MAR/APR

ISSUE 14

2015

BI-MONTHLY

BUSINESS

REPORT

Mount Pleasant

EVERYTHING TEXAS HEARTBEAT

EAT LOCAL 2015 firing up the grills

P.14 HOT NIGHT COOL MUSIC new season hits mount pleasant P.9

7TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Mount Pleasant Business Report | Issue 09

Mount Pleasant

contents:

mtpleasanttx.com 3

Partners 4

Mount Pleasant Days in Austin5

World Youth Rodeo 6

Hot Night Cool Music 8

Everything Texas Heartbeat 11

Eat Local 14

Past Chairman Council 16

7 Tips for Entrepreneurs 18

5 8

6

11

14

December 1,2014 - January 31,2015

Renewing

State Farm Insurance - Welborn Titus Regional Medical Center At Home Healthcare Chapman Transfer & Storage Inc Hampton Inn & Suites KSA Engineers Lone Star Trailer parts M P Insulation Co. Newman Electronics, LLC North East Texas Credit Union Region VIII ESC Texas A&M University-Texarkana TLC Realty Cardiology Consultants of East Texas, PA Don Juan’s Mexican Restaurant First Baptist Church Laura’s Cheesecake Stanley’s Landscape Management, LLC Mount Pleasant Economic Development Corporation Mount Pleasant Country Club Thai Lana Homer Metal Buildings, Inc. Baker and Johnson PC CPA Barefoot Bay Marina Elliott Ford Lincoln Flanagan & Flanagan Greater Hope Church of God In Christ Hamilton jewelers, Inc. McDonalds of Mount Pleasant Niblett Rental Properties O’Neal, George DDS Sandlin Motors, Inc. Titus County Fair Association Herbert L. Watkins, MD PA Willie Williams Minadeo Eye Center Arnold Walker Arnold & Co PC EDH Electric Inc. Camp Shiloh Lutheran Retreat Butler Consulting Cliffs Paint & Body Shop Inc. Edward Jones - Frank Durrum Harts Bluff ISD Kindle Light School McGuire Dyke Investment Group McKelvey Enterprises Inc. Northeast Texas Community College Scrubbies Wash USA, Inc Super Bueno Taylor Glass & Mirror Workforce Solutions Northeast Texas

Mill’s Flower Shop Stansells City Cleaners & Laundry Inc State Farm Insurance - Sandra Pirkey Pilot Club of Mount Pleasant Diana Kennedy - Century 21 Agent Pizza Hut Bill Price Tumey Mortuary Wood Air Conditioning Inc. Advantage Copy Systems Bates Cooper Sloan Funeral Home Brown’s Glass & Mirror Cox Concrete Products Creative Catering Dellwood Park Assembly of God Church Mason True Value Hardware Mount Pleasant Animal Clinic Russell & Wooten PC Lonnie Smith Tim Taylor Trinity Baptist Church ABC Auto Parts Buford Readfearn Insurance Agency Hale Electric K & A Construction The Ark Ministries Arby’s Capps Insurance Agency D&R Lawn & Landscaping Heritage park Village Mount Pleasant Cinema 6 Mount Pleasant Eye Care Center, PA National Wild Turkey Federation Northeast Texas Bikers Church Pilgrim’s Noodle Grill Currys pools & Supplies Cypress Bank Dekoron Wire and Cable LLC East Texas Children’s Dentistry, P.A. John L. Greene DDS Lowe’s McGuire Dyke CPAs Newly Weds Foods, Inc. Preifert Manufacturing Co. Inc R. K. Hall Construction, LTD Spruill Honda Kawasaki Texas Country Farm Supply The Home Lending Group Titus County Cares Kathryn C Heintz DVM

Mount Pleasant Lions Club R & R Marine Travis McInroe Insurance Guaranty Bank & Trust La Carretta Paul Meriwether MD Mid America Flight Museum Mid America Pet Food Wholesale Electric Supply Co. Inc.

