Community Betterment | Convention & Visitors Bureau | Economic Development

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Issue 20 - May 24, 2010

DEADLINE FOR LEGENDS NOMINATIONS NEXT WEEK

The 6th Living Legends of New Braunfels event is set for Tuesday, October 12 in the Civic/Convention Center. Nominations for potential honorees are due by next week Tuesday, June 1. Click here for a nomination form.  They are also available at the Chamber main offices located at 390 S. Seguin Avenue. Nomination forms must be delivered to the Chamber office or postmarked by Tuesday, June 1. The program is sponsored by the Braunfels Foundation Trust, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to education/youth service opportunities in the community. On a related not, a new support group for the Trust is being organized.

REGISTER NOW FOR SEMINAR TOMORROW

The Power of Email Marketing will be presented tomorrow in the Civic/Convention Center from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm. Registration online at www.nbcham.org today. Find out the basics of email marketing, how to use it in your business strategies, list building, how to avoid spam, how to measure the campaign impact and more. The presenter is Julie Niehoff, a specialist in technology marketing. The Chamber member seminar fee is $40 and the non-member fee is $55. The seminar includes lunch. It's not too late to attend if you register today!

HEALTH CAREERS INPUT NEEDED

The need for workers in the many health career occupations is growing. The New Braunfels community has been actively promoting training in the health occupations using local high school programs and the Central Texas Technology Center, offering limited number of skill sets. Your Chamber has been asked to assist in a regional study to survey professionals in this industry to be performed by WorkSource Solutions Alamo, the San Antonio-based workforce regional center.  Click here and complete the short comprehensive survey. Your input will help create solutions to these shortages. Contact RustyBrockman at rusty@nbcham.org or aaron.smith@twc.state.tx.us for more information.

SOME TRADE SHOW BOOTHS REMAIN

The 22nd Business Trade Show is scheduled for September 14 - 15 in the Civic/Convention Center. The theme for this year's show is "Business in New Braunfels is Staying Alive!". Up to 86 booths have been made available via using the entire facility. To date, over 70 booths have been reserved, but there is still room for your business. Call Rita at the Chamber offices (608-2806) for additional information. Attendees will have entertainment, food and beverages, silent auction, seminars and more.

PUT TEXAS BACK TO WORK

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) is promoting and supporting a workforce system that offers employers, individuals and communities the opportunity to achieve and sustain economic prosperity. TWC is proud to introduce the Texas Back to Work Program that provides a $2,000 subsidy to employers for each new qualified Texan they hire. The program has already placed more than 600 Texans in new jobs. Let's work together to put Texas back to work! All Texans receiving unemployment meet program employee qualifications and participating employers must be in the private sector. Contact the Alamo WorkSource Solutions office in New Braunfels for details at (830) 629-2010.

In addition, the new Federal Hire Act signed by the President is focused on accelerating the hiring of unemployed workers. Employers will received paroll tax exemptions and increased tax credits that meet certain eligibility requirements. The legislation immediately enhances employer’s cash flow by permitting employers to retain the employer portion of the Social Security tax ordinarily remitted.

AIRPORT PLANS TAKE OFF THURSDAY

For the past six months, nearly 100 citizens from around the region have met to develop a plan for the San Antonio International Airport for the next twenty years and beyond. The Vision 2050 Airport Masterplan is a community-driven effort to look at how the airport can best serve as an engine for economic growth, enhance trade relationships, integrate multiple-mobil transportation and help showcase the region's natural, historical and cultural resources. This Thursday the City of San Antonio will hold the first public meeting of the Vision 2050 Airport Masterplan at the TriPoint YMCA located at 3233 N. St. Mary's Street off U.S. 281.

Closer to home that same evening, the New Braunfels Municipal Airport will host a meeting of local stakeholders involved with a new business strategy for that facility. Members of the New Braunfels Industrial Development Corporation (4B Board) will be present as well. The City's consultant on the business plan, Wiederman & Associates from Kentucky, will be present to give a midway report on their tasks and they will be asking for additional input.

TELL YOUR "REMEMBER WHEN?" NB STORY

Your Chamber's Convention and Visitors Bureau "Jump In" campaign was utilized for eight seasons in visitor marketing and is now embarking on hopefully another award-winning media campaign entitled "Remember When?". A brand evaluation last year revealed heritage, water recreation, live music and local citizens as main reasons visitors are attracted here. All local visitor attractions are family owned and operated by our fellow neighbors. Tell us your "Remember When?" story by going to www.newbraunfelstories.com . Who knows, your story may get famous!

NB TAKES BITE OUT OF BIG APPLE

New Braunfels was represented last week in New York City on a site selectors prospecting mission sponsored by the Governor's Office of Economic Development and Tourism. Chamber President Michael Meek was one of twelve professional economic developers along with Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade visiting with major site selectors from Fortune 500 companies. Other cities represented included Midland, Brownsville, Dallas, Plano, Waco, Denton, Wichita Falls, Laredo, El Paso, De Soto, and Greenville, Texas. Meek also represented Seguin as part of our two communities economic development marketing partnership. Seguin officials attended a similar mission in Phoenix last month, representing New Braunfels.

COUNCIL CONVENES TODAY

The New Braunfels City Council will hold a special workshop meeting beginning at 4:00 pm today regarding the current budget status and projections for the next fiscal year. Then, at 6:00 pm the regular meeting will commence that includes administering the oath of office to newly elected City Councilmembers and an eight-item consent agenda, six individual action items for consideration, and ending with an Executive Session with three items. The consent agenda items include recommendations for allocating grant awards from hotel occupancy taxes to various arts and heritage organizations in the city as well as the reappointment of two citizens to the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Board for a term ending May 29, 2012. The meeting can also be viewed on Time Warner Cable Channel 21.

Quote of the Week

"One thing the future can guarantee - anything can happen."

Author unknown, Bits and Pieces on Leadership, May 2010

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