mount pleasant business report | issue 09
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May/June 2014TRANSCRIPT
1
MAY/JUNE
ISSUE 09
2014
BI-MONTHLY
BUSINESS
REPORT
Guaranty Bond Bank earns Top Corporate Team Honors during the 2014 Total Resource Campaign
Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant wins “Best City”
EVERYTHING TEXAS BRAND branching out attracts tourists from all over P.15
NEW STRATEGIC PLAN chamber drafts plans for 2014-2016 P.9
Retail Marketing for Produce
2 Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
3 www.mtpleasanttx.com
partners
Everything Texas “Best City”
TRC Success
New Strategic plan
Marketing strategy
Everything Texas brand
Retail marketing for produce
Calendar
TableTableTable contentscontentscontents
of
Happenings
4
New Partners
AEP-SWEPCO Alamo Mission Museum Brown’s Glass & Mirror Conroy Tractor Co. Country Cottage Florist Rickey Crane Designin’ Women Designs By Lisa East Texas Broadcasting Expert Computing Solutions, Inc Hale Electric Hansen’s Collision Specialist
Heav’nly Foods Homer Holt IHOP Restaurant Jordan Health Services Living Truth Fellowship Mardi Gras Seafood Medical & Surgical Dermatology Center Mid America Pet Food Mill’s Flower Shop Morrison Supply Company Mount Olive Baptist Church Mount Pleasant Delta Waterfowl
Mount Pleasant Eye Care Center, PA Northeast Texas Women’s Health, P.A. Shae Ochoa Rychlik Auto Wrecker Service Spruill Honda Kawasaki Super Plaza Tennison Learning Center Texas A & M University-Texarkana Thai Lanna Thompson Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc. Tumey Mortuary
Rustic C Boutique Kathryn C Dunn DVM Mount Pleasant Tire and Brake, Inc. Billy Craig’s Mobil Templo Cristiano Fuente de Agua Viva A/G Ron’s Health Foods Timber Creek Designs Bustin’ Out Cancer Bradfords LLC
Little Rascal’s Daycare and Learning Center Total Lawn and Fence Diamond T Outfitters Mid America Flight Museum Angel Paws Pet Resort Taqueria Daysi’s y Mariscos CASA of Titus, Camp & Morris Co. Oasis Liquor Freedom Vapes
Gary’s Gun & Pawn Shop NAPA Auto Parts Star-Mart #2 Lil Man’s Boutique Spencer Miche Mayben Realty, LLC Gladewater Baptist Church Mays Home Health, TX The Landing
LeveL!
Partners continuing to take
Everything Texas to the next
March– April 2014
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
5 www.mtpleasanttx.com
Rustic C Boutique Kathryn C Dunn DVM Mount Pleasant Tire and Brake, Inc. Billy Craig’s Mobil Templo Cristiano Fuente de Agua Viva A/G Ron’s Health Foods Timber Creek Designs Bustin’ Out Cancer Bradfords LLC
Little Rascal’s Daycare and Learning Center Total Lawn and Fence Diamond T Outfitters Mid America Flight Museum Angel Paws Pet Resort Taqueria Daysi’s y Mariscos CASA of Titus, Camp & Morris Co. Oasis Liquor Freedom Vapes
Gary’s Gun & Pawn Shop NAPA Auto Parts Star-Mart #2 Lil Man’s Boutique Spencer Miche Mayben Realty, LLC Gladewater Baptist Church Mays Home Health, TX The Landing
Mount Pleas-
ant’s businesses, attrac-
tions and the Everything
Texas hospitality of its
people put this North-
east Texas city solidly
on the Texas tourism
map.
Named “Best City” by the Texas Travel Coun-
selors during a five
-day study tour
sponsored by the
Texas Travel In-
dustry Association,
Mount Pleasant
will be featured in
a tourism report distributed to highway information
centers across the state.
“The purpose of the tour is to allow the
travel counselors to visit these cities and be able
to tell visitors that come into their centers that
they’ve been there and they’ve seen it,” said Bob
Phillips, the TTIA’s study tour coordinator.
The 38th annual tour travels through a
different region of the state each year. The group
visited Mount Pleasant and 20 other cities in
Northeast Texas October 6-11, 2013, eating at
15 restaurants and visiting 36 attractions.
The group also named local realtor Diana
Kennedy, a member of the Mount Pleasant-Titus
County Chamber of Commerce tourism commit-
tee, as Best Step-On Guide.
“It’s wonderful when you see a communi-
ty like Mount Pleasant that really understands
the importance of tourism, and better yet, how to
market your city and go about promoting your-
self,” Phillips
said.
