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Weekly News &
Business Resource Update
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This week's email includes:
- The Retirement of Longtime Chamber Employee Christy Bigler
- An Invitation to our Next Business After Hours at the Tri-State Fairgrounds on August 8th
- A Recap of the Chamber's ACCE Convention Trip Last Week
- The Ballot for our 2024-25 Board of Directors -- Cast Your Vote
- A Note to New Members to Update Your Membership Listing
- Photos from 1 Recent Ground Breaking Events
- More Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings, Ground Breakings, Council Meetings & Events Happening Soon
- A Save the Date for the Chamber BBQ Cook-Off on October 3rd
- Text Message Reminders about Networking Events
- Additional Business Resources & Opportunities Including:
- Brickly Newsletter | July 23
- Visit Amarillo Newsletter | July 23
- Chamber Job Bank -- List Your Job Openings For Free
- Online Community Calendar - Promote Your Events
- A List of Chamber Events Happening in 2024
- SSBI Partners
- A Tip About Email Scammers
- CGI Digital Offers Video Content to Chamber Members
- 2023-24 Board of Directors
- and More
On behalf of our staff, Board of Directors, and the Amarillo business community, we want to thank you for your continued support of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to serving you now and in the future. Please let us know what we can do to help your business.
Penni F. Bentley
VP of Communications & Marketing
Amarillo Chamber of Commerce
1000 S Polk
Amarillo, TX 79101
806.373.7800
806.342.2005 direct
806.674.7334 cell
penni@amarillo-chamber.org
www.amarillo-chamber.org
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Longtime Chamber Employee Retires After 27 1/2 Years | |
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Christy Bigler started her journey with the Chamber in December of 1996, and will wrap it up on Wednesday, July 24th after 27 1/2 years. If you are a member of the Chamber, Christy has taken your payments, handled your membership, and worked diligently to keep your record up to date over the years. And for the first 24 years, she also coordinated, photographed, and celebrated hundreds and hundreds of ribbon cutting and ground breaking events until she passed those duties on to someone else in our office. You could always count on Christy to be a cheerful, smiling friend to everyone, both inside and outside of the Chamber.
After retirement, you will likely find Christy serving in her church, loving on her new grandbaby, or floating in a boat fishing in Missouri with her husband Michael.
On behalf of the Chamber staff and Board of Directors, thank you, Christy, for your love of the Chamber, our members, and our city. You will be missed, but you deserve a retirement filled with happiness.
If you would like to wish her well, feel free to email her at christybigler@gmail.com or mail a card to the Chamber and we will see that she gets them.
If you need to pay a bill or update your record, contact Mandie as she is taking over Christy's duties.
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Join Us for our Next Business After Hours on
Thursday, August 8th at the Tri-State Fairgrounds
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Mark your calendar for our next Business After Hours on Thursday, August 8th at the Tri-State Fairgrounds in the Amarillo National Center second floor in the VIP Room.
"Business After Hours" are FREE business networking events for current and future members of the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce that include free food, drinks, networking and door prizes. Click here for more information and photos of past events, and look for the event on Facebook and invite your friends!
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Chamber Staff Members Attend Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Convention in Dallas | |
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Several members of the Chamber team attended the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Convention in Dallas last week to network and learn among their Chamber peers from across the U.S. and Canada July 16-19.
Staff members in attendance were Sydney Frye, Communications Assistant; Mandie Klein, Director of Finance / Database Administrator; and Christy King, Membership Director, along with myself. This was the first time to attend this event for our three newest staff members, and I hadn't been in over a decade. This conference not only provides valuable education about the latest trends in the Chamber world, it allows us to brainstorm with our counterparts about challenges we face, get ideas on new non-dues revenue events, and learn ways we can better market our communities to enhance a stronger business community. We even visited a number of booths in the exhibit hall with some of the latest software and technology companies serving Chambers.
