BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT
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TRMC acts F.A.S.T. about stroke
STATE OF THE ECONOMY luncheon set for 2014
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Mount Pleasant
CHAMBER 101
BUSINESS INSIDER: 2014 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA
OPENING OF US HWY 271 BYPASS
NOV/DEC ISSUE 12 2014
BI-MONTHLY BUSINESS REPORT
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
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contents:
6 Partners 4 Chamber 101 5 State of the Economy6
Business Spotlight: TRMC 9
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Deck the Halls 11 Honoring our Military 12 Science Behind “Click-Worthy� Content14 Christmas Local16 Business Insider18
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Taking To the next level Renewing September-October Renewals 2014 1st Texas Financial Services, LLP 8TwentyOne Boutique AAA Bail Bonds ACH Construction Anytime Fitness Bowie Cass Electric Cooperative Braums Joyce Buck Calvary Chapel Mount Pleasant Chapel Hill ISD Clip Zone Communities in Schools of Northeast Texas Cox Concrete Products Cypress Basin Hospice Inc. D & R Lawn & Landscaping Decker Vision Group Edgar Zambrano, D.O. P.A.
Everybody’s Furniture First Christian Church Eagle Auto Glass Greenhill Villas of Mount Pleasant Gordon Hall Hightower Financial Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites Housing Authority-City of Mount Pleasant Junior Achievement Lake Country RV Park Lavender Mermaid Farm Los Pinos McCollum’s Cleaners & Laundry Mill’s Flower Shop Momentum Motor Sports & RV North Jefferson Church of Christ Northeast Small Business Development Center
New Partners H & R Block Business Services
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Party Time
Rotary Club Janet Russell Sears Dealer Store Shumate Flooring Simply Skin South Jefferson Baptist Church St. Andrews United Methodist Church Super 1 Foods Tabor Sanitation Service Trucare Medical Martin Marietta Bob & Delores Walker Welch Gas, Inc.
New Chamber partners will have an opportunity to which has recently enhanced its role by becoming more learn the ins and outs of the Chamber at Chamber 101, set actively involved with taking advocacy positions and educatfor Nov. 5. The “snapshot of everything the Chamber does” ing Chamber members on issues that affect local businessshows new members how the Chamber can benefit them es. and their business as well as how a new member can get Serving on one of these committees is the first step in movplugged in. ing up the Chamber “As the busileadership ladder, ness community grows which in turn provides and Chamber member“As the business community grows and numerous benefits for ship grows it’s so vital to business growth of Chamber membership grows it’s so vital business. be engaged with and to let members know what The training to be engaged with and to let members the chamber can do for is held twice a year at their business,” said Chamber office at know what the chamber can do for their the Chamber CEO Faustine 8 a.m. Curry. Chamber 101 is a The November sesbusiness.” way for us to do that.” sion is sponsored by A great way to Luminant and includes serve the Chamber and breakfast. to stay engaged with its activities and its goal of serving the community as a whole is to serve on a committee. Chamber For information on Chamber 101 or other member services, 101 will cover each committee, including Business Services, contact the Chamber office at 903.572.8567, visit the ChamMarketing, Education, Tourism, Agriculture, Ambassadors, ber website, mtpleasanttx.com, or check it out on Facebook, Junior Chamber and the Governmental Affairs committee, facebook.com/mountpleasanttexas. mtpleasanttx.com
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Economy STATE OF the LUNCHEON
The stability and future growth of the local economy is a great concern among residents and business owners. The Chamber is partnering with the Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation to offer a State of the Economy forum to the community. “The purpose of the State of the Economy Luncheon is to give an outlook on where the economy is in East Texas at this point and to determine where it will be in the future,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. The MPEDC has held the forum in previous years. This is first time the two entities have combined efforts to present the event. “We’re delighted to partner with the MPEDC on this important forum,” Curry said. The forum will include an expert in Titus County's regional economic perspective, who will provide a unique insight to help businesses sharpen their business plan. The keynote speaker is Pia Orrenius, a senior economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank. She will highlight the progress in economic development regarding the accomplishments of the past year and an outlook for the year ahead. The event looks to be well attended with representatives of business, government and non-profit organizations. The presenting sponsors are Republic Services and Farm Bureau Insurance. Northeast Texas Community College is the Gold sponsor. The State of the Economy luncheon will be held at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center on December 2 from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Chamber at 1604 North Jefferson Ave., the Chamber website, mtpleasanttx.com or call 903.572.8567.