Some of the highlights of the bus tour
through Mount Pleasant included visiting the
Whatley Center and the Northeast Texas Community
College campus, a tour of the candy-making process
at Sweet Shop USA, the Country Club of Mount
Pleasant, local city parks, cemeteries, Town Lake,
and Mount Pleasant’s “Main Street” designated
downtown area, which Phillips said was his favorite
spot.
Chamber CEO Faustine Curry said the 40
volunteers who planned and executed the tour
“worked very hard to put
Mount Pleasant in its best
light.” “More importantly, we
wanted to show what typical
tourists see when they come
to Mount Pleasant,” she said.
“We wanted to make sure
they got the full meaning of ‘Everything Texas.’”
“We wanted to make sure they got the full meaning of
‘Everything Texas.’”
Curry, Kennedy accept top honors for Mount Pleasant at Texas Travel Industry Association Conference.
Hospitality earns Mount
Pleasant “Best City” award
6
Beverly Austin
Northeast SBDC
Stephen Curry
Capps Insurance
Rob Hedges
Republic Services
Diana Kennedy
Century 21
Matt Klump
Expert Computing
Brad Lowry
Pilgrim Bank
Dennis Newman
Newman Electronics
Tommy Shumate
Sisk Motors
Mitchell Walker
Dekoron Wire & Cable
Jey Yancey
Offenhauser Insurance
2014 Directors
2014 Executive Board Shannon Norfleet, TRMC -Chairman
Richard Witherspoon, Herschel’s Restaurant-Chairman-Elect
David Hooper, Echo Publishing—Vice Chairman
Brian Niblett, American National Bank—Treasurer
Martin Bell, Guaranty Bond Bank - Past Chairman
on Social Media
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
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The unity of Mount Pleasant’s business
and community leaders forged strong ties that led
to another successful Total Resource Campaign
for the Chamber.
The TRC generates sponsorships from lo-
cal businesses that support chamber events, pro-
grams, networking and business promotion
throughout the year. It allows the Chamber to
map out a complete year of chamber activities
and gauge the success of an event.
At a victory party for the 2014 campaign,
TRC Chair Steve Capps thanked the teams who
fanned out across Mount Pleasant during Febru-
ary.
“Unity makes us stronger together,” he told
the crowd at 80 Acres.
Chamber CEO Faustine Curry said the
campaign surpassed its sponsorship goal, gener-
ated 30 new chamber members and had a nearly
90 percent retention rate among its 2013 mem-
bership. Among those, most either chose to stay
at the same level or increase their sponsorships.
“I’m overwhelmed with how generous peo-
ple are and how much support Mount Pleasant
gives to the business community,” Curry said.
The TRC Campaign teams were led by
Shannon Norfleet of Titus Regional Medical Cen-
ter, the current Chairman of the Chamber; Brad
Lowry of Pilgrim Bank, Jey Yancey of Offen-
hauser Insurance, Troy Sellers of Luminant and
Danny Muskrat of Guaranty Bond Bank.
Norfleet said The TRC Campaign enables
the Chamber to reach, influence and unite more
people in the business community.
“I think this changes some of their percep-
tions about what the chamber is all about and
builds stronger teams and stronger businesses,”
she said. “It helps build that feel good community
that you are proud to be a part of.”
and Mount Pleasant business community unite for
Total Resource Campaign success
“Unity makes us stronger together,”
Suzanne Walker, part of the Everything Texas Win-ning Team, cheers on her team mates
during a rewards session
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09 8
9
The Mount Pleasant/Titus County
Chamber of Commerce has drafted its long
range Plan for 2014 to 2016.
The Chamber board of directors met
December 19, 2013 to
review and update the
strategic plan it devel-
oped in 2011. The vi-
sion for the three-year
strategic plan is to be
“Everything Texas”
while the mission is “to
build economic pros-
perity by engaging busi-
nesses and the com-
munity.”
With its values defined as trust, eco-
nomic prosperity, X marks the spot, aware-
ness and sustainability; the Chamber’s core
beliefs create the acronym TEXAS.
The board set five goals for its new
long range plan: to be the voice of business
by advocating for public policy that benefits
business, economic growth and the commu-
nity; to focus on its members by serving the
needs of business through programs, events,
services and connec-
tions; focusing on tour-
ism and promotion, to
foster leadership by
identifying, developing
and positioning leaders
in the Chamber and the
community; and to
strive for Chamber ex-
cellence by maintaining
a dynamic chamber
through governance, management and re-
sources.
