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Presented By
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FACES & PLACES 
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As part of the
Fort Worth Chamber's Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) efforts, the Chamber partnered with East Fort Worth, Inc., the
Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber, and
Southeast Fort Worth, Inc. to visit 30 businesses in east Fort Worth in two hours.
It was the first of many "business walks" through areas in Fort Worth. The Chamber will use information gathered to identify trends, address issues and challenges, and connect businesses with solutions.
See drone footage of the business walk here.
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Del-icious and Del-ightful: With all of the office parties, graduations and holiday schmoozing, Mr. B has been washing a LOT of dishes at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse. He is paid more per dish washed than the Chamber's Miserly Mistress pays him per word written, so he has a sizable trade balance built up with Del's Proprietor Gemma Brady. The huge insider news -- a dish washer is an insider -- is you can get bacon with everything or by ITSOWNSELF. That's right, gluten-free, thick cut Nueske's Bacon with bourbon molasses glaze. Also, Santa, on his journey south, is picking up Del's outstanding Bay of Fundy Salmon between his New Brunswick and Nova Scotia stops. Mr. B is thinking of pairing that with Del's Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. One other news of note: The Porterhouse is now Prime Porterhouse, delivered to your table by an Amazon drone. Gemma hand-delivered to B2B Insider a dinner for two.
 Jerry's makes me merry: You would think all the 2018 rain would keep vehicles shiny. It doesn't. Between the leaves falling and the rain, Mr. B's Kia Rio has shrubs growing on the roof and turf growing around the tires. Either the Rio has to go ... or the Rio has to go to Jerry's Express Car Wash. Doug Cookston and team can glam your car top down or bottom up. It will be so beautiful that drivers will stop texting at stoplights and take notice. Your car will be the shiniest in town for an entire month because Doug has Cookston-ed up a deal at Jerry's to wash one vehicle (the same one) once a day for 30 consecutive days.
Ride of your life: Mr. B never will admit this while his mother is alive, but in the future, he might let out that he has a bad habit of pilfering pink sweetener from restaurants, most notably Railhead. Which is where Fort Worth Police Lt. Brandon O'Neil happened to be perched undercover one night earlier this month, staking out condiment thieves. Mr. B was ensnared. But he says the view from the back seat of a patrol car ain't too bad, though the jitters induce a lot of talk. Lt. O'Neil, in an effort for peace and quiet and a guilty plea from the back seat, offered to trade a ride with a Fort Worth Police Department patrol officer in any area of town for an entire shift. Mr. B pled guilty and received community service and this incredible giveaway, which, it is presumed, is a no-carry ride.
Growing better than weeds: The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT) continues to pollinate the Tarrant landscape with green plant GROWth and colorful flowers. Its collaboration with the Fort Worth Botanic Garden on education and volunteer efforts enriched the soil to develop the innovative GROW program. Membership to BRIT begins at $50 annually and includes a subscription to BRIT's monthly e-mail; a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine; discounts at many local nurseries; reduced fees for workshops, camps, press books and special programming; AND reciprocal admission to more than 300 national gardens, including the Fort Worth Japanese Garden and Dallas Arboretum and Botanic Garden. Tammie Crole, BRIT's Director of Membership and Grants Coordinator, granted B2B Insider a Partner membership to give away.
Congratulations to the December 12th,
Prize Winners:
- Madison Ladd, Kimbell Museum of Art
- Lee Hecker, Nurse Next Door
- Chuck Bouligny, Ascend Concepts
- Clayton Bowman, Valiant Life Medical
- Scott Losack, Fidelity Investments
- Jessica Thomas, Junior Achievement
- Jennifer Demas, FW Public Library
- Faiz Merchant, Capital One
- Cathy Lewis, Fortis Solutions Group
- Crissy Carter, CERA-FW
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A WORD FROM OUR GOLD SPONSORS
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HE SAID, SHE SAID, THEY SAID
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This is free, too: Mr. B was willing to work the next two weeks, but Chamber editors said they HAD to have a break from his ridiculousness, pettiness and weekly weight-increasing bacon references. So, B, with nothing better to do, is going to be riding Trinity Metro's TEXRail service starting about 3:25 a.m. Jan. 5. Back and forth, 48 minutes, to DFW Airport's Terminal B and back to downtown Fort Worth. Why not? It's free all during January. Any ride, any time...FREE. Beginning in February, trips are $2.50.
