Award Nominations Needed

Annual Awards Application 2009 The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for the following awards to be presented at the Annual Awards Banquet to be held January 29, 2010. The deadline to submit application is Friday, January 15, 2010.

AWARDS & CRITERIA- 

 ____ Large Business of the Year (Company with greater than 25 employees) or Large Business Leader of the Year
 • Active in Chamber activities
• Economic support of the Georgetown business community
• Community/Civic involvement
• Must be a member of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce

 ____ Small Business of the Year (Company with less than 25 employees) or Small Business Leader of the Year
• Active in Chamber activities
• Economic support of the Georgetown business community
• Community/Civic involvement
• Must be a member of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce

____Citizen of the Year
• Significant contribution to the community over a number of years
• Must be beyond employment responsibilities

______Owen Sherrill Lifetime Achievement Award (not necessarily awarded each year)
• Demonstrates a lifetime commitment to the promotion of economic development in Georgetown

 ______Chamber Volunteer of the Year
• Goes above & beyond the call of duty to volunteer their time and talents to help strengthen the chamber and its membership
• Chamber member or employee of a Chamber member

______Jesse (Buz) Sawyer Award
• Recognizes significant philanthropy to the community over a lifetime
• Not necessarily awarded each year

Early Georgetown Holiday Events

Blue Santa at the Christmas Stroll: The Blue Santa program will be collecting toys during the Christmas Stroll parade on December 5. A large group of Blue Santa “elves” will be riding in the parade on motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, and floats. Other Blue Santa volunteers will be pushing shopping carts in the parade to collect new, unwrapped toys from people along the route.

Jingle Bell Party & Toy Drive at the Rec Center:  Get in the holiday spirit with the Georgetown Recreation Center on Saturday, December 5 from 3-5 p.m.! You are invited to join us for a fantastic holiday party to benefit Blue Santa. This year’s theme is “Kid’s Giving to Kids.” We will have holiday games, pictures with Santa and refreshments. Recreation Center membership is not required to attend this event.  Admission is free for everyone, but we ask that you bring a new, unwrapped toy or other appropriate gift, a gift card or a montetary donation for the Blue Santa program. Items for boys and girls ages 8-16 are especially needed, but any donation is appreciated.

For more holiday happenings, go to www.GeorgetownHoliday.com.

Networking & Branding Advice from Author Thom Singer

Below are a few of the tips from author Thom Singer’s presentation at Wednesday’s Community Impact Summit.

*Everyone has credibility.  From the viewpoint of a consumer, all the businesses out there claim to be credible and the consumer’s best choice.  Thus, a business must gain visibility in addition to credibility.

*Try to find out from your customers what separates you from your competition.  It may not be what you expected.

*When networking with individuals in the greater Austin area, one great opening line is asking them how long they’ve lived here.  Whether they are new to the area or have lived here numerous years, it’s a great conversation starter.

*We live in an attraction economy.  Be the person you want to attract.  For a good summation of your character, look at the five people with which you spend the most time.

*Write down 10 things you admire about individuals in the business community.  Set the list aside for 24 hours and then look at it again.  Do you live by these guidelines? 

*Your attitude and what you tell yourself largely determines what happens next.  If you tell yourself you can do something, you’re right.  If you tell yourself you can’t, you will find that to be the truth.

Georgetown Winery Initiative

How Would You Like to Have a Glass of Wine with Dinner on the Square?

There is a way to accomplish this….let’s make the rest of Georgetown, including Sun City and The Square wet……Instead of having to bring your own bottles of wine and pay a corkage fee, let’s raise the funds necessary to get the “Winery Initiative” passed.

What Is The Winery Initiative?
It is a ballot initiative being organized locally to give citizens a chance to vote in next May’s general election on leveling the rules for all of Georgetown when it comes to existing liquor laws.

Why Does It Matter?
Presently much of our city is fully “wet” while other parts of the city are not.  This creates an unlevel playing field for business development and has recently come into focus downtown as efforts to recruit downtown wineries have run into the limits of our current laws.  This initiative will:

* Help level the business opportunities throughout the City.

