I'll be there: We tried moonwalking on Barb and Trish and Sheila at the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra to try & pry two tickets for Friday night's Music of Michael Jackson extravaganza. Word came back...“Beat It.” So we put a virtuoso headlock on boss bass man David Hadlock--Mr. B sang in his office until he relented - and, well, you could be at Bass Performance Hall to see conductor Brent Havens and the Symphony and hear the vocals of James Delisco as they play 40 years of hits, from ABC and Beat It. through Thriller, The Way You Make Me Feel and Billie Jean. You're going to want to valet park at the Worthington Renaissance Bob Jameson Marriott Hotel blocks away because you'll want to freshen up in your room before the show and come back afterward, listen to a bit of piano music and get a most wonderful night's sleep at the city's finest. A wonderful song & sleep package to kick off 2011 thanks to MJ and BJ. Ic music in your future: OK, so you, too, didn't get an iPad, iPod or iPhone for the holiday. You, too, got coal. (BTW, coal is worth more than natural gas, but not as much as gold or silver.) The Shack, which is RadioShack without the radios, knows your pain. And Kim (not at all grimy) Grimes at The Shack doesn't want you to feel out of whack. She iRan into her iStore and grabbed this iPod Nano 8GB-Silver to heighten your iTunes for 2011.

Throughout December 2010, Vision Fort Worth members donated their time and efforts towards the non-profit Cowboy Santas, which provides toys to children from low-income Tarrant County families. Vision FW donated 535 toys with a generous donation from TD Ameritrade of 325 toys and 6 bicycles. It all totaled to approximately $7,000 in donations. In the picture above, are two representatives of TD Ameritrade, Randall Mercado (right) and Morgan Red Fox (left). See more photos here.     Sponsored by

Bank on success: Comerica banker J.R. Holland is pretty smart. He has shown Mr. B how working with his bank can turn his 37.5 cents an hour pay from Chamber boss Miserly Mistress into 37.5231 cents an hour. Imagine what he could do for Mr. B's golf game! J.R. is a former teaching pro at Colonial Country Club and similar to bike riding, you never lose it. J.R. is back teaching part-time, having worked out an arrangement at Hawks Creek Country Golf Course. Get your clubs warmed up because J.R. is offering two 45-minute lessons -- short game and full swing. If he's too critical, don't shoot J.R. Wait, that's not all. Hawks Creek GM Alison (she's) Wise might be watching you whiff from the clubhouse and she wants you to be able to show off your new strokes with a round of golf for two and a cart. 

Pucker up: Sweet Jessica Kolkmeyer of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of North Texas was needlessly pitching a giveaway to Mr. B. Needlessly because you want them and we need them. So she writes “I'll be at the game! That could be the selling point... ha ha.” We're sold! Jessica has five pair of tickets to the Texas Brahmas hockey game Jan. 22 and a fight might break out to sit next to Jessica.

Free fence, too? Buzz Fence is going to the dogs Saturday. It's hosting an Adopt-a-Pet day with the North Texas Humane Society and one fortunate pet lover will walk away with a furry friend, all expenses paid courtesy of the Humane Society and Buzz Fence.
  
They are IT! Pete Anderson and his info techsters with the City of Fort Worth were rated among the top 10 large cities in the U.S. for technology strategy.

All new for 2011: After 16 years, beauteous Lerii Smith thought it was time for a facelift. Oh, not for her, but for her award-winning business, Project Partners, which works with nonprofits to advance their community causes. New logo and a new tagline -- Your Partner for Good. Too long to get into it here, but next time you see Lerii, ask about her half-court glory days on the basketball court for Rankin High.

Leftover treat 2: During a Leads Group gift exchange, Chris Michlin of Back to Health got a collection of Pez, including Wizard of Oz figures, Ironman, Santa and UT football. His elation was short-lived. Pain-in-the-neck David Gary of OmniAmerican Bank stole it from the doctor of chiropractic.

Leftover treat 3: Dugan, former Chamberite and now giving assistance to Farmers agent Angela Lamb, selected a beautiful frame purchased by recently married Carley Whited Moore of Coldwell Banker. Kevin Uselton of Door-to-Door storage asked Carley if she had “re-gifted” it from her wedding stash.

Out on the lege: The state's budget has to be balanced, according to the constitution, so Texas never legislates a budget deficit. Instead, it's called “revenue shortfall.” In 2009, the federal government gave a big assist to a balanced Texas budget; in 2011, it might be the rainy day fund that steps in.
Six legislators participated in a Chamber Leaders in Government luncheon last month at Ridglea Country Club and talked about some of their priorities:

• Rep. Mark Shelton - Insurance reform in which people own their options, much like a 401k plan.
• Rep. Rob Orr - Restrict the power of homeowners' associations and a referendum on red-light cameras.
• Rep. Todd Smith - A voter ID bill.
• Rep. Mark Veasey - A Democrat, and in the minority, he joked (?) that he wants “to stop bad things from happening.” His focus area is education in public schools.
• Rep. Vicki Truitt - Reviewing public pension plans at state and local levels and greater availability of capital for businesses to grow.
• Sen. Wendy Davis - “We're 44th in education spending and we're starting to see the ‘results' of that. Some of the statistics are very disturbing.”

Dollars and sense: The big-picture Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas is getting its ear to the ground with the establishment of a Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council. Jimmy Campbell, President & CEO, Community Bank, is one of 12 appointees. You may remember that Fort Worth investor Elton Hyder III was elected to the FRBD's board of directors.

Just sayin': After surveying Chamberites that had volunteered to kettle kvetch for the Salvation Army during the holidays, Mr. B suggests -- for best results -- that each ringing station be manned by a person in military uniform, a dog with a red bow and a small child. It also helps to have Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones by your side.

Camera-shy: Derek Dickens, the sales team leader for AirRite air conditioning, says he has one and only one picture of his camera-shy wife. It's from their wedding day 17 years ago. You might check with Derek, the king of hot air, on 2011 environmental rebates available.