Suddenlink Communications Alan G. Carter CPA at Baker & Johnson CPAs Luminant Mount Pleasant Recycling and Scrap Inc. The 80 Acres YGM, LLC AA’s Tree House learning Center Blalock Bar-B-Que Conroy Tractor Co. Day & Night Foods Delta Waterfowl of Mount pleasant Dennis Cameron Construction & Equipment, LLC Edward Jones - David Patterson Electron Security Systems Heart to Heart Hospice Heav’nly Foods Kassieghs NAPA Auto parts Northeast Texas Women’s Health, PA R/C Rentals & Sales, LLC Readfearn Real Estate Tri Special Utility District Vaughan’s Catfish Restaurant Northeast Texas Therapy Connections, LLC Matkin Chiropractic, Inc. Craig & Renea Rutledge Thompson Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc Total Lawn & fence It’s a Small World Al Riddle The Coffee man Aaron Auto Glass Lori Chism Revive Fitness

Taking

Northeast Texas Therapy Connections, LLC Camp Shiloh Lutheran Retreat Massage Therapy by Krislyn Pierce Tex Trail Trailer Parts The Home Lending Group Historic Downtown Mount Pleasant Edison Phonograph Museum Discount Tire Toloedo Finance Corporation

K Sounds The Farmer’s Wife Ronnie Dunavant Coffee Break & More Robert C. Sikes DDS Todd Jaggers Texas Farm Bureau Agent Whataburger Zippity Doo Dah Designs The Mount Pleasant Dentist

Cutting Edge Lawn & Landscape Denney Land Surveying Titus County Shelter Friends Titus GOP NTX Phone Repair & Satellite Services Nikki Hein, Redfearn Agent Caamal Moving Service

New Partners

To the next level

4 mtpleasanttx.com

mtpleasanttx.com 5

The trip that coincides with the Texas Legislative Session every other year is part of the Mount Pleasant Lead-ership Class. The trip is scheduled for March 18-19. In addition to the Leader-ship Class, the group of 40-60 people will include local city and county government officials, business and education leaders and members of the community. “It’s a pretty broad spectrum. The business commu-nity is welcome to sign up to at-tend,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. On the first day of the visit, the group will attend a re-ception with elected officials and their staff at the Austin Club and be taken an evening tour of the Capitol by Texas House Representative Bryan Hughes, who represents Titus County. The second day will include sessions with legislative leaders who will address local issues and needs. “We’ll have breakfast with a key legisla-tive leader speaking to the group and then we’ll get to see the Senate and the House floors and how the legislative pro-cess works while it’s in session,” Curry said. “Then we’ll break out into sessions with key people in the industries that support the Chamber’s legislative agen-da, education, transportation, and energy.”

“Those who make the trip get a good understanding of not only the layout of the Capitol and how things work in state government. It is also a good opportunity for Mount Pleasant to be recognized on the floor of the Texas House and Sen-ate,” said Jennifer Harland, chair of the

Governmental Affairs Committee, which organizes the trip. During the 30-minute sessions, the group will hear from executives from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Oil & Gas Commis-sion, and the Texas Association of Busi-ness. “Throughout the day we will be meeting with the key stakeholders of these groups. There will be time for members of our group to speak to them and get a chance to hear about things that affect Mount Pleasant and Titus County,” she said. “They will also have time with the legislative staff to ask ques-tions and make sure they are aware of

issues we’re concerned about at home.” Curry said the trip is extremely important, not only for the members of the group to get a better understanding of how state government works and is-sues that affect us locally, but for our voices to be heard in Austin.

“As the popu-lation shifts to the met-ropolitan areas, it’s easy for legislators to go where the most votes are. So, it’s im-portant that we are down there reminding the legislature that rural areas matter, that we’re moving forward and we need their sup-

port,” Curry said. Curry also said that it’s rare for a city the size of Mount Pleasant to be represented in Austin and even rarer to have such a large contingent taking part. “A smaller community may go, but it will be three or five people. While that voice matters, it counts, it’s nothing like 50 people coming from Titus County. That’s a pretty loud voice saying Mount Pleasant matters and it makes a state-ment. We want to make sure East Texas is represented.”

“it’s important that we are down

there reminding the legislature

that rural areas matter, that

we’re moving forward and we

need their support.”