Under each set of goals, the board
drafted strategies for meeting those goals
and identified programs that should be em-
phasized, continued and developed. They
are:
The Voice of Business
Build consensus on issues through mem-
ber involvement and input.
Create a city, county and statewide public
policy agenda.
Participate in coalitions and partnerships
to best position business, the community
and the chamber.
Provide member access to forums and
governmental issues in a non-partisan,
non-political manner.
Promote and increase participation in Ti-
tus County Days at the State Capitol.
Values: T.E.X.A.S
Trust Economic Prosperity
X marks the spot Awareness
Sustainability
www.mtpleasanttx.com
2014-2016
Strategic Plan
10
Focus On Our Members
Grow chamber membership and the unity
of business through recruitment and reten-
tion.
Utilize an annual Total Resource Campaign
to provide value and opportunity for mem-
bers.
Promote supporting Chamber members by
increasing “Shop Titus County.”
Continually explore and provide value-
added benefits and services to serve mem-
bers’ needs.
Facilitate business opportunities and con-
nections through meetings and networking
opportunities.
Improve member awareness of programs,
services, opportunities and the strategic
direction.
Tourism and Promotion
Firmly establish and promote the Cham-
ber’s brand, “Everything Texas.”
Protect the intellectual property (trademark,
etc.)
Implement the certification plan in 2014.
Focus on local awareness in 2014.
Create a growth strategy and target audi-
ences after local awareness and implemen-
tation is underway.
Improve tourism through public and private
relations.
Promote the infrastructure and resources in
Mount Pleasant that draw tourism, meet-
ings and professionals to the community .
Support tourism through a central source
by expanding existing events and festivals.
Develop a long term tourism plan for Every-
thing Texas.
Foster Leadership
Expand access to leadership development
and leadership training through Leadership
Mount Pleasant (LMP) and other sources.
Strengthen emerging leaders through Jun-
ior Chamber and others sources.
Promote successes of LMP and the impact
of graduate leaders in the community.
Chamber Excellence
Develop and maintain a flexible committee
structure that enhances the work of board
and staff, engages members and services
the unique needs of members (i.e. agricul-
ture, education, etc.)
Obtain accreditation of the Chamber by the
US Chamber in 2014.
Improve the governing documents and poli-
cy manuals for the Chamber.
Conduct annual Total Resource Campaign
to support the goals of the Chamber and
benefit business.
Maintain a dynamic leadership team and
professional staff.
Identify ways to benefit from experiences of
Past Chairmen and keep them engaged.
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
12 Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
Have you noticed? The louder that brands and busi-nesses shout to be heard, the more their visitors, guests and customers turn to social channels that aren’t so full of hype and noise.
By Shiela | www.tourismcurrents.com
Hey, over here!
Getting a visitor or
guest’s attention
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
13
The name of the less noisy channel
doesn’t matter. It’s the trend we’re seeing.
For some it’s leaving (or at least starting to
ignore) Facebook. For some it’s Snapchat,
Path or Google+ Communities. For us at
Tourism Currents lately, it’s been LinkedIn.
Yesterday’s announcement about Instagram
Direct – sending photos and video only to
certain people, not your whole follower
stream – made us think even more about this
movement toward controlling one’s online
interactions, net-
works and experi-
ences.
People
don’t want to hear
what they don’t
want to hear, and
as a marketing
person, you have
zero control over that.
You can start pouring ad money into
Facebook, for example, to overcome the
problems that so many Pages are having
with getting their updates seen in fan News
Feeds….but is that really the answer?
Step back. Remember the few digital
marketing properties that you actu-
ally control:
1) Your website
2) Your self-hosted blog
3) Your email list
4) Your permission-based list of
phone numbers to send text
messages
That’s it.
That’s it, but that’s incredibly
valuable.
People who stay on
your website looking around and
reading your blog; they are wel-
come and wonderful guests. People who al-
low you into their email “In” boxes; that is
such a gift of trust. People who give you ac-
cess to their mobile devices like the phone in
their purse or pocket; that is a precious route
to their time and attention.
If you crank up the hype and noise
machine, they are OUT of there.
Your visitors and guests are learning
how to shut off the online clutter just like they
Mute television ads and ignore unknown
numbers thanks to
Caller ID.
So ignore
the siren calls for
buying this or that
thing that shouts at
your customers. Let
the desperate pleas
for “more, more,
more!!” go unanswered.
Focus instead on telling stories
they’ve never heard before and delivering a
marvelous visitor experience that they can’t
get anywhere else, and you will earn their
attention, trust and business.
www.mtpleasanttx.com
“Focus instead on telling stories they’ve never heard before and delivering a marvelous visitor experience that they can’t get
anywhere else.”
