Newsletter for May, 2015 MONTHLY CHAMBER BUSINESS LUNCHEON Wednesday, May 20th • 11:45 a.m. Liberty Center (Liberty City Hall) Catering services provided by: Subway—Dayton (Katrina Garrison, Manager) Guest speaker: Angela Dean Assistant Warden, Plane/Henley Complex Warden Dean began her career with Texas Department of Criminal Justice – Institutional Division in 1987 as a Correctional Officer at the George Beto Unit in Tennessee Colony, Texas. Warden Dean was promoted through the ranks of security at the Plane/Henley Complex in Dayton in March 2012 and has worked at both the male & female facilities, dealing with general population and psychiatric offender population. Menu: Soup with crackers, crisp green salad with your choice of toppings and dressings. Selection of new sandwiches. Tea or water and cookie. Reservations ($10) can be made in one of three ways: By phone @ 936-336-5736. By e-mail to [email protected]. Online at libertydaytonchamber.com. Select “May Monthly Business Luncheon” on the Chamber event calendar. 2015 Hurricane Preparedness Workshop (Page 9) (Page 12) NEWS HIGHLIGHTS MEMBERS MAY EVENTS WINDOWS 10 Page 3 Page 5 Page 7 Page 8 The Liberty-Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce OFFICERS Ken Coleman, Chairperson - Arrow Realty James Reese, Vice-Chairperson - Chilis - Liberty Gretchen Inman, Secretary-Treasurer - Brighter Days Assisted Living Carolyn Davis, Past Chairperson - M & M Rent All DIRECTORS Term Expiring 12-2015 Randle Brock (Brock Construction) Richard Brown (Individual Member) Paula Campbell (FLNB Insurance) Eliza Guidry (Individual Member) Brenda McManus Jones (Individual Member) James Leonard (CenterPoint Energy) Lameka Trahan (Law Office of Lameka Trahan) Eric Windham (Dayton Electric Company) Term Expiring 12-2016 Bill Buchanan (KSHN Radio 99.9 FM) Bessie Conn (Security State Bank, Liberty Banking Center) Lana McCarty (Liberty County Central Appraisal District) Lisa Rossow (G & L Pool-Scapes) Sandra Sterling (Sterling Realty) Kandace Wolfe (New Day Massage and Spa) John Wright (Cedar Grove RV Park & Convenience Store) Giovanna Trevizo (Trevizo Auctions & Services) Term Expiring 12-2017 Liz Beausoleil (Loring Villa Apartments) Martin Flukinger (McCoy’s-Dayton) Felicia Hensel (FLNB-Dayton Financial Center) Evelyn Killion (Texas Armory) Mark McClelland (Lee College) Sherry Mettlen (Carol Bond Health Foods) Karyn Pitner (Sam’s Distribution Center #6698) Skeet Raggio (Skeet Raggio Publishing) STAFF Mary Anne Campbell - President Christy Ewart - Administrative Assistant Bruce Campbell - Dayton Office / Web & Technology Services Nora Lee Ladd - Special Events Our thanks go to the many volunteers and supporters who assist the Chamber throughout the year. T he month of May brings another event that is a fun activity for all of us at the chamber, while helping put a little extra funding in our coffers. Now officially in its third year, Chamber Radio Day will be held Saturday, May 16th at the KSHN 99.9 FM studios on Sam Houston Street in Liberty. This is the day when Chamber staff, directors and volunteers grab the microphones in the KSHN control room and bring the latest news, sports, weather, music and advertisements to the station’s audience from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. The event has been very enjoyable for us in years past, and we are grateful to the KSHN crew and General Manager Bill Buchanan for allowing us to “run the show” for a full twelve hours. Chamber Radio Day allows us to raise funds through ad sales to help support various chamber activities throughout the year. Our advertisers have been very generous and supportive of past efforts, and once again they have responded to our needs in 2015. We thank them all. So… be sure to tune in Saturday, May 16th on 99.9 FM. We’ll be giving our best broadcasting efforts throughout the day. With the helpful guidance and support of the expert staff at KSHN, or course. A lthough we never like to hear it, hurricane season (officially recognized from June 1 through November 30) is upon us once again in Southeast Texas. The Liberty County Office of Emergency Management will hold their annual Hurricane Preparedness Workshop on Thursday, May 21st at the Jack Hartel Building on San Jacinto Street in Liberty. Attendees will have the chance to acquire some helpful information from National Weather Service representatives and other agencies at the workshop regarding annual hurricane preparations. See page 9 for details. I n relation to hurricanes and bad weather, we’d like to remind everyone about the Nixle emergency alert system, which can be a handy asset when trouble is brewing. Nixle is a free service that notifies subscribers of emergency situations or critical advisories from local public safety departments by sending messages directly to your mobile phone or e-mail address. In the Liberty-Dayton area, most of these alerts are weatherrelated, with notices of severe disturbances approaching and making their way across the region. But alerts can also involve any serious issues that affect public safety and concern as determined by emergency management. You can read more about Nixle by going online at nixle.com and viewing the “frequently asked questions” page. Better yet, enter your zip code on the website to see a list of recent local alerts that were issued by the Nixle system. Registration is free and easy using the website, or directly from your smartphone. 