Biz Buzz

Local artisans, vendors, musicians, growers and interested individuals are invited to attend a meeting to discuss the development of a local community market.

The meeting sponsored by Denton Main Street Association and the City of Denton will take place on Wednesday, July 8, 2009 at 6:00 p.m. in the Conference Room at City Hall, 215 E. McKinney, in Denton.

"The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the development of a Community Market in Downtown Denton that may provide art, handcrafted items, produce and other wares unique to the North Texas region," said Erica Sullivan, City of Denton's Economic Development Analyst via a press release. "The project will help to promote the diversity of the area and stimulate economic growth in the central business district of Denton."

For more information please contact Julie Glover, Economic Development Officer, at 940-349-7732.

Contributed photo

Frustrated of coming across heavy chairs, a Denton resident designed one of his own.

Fred Hensley, president of the Festino Corporation of Denton said the idea emerged in 2007.

"I'm partly disabled, I can't walk or stand well and I have difficulty doing things outdoors so I tried to find something I could do easily," Hensley, 49, said.

After designing three prototypes, Hensley came up with a chair that can be set up and folded easily and required little space for storage. It weights 5 lbs and once folded it is just 3-inches stick which can be carried like a backpack. The chair includes a pouch for carried items and a drink holder.

Hensley said he named his new product the Sherpa Chair after the climbers from Mount Everest who carry stuff.

"They are called sherpas," he said.

Hensley will debut his new chair which comes in red, forest green and camouflage colors at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market in Salt Lake City next month.

For now, the chair may be purchased online http://www.sherpachair.com/.

Jupiter House Coffee Shop on the Square will go where no coffee shop off the Square has gone before.
They will expand northward off University Drive and Carroll Boulevard with their second shop, according to owner Joey Hawkins.
Joey and Amy Hawkins purchased the original java shop in October of 2007, renovating the inside of the store to house additional expanding clientele.
And business has been doing well enough to open another Jupiter.
The ground breaking on the new 1,905-square-foot building is scheduled for this fall and the new store will feature a chocolate-y appearance, Hawkins said.
"It will be the same coffee, but [the store] will be very edgy and it will look very cool," he said.

Contributed photo

Last Thursday, June 18, Travelers Insurance Company brought their mobile claims unit to Denton and gave several local agencies a tour.

"This is an impressive thing in the insurance industry," said Jason HeLal, president of the company about the RV which featured four workstations, mobile Wi-Fi, satellite telephone and television as well as computers and printers.

"It allows Travelers' adjusters to roll into a neighborhood and handle dozens of claims per day, and thus hundreds in a week. It also enables them to roll into a tornado or hurricane affected area even when electricity, internet, and plumbing are unavailable," HeLal said about the unit that can provide customers with advances on a claim so they can find temporary housing, food and clothing.

For more information, please visit www.ciaauto.com.

We learned the Brookshire Grocery Co., headquartered in Tyler, joined YouTube and Facebook as a way to reach more customers.

The YouTube videos feature two minute and a half length videos which include animated containers of its award-winning Food Club milk and yogurts while the Facebook page (already with 370 fans) provides discounts, listing of events and other offers.

"These are creative ways to reach more people and promote products and services," said CEO Rick Rayford via a press release.

To join the Facebook page, click here.

To view the YouTube page, click here.

DATCU's South Branch Personal Service Representative, Chrissy Mallouf, recently graduated from Leadership Denton.

Leadership Denton is sponsored by the Denton Chamber of Commerce to identify and help develop potential community leaders. According to the company's news release, Mallouf is DATCU's latest employee to complete the program.

Congratulations!

The Denton Hispanic and Black Chambers of Commerce will host a local agency workshop and exposition on July 9. Entitled, "People Helping People Help Themselves," the event wants to share information about the many services in the Denton community including social services, businesses and organizations. The event will take place at the Quality Inn & Suites located at 1500 Dallas Drive. A reception will start at 5 p.m. with a presentation following at 6 p.m.

Some of the participating organizations include: the American Red Cross, Barbara Gailey, Bookkeeper Girl, 2010 Census, City of Denton Community Development, Denton Community Food Center, Denton County VOAD, Denton County Housing, DCTA, Denton Information Network, Denton Police Department, Family Resource Center, Interfaith Ministries, Kiwanis, Our Daily Bread, Workforce Solutions, Visions Ministries many more.

Registration is available at www.alabasterweb.com.

To sign up as a participating agency or business, please contact Barbara Gailey at 940-390-4848 or via e-mail at Barbara@barbaragailey.com and Cara Leising at 214-507-1677 or via e-mail at cahensley@sbcglobal.net.

Download available:PeopleHelpingPeopleFlyer.pdf