Holy Trinity: You probably are as exhausted as Mr. B since putting away all those holiday decorations and sending the trees and menorahs out to be recycled. Especially after putting up with so many of those outlaw in-laws and their bratty kids. It’s time for a relaxing getaway and Nancy Day at the Hotel Trinity Inn Suites Fort Worth has the right elixir. How about an overnight stay in a two-room Executive Suite and a free hot breakfast buffet? Be treated like an executive without any of the work!
Ice, Ice, Baby: You wouldn’t be caught dead admitting you actually enjoyed the disco era of music unless you were trying to win these tickets to the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra’s Jan. 15-17 performances of Saturday Night Fever ’70s. Hip-shaking Pops conductor Jack (not a brother) Everly will lead the stringersters and hornsters through songs by the Bee Gees, Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” ballads such as “American Pie” and much, much more. You’ll be standing and strutting in the aisles because we have two sets of two tickets.
Art of giving away dates: Fort Worth, Texas magazine is having this really cool luncheon -- Social Datebook Unveiling and Art of Giving Awards Luncheon next Thursday and NOBODY gives more away than Mr. B except maybe the Tarrant Area Food Bank. There are 15 incredible Art of Giving nominees, but what’s up with Mr. B not being nominated? Well, B is going anyway because he is all a-twitter about the Social Datebook unveiling and looking forward to see who Fort Worth, Texas lined him up with this year. Two of you can go, too, thanks to publisher Hal Brown.
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Steve McCune, McConstruction Co., Norm Bobay, hireMAX and Becky Redman, Lockheed Martin began the new year with cheer. Bobay encouraged Gold and Preferred members at a December 18th breakfast with a motivational talk about the value of a “check-up from the neck up” and keeping a good attitude during challenging times.
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Tastes good, too: Did you know Renfro Food’s award-winning pineapple salsa comes in an upside down jar? Or that the tequila salsa can be used for your next margarita? You dare doubt Doug Renfro? Try it yourself with this four-pack that could include a black bean salsa that is sure to be in your next brownie recipe. We’ve got three hot, hot, hots to give away.
Don't bet on Brett: Anybody have a giveaway for a Mall of America tour in Minneapolis this weekend and oh, maybe, a couple of tickets to the Dallas Cowboys-Minnesota Vikings playoff game while we're there? We've thought long and Favre, and predict another Cowboys victory in their march to the Super Bowl.
Subscribe to the scribe: Alex E. Christodulidis of Axioneering was in fine form “reporting” on the first Texas Tornadoes Leads Group meeting of 2010. For example -- “Russ Wilson of Nationwide Construction needs good leads such as industrial companies, churches and business owners that are renting or need to expand to pay for his upcoming honeymoon. Good leads will translate into Florence and Rome, Italy. Bad leads will translate into Florence, Iowa (pop. 2,254) and Rome, Illinois (pop. 1,776). Help him, if you can.”
Bing me, please: During last week’s verrrrry cold snap, Mr. B saw a lonely red bird early one morning. Just wondering how birds get weather forecasts and why it wasn’t flying south.
Copycat success? Tomorrow night’s Business After Hours at the Sheraton Fort Worth is a good chance to meet the Chamber’s Small Business of the Year finalists. Perhaps CEO Greg Morse of Worthington National Bank can share how to get more money into your account.
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Welcome, welcome: Last week, Am-Bass-Adorables were at Toni & Guy off West 7th, cuttin’ ribbons instead of hair, and yesterday they were (eye) browsing around Artisan MedSpa Laser & Wellness off Overton Ridge Blvd. and Bryant Irvin. Pictures from Chamber events, including Cowboy Santas and Sam Moon’s opening, are always available at www.fortworthchamber.com.
Looking for work: Mr. B applied for the Texas Tech head coaching position. He listed all his "fat little girlfriends" as references.