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PIA ORRENIUS SPEAKER BIO Pia Orrenius is a labor economist working on regional economic growth and demographic change. She manages the Texas Business Outlook Surveys and is executive editor of the quarterly publication Southwest Economy. Her academic research focuses on the labor market impacts of immigration, unauthorized immigration and U.S. immigration policy. She is coauthor of the book Beside the Golden Door: U.S. Immigration Reform in a New Era of Globalization. Orrenius is affiliated with several academic institutions. She is research fellow at the Tower Center for Political Studies at Southern Methodist University and at the IZA Institute of Labor in Bonn, Germany, as well as visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Orrenius is also adjunct professor at Baylor University (Dallas campus), where she teaches in the executive MBA program. Orrenius was senior economist on the Council of Economic Advisers in the Executive Office of the President, Washington D.C., in 2004–05, where she advised the Bush administration on labor, health and immigration issues. She holds a PhD in economics from the University of California at Los Angeles and bachelor degrees in economics and Spanish from the University of Illinois at Urbana— Champaign.
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Save the Date! ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP & AWARDS BANQUET
Mount Pleasant civic center
6:00 pm information & tickets 903.572.8567
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Texas Department of State Health Services has awarded Titus Regional Medical Center the designation of Level III Support Stroke Center due to the hospital’s successful demonstration of a highly integrated system of stroke care capability. The multidisciplinary stroke committee team had a strong desire to make a measurable difference in patient outcomes for our community. The nearest stroke centers are 60 minutes away in each direction and with strokes, time lost equals brain lost. When critical and appropriate stroke care interventions take place within 90 minutes of the sudden onset of stroke symptoms, 50 percent of patients experience a complete and total reversal of symptoms. The team was passionate about not losing that critical first hour due to patients having to be transported to another stroke center. The acronym FAST can help people remember the warning signs of stroke:
F – Face, does one side droop? A – Arms, can they lift both or does one drift down? S –Slurred speech or trouble forming words? T – Time is critical. If you or a loved one experiences any one of these symptoms, you need to call 911 immediately. There are behindthe-scenes stroke team activities that are performed in anticipation of your arrival, all of which have life-sparing importance. For more information, contact the Titus Regional Medical Center at titusregional.com or call 903.577.6000.
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Veterans Day Events: The Shreveport Vet Center will participate in a Mobile Vet Center Veterans event on Nov. 6 at the Mount Pleasant Chamber Of Commerce office from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Readjustment Counseling Services Mobile Vet Center will be on site to support the event and counseling services. The Chapel Hill veterans’ event is set for Nov. 7. It includes a lunch for veterans; with the program starting at 12:30 p.m. at the Multipurpose Building. The Titus County Veterans Service Office and the Daughters of the American Republic chapter will host a Veteran’s Day ceremony at the Titus County Courthouse Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. The ceremony with color guard will honor veterans and commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ending of the Vietnam War. The Veteran’s Day event at P.E. Wallace Middle School is Nov. 11. The luncheon begins at 11 a.m. and the program starts around 1 p.m. Veterans are invited to attend the Delta Waterfowl (former Ducks Unlimited) annual banquet. Admission is free for vets. It is set for Nov. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The evening will include dinner and veterans only are to register for a drawing for a Colt 1911 pistol, among other gun drawings.
