By Erica Flores, Manager, Economic Development
Several Dallas area companies and projects will be honored at the Dallas Regional Chamber’s Momentum Awards powered by Blueprint for Prosperity to be held at the Hilton Anatole on Wednesday, October 10, 2012. The Awards, featuring the Total Job Growth Award, are sponsored by Citi and Holmes Murphy & Associates. The luncheon keynote will be delivered by Gary Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President & Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines is a 2012 recipient of the Total Job Growth Award.
Awards will be presented in the following categories:
Golden Living will receive a Corporate Headquarters Location award. Golden Living relocated its corporate headquarters from Fort Smith, Arkansas to Dallas, Texas in 2011 creating over 100 jobs in the region.
Baylor Medical Center McKinney and Kohl’s E-Commerce Distribution Center will receive the Corporate Facility Location award. Baylor Health Care System opened Baylor Medical Center at McKinney in July 2012 spending just under $200 million and creating over 500 jobs. Kohl’s completed their 951,000 square-foot e-commerce distribution center in DeSoto creating 400 full time and 1,600 part time positions.
Dallas based Bottle Rocket Apps will receive the Percentage Job Growth award. The company specializes in custom, high-end mobile apps that set the industry standard. Their company has increased over 100%, adding 78 jobs from 2010 to 2012.
Southwest Airlines will receive the Total Job Growth award. Headquartered in Dallas, Southwest Airlines has created over 4,000 direct jobs and an additional 5,000 indirect & induced jobs in the region through the AirTran Airways acquisition and the Dallas Love Field Modernization project.
The City of Dallas, The Trinity Trust, and Trinity Commons Foundation will receive the Community Catalyst award for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. The $120 million project is one of the three Santiago Calatrava-designed bridges being built over the Trinity River in Dallas.
The Venture Development Center at the University of Texas at Dallas will receive the Innovation Catalyst award. The University of Texas at Dallas invested $4 million to purchase the 8,000 square-foot building that opened in the fall of 2011. The center is a mentoring program for the new startups that assists with some of the hurdles new companies often encounter. The center has had 13 spinoff companies creating more than 50 jobs.
Group Excellence will receive the Education Catalyst award. Founded in 2004 by a Southern Methodist University student, Group Excellence is a tutoring and mentoring organization for public school students that have grown into a 500-person operation.
The World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth will receive the Global Catalyst award. Founded in 1951, the organization brings international awareness and cross-cultural understanding to the North Texas community. Today, it serves as a gateway to the world for the region, offering an impressive range of programs and events for the public and its more than 3,800 members.
Established in 2003, the Momentum Awards celebrate companies and organizations that have made a positive impact on the economy through job growth, and location and expansion activities. The award also honors companies and organizations that contribute to the vitality of the Dallas/Fort Worth region.
For additional information about the event, including registration and sponsorship opportunities, please click here.