Some of the educational break-out sessions we attended included:
- Marketing Mastery on a Shoestring Budget
- ACCE Annual Meeting | Keynote: ACCE President & CEO Sheree Anne Kelly
- Fiscal and Financial Fitness: Five Steps to a Healthy Organization
- Your Member Retention Toolkit
- Prototyping Membership Ideas
- Dynamic Engagement with Email List Segmentation
- Keynote: Rebecca Ryan -- Create a Bold and Ambitious Future
- Turn Chamber Trips to Sustainable Development of Non-Dues Revenue
- Keynote: Valerie Grubb -- Leading the Workforce of the Future
- Chase the Mission, Not the Money
- Leveraging Storytelling to Boost Retention & Revenue
- Beyond the Logo: Event Sponsorship Strategies
- How Chambers Can Leverage AI Technology, Data Insights and Predictive Modeling
- Building Your Event's Sustainability for the Longterm
- Mastering Membership: Tactics to Improve Your Sales Pipeline
- Weaponizing Your Energizer Bunny
We look forward to implementing some of the things we learned so that we can truly be the BEST Chamber for our members.
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LtoR: Sydney Frye, Penni Bentley, Mandie Klein, and Christy King. | One of the keynote sessions with the more than 900 chamber professionals. | |
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Vote for our New 2024-25 Chamber Board of Directors
Cast Your Ballot Before September 13th
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The Nominating Committee has approved seven (7) people to serve your Chamber for a three-year term beginning October 1, 2024 and ending September 30, 2027.
The by-laws provide that additional nominations can be made by the membership by filing a petition with the Nominating Committee with the signatures of ten (10) members. If no other nominees are forthcoming, this ballot will serve as the official ballot and must be returned to the Chamber by the close of business on September 13, 2024.
To view our current list of board members, click here.
For questions, contact Lindsey Arbeiter at (806) 342-2006 or email Lindsey@amarillo-chamber.org.
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Attention New Chamber Members | |
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If you are a new member who was signed up recently or during our Membership Extravaganza, THANK YOU! We will be emailing out more information soon on updating your membership information and business listing to ensure we have everything correct. We are thankful for the many volunteers that helped with this event, but sometimes, due to the rush or messy handwriting, we might not have all the information accurate. Feel free to email us your information now so that we can get those updated. Please include:
- Business Name
- Main Contact
- Physical Address of your Business
- Main Phone Number
- Website
- Category for your Business (Up to 3 categories)
- A 25-word Description of your Business
- Any Social Media Links for your Business
Email information to chamber@amarillo-chamber.org or give us a call at 806-373-7800 if you have questions.
We will officially welcome our new members in this newsletter and on social media very soon, so stay tuned.
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Recent Ribbon Cutting & Ground Breaking Ceremonies | |
Click here or the image above to view the ground breaking photo. | |
Chamber Events Coming Up Soon | |
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WEDNESDAY, JULY 24
Club Meeting: Round Up Luncheon**
11:45 a.m.
Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux
Closed Club Meeting
3506 S Soncy
More Information: Sydney, (806) 342-2019
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THURSDAY, JULY 25
Chamber Event: 25th Annual Chamber Open Golf Tournament
11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Ross Rogers Golf Complex
Networking Event
This event is sold out. If you would like more information or want to be on the waiting list, contact Denise at (806) 373-7800.
Please note, the Chamber will be closed and working this event off-site that day, so feel free to leave us a voicemail and we will get back to you ASAP.
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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15
Council Meeting: Governmental Affairs Council**
11:45 a.m.
Chamber Board Room
Closed Council Meeting
More Information: Jason, (806) 342-2018
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THURSDAY, AUGUST 22
Chamber Event: Business Excellence Awards**
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
720 S Tyler (WTAMU Amarillo Center)
Private Reception
More Information: Mary, (806) 342-2009
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See more upcoming ribbon cutting & ground breaking events on our Week's Sneak Peek page or on our online calendar. If you would like more information on scheduling an event like this for your business, complete the online Ribbon Cutting Request Form.
**Meeting requires RSVP and is open to council/committee members only and is closed to the public. If you would like more information on the meeting or open council/committee seats, please contact the staff member listed.