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Honoring our Military November 11, 2014
Mount Pleasant rolls out the red, white and blue carpet for veterans this month to show their patriotism and appreciation we observes Veteran’s Day on Nov. 11. Wes Welch, owner of Welch Gas and a veteran, feels a deep sense of pride in his military service and appreciation for his fellow veterans, including his wife April, who served in the Army and the Navy from 1997-2006. Wes Welch served in the U.S. Army, the Army National Guard and the Army Reserves from 1983-2009. He served four years in the elite special forces 75th Ranger Regiment as an airborne ranger and retired as a brigade command sergeant major in the reserves. “I feel that men and women who are veterans have served their country in the highest capacity,” he said. “It is a very distinguished honor. To me it’s the ultimate form of service that you can do for your country.” Welch said anytime an organization or school takes time to recognize veterans, it’s a valuable lesson for the younger generation. “Many of the young people today do not fully realize what we have in this country. A lot of the values that the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomer Generation were raised with are not there today and young people need to be taught and shown the appreciation that veterans are due,” he said. Recalling how Americans’ patriotism meter shot off the scale after 9/11, he said after 13 years, that feeling has slowed down some as people grow weary of war, but it’s still “up there
pretty high.” To those serving today, he would say they are serving at a time that is unmatched in history. “We’re basically involved in a world war. Call it what you want to, but close to 14 years in the global war on terror and not much end in sight, I appreciate their sense of duty to their country,” he said. “They are following a long line of footsteps of great people that have served. They are continuing the tradition of service in this country. They’re carrying a torch.” Kellye Cooper, co-founder of M.O.M (Ministering Our Military), understands and appreciates his sentiments about active duty military members. Her group’s mission is to send care packages and pray for those serving currently. But, the group also honors veterans and remembers those who have died in combat, recently holding a Gold Star Luminary event at the Titus County War Memorial. They lined the courthouse with luminaries bearing the names of gold star members, blue star members (active duty) and red star members (veterans). They also honored local Gold Star families who were present at the 2nd annual event. “Veterans are sometimes our forgotten heroes. As a society we place a lot of recognition on our current military members, but were it not for our veterans, we would not be where we are today,” Cooper said. “So many veterans, especially Vietnam Vets, were pushed aside when they came back from service. It is our job as a group and a society to recognize them and to give them the honor they are long overdue.” mtpleasanttx.com
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By Jeaneen Bengtson, LinkedIn Influencer Traditionally, creating “click-worthy” social media con“content is king,” there are a few magic words that can make your tent was a matter of trial and error. Now, nearly 13 years after the posts more appealing. HubSpot notes that question-based launch of the first modern social networking website, Friendster, posts— especially if they include “should,” “would” or “who”—will there is a science behind how to effectively communicate with attract twice as many comments than declarative updates. Buddy consumers online. Media found that quips of 50 words Here are a few observations from or fewer typically draw 60 percent social media research conducted in more responses. If your Facebook Photos, questions and emoticons 2012 that will help you craft the perpage has a casual, friendly voice, fect post on Facebook and Twitter. be afraid to pepper in a few are good ways to start a conversa- don’t smiley faces. Studies show that Visuals, Questions and Coution with your audience, but if users comment, share and like company posts more often when pons Rule Facebook you’re looking for the holy grail of they include emoticons. Photos, questions and Facebook users tend to be updates, give your fans a coupon. emoticons are good ways to start a more visual and willing to engage conversation with your audience, with companies than their Twitter but if you’re looking for the holy counterparts. For example, HubSpot grail of updates, give your fans a coupon. Nearly 42 percent of reports that posts that include photos generate more user interconsumers like companies on Facebook to receive special disaction than simple text posts. That includes 53 percent more counts or coupons, which makes these posts the best way to likes, 104 percent more comments and 84 percent more clicks. But don’t discount text-only updates. While it’s true that rake in customer engagement according to Wildfire Interactive.
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Twitter Users Get Straight to the Point If you’ve seen your company’s followers rise and fall without reason, you understand that Twitter users can be finicky. Here are a few ways you can put your best tweet forward and help thwart unfollows. Research conducted by Compendium shows that Twitter users also prefer short posts. Twitter posts are limited to 140 characters, but tweets with fewer than 100 characters have higher engagement rates (clicks, retweets, favorites, replies). Unfortunately, that’s the only similarity to Facebook. Questions often go unanswered in the Twittersphere: Compendium’s research shows they decrease audience interaction by more than 50 percent. As counterintuitive as it sounds, hashtags can harm your tweets. Users typically engage 52 percent less with brands that utilize hashtags. Also, save the exclamation marks for Facebook – it can negatively affect your interaction with your Twitter audience by 8 percent.