Mount Pleasant Mount Pleasant

6 mtpleasanttx.com

New World Youth Rodeo infuses tourism opportunities into Mount Pleasant The “Everything Texas” brand is fully behind a new community event that debuts in April. The Chamber signed on as a national sponsor of the Priefert World Youth Rodeo. The inaugural rodeo will open its gates at the Mount Pleasant Rodeo Arena April 17-18. “The World Youth Rodeo offers huge opportunity for Mount Pleas-ant. It has the potential to bring in people from all over the country,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. “That’s great for our restaurants, gas stations and hotels.” The event represents a new era in youth rodeo for Mount Pleasant. The partnership between the Mount Pleas-ant FFA and the Mount Pleasant Rodeo Association will feature a format never used before: a long-go round on Friday and Saturday with a Top 10 finals round on Saturday night. “Our rodeo is unique from other youth rodeos in the fact that there’s a long-go format. Everybody competes against each other in each event and then we bring back the top 10 with the fastest times for the finals on Saturday night,” said WYR organizer Clint Chitsey, who is the FFA director at Mount Pleasant High School. The youth rodeo is open to ages 18 and under with a Junior Incentive for the younger contestants 13 and under.

Another big draw will be the potential for large cash awards and other prizes in the rodeo being billed as “the world’s richest open youth rodeo.” Rodeo organizers are expecting 850 to 900 contestants, both boys and girls competing in 11 events. There will be

$12,000 added money from the rodeo to go along with the jackpot money from the entry fee for a potential payout of over $100,000. Sponsors have added to the takeaway with two trailers, two saddles and 12 buckles. The format also allows the con-testants more flexibility with rotation sched-ules. “They will know what time to get here rather than showing up on Friday morning at 8 a.m. and not competing until 8 p.m.,” said Chitsey, who competed in rodeo in high school and one year of col-lege at Northeast Texas Community Col-lege. “We wanted a rodeo where young cowboys and cowgirls could come and compete for good money and good prizes

in a short amount of time. They’re in and out on Friday and Saturday.” Gerald Pasley, arena director for the MPRA and a former high school rodeo competitor, Pasley understands how hard most youth rodeo competitions can be on families.

“This format will allow them to get here, get their business done and get out of here. They won’t have to be here for a week and their par-ents won’t have to take time off from their jobs,” he said. The WYR stays true to the legacy of rodeo by including the rough stock events of saddle bronc, bareback riding and bull riding. “That’s the history of rodeo.

That’s where rodeo started,” Pasley said. “With the money we’re adding, we’re show-ing our commitment to promote the future of these events.” The WYR has numerous national sponsors signing on, including title sponsor Priefert Manufacturing, Big Texas Trailers, Cinch Jeans & Shirts, Resistol Hats, Cac-tus Saddlry, Cactus Gear and Cactus Ropes as well as local and regional part-ners, including the Mount Pleasant-Titus County Chamber & Visitor’s Council, Mount Pleasant Toyota and the United Professional Rodeo Association. Chitsey sees the passion for ro-deo that he had growing up in his students and wants to help provide an avenue for them to be successful.

“It will bring in fresh

people and fresh money to

our community and bring a

national spotlight to Mount

Pleasant,”

mtpleasanttx.com 7

“This is their lifestyle. They prac-tice daily and invest a lot of time and mon-ey. It gives them a competitive edge and teaches them how to care for their horses,” he said. Pasley agrees and says the new rodeo will move the MPRA and the Mount Pleasant FFA in a positive direction. It’s also making an impression on other rodeo associations. “This event is getting national recognition. There are various national associations that have taken notice of what we’re doing and contributing to their high school rodeos,” Pasley said. “They want to get involved now and help promote youth because these kids are the lifeblood of their future also.” Curry said the boost in tourism for Mount Pleasant was a key reason for the Chamber’s sponsorship. “It will bring in

fresh people and fresh money to our com-munity and bring a national spotlight to Mount Pleasant,” she said. “While the title sponsor is right here in Mount Pleasant, they aren’t just a local company. Priefert is an international company and along with all of the other national sponsors, it really showcases Mount Pleasant for those who may never have had a reason to come here. It’s going to be a really neat thing.” Another unique aspect of the event is that all of the contestants will be required to wear their back numbers – a contestant number with the WYR logo worn on the back of their shirts – anywhere they go while they are in town for the ro-deo. “That really allows for local recog-nition for those people traveling here from all over the country,” Curry said. “It also gives Mount Pleasant residents a heads up

that all these people are coming here to our community and gives the rodeo great recognition, so that’s a great opportunity for us to shine.” For more information on the World Youth Rodeo, visit the WYR website at www.worldyouthrodeo.com.