 Gone to the dogs: Melissa Fertitta is an independent HR consultant. Her company name, GZ&P Consulting, had Mr. B stumped. "My three dogs," Melissa said. "Gracie, Zoe and Piper."
And close the door on your way out: During a discussion on mentorship at TechFW, panelist mentor and retiree Mike Byrnes said, "My wife said if I so needed to give advice, then go find another avenue." She obviously wasn't interested in it herownself.
But my watch said I have arthritis: Paul Hain, Market President for North Texas for Blue Cross and Blue Shield, says wearables for well-being "can be a double-edge sword. Get a false positive, go to hospital, get an infection there..." he said to laughter. He says the "nudge" people get to be healthier is good, but any more than that for medical purposes could be dangerous.
Pillar taking shape: "I'm not driven by the workplace; I'm driven by my passions," said Jarred Howard, Chamber Senior Vice President of Small Business and Entrepreneur Support. That passion might define what fuels his pillar as part of the Chamber's strategic development plan, Fortify. His team's focus is a four-point strategy: 1) Simplicity (ease of doing business); 2) Relevance; 3) Alignment of resources; and 4) Outreach; "most people in the Fort Worth area never have been to a Chamber event."
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"Eighty percent of a community's business growth is from existing businesses."
--Chris Strayer, Fort Worth Chamber
SVP of Business
Attraction
, Retention and Expansion
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Whizzing by: A bit less than a month of ice skating at the Panther Island rink remains, and Transwestern's Tracy Georges' skill set is worth noting. "I took ice skating lessons for three years at the old Tandy Center rink, so I'm basically going to ace this," she said. "And by 'ace,' I mean I won't fall down, can sort-of skate backward and can do something called a 'bunny hop' that's only impressive if you're eight and your parents still clap for everything."
 All in the flute family: The new Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Assistant Principal Flute is Gabe Fridkis. Orchestra notes show his brother, Jake, is the Principal Flute.
Calendar this! The evening of Jan. 24 is the Chamber's re-formatted Small Business of the Year event, Forte. Businesses compete in four industries, not by number of employees. It begins at 6 p.m. at the 4-Eleven.
Everything is jake: Walsh Ranch, the 7,200-acre mega Walsh Holdings development in west Fort Worth, sent out requests for proposals to 40 firms in 2013. It received 39 responses. Co-CEO Jake Wagner of the winning developer believes his firm won because it was "like-minded...wanting to create a legacy for Fort Worth, something special, meticulously detailed." He said his youth (His age? Young!) didn't hurt because it's a 30-to-50 year project.
The Queen is dethroned, long live...: Pepper Sims (Pepper L Specialties) has defeated 26-time champ Marnie Stites (Guardianship Services) for Am-Bass-Adorable of the Year (based on handshakes and smiles per appearance times .3 divided by .45). Dave O'Lenick of Sheraton Fort Worth Downtown Hotel was recognized with the Charles Cox Service Award. Thanks to all the Am-Bass-Adorables for the heavy lifting they do to make attending events more relaxing and enjoyable.
Looking ahead: When B2B Insider returns January 9, 2019, new Chair of the Chamber board will be Lonnie Nicholson, President / CEO at EECU Credit Union. This just in; editors say to re-phrase the opening clause: IF B2B Insider returns January 9, 2019...In the meantime, have a fabulous holiday season and wonderful, but safe New Year's celebration.
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Date Event Name
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2-19
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Save the Date: Mayor's State of the City luncheon presented by Simmons Bank
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Fort Worth Chamber offices will be closed Dec. 24-Jan. 1
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View more Chamber and Member events
View past Ribbon Cuttings
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2017 - 2018 MEDIA DIRECTORY DOWNLOAD
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The only comprehensive news media directory for the greater Fort Worth area. It covers print media for the Fort Worth metro area (Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Hood counties), as well as television and radio contacts for the DFW Metroplex. Online news and local blogs too. Listings include e-mail addresses, fax numbers, circulation figures and distribution areas.
The 2018 Media Directory is available for $35 for members when logged in to our store.
*Member price. Price excludes tax.
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For sponsorship inquiries in
B2B Insider, contact
Jennifer Vuduris or call (817) 338-3335
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