* Permit restaurants downtown to provide meals with wine and beer at a much lower licensing cost  which will help keep more restaurants open downtown.

* Allow Wine Growers/Wineries to open in the Square and provide their wines without the Agricultural requirement of 50% Texas grown grape usage.

* Remove a big road block to successful winery recruitment downtown helping Georgetown become a destination of choice for people all over the State are elsewhere.

How you can help get it done.
We need to raise $20,000 more to accomplish this.  If there is anyone who would like to become the “Angel” for this initiative, please call John Marler at 512-807-9435 or Karin Truxillo at 512-966-0166 to donate. In addition to finding “Angels”, we will be having fund raisers for just this purpose.  Please come and join us for a wine tasting and the making of history by donating to this initiative.  

Fund raisers will be held as follows:
* October 29th – Novita Spa and Book Pride, on 7th Street, 6-8pm

* November 4th – Nonna’s Cucina, 123 8th Street, 6-8pm

* November 5th – Down The Alley Bistro, 118 W. 8th Street, 6-8pm with a Silent Auction

* November 6th, – DGA Friday Night Street Dance, On The Square, 7-9pm

Pinks Heals Tour Comes to Georgetown Oct 21st

A crew of firefighters is touring the U.S. in a pink fire truck to raise awareness for the fight against breast cancer. “Cares enough to wear pink” is the theme of the national tour which is being supported by communities across the country. The Georgetown Fire Department and Georgetown Firefighters Association are sponsoring the stop in Georgetown.

The October 21 tour stop in Georgetown will include the pink fire truck and a giant stainless steel ribbon, as well as live music and health information booths. Cancer survivors are encouraged to come and sign the pink fire truck and participate in a group photo. According to the City, the event will be from 4 to 8 p.m. on the east side of the Williamson County Courthouse Square on Main Street. The pink ribbon tour raises awareness and money for the fight against breast cancer. For details about the tour, see www.pinkribbontour.com.

Debra Klaus, City Secretary Jessica Hamilton, and Main Street Manager Shelly Hargrove 

T-shirts on sale

You can purchase a pink ribbon T-shirt at the Visitor Information Center at 101 W. Seventh Street or at the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce at 100 Stadium Drive or at any of the four Georgetown fire stations. Georgetown firefighters are asking everyone in Georgetown to wear pink on October 21 in support of the Pink Heals Tour and breast cancer awareness.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day

Presented by Williamson County & Waste Management, Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day takes place Sat., Oct 10th from 8am-1pm at Williamson County URS Facility (3151 SE Inner Loop in Georgetown.)

Accepted items include:  paint related products, household cleaners, aerosals, pesticides, anit-freeze, batteries, mercury- containing products, pool chemicals, propane cylinders, asbestos materials, etc. Electronic waster will also be accepted: computer monitors, CPU’s, TV’s, printers, cell phones, etc.

Please NO tires, white goods (washers/dryers/refrigerators), smoke detectors, radioactive waste, biological wastee, explosives.

For more info, go to www.wilco.org.

October is Arts & Humanity Month in Georgetown

If you’ve looked around the Downtown Square recently, you may have noticed a variety of light post banners.  Georgetown Art Works has chosen artwork form 55 peer-selected artists to display.  The public is encouraged to vote on their favorite banner during the month of October.  Ballots & maps are available at the Visitor’s Center, the Williamson Museum, and the library.

The banners are the only representation of art scheduled in Georgetown during the month of October.  Art is also represented through a professional symphony preformance, Southwestern University and Palace Theatre shows (You Can’t Do That, Dan Moody! and Man of La Mancha), GISD concerts, and more.  Art in the Square (previously Art in the Park) takes place Oct 17 & 18 with participation by more than 150 artists from around the country.  Also, Art for Animals takes place on Oct 18th at the Community Center in San Gabriel Park.