8 mtpleasanttx.com

A new season of Hot Night Cool Music will have Downtown Mount Pleasant pulsing with cool sounds and packed with music lovers and late night shoppers. It’s the second season for the popular concert series with four Friday nights on the calendar for 2015 – April 10, June 19, August 7 and October 16. The event sponsors are the City of Mount Pleasant, Mount Pleasant Main Street, the Mount Pleasant-Titus County Chamber & Visitor Council and Star Country 96.9. East Texas country singer/songwriter Chris Colston will open the show at 7 p.m. with the main act, the Dar-rin Morris Band, kicking off the rest of the night at 8:30 and playing until midnight. “Chris Colston is a young guy. His hometown is Lindale, TX. He’s been mak-ing the circuit and he’s on YouTube. The Darrin Morris Band is from Gilmer. They play all over Texas. They’ve played at a Nashville festival and have a couple of original songs on the charts,” said Jacob Hatfield, the City of Mount Pleasant direc-tor of community services. The event is held on the Down-town Square with Main Street shops and boutiques keeping their doors open late. Vendors will offer the crowd a variety of food to munch on while they enjoy the mu-sic and an area will be roped off for danc-ing. “Everybody is invited. It is family fun for all ages,” Hatfield said. Hot Night Cool Music started in 2014 with each event growing in size. “We started in June last year and this year we’re adding the April event. With each event, it seems to grow in number,” he said. “After the first one in June, people were asking, ‘When is the next one going to be?’ and it keeps growing through word of mouth.” The street concert has a big im-pact on the downtown stores that keep their doors open late. “Several have said they had their best sales and some even had record sales on those nights,” Hatfield said. This year, the event is expected to draw an even bigger crowd coming into Mount Pleasant for the Highway 271 Pro-gressive Car Cruise, which starts in Mount Pleasant Saturday morning, April 11. In the past, the cruise has started in Glade-

water and ended in Mount Pleasant. “We’re switching it up this year and we’re inviting the car cruisers and car enthusi-asts to come the night before for the con-certs and stay the night with us. We’ll feed them breakfast and then send them on their way,” Hatfield said. “The car cruise leaves here at 10 a.m.” The cruise, which features music, food, entertainment and prizes at each of its stops, will head south on Highway 271, making stops in Pittsburg and Gilmer be-fore ending the day in Gladewater. Regis-tration for the cruise opens March 1. “The car cruise is a great way to get people into town that normally wouldn’t come through here to just spend time and hang out in downtown,” said Faustine Cur-ry, CEO of the Chamber, which is partner-ing with Mount Pleasant Main Street on the weekend events. “It’s a good way to showcase Mount Pleasant. There’s a lot happening here. We have great shops and good things going on, so if we can give them a glimpse of all those neat things, then maybe they will come back for anoth-er event or a Friday night for dinner or Sat-urday to shop.” With Hot Night Cool Music set on Friday nights, it gives people a chance to enjoy a fun, local event before heading out of town for the weekend, a boom for local tourism. Hatfield estimated the concert events have drawn at least 500 and up-wards of 1,000 to 1,200 people. “We’ve always had it on a Friday because we want to catch people before they start their weekend. If they’re planning to go out of town for the weekend, this is something to keep them in Mount Pleasant before they head out,” Hatfield said. Curry said Hot Night Cool Music is a great community event that has been very successful in bringing people down-town. “It gets people in the stores and gives par-ents, kids and familiesa place to go, some-thing fun and unique to do and the busi-nesses have all been very positive about it and willing to stay open late,” she said. “It’s a great event and I’m excited for the City to continue it for another year.” Hatfield said the bands they book are mostly regional and Texas bands. “We have had bands from Austin

