Dining delight: Mr. B sure isn’t a food or wine critic in the league with the Star-Telegram’s Bud Kennedy, but if you win this dinner for two at Del Frisco’s, may we suggest an order of fried calamari and a Del’s Delight? Oh, and you gotta have steak. Any steak; they’re all great. But back to the Delight. It’s a mixture of liqueurs and ice cream, a Lena Pope Home Sweethearts Dessert Fantasy "Best Of" and … not on the menu. Hopefully, proprietor Greg Kalina is celebrating some UTexas basketball victory and will allow you to go off the menu.
Bulls-eye: Richard Hedeman is a bull-riding legend. Richard? Bull riding? Maybe now you understand why everyone calls him Tuff. Now that’s a bull-riding name. Tuff. The Tuff Hedeman no-bull, bull-riding bonanza extravaganza is March 6th at Will Rogers and Princess Pam at Billy Bob’s Texas wants ya’ll to attend. If you haven’t got your tickets, you might try to win this set of four because it comes with an autographed Tuff hat.
Event-ful: February is for lovers…which may mean you are now looking for a place in late 2010 to hold your wedding or bris or baptism celebrations. And while you first may not think about the Arts Council of FW and Tarrant County, maybe you should. (Yes, church services have been held there.) With its unique design attributes and artistic presentations, it could be an ideal spot for your social, business or artistic event. Artifacts Marla and Katherine want you to see for yourself, so here is their offer: Five hours of gallery space at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center – three hours for an event, one hour for setup and one hour for cleanup. Please invite Mr. B if you win because his datebook is dateless.
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Captain T.D. Smyers, U.S. Navy, NASJRB Commander and his wife Barbara Smyers, with USAF guests Lt. Col. John Yourse, Capt. Camille LaDrew, and Senior Airman Andrew Dumboski are a few of the 11,000 dedicated troops, employees and spouses at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base who help protect our freedom. Last week’s West Area Council luncheon featured speakers Capt. Smyers and Col. Richard Scobee, commander of the 301st Fighter Wing.
See more photos of this event here.
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Lanai: February once was for lovers. Now it’s all about ice & snow, generators and propane heaters. Did you ever! It’s time to thaw out and Mr. B was thinking Hawaii, so he calls the airlines…and no luck. But Jamie Vanegmond was thinking Hawaii, too, and the marketing mermaid at the Hawaiian Falls Waterpark in Mansfield says “Aloha.” She has a family 4-pack that includes four admissions, four brisket meals and four all-day unlimited drink passes.
Customer always is dog-gone right: Larry Taylor and the staff at Air Rite Air Conditioning have a unique ally in dealing with tough customer complaints, not that there are many. Seems Air-Rite adopted a homeless dog 15 years ago. Named it Freon. “We tell employees to go play with Freon before you return a complaint call,” Larry said.
Name game: If you happen to get introduced to Community Coffee’s Steve Woogk, his last name is pronounced Vogue (like the magazine).
Name that tune: Mac(k) Davis, a CapitalOne Bank VP, has heard all the jokes and lines, but he says he’s ready to sing you a bar or two.
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Young & the bestless: The Chamber’s young professionals group, Vision Fort Worth, will recognize companies that excel in attracting, retaining and engaging young talent. For information on the 20/20 Awards -- for companies of various sizes, including non-profit – visit visionfw.com or contact Brianna. Nominate or apply here. Deadline for applications is March 12th.
What channel is this? Open Channels Group is going to select two nonprofit organizations and do $25,000 worth of free PRish-type work for each. Before deciding on this generous donation, owner Tonya Veasey called Mr. B to find out what it’s like to work for (near) free.
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Need an agent: Boss Miserly Mistress just sent B a new contract offer: A “raise” from 39 cents to 38 cents and a 20 percent cut in benefits, which were zero so B would have to pay her. “B, be happy you have a job,” Miserly mused.
Host with the most: Roger Staubach, Chairman of the Host Committee for Super Bowl XLV in Arlington next February, says 65% of the game’s attendees are corporate decision makers. “It’s a great opportunity to show off North Texas as a business (relocation) environment.”
Break bread … and ground: Holy wow-cow, Batman! The Texas Department of Transportation, the North Texas Tollway Authority and the North Central Texas Council of Governments finally got the west side of S.H. 121 Southwest Parkway/Chisholm Trail going last Friday. Shovels shoveled and dirt was flung in Cleburne and Fort Worth.
Presenting this tip: From Jim Cross of CrossGroup management consultants — “The foundation of effective presentations is to focus on one person, talk to that person until you finish your sentence. Then pause, turn and focus on another person…” Now rehearse: Focus. Talk. Period. Pause. Turn.
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Oh, brother: Fellow B-man Mark Buechele of Lone Star Banners & Flags is a younger brother of Texas Rangers’ former third baseman and present Frisco manager Steve Buechele. “My sports career consisted of high school basketball,” Mark said, “but there wasn’t much future for a six-foot guy.”
There’s Coors & there’s Coors Light: Larry Anfin and Coors Distributing are good friends of Newz-E-Letter, but Mr. B no longer is going to feel guilty when they over-give us cases and cases and promotional items for giveaways. That’s because they spent a record $200,000 for the Stock Show Reserve Grand Champion Steer, which will reside at the Fort Worth Zoo for a few months and then go to the Rocky Top Therapy Center in Keller.
Marvin and the Mayor: Mayor Mike Moncrief (3M) suggested to Marvin
Branch, Coors Distributing’s friend in the community, that
maybe he could help raise some dollars for the city’s homeless initiative.
Marvin has organized Mulligans for the Homeless March 29, and has 19
area golf courses and several sponsors signed on to help.
This news is a gas: Chesapeake Energy says its sale of 25 percent of its interests in the Barnett Shale to Total E&P USA will stimulate activity…more leases signed, more wells drilled and 300 resurrected jobs in the coming months. With some of that moolah, Chesapeake is looking for female and minority students who want to earn scholarships, up to $20k a year for four years. Check it out at the Community Foundation of North Texas website.
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A ward or award? Mr. (Susan Lucci) B never has won an award. Seems as if he’s a ward of the Chamber. But maybe you’re a winner. The TECH Fort Worth IMPACT Awards recognize North Texas start-up companies that are bringing innovative technologies to market that will impact our world. Apply here by March 1! The luncheon will be May 12 and features a speech from Larry (Undercover Boss) O’Donnell, the president and COO of Waste Management.
Gone green: Duane Janssen raked in the A.C. Bearden Superintendent of the Year Award by the North Texas Golf Course Superintendents Association. Ridglea Country Club co-worker Garry Bearden presented the award to Duane, a third-generation super, and said, “It is twice as special in that the award is named after my father and I get to present it to my friend and colleague.”
Niche marketing: One of this year’s Small Business of the Year finalists is Warren Douglas creative brand marketing. CEO Doug Briley says the company spends “six figures” annually for data and proprietary research that caters to premium brands that want to compete on quality, not pricing. One new client is Mrs. Renfro’s.
Sounds a bit like Borat: Attorney Martin Valko of Chavez & Valko was recently named Honorary Consul of the Republic of Slovakia for Texas. He will be engaged in providing assistance to millions of Slovak citizens and Slovak business entities in Texas, and promoting the country's culture, tourism and business in Texas.
Men are from Mars…: Customer service guru Reed Pigman at TexasJet says “When men nod their head yes, they are saying yes. When women nod their head yes, they are saying they understood what you said.”
Laughing all the way to the bank: CEO Tim Carter says he was liking the fact that OmniAmerican Bank went public. “Then I found out there are shareholders.” He was kidding…we think.
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