality of Life Council Penelope Davies Ag Council Dr. James Clark Convention & Visitor Council Guy C. Vanderpool City of Amarillo Mayor Debra McCartt Commissioner Madison Scott

Directors

amarillo-chamber.org/cwt/external/wcpages/index.aspx

Visit our website at:Visit our website at:

AmarilloAmarillo--Chamber.orgChamber.org

Penni Bentley, EditorPenni Bentley, Editor News@Amarillo-Chamber.org

Fredia Allen Tim Archer

Roy Bara Sherman Bass

David Craig Michael Cruz

Jill Dana Buzz David

Bob Garrett George Herring

J. Pat Hickman Riley Hill

Danna Krause

Brad Martin Jeff Mitchell Shawn Morrison Dr. Pat O’Brien Les Simpson Janie Singleton William Ware Leah Ware James Wester Shane White Ray Wilson Jeff Yarber

supplierdiversity@xcelenergy.com www.xcelenergy.com

www.xcelenergy.com

www.xcelenergy.com

Mark Your Calendar: 11/18 SpeedConnect at MegaMarket 12/1 Ag Lunch & Symposium 12/6 WC Christmas Luncheon 1/12 Ready for the Real World 2/13 Panhandle Sports Hall of Fame 2/21-22 Panhandle Days in Austin 3/27-4/2 TX Top to Bottom Press Trip 4/19 Partners in Education 4/21 Golden Nail Awards 5/5 BusinessConnection ® 5/TBD Tourism Day 5/26 Top 2% Awards 6/TBD SpeedConnect at MegaMarket 6/23 Summer Fiesta 7/TBD Chamber Open Golf Tourney 8/TBD Business Awards Banquet 9/8 Barbecue Cook-Off

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Editor’s Corner By: Penni Bentley, Director of Communications penni@amarillo-chamber.org When was the last time you gave thought to your company’s customer service? Sure it’s one of those things we all like to think we practice daily (and hopefully it is). What is your ap-proach to handling negative feedback or comments from cus-tomers? Have you given thought to what social media means to your business’s reputation? There are 500 million active users on Facebook, and more than half of those log on to the social site daily. The average user has 130 friends. Twitter has 175 million registered users, and more than 95 million tweets are written everyday. What does that mean to you? It means your customers have a voice like never before. They update their statuses, tweet their feelings in 140 characters or less, and blog incessantly about their lives, their families, and their experiences...good and bad. (I speak from experience and am an admitted Facebook Addict). Even if your company doesn’t actively engage in social media with a Facebook page or Twitter profile, chances are, you’ve been at least mentioned by someone on those sites. With the new “PLACES” application in Facebook, many users now up-date their location to all of their followers when they are eat-ing in restaurants or taking in a show. It’s a great tool to help potential customers find your place of business, but it also

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opens the door for that person’s friends to comment their own experiences at that same location. That can be kind of scary. No one can spend 24/7 searching the internet for negative comments about their organization and spend all day putting out fires. But it is a good idea to brush up on those good peo-ple skills and have your employees do the same, because now more than ever, there is a very open forum for feedback. Many companies have created pages on social sites for their company and encourage people to tell about their experi-ences. This gives you a great opportunity to address those individually and promptly, and customers tend to like that they are being heard. Don’t get me wrong, this isn't to scare the heck out of you from any form of social media. It’s more of a wake up call to embrace the technology that is changing the face of business. In an uncertain economy, sometimes it is that special touch of good customer service that means the difference in long-term success, and getting left in the dust. So as always, tell us how we are doing. Give us your sugges-tions, feedback, and input. Feel free to write on our Facebook wall. Get involved. We are YOUR Chamber.

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