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Ribbon Cutting for Loft18
February 27 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm -
Ribbon Cutting for Manning Pool Service
March 2 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm -
Ribbon Cutting for Shell Shack
March 3 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm -
Ribbon Cutting for Wakefield CrowBar
March 4 @ 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Welcome to the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce (GHACC) is a member-focused organization through which members can effectively develop their business and themselves. Since its founding in 1988, the hallmark of the Chamber has, and continues to be: “People do business with people they know, like, and trust.” Relationships developed in the Chamber become part of one’s business infrastructure. New friends can be found in the Chamber and some of those friendships will last a lifetime. Members can learn how to grow their markets, supply their business, mentor associates or even find a special mentor. GHACC works diligently to provide benefit to all members, be they new, or long-term.
This growing Chamber provides a forum into which its members’ businesses can fit together in an atmosphere of mutual benefit. Active participation provides multiple benefits including access to the entrepreneurs and management of business and organizations with differing viewpoints and methods that work. An abundance of activities provide networking occasions to create new business opportunities, obtain business referrals, join committees, have fun and enjoy a camaraderie unique to Heights Chamber members.
Just as the “Heights” is known for its uniqueness and historical Houston significance, the GHACC blends businesses, promotes “Buy Local First,” and has often been described as a “not so well kept secret for successfully serving its members.”
President’s February Letter:
Dear Members,
I hope you had the opportunity to attend our annual Economic Forecast Luncheon held on January 30. Noted Economist, Dr. Bill Gilmer, addressed the implications the global economy has on the state and local business climate. In case you missed it, a write-up of his presentation can be found at the IRF website as a January 17 economic update and an outlook for 2020: https://www.bauer.uh.edu/centers/irf/houston-updates.php. This is an update of the Houston forecast from his November Symposium.
Moving onto upcoming exciting events, please mark your calendars for the annual Crawfish Festival in the Heights scheduled for March 7th. The Crawfish Festival in the Heights is a fantastic event with food and fun for everyone. Come and be entertained by the Zydeco Dots while chowing down on some delectable crawfish with corn and potatoes. In addition, there will be a shopper’s paradise offering treasures and other gifts for that hard to please person. Kids aren’t forgotten either as they can jump to their hearts delight in our bounce house. Tickets are available, just see the Chamber website, www.heightschamber.org.
Your Chamber is steadfast in helping member businesses grow. Your membership, shared with more than 575 other members, offers you numerous opportunities to network, build relationships, and make lasting friendships. In fact, a review of the many networking opportunities we provide, in last year alone, totaled 5,404 occasions to meet face-to-face with other members. Your participation can result in new business opportunities or obtaining referrals leading to future business.
In the coming months, we will continue staging valuable events and contributing to enhancing the greater Heights area. As always, we are interested in your comments, suggestions and expectations from your membership. Feel free to email me: president@heightschamber.org.
Louie Gill
Chamber President.
Chamber News
Small Businesses: The Mainstays of Our Chamber
Chambers of Commerce are comprised of many different levels of members, some large, some mid-size, and the rank-and-file members, small businesses. The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1988 as a small-business oriented Chamber. Many of the Heights area businesses were, and still are small mom and pop businesses, entrepreneurs and independent business folks. They provide the products and services we need, create the majority of jobs, pay the lion’s share of taxes and selflessly support local causes and charities. All too often, they are the ones that unlock the door before dawn, close down after dark, then stay up late crafting new strategies to drive revenue, only to lay awake concerned about [...]
Chamber Accepting Applications for 2020 Scholarship Program-Deadline is March 15th
The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce is currently accepting applications for the 2020 Scholarship Program for deserving high school students in the area. Each year, the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce awards scholarships to outstanding high school seniors in the area. Those students are honored at a luncheon to be held in May. Since the inception of the program, the Chamber has awarded over $350,000 in scholarships to area students. Those scholarships are made possible through generous donations by our members. We are pleased to continue that tradition this year and are currently taking applications for the 2020 scholarship program. Deadline to apply is March 15, 2020. To apply, please read and complete the 2020 [...]
Don’t Forget to Purchase Your Crawfish Bucks Before the March 1st Deadline!
The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce has scheduled its annual Crawfish Festival in the Heights for March 7, 2020. The festival will be held at 411 West 20th Street, across from Heights Hospital and the hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. This family fun event is one of the Chamber’s primary fund-raising projects and offers plenty of food, entertainment, festivities, and of course, crawfish. The events of the day include entertainment by local students; live Zydeco music by the Zydeco Dots, an award-winning group that not only plays Zydeco music, but R&R, R&B, C&W and other varieties of music. Display tables in the shopper’s paradise which contain products, services and much more plus a [...]