Getting and giving: TCU football coach Gary Patterson won his eighth coach of the year award last week, this one from Liberty Mutual. This one came with a $50,000 check to the charity of his choice – Presbyterian Night Shelter – and a $20,000 scholarship award to the TCU Alumni Association. Patterson’s wife, Kelsey, is a PNS board member. The top coach is selected based on the success and sportsmanship of his team on the field, achievements by student-athletes in the classroom and selfless support of charity and his community.
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Love the pub: That was photographer DeeDra Parrish’s cover shot of Tarrant County College’s Southeast Campus President Judith Carrier by the atrium on last month’s Community College Week, the national publication for community colleges. Carrier was quoted extensively in the story “Plotting a Path to Success,” about Texas colleges successfully boosting transfer rates and dual enrollment.
King of the Ags: James (Jim) Link, the man, the legend and the sausage bearing his name, will be honored Jan. 21 by the Fort Worth Farm and Ranch Club with the W.A. “Bill” King Award for Excellence in Agriculture. Jim IS the TCU Ranch Management Program.
Paying the bills: Thank you to our newest sponsor, Alexander Chandler Real Estate. Hopefully, Alexander has found a home hisownself right here atop the Newz-E-Letter.
Giving good directions: Some proceeds from Aaron Watson's Jan. 16 concert at Billy Bob's Texas will be directed toward Fort Worth's Directions Home project, which aids the city's homeless initiative. Watson says he was inspired by the book Same Kind of Different as Me. And did you know that country rapper Colt Ford, who entertains at Billy Bob's Jan. 22, is a former PGA golfer?
Book it: Up and comers from TCU are looking to meet employers and potential employers. So, TCU Career Services has planned a cocktail networking session for employers and TCU seniors Jan. 23 at the Arlington Hilton. Contact Susan Nethery for details.
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The sporting life: David Thomas, THE Star-Telegram’s sports humor columnist, can be sporty serious, too: Recently he wrote: “19 years ago today, I won a Super Bowl, World Series, NBA Finals, Stanley Cup, Masters and World Cup all rolled into one when Sally walked down the aisle and said, ‘I do.’" That’s very, very sweet, though a “friend” wrote back that she still would be praying for Sally.
Resolved: If it’s not too late for a New Year’s resolutions, Mr. B promises not to give away everything and to be more serious in 2010 Newz-E-Letters.
Star quality: Kudos to the Chamber’s fourth-quarter Star Am-Bass-Adorables -- Marnie Stites of Guardianship Services, Don Helm of Southest Professional, John Porhamer of Cowtown Insurance Service, Terry Sutton of ServiceMaster Advanced Restorations and Twana Kent of Sterling Bank. Porhamer is B's pick for Ambassador of the Year. The red carpet walk is next week.
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Watching out for us: A blogger named Rita, who very well may have been Dave Lieber’s third-grade, note-passing girlfriend, listed the Star-Telegram columnist’s book Watchdog Nation: Bite Back When Businesses and Scammers Do You Wrong the seventh best consumer book of 2009. That’s the book we gave away in October.
Better your business: The Chamber sponsored a fantastic customer service session last week, led by Better Business Bureau CEO John Riggins. The highlights:
- A happy customer will pass the news along to 3-to-5 people. An unhappy customer will pass it along 9-to-15 times.
- The customer isn’t always right. Two percent of complaints are just unreasonable. Send that business to your competitors.
- Want to hack off a customer? Tell them your return policy.
- “Free” in advertising needs to be an unconditional and unrestricted gift.
- 95 percent of customers will come back if you resolve their complaint within 72 hours.
- “Listen. And shut up” when taking a complaint.
- Fix the customer first, then fix the problem.
- Ask, “what will it take to solve your complaint?”
Micro-(soft) managing: Did you know that the “Gates” in K&L Gates law firm is the father of Bill? Dad retired in 1998.
Half-wit?: Son NoBGood wanted to split a dessert, but wanted to have the smaller half. Huh?
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