15
Johnny Long-
legs is two-stepping
his way across Mount Pleasant and Titus
County.
The Mount Pleasant/Titus County
Chamber & Visitor’s Center’s mascot,
featured on the Everything Texas
brand is the focus of a new program
to establish Everything Texas certified
businesses, products and services.
“The Everything
Texas Certification Pro-
gram was created to
allow businesses the
opportunity to create a
product or service or
item that fits with the
Everything Texas con-
cept as a way to spread
the brand,” said Cham-
ber CEO Faustine Curry.
The program was born out of
the Chamber’s tourism committee at
the beginning of the year with two
goals in mind. “For the Chamber, it’s
an additional marketing push for our
businesses not only for people local-
ly, but for people coming into town,” Curry said.
“From a tourism perspective,
it provides us something else
to promote, like an attraction,
such as an Everything Texas
trail.”
Martin Bell, past
Chamber chairman and executive vice president
of Guaranty Bond
Bank, said the
idea is to spread the already popular brand to
attract tourists from all over.
“I envision a day when
somebody stays in an Every-
thing Texas hotel suite, orders
the Everything Texas certified
entrée at local restaurants
and participates in Everything
Texas certified activities,” Bell
said.
The Everything Texas
brand itself started in 2011 after Curry and
Colby Parker, the marketing director the
Mount Pleasant Economic Development
Corporation, represented Mount Pleasant
at the State Fair of Texas. After looking at
how other cities were branding
themselves, they thought, “We
have all of that in Mount
Pleasant and Titus County,” so
the idea that Mount Pleasant
is “Everything Texas” was cre-
ated.
For a small fee of $20
per year, a business can apply
for Everything Texas certification by completing
an application available at
the Chamber office.
A retail business, res-
taurant, bank, organization
or attraction presents an
idea for a certified product
and how they would use the brand. Guaranty
“The possibilities are limitless.”
www.mtpleasanttx.com
brand branches outbrand branches outbrand branches out
16
Bond Bank, for example, is rolling out an Every-
thing Texas debit card. Echo Publishing is using
the certification logo on specialty printing prod-
ucts, such as an Everything Texas playing card
box and a golf ball holder.
“Maybe a retail store has an Everything
Texas section or an Everything Texas gift card; a
hotel decorates an Everything Texas suite in a
Western theme; a cleaners has a special on
cleaning denim,” Bell suggested. “The possibili-
ties are limitless.”
Bell also pointed out that the ideas busi-
nesses come up with are not exclusive.
“Just because one business is already us-
ing the certification on a product or service
doesn’t mean another business cannot do the
same thing. Just because we have an Everything
Texas debit card doesn’t mean other banks
can’t,” he said. “I would love to see multiple res-
taurants have multiple Everything Texas certified
entrees. The concept is not a naming rights con-
cept. We’re trying to create a brand for the entire
community.”
Bell said certified businesses will receive
an Everything Texas Certified sticker to place in
their store window and a digital version to use in
their own marketing efforts.
The Chamber also plans to create an Eve-
rything Texas self-guided tour.
“When people come to town they will get a
list of all of the businesses that are certified Eve-
rything Texas and they will be able to experience
all of the different things that Mount Pleasant and
Titus County have to offer,” Bell said.
With Mount Pleasant recently being
named “Best City” in the Northeast Texas region
by the Texas Travel Industry Association, Bell
anticipates tourism will increase in the coming
months.
Curry said there is going to be a lot of pro-
motion of the Everything Texas certifications in
publications such as Texas Highways and Texas
Monthly.
“I’m excited about the opportunity to pro-
mote the Everything Texas brand,” Curry said.
“We want to promote Mount Pleasant products
across the state of Texas and get more people
aware of what Mount Pleasant has to offer,” Cur-
ry said.
“For such a nominal cost, there is going to
be a tremendous upside to being an Everything
Texas certified member,” Bell said.
Curry said the Chamber’s initial goal is for
20 businesses to sign on, but while the program
is still in the beginning stages, Bell envisions it
having an international reach.
“We’re starting small, but the goal is for it
to eventually go worldwide to bring people to
Mount Pleasant,” he said.