and Dallas-Fort Worth, Gilmer and Glade-water and now Lindale. We’ve booked Texas Country acts, Top 40 bands and cover bands. We give it a really good mix of music styles and try to keep all ages entertained,” Hatfield said. “We finished last year with the David Whiteman Band from Dallas. He did everything from jazz up to hip hop. We look to book bigger acts each time and try for high-quality bands.” Hatfield said he is in the process of book-ing the David Whiteman Band again for the June concert. Darrin Morris Band The Darrin Morris Band formed in October 2012, with just a few friends getting togeth-er to play at a local restaurant outside of Gilmer, TX. The response prompted the owners to ask them play on a monthly ba-sis. One gig led to another and over the last year and a half they have played all over Texas and the list of new venues con-tinues to grow. They play many of today's country hits, some of the old country clas-sics, a little southern rock and also throw in a growing set of original songs. The band members are Jeremy Moore, Blake Watson, Collin Harris and Greg Hughes. Website: darrinmorrisband.com Chris Colston Chris Colston is a country music singer-songwriter from Lindale, TX. Playing drums and guitar from the age of seven, Chris began performing in 2013 at gigs and local talent competitions. He won first place in several contests, including the 2013 Lindale Idol in the teen division. In 2014, he took first in KPXI Country Show-down, the KGAS Tex Ritter Roundup, the Grapevine Opry Summer Talent Search and the KFOX East Texas Got Talent competition. He also won third place at the 3rd John Ritter Showcase. Off the competition circuit now, Chris is play-ing Texas shows to promote his debut album “Guitar Playin’ Outlaw,” which re-leases this spring. Website: chriscolstonmusic.com

mtpleasanttx.com 9

10 mtpleasanttx.com

mtpleasanttx.com 11

Chamber Volunteer Rob Hedges recently stepped into a brand new role for the Chamber. As the 2015 Chairman-elect, he is the Chair of the Total Resource Cam-paign, the first to take on that role under a new Chamber structure. “This is the first time we’ve done it this way since we started the TRC. The Chairman-elect of the Board will serve as the Chair of the TRC,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. Curry said one of the most difficult

things for the Chairman-elect is the transi-tion to Chairman of the Board. “They are members of the board and when they be-come Chairman-elect, it can sometimes be a struggle to determine their role.,” she said. “By serving as Chair of the TRC, which is a two-month commitment, they will be entrenched in everything that has to do with the Chamber.” She said under the new structure, the chair elect is eased into their position when they take on the mantle of Chairman

of the Board, they will have a good under-standing of how everything works and be ready to lead the Chamber forward! The new system will also help the Chamber by establishing a designated system of naming a leader of the TRC to keep that annual resource campaign run-ning seamlessly.

Heartbeat

12 mtpleasanttx.com

Q&A with Rob Hedges Q: As Chairman elect, you've taken on the role of Chair of the TRC. How has this experience enhanced you personally and professionally and how has it prepared you to become Chairman of the Board? A: It has been a privilege to serve as the 2015 Total Resource Campaign Chair. It is amazing to witness the countless hours and dedication that each campaign volun-teer spends to “Electrify Mount Pleasant” and make the Total Resource Campaign a success year end and year out. I would also like to thank the Chamber of Com-merce members who partner with and support the Chamber through this worth-while endeavor.

Q: Share how the TRC has gone this year. A: The 2015 Total Resource Campaign is winding down and has already proven to be a success. Through events such as Everything Texas Fresh, Everything Tex-as Golf Open, Everything Texas Ranch Run and Wine Festival, and Deck the Halls, to name a few, the Chamber of Commerce is looking forward to promot-ing our members and the Mount Pleasant community as “Everything Texas”.

Q: Why do you volunteer for the Cham-ber? A: Something I once read and resonated with me, “To volunteer is the ultimate exercise in Democracy. We may vote only every few years, but when we volun-teer we vote everyday concerning the type of community we want to work, live, and raise a family in.”

