Kinky Friedman to speak to group in Austin

By Diane Probst
President/CEO

Approximately 65 people have signed up to attend the Aransas County Day Event at the Capitol Feb. 25 and 26. State Senator Glenn Hegar and State Representative Todd Hunter have made way for the group to have a very productive visit as the delegation speaks to legislators on issues relating to funding of local government, public education, tourism, evacuation and flooding, elections costs, etc.

For an added experience, Kinky Friedman will join the group in the late evening on Wednesday, Feb. 25 for a question and answer session back at the hotel.

Below is a list of the issues that will be presented to the legislators during the two-day visit.

Aransas County Day at the Capitol
2009 Legislative Issues

County
The voters of Aransas County recently approved a proposition that gave the county the authority to address drainage concerns and the impact of storm water runoff on our bays and wetlands. Aransas County has all or part of six inland bays within its borders (Aransas Bay, Copano Bay, St. Charles Bay, Mesquite Bay, Carlos Bay and Port Bay.) Aransas County and these unique pristine bays are frequented for recreational purposes by residents from every part of the state. Therefore, development and use of this county as places of recreation are of concern to the entire state. The impact of storm water runoff on water quality from high density development has not only been well-established in EPA literature but also by recent impact studies. The ability to regulate, to some extent, impervious cover and the destruction of tree canopy is a key factor to protecting our water quality. Therefore, the County is requesting legislative action that would extend land use regulation authority to Aransas County.

The County also opposes efforts to limit and constrict local control by lowering the existing 8% revenue cap or reducing the present 10% constitutional appraisal cap. The County also supports the passage of legislation, including an amendment to the State’s constitution, which would prohibit the imposition of a mandatory governmental program on Texas counties unless the state has fully funded and disbursed all necessary funds to enable counties to operate the program.

Schools
The legislative issue needs of our school district include five areas which deal with funding. Those areas are: eliminate the law that restricts school districts from realizing a gain in revenue from property value increases because of an equal dollar amount decrease in state aid funding. Because Aransas County Independent School District is a Chapter 41 district, this laws not only freezes our total revenue but also increases our recapture cost since this cost increases when property values increase, provide transportation funding to Chapter 41 districts, provided the mid-size school formula adjustment to Chapter 41 districts, reduce/eliminate Chapter 41 recapture costs and find a better way for State of Texas to fund public schools and provide additional funding to al school districts to cover inflationary costs.
City
The legislative needs for our city include retaining the current requirements for appraisal, tax and revenue caps as written in current state law, eliminate state unfunded mandates and eliminate the state requirement for local entities which do not conduct federal elections to provide electronic voting machines unless the state funds them.
Tourism
The legislative issue needs for tourism include the current funding for tourism to remain intact and for a compromise of the school start date to hold firm on the last Monday of August with no allowance for waivers.

Each of these issues were brought before their governing board and an official “Position Statement” packet will be presented to State Representatives and Senators at Aransas County Day at the Capitol Feb. 25 and 26, 2009.

We give special thanks to our sponsors for making this event possible:

AEP, AT&T

along with four of our local banks: Prosperity Bank, First Victoria, Wells Fargo Bank and American Bank.

Involvement is Key: Why?

By Diane Probst
President/CEO

Be Part of the Action!

The Rockport-Fulton Area Chamber of Commerce Activity Calendar is "alive" with events and activities. Many of you are already involved and wow... we appreciate you! Please feel free to post a comment on what you are currently involved in. This helps everyone understand how important involvement is and how it can increase the return on your dues investment.

For those who might be thinking about getting involved in some aspect of the Chamber, now is the time! Our Chamber is set up to where you will receive your "Monday Memo" giving you times and locations of events, committee meetings and activities for the week and your newsletter comes mailed to you covering the activities over a two-month spread.

Your first reaction might be... ugh... another meeting! This is common but not to worry. We have a "rule of thumb" for conducting meetings... all meetings shall not last longer than one hour and they very rarely do! It just helps knowing that you are volunteering for one hour and then you are on your own for planning something else with your business, organization or family. By conducting the meeting for only one hour, it keeps the leadership focused on the agenda, matter at hand and doesn't allow for someone to get really "long-winded". I know you can appreciate that!