So, what does work on Twitter? Users literally want you to spell it out for them. According to HubSpot, tweets that specifically ask for retweets using the entire word instead of shorthand (RT) are 23 times more likely to be retweeted. If you’re short on characters, just using RT will still increase your chances of a retweet by 12 percent. Buddy Media found that most followers are interested in the cold, hard facts. For example, adding a link related to the subject of your tweet will boost your chances of a retweet by a whopping 86 percent. While these statistics aren’t the secret to making your posts go viral, they do provide insight into what consumers want to see in their social media feeds. Use this social media science to experiment with posts to find out what works with your audience. Jeaneen Bengtson is a Communications | Public Relations | Social Media Influencer featured in the Social Media channel at LinkedIn.com. mtpleasanttx.com
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The Chamber is getting in the mood for Christmas as it launches it final Shop Local campaign of the year. Christmas Local will run from Nov. 24 through Dec. 26. “The Christmas Local promotion will encourage shopping locally and highlight the different things happening in Mount Pleasant during the season,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. “It reminds people that they can get in the Christmas spirit right here in town.” The Chamber will encourage residents and businesses to put out their Shop Local signs and take advantage of special opportunities for holiday shopping. The Christmas shopping season in Mount Pleasant, however, officially kicks off weeks before the Christmas Local campaign gets into gear. Early bird holiday shoppers can start ticking off their shopping lists during Downtown Open House on Sunday, Nov. 2. The event adds an extra weekend shopping day at the downtown boutiques and a first look at all the unique gifts the local shops offer. Shops participating in the Downtown Open House, sponsored by the Mount Pleasant Downtown Merchants will be open for business from 1-5 p.m. The much anticipated annual local shopping favorite is the Chamber-sponsored Everything Texas Deck the Halls, set for Friday, Nov. 14 and Saturday, Nov. 15 at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center. The arts and crafts show will feature approximately 60 vendors and attract upwards of 1,500 shoppers from several states a looking for unique gifts, handmade crafts, stocking stuffers and Christmas décor. “It’s such a fun Christmas event for the whole community,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. “It’s a great place for people to shop and get excited about the Christmas season.” Deck the Halls 2014 hours are Friday 4-8 p.m. and Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event also features entertainment and a mouth-watering Chicken Spaghetti meal served up by Cypress Basin Hospice volunteers as a fundraiser for the organization. Black Friday, which has traditionally signaled the start of holiday shopping nationwide, is Friday, Nov. 28, the day after
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Thanksgiving, featuring deep discounts and competitive “door buster” deals to get customers in the door. The competition for those customers has ratcheted up in recent years, with retailers opening their doors to camped-out crowds earlier and earlier. This year, several stores have even blurred the lines and committed to open Thanksgiving evening, including retail giant Walmart, which will open its doors at 6 p.m. Small Business Saturday is set for Nov. 29. The special nationwide initiative is an effort to encourage holiday shoppers to give small local retail shops a look before hitting the big box stores. Perusing the aisles of mom and pop shops usually reveals gifts that you might never find at large retailers. And who wouldn’t want to find that perfect, unique, or one-of-a-kind gift for friends and family? The ever-growing Christmas on the Square event, sponsored by the City of Mount Pleasant, spans three days Friday, Dec. 5 through Sunday Dec. 7. Highlights of the event include an ice skating rink, which will be open all three days at the Titus County Courthouse. The O.B. Goolsby Memorial Chili Cook-off is the highlight of the event on Saturday at the Courthouse parking lot, while the Mount Pleasant Rotary
Club Christmas Parade wraps up the Saturday festivities, starting at 5:30 at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center and making its way down Jefferson Avenue then south on Madison Avenue past the downtown square. This years parade theme is “Light Up Mount Pleasant.� For more information on these events come by the Chamber at 1604 North Jefferson Ave., visit the Chamber website, mtpleasanttx.com, Facebook page, facebook.com/ EverythingTexas or call 903.572.8567.
