Read the wrap-up of the Chamber’s first ever Food Truck Festival and learn more about the Annual Gateway to Government Luncheon scheduled for August 3.

The annual Crawfish Festival in the Heights took place on March 4 at 411 West 20^th Street. Despite an occasional visit from rain drops, everyone including mudbug eaters, volunteers, vendors, and performers enjoyed the activities. The spirit of the 13^th annual Crawfish Festival was intact and it continued to provide fun, food, festivities, events, and much more. The festivities got underway with a terrific parade down 19^th street. Scott McClelland, President of HEB was the parade Grand Marshall and rode in the famous “HEB 10 items or less” shopping cart.

On April 29, as part of its commitment to the community enrichment programs, the Chamber will put its emphasis on Fashion. Looking at it from another perspective, it will be educational in nature for young women. The first-ever career fashion show will feature professional attire and will take place at the University of St. Thomas Jones Hall from 10.00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The fee is $10 for adults and $5 for students. The information and clothing demonstrated at the show will help students look their very best for special occasions. For instance, being well-dressed for important occasions, such as job interviews, college interviews and meeting events may be critical to future success. Area high school female students are invited to participate in the show as models and will showcase a variety of apparel. The show will include attire in all clothing sizes. 

January 26^th brings one of the most highly valued Chamber events of the year – The Economic Forecast Luncheon. Continuing in the same vein as previous events, once again we will learn about the economy, trends, and get other valuable planning information from Dr. Bill Gilmer.

Dr. Gilmer is Director of the Institute for Regional Forecasting at the University’s Bauer College of Business and is one of the nation’s leading economists. He served as the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas for 23 years, retiring as a Senior Economist and Vice President. Channel 11, KHOU TV Anchor Len Cannon will emcee the luncheon. Make plans to attend and reserve your table as space will be limited. The event takes place at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel, 3000 North Loop West. Registration opens at 11:00 and the event time is 11:30 p.m.

The Chamber is pleased to offer a Health & Wellness Luncheon that will take place on December 7 at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel from 11:00 – 1:30 p.m. Certainly this a concern for all of us and the Health & Wellness Luncheon was developed to provide the opportunity for exploring and expanding the knowledge of where and whom to go to for help. The luncheon will feature tables with representatives for all groups involved in health & wellness.

The keynote speaker will be Harris Count Judge Ed Emmett whose official responsibilities also include being director of the Harris County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Harris County citizens are fortunate to have an experienced County Judge who has an enviable record of effectively anticipating, responding and managing sometimes unforeseen emergencies. Another significant speaker will be Allison Winnike. She is a Research Professor and Director of Research for the Health Law & Policy Institute at The University of Houston Law Center, where her teaching and research interests focus on public health law and health legislation and policy.  Professor Winnike is the editor and contributing author to Control Measures and Public Health Emergencies: A Texas Bench Book and Preparing for a Pandemic:  An Emergency Response Benchbook and Operational Guidebook for State Court Judges and Administrators.

This luncheon offers a one-on-one situation to meet, talk with and establish contacts useful for identifying prime health & wellness related resources one may need now or in the future. Recent news events have focused on consumers facing greatly increased medical cost coverages, so experienced industry professionals can offer advice and methods of dealing with organizations and individuals to get the best result.

This month we recognize a very prominent member of the community, Alli Jarrett. Alli renovated the former clothing store, “Harold’s in the Heights” on 19th street which now serves the community with a Southern Creole restaurant known as Harold’s Restaurant, Bar & Terrace and Alli’s Pizzaria. The original Harold’s store was an institution in the Heights.

A native South Carolinian, Alli grew up in Kingstree, SC which was 60 miles north of Charleston. She is a graduate of Williamsburg Academy, attended the University of South Carolina on a golf scholarship and received her degree in Physical Education, Sports Medicine.

Beginning her business career in the family business, Alli remembers sweeping the floors, stamping playing cards and running the cash register in Jarrett’s Specialty Company showroom. Later she would become sales manager for an orthopedic manufacturer and spend 15 years with the United States Golf Association (USGA). Remember that golf scholarship?

Accepting a position as Director of Regional Affairs for the USGA, Alli chose Houston and the Heights as her base from which she managed 7 states and Mexico. Houston’s airport system also allowed her to return to her roots in Kingstree in only 2 hours. Joining the Chamber was a natural because her family had long embraced its value and benefits for small businesses.

Actively involved in many organizations including church, golf and restaurants, Alli also enjoys scuba diving, cooking, and things that bring people together. This successful business woman is passionate about her restaurants and takes pride in the fact that in its two years, the restaurant was named on Alison Cook’s “Houston Chronicle Top 100 list” in 2014 and 2015. Thank you Alli for your support and for your promise to keep the Harold’s name alive for many years.