* NOTE: We will help promote Ribbon Cutting or Ground Breaking events held outside of our normal business hours, however, Chamber Staff or RoundUp Club members will not be in attendance.
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Save te date for this year's Chamber BBQ Cook-Off happening at the Tri-State Fairgrounds on Thursday, October 3rd. More information is coming soon, so watch our website. We are currently signing up teams that participated in the event in 2023 and will open it up to new teams in August. If you had a team last year and have not registered yet, please contact Lindsey at (806) 342-2006 ASAP to secure your space for this year.
Find this event on Facebook and help us spread the word.
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Do you love networking at our After Hours Events but sometimes forget they are happening? Opt in to our text message reminders by texting the word CHAMBEREVENTS (without a space) to 40691. We send reminders of the date, time and location 2-3 hours before the event starts. It's free, but standard text message rates apply if you don't have unlimited texting. We also send out registration reminders about bigger events coming up through this special keyword. It's a great way to stay in the loop.
Please note, if you would like to opt in for reminders about ribbon cutting events, text the word REDCOAT to the same number. Note, ribbon cuttings are open to the public, but in order to be considered to serve on our Roundup Club as a Redcoat Representative, you must apply online.
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Sponsored Content. Click here or the ad above for more information.
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Additional Business Resources & Opportunities | | |
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BRICKLY NEWSLETTER FROM BRICK & ELM MAGAZINE | July 23
- This week's newsletter includes information on:
- Tascosa Drive-In Reopens This Week
- Local Focus
- “Buff CARES” Offering Student Support
- CrowdStrike Incident Impacts Amarillo
- AISD Board Discusses Cell Phone Policy
- In the Current Brick & Elm
- Chip Chandler’s “Can’t Miss”
- Eye on Amarillo
- Entertainment by the Yard
- Local Obituaries (Third Week of July)
- and More
Click here to read the entire update.
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THE AMARILLO WEEKLY EDIT | July 23
The Amarillo Weekly Edit is produced and distributed by the Amarillo Convention & Visitor Bureau (CVB) that maintains the VisitAmarillo.com website. This weekly newsletter includes upcoming events and things to see and do in Amarillo.
- Calling all Swifties!
- Happening this Week
- On-Going Exhibits / Shows / Workshops
- Wine Dinner with a Michelin Star Chef
- TEXAS Outdoor Musical
- Stay in the Know
- and More!
Click here to read the entire newsletter.
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CHAMBER JOB BANK -- LIST YOUR JOB OPENINGS FOR FREE
Is your company hiring? Did you know you can put job openings in our online Job Bank for FREE?
Check out our website and click the buttons for "Job Seeker" or "Employer" and you can either view job openings or post your own with an online form.
Have questions, contact Denise at (806) 373-7800.
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ONLINE COMMUNITY CALENDAR - PROMOTE YOUR EVENTS
Are you holding a fundraising event, open house, or other special events you want to share with the public? You can add events to our Online Community Calendar for FREE. Click here to complete the online form and submit it to the Chamber. Your event will not be visible until our staff approves the event, typically within 1-2 business days.
Please do not use this form to request or schedule a ribbon cutting or ground breaking event.
If you have questions about using the calendar, or what kinds of events are allowed, contact Denise at 806-373-7800.
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Chamber Events Planned for 2024 & 2025
All events are tentative and subject to change.
Watch the online calendar for more details and updates.
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Events in Bold have a fee to participate. Other events list are the hosts for Business After Hours which are free to attend.