Rob Hedges Bio Republic Services – Operations Manager – 10 years Grew up in Mount Pleasant, 1995 Graduate of Mount Pleasant High School Staff Sergeant, United States Air Force 1998 – 2004 Married for 17 years to a wonderful wife and mother, Beth, two children Zach (16), Elly (6) Second year serving on the Chamber board, Chairman Elect 2015, Chairman 2016 Also serves as Chairman of the Arkansas Texas Council of Governments Solid Waste board

mtpleasanttx.com 13

14 mtpleasanttx.com

The mouth-watering smells of your favorite dishes from Mount Pleasant eateries will en-tice as Eat Local fires up the grill in April. It’s the fourth year for the campaign to en-courage eating out at local restaurants, part of the Shop Titus County initia-tive, which started in 2010 and also includes Grow Local in June and Christ-mas Local in December. The Chamber-member restaurant marketing cam-paign drew $50,000 in receipts in 2014. The eatery that tops the sales incentive at the end of the month is chosen to host the custom-er drawing for a grand prize. To be eligible, diners save their receipts of $5 or more and turn them in to the Chamber office by 5

p.m. on April 30. “Last year, Laura’s Cheesecake brought in the most receipts during the Eat Local month,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. The drawing will be held May 4. Don’t Cook Tues-days adds an additional incentive for home cooks to hang up their aprons and opt for an evening with family and friends to enjoy burgers, Mexican, Italian, Asian, Texas BBQ and other fare at local spots. Receipts from those Tues-days – April 7, April 14, April 21 and April 28 - must be turned in to the Chamber office by noon the following Wednesday. The receipts turned in will be entered into a weekly incentive drawing for a $25 gift card from a chamber

“It’s so easy to just whip in some-

where on the way home. Every per-

son that walks into those restau-

rants is helping that establish-

ment be the best that it can be for

Mount Pleasant.”

mtpleasanttx.com 15

member restaurant. Those receipts will also be entered into the Eat Local drawing for the grand prize. The annual promotion has been successful in highlighting the variety of restaurants that Mount Pleasant has to offer. It’s also a reminder to residents to support local mom and pop cafes and national chains to keep their businesses thriving. “It’s been really helpful in reiterat-

ing how important it is to think about the aspects of how you spend your money,” Curry said. “It’s so easy to just whip in somewhere on the way home. Every per-son that walks into those restaurants is helping that establishment be the best that it can be for Mount Pleasant.” She said it’s also a way to give back to the restaurant community, which provides jobs for local residents. “Even the little bit we can do

helps them out,” she said. “We need to support them.” Be sure to upload your Eat Local “food selfies” to the Facebook page. www.facebook.com/shoplocaltituscounty.

16 mtpleasanttx.com

The Chamber will soon start a new tradition to honor the old guard. With a long list of past chairmen of the board, the Chamber has created a Past Chair Council and will honor the group of extinguished leaders at a luncheon in April. “Our list of past chairs goes back to 1926. These men and women have been influential to not only the Chamber but also to Mount Pleasant and Titus County,” said Chamber CEO Faustine Curry. “This new coun-cil and luncheon will tap into their ide-as, their knowledge and experience.” The Past Chair Council will meet twice a year with the inaugural lunch-eon and meeting hosted by the newest Past Chair, Shannon Norfleet with Titus Regional Medical Center. “The Past Chair Council is an exciting new aspect of the Chamber’s outreach and is designed to retain a pulse of the heartbeats and circles

of influence of past Chairmen of the Board of Directors,” Norfleet said. Norfleet said the purpose of the group is to “identify issues of importance for our community and provide collabora-

tive solutions and advisement to the cur-rent Board of Directors, while providing a venue to continue to engage the experi-ence, expertise and talent of the previous leadership pool.” Curry said the opportunity for

brainstorming with the past chairs is a gold mine for the current board and committees. “Connecting with the past chairs after their time of service has been a missed oppor-tunity. This council will be a wonderful op-

portunity for us to be able to continue to use their knowledge to keep the Chamber moving in the right direction and enrich our community,” she said. The Council will also serve as an op-portunity for the past chairs to get to-gether and network. “It’s so easy for them to become disconnected from the Chamber when their term ends. People are so busy. This will be a way to keep them connected, use their insight and let them know how grateful

we are for the year that they served,” Curry said.