February Education Meeting Recap
Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce Education Committee Meeting February 19, 2020 at Baptist Temple Today our meeting was filled with lots of success stories as our businesses and schools are partnering up and fulfilling the needs of students and their families. Tiffany Mensing with Space and Serenity helped to provide for family in need from Northside High School. EEPB, an accounting firm, held an internal food drive in order to help supply the Food Pantry at Northside High School, Great job! Huntington Learning Center partnered with Heights High School for college needs and they have an upcoming Boot Camp for preparing for the ACT and SAT. Carlos Larios with Ascending to Men, a mentoring program [...]
Membership
Member Benefits
Why join the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce? If you own a business or are involved in the Houston Heights, being a member of the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce brings you numerous benefits. Invest in your organization’s future and join the over 500 members that already are reaping the benefits. To begin learning about membership benefits, attend a monthly Member Orientation Luncheon and begin to realize them immediately.
Chamber Connections
Here is an unusual new business contact made at a recent ribbon cutting. Ambassador Jordan Bailey of Sabo Tax & Accounting Services was speaking with Danielle Stewart of Historic Heights Living magazine. Jordan was holding the new member plaque for Daniel Wood Floors, which he was going to present later. Danielle saw the name on the plaque, wrote it down and said that she was looking for a flooring company. Truly a networking contact success and the Chamber at work.
Always good to hear from Jack Van Pelt, our resident jeweler. Jack proudly reports that Byron Rusk and the staff at Master Car Care have always helped him with his car repairs. In return, Byron has made purchases at JVP Jewelry.
Jan Stephenson of Jan M. Stephenson Designs has designed business cards for Jack Van Pelt as well as being a customer of his.
Tommie Vaughn Ford, long term member of the Chamber has provided Jack Van Pelt with so much automotive buying and vehicle servicing benefits he can’t even remember them all.
If you have a good example of members doing business with each other and would like to see it on the Chamber website, just email a short note with the details to communications@heightschamber.org.
Welcome New Members!
Testimonials
“Being a member of the Chamber has been so helpful to me in getting to know member’s businesses and services for both professional and personal needs. The opportunity to learn and build relationships with fellow members is so valuable. I’ve used many Chamber member’s services and many have secured mine as well. One I would like to recognize is the Hampton Inn and Suites on I-10. We reserved a block of rooms for our family and friends coming in from out of town for my daughter’s wedding. Thanks to fellow member Paige Cassel, they were so organized and on top of the reservations and welcoming. In fact, when the guests arrived, they received a welcome gift. Hampton Inn & Suites provided excellent service, and everyone was very happy with their stay there.”
Here’s why being on a Chamber Committee expands my business connections.
“Joining other Chamber members on a committee establishes recognition of me for my business and service capabilities. With an opportunity to provide new ideas or input in the planning and staging of Chamber events, I have the occasion to meet and interact with fellow members in different fields. Working together provides an arena for me to expand my skills in areas where I may not have been involved before. Equally important is learning how vital collaboration can be to my future success. The Chamber offers a variety of committees, so there are many looking to grow and add new talent.”
Here’s why I put Noontime Networking on my Calendar Every Time.
“I know the Chamber monthly Breakfast Connection is a good networking opportunity but, as a working mom, early mornings can be hectic for me. The bi-monthly Noontime Networking sessions fit my schedule perfectly. I can have lunch, learn about a member’s business, and effectively network all in the course of time I would normally spend just going to lunch. Thanks to the Chamber for serving my needs.”
Member Spotlight
Tricia Gernand
Do you want a relaxing massage with hot stones and aroma therapy? Well don’t visit our featured member Tricia Gernand. Why? Because she is a licensed massage therapist who specializes in medical massage and manual therapies for the treatment of acute and chronic pains-not making you fall asleep and relax. As the owner of Triger Massage Therapy, Tricia takes pride in providing measurable results.
Born in Freeport, Texas, she attended local schools and earned an Associate in Science from area colleges in Brazoria County and in Houston. With an ambition of “helping people,” Tricia brings a wide variety of experience in communications, graphic design and tenure at two massage providers before starting her own business.
In 2016 a fellow co-worker referred her to medical massage with the LMT Success Group and she fell in love with the modalities. Currently she is a teacher assistant and travels to Las Vegas twice a year to help educate new medical massage students. In 2019 Tricia received her massage therapy instructor license and is working on developing classes. In addition, she is studying under a yoga teacher to learn self-care exercises for her clients so their pain-free results can last longer.
Tricia has a multitude of interests and they include live music and dancing, making art and crafting, her very own art car, sewing, graphic design, and trading massages with other therapists. She is a participant in the annual Houston Art Car Parade with her 2010 Scion XD aptly named Alotta Dotta. Coming from a large family, she counts three brothers, two sisters and 11 nephews (no nieces)!
In joining the Chamber, Tricia says: “I wanted help growing my business. I was told by a few folks that the Greater Heights Area Chamber was a great fit for me. Word of mouth is my best referral, and meeting new business owners is an excellent way for others to get to know my business.” We appreciate the friend’s recommendation and are pleased to have Tricia Gernand as a member of the Ambassador Committee and loyal supporter of Chamber events.