2024
7/25/24 - Chamber Open Golf Tournament
8/8/24 - Tri-State Exposition / Fairgrounds
8/22/24 - Business Excellence Awards Celebration
9/5/24 - Amarillo National Bank
9/19/24 - FirstBank Southwest
10/3/24 - 28th Annual Chamber Barbecue Cook-Off
10/17/24 - Reed Beverage
11/7/24 - Amarillo Sod Poodles
12/5/24 - Street Volkswagen
2025
1/9/25 - Bomb City Distillery
1/23/25 - Street Toyota
2/11-13/25 - Panhandle Days in Austin
2/20/25 - Amarillo Botanical Gardens
3/20/25 - Home2Suites by Hilton (Thirty-Nine 23 Management, LLC)
4/10/25 - Happy State Bank
5/8/25 - Hampton (Hosted by RAM Hotels)
5/15/25 - 32nd Annual BusinessConnection Tradeshow
6/5/25 - Adobe Walls Stoneworks
7/10/25 - Cactus Cove Inn & Suites
7/17/25 - Chamber Open Golf Tournament
8/7/25 - Tri-State Exposition / Fairgrounds
9/4/25 - Casey Carpet One
9/18/25 - FirstBank Southwest
10/2/25 - 29th Annual Chamber Barbecue Cook-Off
10/16/25 - Reed Beverage
11/6/25 - WTAMU Amarillo Center with co-hosts NWTHS & Brandability
12/4/25 - Street Volkswagen
If you have questions about participating in or sponsoring any events, please call the Chamber at (806) 373-7800 or email chamber@amarillo-chamber.org.
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Thank You 2023-24 Supporting Small Business Initiative Partners | |
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The Chamber is thrilled to recognize our sponsors that stepped up to be part of the Supporting Small Business Initiative for 2023-24. This program is designed to support the Chamber's efforts to serve our small business community better by offering programs, seminars, virtual events, and more for little to no cost to our members throughout the year.
Please join us in thanking these generous underwriting partners that are serving the Chamber, our members, and the entire business community with their support. DIAMOND PARTNERS: Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, Amarillo National Bank, Atmos Energy, FirstBank Southwest, Happy State Bank, Northwest Texas Healthcare System, CNS Pantex, Reed Beverage, and Xcel Energy. RUBY PARTNERS: Amarillo College, Adobe Walls Stoneworks, Bank of America, Casey Carpet One, Double U Marketing, Insurica, Prosperity Bank, Rabern Rentals, Southwest Airlines, Street Volkswagen, TEEMS Manufacturing, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. SAPPHIRE PARTNERS: Andrews & Associates, AT&T, AW Broadband, BSA Health System, Carson Wealth Management, Edward Jones, and KT Black.
If you would like to know more about this program and the benefits of partnership, contact Jason Harrison at (806) 373-7800.
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A Reminder to Check the Address BEFORE You Click Links or Open Attachments | |
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WE HATE SPAMMERS! Here's a reminder to always check before you click on any attachments or links in emails that look like they are sent from the Amarillo Chamber. BEFORE you click on html links or attachments, hover over the name that sent the email so that you can see the actual address that sent the email. Just because the name says "Amarillo-chamber," the email address was not one of our staff members. And if the email shows our name but the email address is not one shown below, delete it and mark it as junk. Any other sender claiming to be the Chamber is fake or a scammer and you should never click links or provide personal information. Even if it looks like an invoice, those would only come from one of the email addresses below.
or
Please add our emails to your address book and mark us as a safe sender. If you are unsure if an email you received that looks like it was from us is real or not, don't hesitate to give us a call at 806-373-7800. Be diligent and help us keep your information and computer networks safe.
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CGI Digital Offers Video Content to Chamber Members | |
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The Chamber is proud to continue our more than nine-year partnership with CGI Digital to offer video content to be featured on the Chamber's website to our members. CGI created a series of events for the Chamber to promote Amarillo as a great place to live, learn, work, and play to feature great parts of our community to visitors and those who may be considering relocating to the area. CGI representatives may reach out to you as a Chamber member to offer their products and services to you to be included in this program and to gain more exposure through our website. If you are considering video content for your business, we hope you schedule an appointment with a representative to learn more about the program and see if it is a good fit for your business.
For information on our partnership with CGI Communications for our Community Video Program, watch our 1-minute Press Release video from Chamber VP of Communications & Marketing, Penni Bentley. Learn more about our third-party advertising partners on our website.
View our Community Video Tour here to watch the Chamber's videos and see list of current video partners. We are thankful to these companies who have already partnered with CGI Digital and the Chamber:
- 7:12 Homes
- Accent Embroidery
- Amarillo Dental Associates
- Amarillo Snuff Co.