P a s t C h a i r m a n s C o u n c i l

“This council will be a wonder-

ful opportunity for us to be

able to continue to use their

knowledge to keep the Chamber

moving in the right direction

and enrich our community.”

mtpleasanttx.com 17

1926-27-28 C. L. Duncan 1929-30-31-32 George Lilienstern 1933 A. J. Copellar 1934 George Lilienstern 1935-36 J. R Hart 1937 Claude D. McDonald 1938-39 T. C. Walker 1940-41 J. A. Petty 1942-43 Bob Sandlin 1944-45 Ben Patrick 1946 Holman Lilienstern 1947 A. C. Anderson 1948 Hubert Hightower 1949 Everett Redfearn 1950 Howard Leftwich 1951 Traylor Russell 1952 J. D. Sawyer 1953 C. E. Gaddis 1954 A. A. Sistrunk 1955 Charles Tucker 1956-57 Winston Ward 1958 W. L. Means 1959 George W. Stone 1960 G. L. Brogoitti 1961

Otis McMinn 1962 A. D. Petty 1963 Lon Bates 1965 D. A. Broogoitti 1966 Kenneth Kraner 1967 E. B. Hord 1968 R. J. Cochran 1969 T. R. Florey, III 1971 Bill G. Jones 1972 Bob Baker 1973 Odell Morrison 1974 Roy Roberson 1975 Homer Holt 1976 Frank Harrison 1977 Homer Dalrymple 1978 Paul Boggs 1979 Buck Weems 1980 Jan Presley 1981 Grady Firmin 1982 Travis Hatter 1983 Dick Zachry III 1984 Pete Hairston 1985 Debe McGuire 1986 Jack Firmin 1987 Toby Abney

1991 Steve Payton 1992 Sharon Derrick 1993 Larry Burns 1994 Gary Brown 1995 Gordon Hall 1997 Steve Capps 1998 Cappy Payne 1999 Brian Niblett 2000 Lonnie Smith 2001 Lonnie Smith 2002 Gordon Hall 2003 Teri Lee 2004 Diana Kennedy 2005 Brett Boatner 2006 Michelle Wilson 2007 Tommy James 2008 Ron Davis 2009 Darrell Grubbs 2010 Beth Thompson 2011 Troy Sellers 2012 Jason Snodgrass 2013 Martin Bell 2014 Shannon Norfleet

List of Past Chairs

18 mtpleasanttx.com

Getting screwed up every now and then is part of entrepreneurship. But, not all mistakes are productive! If you are starting a business, it’s important to avoid as many mistakes as possible. Of course, it’s not possible to take it to zero, since mistakes are a part of learning process too. However, if you have the opportunity to learn from those who have come before you, you can be that much better off.

Here are the most common and

easy to avoid mistakes:

Ignoring social media because you

don’t have time to analyze the impact

Just a few years back, it was

usual for entrepreneurs to achieve suc-

cess without social media. Today, howev-

er, customers want to engage with brands,

meaning brands have to be both publish-

ers and participants.

For some who see the value of

social media, yet believe they lack the

resources and time, commit another mis-

take to outsource the work to agencies.

No matter how good the agency is, no-

body is better qualified to represent your

business than your own employees.

Tip: Single mistake made by en-

trepreneurs when it comes to Social Me-

dia is not doing it at all. Don’t be one of

them.

Jumping in with no plan or strategy.

Entrepreneurs spend exhaustive

time doing market research, competitor

scanning and creating financial plans, but

rarely spend time to craft social media

strategy. Doing things with no plan, can

actually do more harm than not pursuing

the medium at all. So, plan ahead or sit

down with someone who can help you

align social media strategy with the goals

of your company.

Social media is not about spread-

ing the same message in different plat-

forms. It is much more than that and sure-

ly deserves your attention. Usually the

people who are following you on social

media platforms are aware of your brand.

They are expecting interesting content

from you to guide them through the prod-

uct or service.

Make your strategy as concrete

and achievable as possible. For example,

say you are getting 2 new leads in a

month, setting a goal of 50 leads in a year

is more realistic than to get 1000 new

leads.

Tip: Things just work well with a

plan in hand. Take out few hours from

your schedule to at least outline the 5 W’s

(who, what, where, when and why).

Talking too much about themselves

and not listening

In fact, you need to talk less and

listen more. The true purpose of social

media is – being social and this is not sup-

posed to be one-way conversation. It is a

place for customers to express their opin-

ions.

Some brands only talk about

their features and how good they are. This

is traditional marketing style and can work

only for traditional platforms, not social

media. Social media is more of a conver-

sation, than simply blasting messages to

customers. This is not just another chan-

nel to market your product.