“We’re really pushing the economic developement side of arts for Georgetown,” says Charles Aguillion, president of the Arts & Culture Board.  “We hope this helps show that these are the kinds of things that bring people to Georgetown – people come from all over the place and they eat here, they stay here.”

National Night Out Rapidly Approaching

National Night Out, an annual event to support public safety and neighborhood crime prevention, will be held in Georgetown on Tuesday, October 6 according to the City’s website.

In past years, Georgetown neighborhoods have organized evening block parties on National Night Out, which is sponsored by the Georgetown Police Department. Neighborhoods where people know each other and look out for each other tend to be safer places to live.

Members of the Georgetown Police Department, Georgetown Fire Department, and Williamson County Emergency Medical Services will be visiting National Night Out block parties in Georgetown.

National Night Out is sponsored nationally by the nonprofit organization National Association of Town Watch, on the web at www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno.

To register your National Night Out block party in Georgetown, download a National Night Out Event Application at http://files.georgetown.org on the City website. Fax your form to (512) 930-3524 or scan it and email it to vips@georgetowntx.org. Please send in your registration form by October 1.

For details, contact Linda Lipscomb with the Georgetown Police Department at (512) 930-8457 or by email at vips@georgetowntx.org.

“Living an Exceptional Life” Recap

In case you weren’t able to attend last week’s Silver Screen Seminar, the following a quick recap of “Living an Exceptional Life” by Jim Rohn.

Today there is unprecedented opportunity.  People and businesses are more connected than ever.  This makes it easier than ever to reach new customers but also increases competition.  Given that there is now worldwide competition for jobs, it is more important than ever to have more than one skill (i.e. – sales, speaking multiple languages, knowing how to find good people, organizing/getting people to work together, promotion recognition, giving others recognition, etc.) 

In general there are three keys to communication: training, teaching, and learning to inspire others.  Master these and remember that we get paid to bring value to the marketplace.  We bring value by bringing products/ services/ productivity.  We grow in value as we become an entrepreneur/ leader/ teacher/ manager.  Don’t focus on others; focus on yourself.  Focus on working harder on improving you — your skills, your productivity.  Success is something you attract by coming attractive.

There are five basic principles that everyone is affected by. 
1) Income is determined by your personal philosophy not the economy.  Your personal philosophy is determined by what you know. 
It helps you see danger and opportunity — two sides of the same coin.  We learn from personal experiences and other people’s experiences. 
2) Attitude is how we feel about the past and the future.  It’s how we feel about everyone else and how we feel about ourselves.
3) Acitivity is what we do. Rohn strongly suggests that you work 6 days a week and rest 1 day a week.  If you rest too long, the weeds take over.
4) Learn to measure your progess.  It’s important to make reasonable progress.  This will motivate you.  Measure your sucess at the end of each day and week in terms of whether or not you were as productive as reasonably possible.  Measure your success annually to see if you’re on track to reaching your goals.  If you get off track, find a way to get back on track.  Parents don’t let grade children stay at the same grade level for years and show no concern at their lack of progression.  Why should adults find it acceptable to stay at the same level of learning or productivity for years?  Sucess is a numbers game.
5) Learn to live well.  There are 5 keys to a good life: productivity, good friends, heritage, sprituality, & taking special care of family.

Up the Chisholm Trail

This weekend, September 11th and 12th, the Williamson Museum presents Up the Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive & Chuckwagon Cook-Off.  It is being held in San Gabriel Park.

Friday, Sept. 11, 6-9 pm- Kids’ Chuckwagon Cook-Off, Live Western Music

Saturday, Sept. 12, 9am-9pm- Chuckwagon Cook-Off (9am-3pm), Western Art Show (all day), Live Music (all day), Activities for All Ages (all day), Longhorn Cattle Drive in the Park (5pm), Ranch Rodeo (6pm-9pm)

For more information visit http://upthechisholmtrail.org/

There are full event schedules on the website.

Questions, contact Lisa Worley at lworley@williamsonmuseum.org  or 512-943-1673