“We’re starting small, but the goal is for it to eventually go worldwide to bring people to
Mount Pleasant,”
Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
17 www.mtpleasanttx.com
MOUNT PLEASANT/ TITUS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCEMOUNT PLEASANT/ TITUS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
MOUNT PLEASANT COUNTRY CLUBMOUNT PLEASANT COUNTRY CLUB
1000 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE1000 COUNTRY CLUB DRIVE
MOUNT PLEASANT, TX 75455MOUNT PLEASANT, TX 75455
JUNE 27 & 28, 2014JUNE 27 & 28, 2014
SPONSORED BY:SPONSORED BY:
GOLF OPENGOLF OPEN
18 Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09
The incentive to consider retail marketing is obvious. The closer you can get to retail cus-tomers, the more retail dollars go in your pock-et. However, it's not all profits. If you sell retail, you will be providing services the wholesalers, packagers, distributors, and retailers typically provide. As we approach another fresh produce marketing season, the key details of operating a direct-to-consumer marketing enterprise. Starts with a look. Visual Display Proper presentation of products increases sales. Shoppers receive a positive impression if products are top quality, clean, and tastefully dis-played. Remember that high-quality products are the strength of produce markets! A lively, well-stocked produce department entices the customer to buy and increases sales and profits. Think of yourself as an artist, with several palettes of colors to choose from: visual - color, contrast, shape, size; smell - herbs, fruits; and touch - soft or firm. Make displays that look like they came from the farm. Wooden crates or boxes work well. Baskets are beautiful; slant them toward the customer. Even an attractive tablecloth can add to your sales. Stair stepped displays create an array of depth, color, and texture; however, they may not be easy for the customer to reach or easy to restock. Utilize vertical space by hanging products from slings or hangers. Merchandising "Pile it high and kiss it good-bye!" Full, well-stocked displays make customers want to come back and get it. Customers don't like tak-
ing the last of something from a bare, picked-over display; they want to choose the best. Remember to not overstock to prevent the risk of crushing tender items on the bottom. Make it easy for the customers to reach for the produce. Your display should be no more than an arm's reach in depth, and between knee and waist level in height. Don't put your mer-chandise on the ground. Instead of placing your boxes flat, try slanting your produce to give the customer a more pleasing visual sense of your product. Organize products in related group-ings. Such groups might include dessert items, salad items, cooking vegetables, apples and pears. Displaying compatible products together serves as a suggestion for additional purchases and uses of the products. Research shows the use of color and tex-ture greatly enhances eye appeal. People enjoy food with their senses, so displays that are eye appealing tend to increase purchases. Mix a row of radishes between the mustard and kale, toma-toes between the lettuce and cucumbers, or in-tersperse peaches with blueberries to create daz-zling color displays. Price Signs Prices should be clearly marked. Most shoppers are in a hurry and will not search out the manager to find out how much something costs. Include a few product features and per-haps menu suggestions on signs to stimulate your buyers' thoughts on how to use the item. For more ideas on marketing give the Chamber a call at 903.572.8567
Market LocalMarket Local
19 www.mtpleasanttx.com
Calendar of Events
02 11:30 AM-Friday Burger Party Sponsored by Dekoron Wire& Cable The Chamber
05 12 PM-Eat Local Drawing Laura’s Cheesecake
07 12 PM-Ambassador Lunch Noodle Grill
08 10 AM-Ribbon Cutting Motel 6
08 2 PM– Ribbon Cutting Workforce Solutions of Northeast Texas
09 7:30 AM-Leadercast Northeast Texas Community College
12 12PM-Agriculture Committee Meeting The Chamber
13 8AM-Tourism Meeting The Chamber
15 1:30 PM-Chamber Executive Board Meeting The Chamber
15 5:30 PM– Business After Hours Sponsored by Holiday Inn Express
21 9 AM-MPHS Academic Blanket Ceremony MPHS Gym
22 6 PM-CHHS Academic Blanket Ceremony CHHS Gym
23 1:30 PM– Ribbon Cutting Title Max
26 CHAMBER CLOSED-Memorial Day
28 8 AM-Chamber Board of Directors Meeting Sponsored by Priefert Manufacturing Co. Inc The Chamber
29-31 7:30 PM Nightly-Mount Pleasant Rodeo
01-30 GROW LOCAL 04 12PM-Ambassador Lunch Taqueria Daysi’s y Mariscos
06 11:30 AM-Friday Burger Party Sponsored by Guaranty Bond Bank The Chamber
12 1:30PM-Chamber Executive Board Meeting The Chamber
18 8 AM-Board of Directors Meeting Sponsored by Two Senoritas The Chamber
19 5:30-Business After Hours Sponsored by Mount Pleasant Country Club
27-28 Everything Texas Golf Open Sponsored by Pilgrim’s Mount Pleasant Country Club
June
May
20
Mount Pleasant/ Titus County Chamber of Commerce
1604 North Jefferson Avenue Mount Pleasant, TX 75455
www.mtpleasanttx.com
(p) 903.572.8567 (f) 903.572.0613