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The Chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee has prepares all students to be successful in the new marching orders. The group is adding a new facet to its purworkplace. pose as the 2015-2016 Texas Legislative session nears. With 4. The chamber supports infrastructure initiatives new Committee Chair Jennifer Harland at the helm, the committhat are beneficial to the community and Titus tee has set its legislative agenda and will now be taking advocacy County. and action positions on issues that affect the local business community. Curry is thrilled with the committee’s new direction. “The board has asked the committee to be much more “I think it’s a really good thing. We say were the active coming into the new legislative session,” said Chamber voice of business, but to truly support business, you also CEO Faustine Curry. have to help businesses that are facing laws and regulaWith that task before them, the committee surveyed the tions,” Curry said. “You have to walk the walk.” Chamber membership this past summer to gauge what issues are The new initiative is also part of the Chamber’s important to them. Based on those responses, the committee effort to become accredited by the United State Chamber of drafted a two-tiered legislative agenda in which they will actively Commerce. take stands and educate “To do that, you members on issues as they have to actively support busicome up in the legislative sesness in legislative issues,” sion. Harland said. “This is taking the committee’s “I think it’s a really good thing. We say A recent Chamber role to the next level,” said email blast is a good example were the voice of business, but to truly of the committee’s stepped up Harland. In the first tier, the role. support business, you also have to help advocacyThe committee identified transporemail supports tation, energy and education businesses that are facing laws and regu- Propositions 1 and 2 on the as areas that they plan to take current election ballot in Titus positions on. In the second lations,” Curry said. “You have to walk County regarding an increase tier, they will look for opportuin maintenance taxes of 10 the walk.” nities to educate Chamber cents per $100 valuation of members on issues regarding property with the Northeast healthcare, immigration and Texas Community College the state’s water plan. district and issuing $1.9 million Prior to drafting the in bonds for proposed imnew legislative agenda, the Chamber board had to approve a provements in infrastructure at NTCC. revision to the committee’s Guiding Principles, adding a fourth The email stated, in part: principle: “We are writing today to ask you to join us in supporting both of 1. The Chamber supports economic development initi- the items in the upcoming election for Northeast Texas Communiatives which enhance the competitiveness of new ty College. After 30 years and 21,000 students served; the time and existing businesses. has come to Repair, Replace and Renew key infrastructure at the 2. The Chamber supports equity in tax and fee struc- campus. We've personally toured the campus and can tell you ture that returns benefit to the business community that these expenditures are needed to prepare NTCC to serve and promotes continued economic growth in the students for many years to come. This is not new construcregion. tion. This is needed to protect the investment we have already 3. The Chamber must ensure that the public education made…[NTCC] is a valuable asset to our East Texas families system, in partnership with the business community, and, in many cases, is the only way some of our students can
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afford any education after high school. NTCC also provides area businesses with a steady stream of quality job applicants to keep our economy moving…These students are the key to a bright future for Northeast Texas. Let's show them we support them by voting Yes and Yes for Northeast Texas Community College! The email blast also explained how the propositions would affect homeowners’ property tax bills: For a $100,000 home, this will increase the property taxes by $3 per month, it stated. “That position hit the first three bullet points [of the Guiding Principles],” Harland said. Another example is a letter the committee drafted to the Environmental Protection Agency regarding concerns over its controversial clean power plan. The EPA rule aims to reduce emissions from coal plants by 30 percent by the year 2030. “The utilities have asked the city and chambers to submit letters of support so that we can continue to have realizable and affordable power in our region, state and country,” she said. Harland also said the committee is expecting the Texas Water Development Board to respond sometime in November to the Marvin Nichols Reservoir plan. “That is another issue that you’ll see something coming out from the chamber. The committee won’t necessarily take a position or advocate on that, but rather educate because there are many members on both sides of this discussion,” she said. Harland said the committee is currently meeting monthly and plans to meet more frequently during the two-year legislative session as needed “to be able to respond and advocate if some-
thing comes out during the session that needs immediate attention.” She said the committee plans to work on behalf of Chamber members to make Mount Pleasant and Titus County a business friendly environment and encourage economic growth and community development. The community will get a chance to thank local and state elected officials for their service at a reception for them on Nov. 18. The reception will also give residents an opportunity for one-on-one face time with the officials to ask questions and share ideas or concerns. The committee is also looking forward to working with the 2015 Leadership Mount Pleasant class in preparing for its trip to the State Capitol for Mount Pleasant Day in Austin. “Those who make the trip really get a good understanding of not only the layout of the Capitol and how things work in state government. It also is a good opportunity for Mount Pleasant to be recognized on the floor of the Texas House and Senate,” she said. Save the Date: Nov. 18 Elected Officials Reception Mount Pleasant Country Club 5-7 p.m. For more information come by the Chamber at 1604 North Jefferson Ave., visit the Chamber website, mtpleasanttx.com or call 903.572.8567. mtpleasanttx.com
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MOUNT PLEASANT BUSINESS REPORT An official publication of the Mount Pleasant/Titus County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Council 1604 North Jefferson | Mount Pleasant Texas 75455 903.572.8567 | mtpleasanttx.com Mount Pleasant/Titus County Chamber Publisher Faustine Curry Editor in Chief Mandy Stringer Creative Director Mandy Stringer Graphic Design, Layout Lynda Stringer Contributing Writer Echo Publishing Co. Printing
Mount Pleasant/ Titus County Chamber of Commerce 1604 North Jefferson Avenue Mount Pleasant, TX 75455 www.mtpleasanttx.com info@mtpleasanttx.com (p) 903.572.8567 (f) 903.572.0613
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