Now, after you have read your Monday Memo, you can see we have luncheons, breakfasts, after hours events spread over the month period by the week. For example: we have the luncheons on the second Tuesday, the breakfasts on the last Wednesday and the Business After Hours, generally, on the last Thursday of the month... This allows you to pick and choose what you would like to attend during the month. Let's take the Business After Hours, you can attend this event free of charge. There is plenty of food and beverages. You may pick up a sale or business/organziation lead by visiting and getting to know the people at the event. It is our job at the Chamber to get you to network and introduce yourself to other members of the Chamber. This is where you see us doing these funny networking games like the "Mystery Handshaker", etc. They work... we see you shaking hands with people you don't know!

Another way to get involved is to work with Seafair, Sea-A-Bration, Hummer/Bird Celebration or any one of the 20 groups working on projects for the Chamber which utimately impacts the community. It is fun and worth your while! Right now, we need someone to help coordinate the outdoor exhibits of the Hummer/Bird Celebration. This may sound like a lot of work but let's take a look at the "Psychological Paycheck" that is involved. You may decide to help with this endeavor. Bring in a display or two or three and when the event comes around, you are rewarded by your achievements made, people you have met and recognition you received. It is just a great feeling to be of help to your community. That is just one activity that comes to mind.

Involvement is key and I know you understand why. You are so important to this Chamber. In fact, you make this Chamber what it is today! Call today and get involved!

Why is "Attracting The Meeting Business" so important to us?

By Diane Probst
President/CEO

When do small business meetings generally occur? How many people are, generally speaking, in a small meeting? What do meeting business attendees generally need? How much do they spend?
Let's talk about each of the questions to better understand why it is so important for all of us to work together to try to bring "meeting business" here. "Meeting Business" is defined as visitors coming here for a meeting of their organization or business sometime Sunday through Thursday of any given week of the year.

1.) When do small business meetings generally occur? The type of small business meetings we are interested in meet sometime between Sunday and Thursday. We are interested in the meetings using the Paws & Taws Convention Center or the Beach Front Pavilions as their venue. By bringing "meeting business" here, we are building our hotel tax collections. If we are already full on the weekends, then as you can see, this makes sense (cents!) I can think of so many state organizations who have quarterly meetings on an ongoing basis who may be looking for a new fresh location. Do you see where we are going with this? Use the comment box below to tells us about organization or business leads you may have.

2.) How many people are, generally speaking, in a small meeting? Paws & Taws Convention Center can hold up to 450 people, the Saltwater Pavilion can hold up to 250 people and the Beach Front Pavilion can hold up to 75 people. Those numbers give us our parameters for a small meeting.

3.) What do "meeting business" attendees generally need? If they are driving here from another Texas community, they generally will need a hotel room for one or two nights. They might fill up with gas. They are going to stop at our convenience stores. Maybe do a little shopping while they are here. As far as the meeting accommodations, generally a power point projector, tables chairs, access to the internet, etc. We have all of the above!

4.) How much do they spend? Well, if you figure a meeting of 60 people came here and met at the Saltwater Pavilion. Their day spending would be a tank of gas, convenience store purchase, etc. of around $35 - $50 depending on how many people in their group. This of course, would increase four times if they stayed overnight. Take it out to the 60 people in attendance, you are looking at spending of $5,000 to $10,000 depending on if they stay overnight. All of this spending impacts our economy and stimulates the dollar flowing through our community.

So, let's join together and build this program one meeting at a time. Call us with you leads of organizations or businesses you may be connected with all across the state.

Winter Texan State Days... Are you taking advantage of them?

By Diane Probst
President/CEO

The Winter Texans are here. If you are not sure how much they impact our community then just imagine them gone for a day. Whew! I don't even want to think of it. We have approximately 3,600 RV spaces in Aransas County with about 31 RV Parks. Approximately all of our 40-plus hotels have Winter Texans in some way, shape or form at their properties. Given that Winter Texans travel in couples (two people), we can say in peak season there are approximately 6,000 to 7,000 Winter Texans in our community. How much would you say they spend per day? You see many of them at our restaurants, grocery stores, volunteering, etc. Let's just say they spend $10 per day here in our community. That equates to $70,000 into our economy on a daily basis. Like I said, I don't even want to imagine the Winter Texan impact gone from our economy.

Now, that I have your attention... what are you doing to market or attract the Winter Texans to your business or organization? Do you know about the State Days at Paws and Taws? These are gatherings of people per state. It is amazing to see the great camaraderie, friendships and acquaintances made in our community at these State Days. Make sure you have your message in front of them. Have you thought about a coupon, a special, a message to reach them? Just drop off your item to Margaret at Paws & Taws and she will make sure it is placed on their tables. This is a market I think you should really think about.

All State Days are listed on our Events Calendar at www.rockport-fulton.org. Go ahead... get creative and reap the results!