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The Week Ahead:


Monday:

6:00 pm – City Council


Tuesday:

7:30 am – Executive Committee


Wednesday:

8:00 am – Youth Leadership Steering Committee

12:30pm – 1:00 pm - "Inside the Chamber" Radio Show


Saturday:

6:30 pm – Natural Bridge Caverns 50th Anniversary

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LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE ANOTHER WINNER The 44th Texas Legislative Conference concluded last Friday afternoon with a “roast” of Conference Chair, Representative Edmund Kuempel. History was made with the current and two former Texas House Speakers at the head table together participating in the event. Peter Holt was honored as the 2010 Texan of the Year last Thursday evening and on Friday morning three panels gave attendees information on the economic outlook, immigration reform, and impacts of the recent Texas Primary. Kudos to Conference Arrangements Chair Carter Casteel and her Arrangements Committee for all of their hard work! $100 COUNTERFIT BILLS IN THE AREA The New Braunfels Police Department is alerting area businesses that counterfeit $100 bills have recently been circulating in the area. Arrests have been made. The Police Department encourages anyone accepting cash, especially large denomination bills, to heighten their awareness and report suspicious activity. Addition information on identifying counterfeit money is available from the Secret Service at http://www.secretservice.gov/money_features.shtml . ADVISE FOR USING GOOGLE AD WORDS At a recent inaugural Ad Word Summit for online users, CVB Director Judy Young gleaned the following: don’t focus on just traffic online but rather conversation; between 30 - 70% of users are already in the market for your product. Are you making it easy for the user to buy or access? If you want potential buyers to register or sign up for information or a contest or a conference, don’t just give the link for sign up but have the actual form on the landing page. This gives one call to action per correspondence. Segment your potential buyers and users into the four personality groups and build your pages with that in mind. Always include a navigation map for your website on the landing page which gives the users the opportunity to see what else you have to offer that interests them other than what is on the landing page. Did you know that 61% of the Chamber’s web traffic uses Google to get there? LET’S TEXT Sign up today for Chamber text alerts. You have the option to receive updates, alerts and notices via text messages to your mobile phone. The Chamber has partnered with Opt It Inc, a text message application service provider to provide this benefit to you. Subscribe to this free service that will allow us to notify you of important last minute changes, reminders and announcements. Text nbcc to 46786 and you will receive a welcome text message confirming your subscription. You could unsubscribe at any time by texting the word STOP to 46786. Message and data rates may apply. Check with your service provider for more information.http://www.secretservice.gov/money_features.shtmlshapeimage_4_link_0

COUNCIL CONVENES TONIGHT

The New Braunfels City Council will convene in regular session beginning at 6:00 pm this evening at 424 S. Castell Avenue.  The meeting can also be viewed on Time Warner Cable Channel 21.  Following a sixteen-item consent agenda that includes the Landa Park irrigation project, the leasing of 60 golf carts, and the purchasing of lights for the Camp Comal softball complex courtesy of the 4B Board, Council will take up fifteen individual items for action including giving direction to city staff regarding a safe passage ordinance for bicyclists, replacing in its entirety the short-term rental or occupancy ordinance, as well as the first reading of an ordinance regarding occupancy limitations of residential dwelling units.  The final action item is regarding the first reading of an ordinance establishing a juvenile curfew. 


UPDATE ON JUSTICE CENTER QUESTIONNAIRE

The Chambers Local/State Government Affairs Subcommittee wants your input on the upcoming May 8 election regarding the proposed Comal County Justice Center.  To date, approximately 463 members have visited the questionnaire and 344 have completed the short, three-question poll.  To date, 45% are in support of the justice center with 31% opposed and 24% undecided.  The top two reasons for those in favor include security and the downtown location.  The top two reasons for those not in favor include the cost, followed by the downtown location and closely behind that the “wrong priority”.  The Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee will next convene on April 7 to hear an update from the U.S. Chamber’s Pete Havel regarding top federal issues as identified by you, the membership.  If you haven’t taken the survey, you may do so at http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22ACDTDD7B7 .

CVB BUSY ON MULTIPLE FRONTS

Summer may be only a couple of months away, but your Convention and Visitors Bureau is busy with attracting more meetings and conferences to the Civic/Convention Center, holding meetings with an arts and cultural stakeholders group, preparing for the Central Texas Men’s Invitational Golf Fest, creating micro-mobile sites, launching www.nbstories.com , submitting press releases for local events, and preparing the first quarter 2010 report to City Council.  Doing the things . . .


LOCAL ENTITIES EYE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY


The Chamber and Economic Development Directory Rusty Brockman have acted as the catalyst for several local entities investigating the potential of utilizing alternative energy in their fleets.  The City of New Braunfels, Comal County, New Braunfels Utilities, and the Comal Independent School District are jointly working on a study and grant application for the possible use of compressed natural gas in some of their fleet vehicles.  This was spurred by the Chamber’s work in starting the Texas Greenbelt Coalition, which now is working on developing its own website with the support of the Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council.  Kudos to the City, County, NBU and CISD for making this pro-alternative-energy move.


CAVERNS CELEBRAING 50th ON SATURDAY

Congratulations to Natural Bridge Caverns, celebrating their 50th anniversary this Saturday!  Did you know that the Chamber was very involved in assisting the Wuest and Heidemann family in making this one of Texas’ greatest tourism attractions?  Did you know that FM 3009 was a project of the Chamber in order to give direct road access to the Caverns back in the 1960’s?  Former Chamber Chair of the Board Brad Wuest and current CVB Strategy and Steering Chair Travis Wuest have taken up the mantel from the forefathers in the further development of this Texas treasure.  Congratulations!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It is a general popular error to imagine the loudest complainers for the public to be the most anxious for its welfare."

Edmund Burke, quoted in the London Independent

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Apr.10-11