No doubt you have seen a rather tall gentleman at a Breakfast Connection, ribbon cutting or some other Chamber luncheon or event. Wonder no more, because he is Cody Holder a Community Aide in Commissioner Jack Cagle’s Precinct 4 office. Cody was born in Lake Jackson, grew up in Angleton and finished his early education at Angleton High School. It was then onto Texas A & M University where he received his Bachelor of Arts, Political Science degree.

A Houstonian since 2012, Cody moved to Houston to pursue music full time. Today he enjoys playing music and earlier taught music to members of a church band and sold tickets for a show hosted by KSBJ, a Contemporary Christian Music radio station. His Chamber participation is in keeping with his goal of giving a physical representation of Commissioner Cagle and Precinct 4.

His pursuit of a career in public affairs and government relations was certainly influenced by his parents, both of whom are State Judges. Working on their respective campaigns he learned how to socialize, interact and meet new people. His political side is the primary reason why he enjoys staying up-to-date on current events locally and nationally.

Married to Alyssa, they enjoy traveling when time permits and Cody says “She keeps me extremely motivated to be the best in whatever I do.” Cody’s spare time, if any, is taken up by biking, running, playing sports and hiking. In addition, his family includes two sisters and 6 nephews. The Chamber takes pride in Cody’s support and is impressed with his personal pride in being a husband, son, brother and uncle.

Phil Stewart is our featured member for February and his varied and colorful background accomplishments could fill all 20 pages of this publication and more, however, we have attempted to hit the highlights and there have been many!  He made his debut on Christmas Day in Houston; yes he was a Christmas baby and a wonderful gift for his proud parents.

He was not destined to stay in Houston because in the following years he was in Tulsa, Boston, Little Rock, Shreveport and eventually came back to attend college at the University of Houston. His other higher education activities involved Louisiana State University, the University of Denver, and he did Post Baccalaureate studies and earned a degree from the University of Denver.

Opting for career variety, Phil started as a cameraman for Channel 26, worked as a part time disc jockey and also built parts of his exemplary career in regional and national sales, in radio, at a magazine, in an advertising agency and in newspaper positions. Today he is a senior account manager for The Leader Newspaper and a proud member of the Chamber. In fact, when he was hired he was made the Chamber representative, a good move since he has consistently been active in many Chambers across the country.

Certainly his credentials are impressive but there is much more. Phil is President of the Professional Tour Guide Association of Houston and you may have even have seen him as the railroad engineer/conductor for the Hermann Park Railroad at the Zoo.  Railroading is in his blood because he has held numerous offices for model railroad organizations and is an accomplished train layout builder. In fact the layout he built for the “Houston Passenger Train Operations in 1949” was featured in national magazines, on local television and in newspapers.

We don’t know if all his travels are by train, but he has been to all 50 states and 14 foreign countries. There is even more travel in his family since Leslie, his wife is an international flight attendant for United. Rounding out the family are sons Daniel and Aaron. Catching our breath, we soundly applaud Phil for his diversified successes and achievements.

A familiar face you have been seeing recently at most Chamber events belongs to Tanner Touchstone. Tanner has approached his membership with the goal of getting known, and becoming a valuable source for individuals, families and small businesses who are choosing their health benefits.

A West Texas native, he grew up in Lubbock and took on a challenging job at the tender age of 14. The job, well it was being a score keeper, announcer and field maintenance employee for a baseball park. He proudly states “From this experience I learned the value of a hard day’s work and how to stand up for my decision making.” His experience there gained him valuable insights on how to behave in challenging situations.

He and wife, Kelli came to Houston in 2010 when she became a journalism teacher at a private school. Although not living in the Heights, they quickly discovered the charm and small-town attributes of the area and in 2013 they moved in. Tanner is a licensed health and life agent for USHEALTH Advisors and with his emphasis on becoming integrated into the community he was attracted to the Chamber. As a resident and an agent working for a company helping small businesses, the Heights Chamber was a natural fit because it provided a great way to start meetings and supporting the local businesses.

Tanner is a rookie member of the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Gate Keepers Committee. With a love of the outdoors, their home is right across the street from the White Oak Bayou, so it is easy to hit the trail along with their dog, Hank. From an enjoyment standpoint, Tanner loves travel and exploring new cultures. Admittedly a “foodie,” he is always on the lookout for new places to sample their fare. Joining the Chamber is easy and Tanner has gone well beyond just being a member. His experience and qualifications are beneficial to fellow members and we salute his enthusiastic experience he readily shares with our members. Congratulations, Tanner.