- Buxton Insurance
- Champion BBQ Supply
- Connie Taylor Group / Keller Williams
- Education Credit Union
- Experience Homes
- EXP Realty - Sabre Cofer
- Furman Land Surveyors, Inc.
- GDI - Geospatial Data, Inc.
- Gaut-Whittenburg-Emerson
- Gee Family Farms
- Grizzle Heating & Air
- Happy State Bank
- Highland Park ISD
- Price Roofing Co.
- Quality Assurance Roofing
- REV Realty Group of Fathom Realty - Frances Frost
- San Jacinto Christian Academy
- Triangle Realty
- West Texas A&M University
- West Texas Medicare Group
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Special thanks go out to local videographer, Lindsay Gomez with 41 Productions, for shooting most of the video content in the Chamber's Videos. We are also thrilled to have local chiropractor and voice-over actor, Dr. Jeff Williams of Creek Stone Integrated Medical narrating the Chamber's main videos in the program. You can check out more of his Voice-Over work here. | |
Chamber Partner CGI Communications Offers
Advertising Options to Members
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CGI Communications has been a partner of the Amarillo Chamber for a number of years. CGI handles several advertising products offered to our members including website banner ads, community videos, ReviewTube reviews, and now has a new Magellan tool for voice-activated website searching for text and videos.
Our representative and the team associate may be reaching out to some of our members to offer more information about these tools that may be beneficial for your business.
Should you want more information on any of their products, reach out to Rich Yohonn at the contact information below.
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We try to alert you anytime a third party may contact you so that you know they are a trusted and legitimate partner of the Amarillo Chamber. You may see our complete list of advertising options and partners on the Advertising Opportunities page of our website. We encourage you to always check this site or contact Penni Bentley at (806) 373-7800 to verify our official program partners before giving out personal or financial information.
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See our Staff Directory with photos, direct phone numbers and more
on our Contact Us page of the website.
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2023-24 Chamber Board of Directors | |
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EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Spanky Assiter
Chair
Assiter Auctioneers
Richard Constancio
Chair-Elect
Shiver-Megert & Associates
Julie Imke
Finance Chair
Harrington Academic Hall
WTAMU Amarillo Center
Dusty Doyle
Membership & Quality of Life Chair
Casey Carpet One
John Luciano
Past Chair
Street Volkswagen
Jason Harrison
President & CEO
Amarillo Chamber of Commerce
Wes Wright
Business Chair
Wright Law TX, PLLC
Ed Nichols
Governmental Affairs Council Chair
O'Brien-Marsh, LLC
Brice Sheets
Ag & Natural Resources Chair
Alpha Media
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DIRECTORS
Blaine Baker, Crown House Insurance
Patricia Bara, M&R Liquor
Brad Baldridge, Xcel Energy
Kevin Carter, Amarillo EDC
Sonja Clark, Bell
Julie Doty, Nothing Bundt Cakes
Tony Ensor, Amarillo Sod Poodles
Andrew Freeman, City of Amarillo
Skylar Gallop, Elevate Amarillo President
Michael Gonzales, Atmos Energy
Andrew Hall, Amarillo EDC
Jody Holland, Jody Holland Training & Speaking
Matt Irwin, Insurica DFB
Karen Isern, Amarillo National Bank
Wade King, AgTexas Farm Credit
Kevin Kuehler, FirstBank Southwest
Jack Light, Cumulus Media
Brent McClure, KFDA NewsChannel 10
Joby Mills, Happy State Bank
Lindsey Murphy, Agent Construction Services
Brady Ragland, Tri-State Expo
Chris Rhynehart, Rhynehart Roofing
Wendi Swope, Double U Marketing
Trevor Williams, Reed Beverage
Sean Wright, GVH Distribution
Colby Yeary, Pantex
Ryan Zimmer, A-1 Rocket Industries
Learn more about our Board of Directors
on our website.
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The Chamber cannot guarantee your success or your profitability,
but it can guarantee the right business climate for you to succeed.
– Author Unknown
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