2 NEWS HIGHLIGHTS from the Chamber Listen to the monthly CHA MB ER R AD I O SHOW Thursday, May 14, 8:30 a.m. on KSHN 99.9 FM CHAMBER EVENTS ON THE RADAR SATURDAY, MAY 16 Chamber Radio Day on KSHN 99.9 FM WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 Monthly Chamber Business Luncheon @ Liberty City Hall THURSDAY, MAY 21 Coushatta Bus Trip WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17 Monthly Chamber Business Luncheon with guest speaker William Wornardt, III of LegalShield DAYTON’S OLD SCHOOL RECEIVES MARKER With Dayton’s Old School Museum now a designated Texas Historical Landmark, the Liberty County Historical Commission and the Dayton Historical Society gathered on Saturday, May 2nd to place a marker on the site commemorating its new status. The Old School served as Dayton’s only educational building from 1900 thru 1910, and throughout the years has been a private residence as well as an antique store. The building has undergone restoration and now houses many artifacts and displays from an earlier era. The Old School Museum is located at 111 W. Houston Street across from the Dayton Post Office. Their website can be found at daytonoldschoolmuseum.com. FIRST RESPONDER MEMORIAL CEREMONY The Liberty County Sheriff’s Office will sponsor the First Responder Memorial Ceremony on Sunday, May 17th, 6 p.m. at the Liberty Church of Christ, 3201 N. Main, Liberty. All public service agencies in the area and the general public are invited to attend to show their appreciation to all persons in all public service agencies throughout the county who serve the citizens on a daily basis. The ceremony will also honor those who have given their lives in service to their communities. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the event. CITY OF LIBERTY NEW FIRE TANKER (from Regional Focus, the Houston-Galveston Area Council newsletter) Listen to us! It’s almost time for Chamber Radio Day Live on KSHN 99.9 FM Saturday, May 16 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. Chamber members and staff take over the microphones to deliver news, sports, weather, music and more. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Chamber Directors will be selling ads for Chamber Radio Day. If you need help contacting a director please call or e-mail the Chamber offices. Advertising forms are available here on libertydaytonchamber.com. The City of Liberty Fire Department unveiled a new Fire Tanker this month. Tanker 28 holds 2500 gallons of water and will make the fire department's life-saving work much easier. The new fire tanker truck is a much-needed addition for the City of Liberty that did not have a fire tanker truck to service local and area fire fighting needs. The new fire tanker truck is being purchased by the Liberty Community Development Corporation (LCDC), a 4-B corporation and financed through a long-term loan through the Gulf Coast Economic Development District (GCEDD) Revolving Loan Fund Plan, as approved by the Federal Economic Development Agency (EDA) and supervised by the Houston-Galveston Area Council. JOBSEEKERS: SEND US YOUR RÉSUMÉS The Chamber sometimes gets requests each year from individuals and businesses regarding part-time summer help. If you know a student looking for work during the summer months, please have them send a résumé or their contact information to the Chamber and we’ll keep everything on file for any open positions. You can drop off a copy at either of our offices, 1801 Trinity St. in Liberty or 109 S. Main in Dayton or send an e-mail to [email protected]. 3 NEWS HIGHLIGHTS from the Chamber TAX OFFICE HOURS Starting May 1st, all Liberty County Tax Offices (Liberty, Dayton and Cleveland) will be open Monday—Friday from 8:00 a.m.— 12:30 p.m. and 1:00—4:30 p.m. Offices will close from 12:30—1:00 p.m. for lunch. Employment Opportunity A/C Service Technician Freon Certified Contact: Chapman Air Conditioning & Heating Pat Chapman, Jr., Owner P.O. Box 1296 Liberty, TX 77575 936-641-4225 COUSHATTA BUS TRIP The next bus trip to Coushatta Resort and Casino is Thursday, May 21st. Reservations should be made now by calling Eliza Guidry at 936-258-5345 or 936-402-0340. Please support our letter carriers in their yearly food drive to “Stamp Out Hunger”. For more information visit this page at the United States Postal Service website or the food drive page at the National Association of Letter Carriers site. Archived issues of Chamber News are available online at: libertydaytonchamber.com