There has to be a two-way com-

AVOID THESE SOCIAL MEDIA BLUNDERSAVOID THESE SOCIAL MEDIA BLUNDERS: :

7 TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS7 TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

mtpleasanttx.com 19

munication for brands to engage with the

customers and respond to their feedback

almost immediately. Listen to what your

customers are saying; else your reputation

can be damaged in a matter of seconds.

Make the platform a conversation instead

of a monologue.

Spend some time of your day

scrolling down through posts by your po-

tential clients and followers to see what’s

going on with their professional or personal

lives. If there is something awesome hap-

pening, act on it. Call them or send a card

to acknowledge.

Tip: Leave marketing here and try

to be interesting for once. Listen to what

your customers have to say. Interact!

Not measuring success and ROI

Not an unknown concept for en-

trepreneurs, ROI is important to know ex-

actly how much worth social media is for

your business. It’s more than just the likes

and followers.

You are required to measure both

the financial statistics and the value deliv-

ered by their social media efforts. As long

as you can interpret your customers, you

can keep them interested. If you are using

old tool for measurement, you are making

a mistake again. You cannot really count

on old metrics – comments and conversa-

tions to measure the impact.

There is no particular tool to

measure ROI. It remains a challenge to

keep up with the changes in algorithms,

implement latest tools that hit the market,

and get the most out of the investment in

social media.

Tip: Knowing where to start from

and where to accomplish, is the best way

to measure ROI and know if your social

media efforts are actually working or not.

Trying to be active on all platforms

Unless you are a big corporation,

there is no reason to be active on all plat-

forms. It is better to perform well on few

platforms than do poorly on all.

Take your time to understand

where your audience is most active and

figure out where you should focus. If any

new social media pops up, feel free to ex-

periment and also be prepared to let it go if

it doesn’t work for you. Analytics is the best

guide for any entrepreneur.

Simply having a presence on mul-

tiple social sites and publishing content

won’t work. You have to be active as well

as responsive. There is nothing like one-

size-fits-all approach in social media. Each

platform is different.

Limit your active social media

channels to 4 or 5. If you are not sure

where to start, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook

and Google Plus are safe bets, having

large audience that span many domains

and demographics.

Tip: See where your target audience is and

hit them there.

Not entertaining unsatisfied customers

If you are getting negative word of

mouth on social media, time is simply not

on your side. The longer you wait to re-

spond, the angrier the customer would be

and the more viral it will be.

It is a surprising fact that in to-

day’s social media savvy environment

there are big companies that fail to connect

with their customers and especially the

unsatisfied ones. Don’t hesitate to respond

to any negative comment. In fact, consider

this as a sales opportunity for yourself.

Frame a response to negative comments

like this:

“Hi, my name is — and I hear you. We are

looking into the matter and will get back to

you as soon as possible. If you have any

query, contact me at @—.”

This message will have advantages as

negative publicity would not be spread far

and you get to talk to the person at some

place other than social media.

Tip: Deleting things on internet is

just an illusion. So better not even try it.

Not admitting mistakes

Social media is the most volatile

marketing channel and can also be one of

the powerful tools for entrepreneurs and

marketers – if done correctly. At some

point or another, all companies tend to

make a faux pas on social media but an

important thing to learn here is not to be-

come overly defensive and admit mistakes.

DiGiorno recently caused a stir by

using inappropriate hash tag to promote

their product. The company since then

spent a lot of time personally apologizing

for their tweet. It later on proved to be a

great example by personally apologizing to

each tweet.

Even the most responsible and careful

entrepreneurs can end up making mistakes

on social media. But, never let such mess-

ups stop you. Instead learn from their mis-

takes. Humbly and honestly admitting mis-

take often diffuses the tension instead of

exacerbating the issue. In the long run,

people will remember how you handled the

mistake, instead what it actually was.

Tip: To err is human, but apologizing and

correcting mistakes is smart business.

You cannot afford to treat your

social media account of your brand like that

of a college guy’s account. Be professional.

Avoiding these mistakes and improving the

way you use social media can enhance

your business and likely to get the most out

of your business efforts.

on Social Media