Thank you to the 186 Members that renewed in December!
December is the busiest month for our membership renewals. We would like to thank the 186 companies that renewed their membership with the Dallas Regional Chamber. See the full listing after the break. Continue reading
Filed under Membership
Call to Action: Profoundly Change a Young Person’s Future by Employing One Through the Mayor’s Intern Fellow Program This Summer!
By Lanet Greenhaw, Director of Education
The Dallas Regional Chamber is partnering with The City of Dallas and Education is Freedom (EiF) to offer more than 400 public school students in DISD and charters a real world job experience this summer through the Mayor’s Intern Fellow Program. You can make this a reality, and we call upon you to host or sponsor an intern(s) for 20, 32, or 40 hours a week and profoundly impact a young person’s vision for his or her future. Companies that cannot employ an intern can sponsor an intern to work at a community organization or the City of Dallas office.
Open to businesses and community organizations of all sizes, the program provides paid internships and professional experiences. Your business will help develop the workforce of tomorrow by providing much needed job and communication skills; the soft skills that we all have to learn outside of the classroom. In addition, EiF provides training in resume writing, interview skills, and continues to monitor the interns’ progress through regular site visits. Continue reading
Coming to your snail-box soon!
The Dallas Regional Chamber’s 2012 Membership Guide is hot off the press and mailing to all members this week. Included in this year’s publication are:
- An overview of the DRC’s priorities and objectives for 2012
- Listings of the Board of Directors and staff members
- Member benefits
- DFW Details – statistics about the region
- Alphabetical and categorical listings of DRC members Continue reading
Filed under Chamber Communications, Membership
They told two friends, and they told two friends and so on…
By Jennifer A. Schmiel, Vice President, Member Services
Word of mouth is a powerful advertising tool. Does anyone remember the Faberge Organics Shampoo commercial? “’When I first tried Faberge Organics Shampoo with pure wheat germ oil and honey, it was so good I told two friends about it. And they told two friends. And so on, and so on…’” If you are just dying to step back into the 80’s, here’s a link to the clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcskckuosxQ.
We can all recall having a great experience with a company or product and wanting to share this information with friends, family and colleagues. Referrals are extremely valuable to both the product/service provider and those seeking the product/service. It lends credibility and a sense of comfort.
The Dallas Regional Chamber has been in the referral business for 103 years. Referring DRC members is a daily practice, and anyone can view our list of members when looking for products and services. This list is available online, in print, and by calling the DRC (214-746-6600). We even track the number of times our members’ information is reviewed or requested online and through our switchboard. Continue reading
Filed under Chamber Communications
Meet Emma
By John McCarley, Social Media Guy
I would like to introduce you to Emma, our new email-marketing partner. Starting February 1, we are launching a new email-marketing plan. Our goal is to send you messages in which you are interested. In order to do that we need YOUR help! Click here to update your profile and select the types of messages you would like to receive from us.
Here are some of the things you will get from us:
- Chamber Report – bi-weekly all chamber newsletter
- Events Email – bi-weekly calendar of upcoming chamber events
- Small Business Initiatives – resources and events for the small business community
- Life Science Connection – a quarter update of the life science community
- Public Policy Pulse – bi-weekly public policy update from around the state (coming in mid-2012)
- Economic Development Updates – news of companies relocating and expanding to DFW (coming in mid-2012)
- Young Professional Updates – stay up-to-date on events and news from YP Continue reading
Filed under Chamber Communications, Member Benefit, Membership
Say Thank You to Our School Board Trustees!
By Lanet Greenhaw, Director of Education
January is School Board Recognition Month in Texas. It’s a time to formally acknowledge the efforts of our local school board trustees and thank them for their service to our communities and our children. Local school board members invest countless hours each week, and serve totally as volunteers with no compensation.
Front row L-R, Bruce Parrott, Adam Medrano, Dr. Lew Blackburn, Interim Superintendent Alan King, Dr. Edwin Flores. Back row L-R, Eric Cowan, Bernadette Nutall, Carla Ranger, Nancy Bingham and Mike Morath
The nine Dallas ISD Trustees are tasked with the mammoth challenge of overseeing the 14th largest school district in the nation with a diverse population of more than 157,000 students in 225 schools, more than 20,000 employees, and a nearly a $1.2 billion operating budget. Currently they are wrestling with important decisions around the issues of massive budget cuts, school consolidations and the selection of a new superintendent. Continue reading
Filed under Chamber Communications, Dallas, Dallas ISD, Education
Join Mayor Mike Rawlings’ 2012 Corporate Challenge and Invest in the Future of Dallas
By: Adam D. Powell, Director of Strategic Planning, Education is Freedom
The goal in 2012 is to employ 400+ interns at 150+ companies in an 8-week summer program designed to give Dallas public and charter school students’ access and exposure to a real world job experience. Corporate, non-profit and other community leaders are invited to participate, helping to create one of the largest, and perhaps the most beneficial, summer internship programs in the nation.
The goal is to give students the opportunity to witness the powerful linkage between higher education and success in the workplace. Take the challenge now and commit to sponsoring an intern(s) this summer. By committing to host or sponsor an intern(s) for just 20 hours a week, you can profoundly impact a young person’s vision for his or her future. Your commitment today will inevitably secure the city of Dallas’s success tomorrow! Register online for your intern(s) by 3/1/2012 at www.mayorsinterns.org. Continue reading
Introduction to Intellectual Property – Part 2: Copyrights, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets, Oh My!
By Jeremy Vickers, Director of Innovation
The second part of our Introduction to Intellectual Property Series continues the dialogue on types of IP. Many of you may be familiar with patents as a foundation tool for technology companies but may not be familiar with the other three types of IP: Copyrights, Trademarks, and Trade Secrets, Oh My! (My apologies to Judy Garland). We plan to cover the key pieces to each and describe what differentiates them here.
What are copyrights? How do I know if something is copyrighted?
Copyrights are reserved for original works of including anything literary, dramatic, musical, or artistic. Examples of copyrighted materials are software programs and architecture, poems, songs, movies, websites, and other content created by a person or organization.
Defining whether something is copyrighted is relatively simple. According to the USPTO, a copyright exists from the moment the work is created regardless of whether the word copyright is affixed to it. Copyrights do not need to be registered to be protected, but it is encouraged for works that may be very public and require documentation to prove their ownership. Bear in mind that any time a document is created, a website published, a presentation given or a piece of unique code written it is protectable as copyrighted material. Continue reading
Bravo! DRC Education Support Listed as Selling Point for New Dallas ISD Superintendent
By Lanet Greenhaw, Director of Education
The Dallas Regional Chamber’s efforts to drive improvements in public education are drawing notice, and according to a Sunday Dallas Morning News editorial, are among the positive avenues of support and partnership a new Dallas ISD superintendent can expect to find here.
Entitled “Foundation for Next DISD Chief”, the editorial doesn’t shy away from the challenges a new leader will undoubtedly face. The main message, however, is that “Candidates also should know the things that may set Dallas schools apart from many urban districts across the nation. That list is considerable, too. Consider them footholds for a difficult climb. Consider them selling points for the job of preparing the next generation of Dallas leaders.” Continue reading
Filed under Dallas, Dallas ISD, Education