FASTENAL: A SUPPLIER OF MANY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Fastenal Co., a member of the Liberty-Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, is an industrial supply company and distributor based in Winona, Minnesota. Fastenal has over 2.600 branches throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe as well as 13 distribution centers. Known for their large inventory of fasteners such as screws, nuts, threaded rods, anchors and the like Fastenal also provides machining services at various manufacturing locations, inventory management, lab services, and industrial services ranging from hose fabrication to custom cut metal, chain and cable to third party logistics (3PL). They offer a huge supply of tools and equipment, safety items, hydraulic and pneumatic components, electrical supFASTENAL plies, welding supplies, material and handling supplies and much more. 201 Bryan Street Locally, Fastenal serves customers from their downtown location in Dayton at 201 Dayton, TX 77535 Bryan Street. Tom Gumuski is the store’s General Manager. Stop by to see what they have to offer for your needs, and be sure to visit their website for a complete list of all Tel. 936-258-2671 Fax: 936-258-2967 products and services. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected] Web: fastenal.com Home office: Winona, MN Founded: 1967 4 MEMBERS NEW MEMBERS MEMBER TRANSITIONS Domino's #9249 Danish Dhedhi (President) 101 E. Highway 90 Dayton, TX 77535 Ph. 936-258-1900 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.dominos.com NEW AND RENEWING MEMBERS Abshire & Son Bookkeeping Absolute Drug & Alcohol Testing, LLC Berkeley Eye Center Best Western Atascocita Inn & Suites Bruce W. Blake, Oil & Gas Properties Cedar Grove RV Park Chapman Air Conditioning & Heating City Florist & Gifts Coats Jewelers Cookies Soulfood Kitchen Country Food Mart Country Food Mart #2 CW Tint Dayton News Dayton Trading Diamond C Awards & Trophies Dovetail Antiques Edward Jones-Rachel Odell, Financial Advisor William (Bill) E. Haynie, CPA Hutchison & Assoc., Inc. KSHN Radio 99.9 FM Langetree Duck Farm Lee Real Estate Liberty-Dayton Foot & Ankle Center Liberty Cleaners Milam Discount Tire Company Milentz Storage My Little Kitchen New Day Massage and Spa New Work Family Worship Center Oilfield Welding & Fabrication Pace-Stancil Funeral Home Scottish Inn & Suites JoAnne Smith The bright, newly-remodeled Domino’s #9249 in Dayton is now open at Hwy. 90 and Main Street. Telephone 936-258-1900. Danish Dhedhi is the owner, who also has the Domino’s in Liberty at Main and Jefferson Drive. James Reese, Vice Chairperson of the LibertyDayton Area Chamber of Commerce has accepted the role of General Manager at the Chili’s restaurant in Liberty. James has been with Chili’s since 2006. He completed his culinary and management training in Liberty in 2008 and loved the restaurant so much that he decided to make it his permanent home. James has worked in various aspects of the hospitality industry over the past 15 years and understands the value of excellent service. He is making it his personal goal to make Chili’s in Liberty a place for our community to enjoy wonderful food and excellent service. James invites everyone to come in and try the new “Fresh Menu”…and be sure to say hello to James while you’re there! The new Subway location in Dayton is open as of May 1st. They are located in the (also new) Prairie Shopping Center next to Dayton Trading on Hwy. 90. Hours are 7 a.m.—11 p.m. Telephone 936-2587222. Katrina Garrison is the manager. CHAMBER MEMBERS: Please let us know of any changes or milestones at your business such as new management, ownership changes, facility upgrades, new products, employee promotions, relocations, etc. We will post it here in the newsletter. We appreciate your help and your membership! 5 Sterling Funeral Home Sterling Realty Swaim, Brents & Associates, P.C. Texas First Bank Texas Home Health The Vindicator Tracy Williams-State Farm Insurance MEMBERS Congratulations to these media winners at the Chamber’s Annual Business Expo, held April 9th at Liberty City Hall. April Gilliland receives a complimentary advertisement on behalf of the City of Liberty provided by The Vindicator. At right is Chamber Board of Director Karyn Pitner of Sam’s Distribution Center #6698. Chamber Board Member Adam Ott and his staff at Magnolia Place Health Care LLP walked away with a gift certificate for a quarter page advertisement in their choice of the Dayton News, Cleveland Advocate or Eastex Advocate newspapers. Security State Bank picked up the certificate for twenty-four on-air announcements courtesy of KSHN FM 99.9. At right is Bessie Conn, Chamber Board Member and President of the Liberty Banking Center at Security State Bank in Anahuac. BUSINESS EXPO—”THANK YOU” Businesses and individuals donating food: Brookshire Bros. • Liberty Brookshire Bros. Dayton • Venola Van Deventer • My Little Kitchen • Kathy Harbour • First Liberty National Bank • Christy Ewart • Los Compadres • Chili’s • Hardin Grocery & Supply • Domino’s • Thrift-Tee Foods (Dayton & Mont Belvieu) • Subway • Beverly Hylton (Hylton Construction). Congratulations to Debbie Goudeau (City Florist & Gifts), winner of the Cruise donated by Distant Travel-Baytown. MEMORIAL HERMANN NORTHEAST RECEIVES RECOGNITION A LOCAL BEAUTIFICATION EFFORT Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital has been recognized as a 2014 Texas Top 10 Value Hospital by Verras Healthcare International. Every hospital in Texas with more than 250 beds was considered in the ranking. Memorial Hermann Northeast will be presented the award at the American Hospital Association Signature Learning Series symposium on June 4 at Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago, Ill. The Best Value Hospital award was created by Verras to bring public recognition to hospitals delivering best value to their patients; to empower consumers to identify hospitals that deliver better outcomes at lower cost, and to provide payers data to 6 Dr. Sakae Ross, owner of Tomoe Engineering along with the City of Liberty, Precision Lawns and Randle Brock Construction have done a great job enhancing the landscape around the “big flagpole” on the east side of Liberty. Dr. Ross and his crew placed several plants around the premises honoring his Japanese heritage that will produce flowers during both summer and winter months. The big flagpole and the new landscaping are easily seen by travelers passing through town on US Hwy. 90, and will be a nice overall enhancement to the area. BACK PAGE NOTES IDENTITY THEFT STATISTICS (Taken from data provided by the U.S. Department of Justice). Average number of U.S. identity fraud victims annually 12,157,400 Total financial loss attributed to identity theft (2014) $26,350,000,000 (2013) $24,700,000,000 (2012) $21,000,000,000 (2010) $13,200,000,000 Percent of reported identity thefts by type of fraud Misuse of Existing Credit Card 64.1% Misuse of Other Existing Bank Account 35% Misuse of Personal Information 14.2% States with the highest identity theft complaint rate (victims per 100,000) Arizona 149 California 139.1 Florida 133.3 Texas 130.3 Nevada 126.0 Save the date! Annual Chamber Auction & Fundraiser—Friday, August 14th, 6 p.m., Dayton Community Center. EVENT HIGHLIGHTS IN MAY For updates and additions please visit the online calendar at libertydaytonchamber.com. 6th Wed Hardin ISD groundbreaking for new elementary school campus 7th Thurs Liberty County National Day of Prayer, noon @ Liberty County Courthouse 9th Sat Local elections 9th Sat Veterans Extreme Bull Riding, gates open at noon. TVE Fairgrounds. 936-433-1215 9th Sat Natural Health Mixer—10 a.m., Parker Meeting House, Dayton 832-229-4385 9th Sat Letter Carriers’ Food Drive. Leave non-perishable food items at your outside mailbox or local post office 16th Sat Chamber Radio Day, KSHN 99.9 FM. All day! 17th Sun First Responder Memorial Ceremony, 6 p.m., Liberty Church of Christ 18th Mon Chamber Board Meeting—Dayton office (109 S. Main) 7 BACK PAGE NOTES (Data provided by Texas Workforce Commission) TECH WINDOWS 10 COMING SOON Microsoft is expected to release the new Windows 10 operating system during the summer of 2015 (possibly in July). Windows 10 will be a staggered rollout first for desktop systems, then later for Windows phones, Xbox and other devices. Consumers running Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 will be able to upgrade free for the first year after Windows 10 is released. This method of delivery for Windows is a departure from past rollouts where major versions were unleashed at popular launch events. The new “software as a service” model will now have customers receiving a continuous stream of features, enhancements and fixes to the operating system over time through online updates. Microsoft will continue to update Windows 10 this way for the supported lifetime of the user’s device, at no additional charge. Some features, such as extensions for the new Edge web browser and support for packaged Windows desktop apps delivered through the Windows Store, will be released at a later time after the initial rollout. Individuals and businesses with compatible hardware looking to upgrade to Windows 10, or wanting to evaluate all the new features the operating system offers, can go to this page at Microsoft’s website for information. Chamber News is published monthly by The Liberty-Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce as a business and community information resource for our members and the general public. Archived issues of the newsletter for a one-year period can be found in PDF format on our website at libertydaytonchamber.com. LIBERTY OFFICE 1801 Trinity Street • 936-336-5736 • [email protected] DAYTON OFFICE 109 S. Main • 936-257-8926 • [email protected] 8 9 10 11 12
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