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.

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/.

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.

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

"The Employee of the Year Luncheon has become an annual opportunity to honor the North Texas hospital workforce," said Sally Williams, Workforce Center director at the Foundation in a press release. "This event offers employees a chance to be recognized for their dedicated work. It's a celebration of great employees making a difference in our hospitals."

David Bridges, EMT-P has been employed as a Paramedic in the Emergency Department since June of 2000. While employed at Denton Regional Medical Center, Bridges has continued his education and will soon complete degree requirements to become a registered nurse. He also volunteer his time in the community where he is involve with the Texas-4 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), which travels across the United States to provide life saving care after natural disasters, according to the release.

"During 2008 alone, David and the Texas-4 DMAT team were deployed to provide medical care for victims of Hurricane Dolly, Hurricane Gustav, and Hurricane Ike. Hurricane's Gustav and Ike required David and his team members to be deployed for over a month at a time, during which time they were responsible for many different assignments - from receiving patients at DFW International Airport, to setting up a makeshift emergency room on the Rice University campus and establishing a patient care clinic in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Galveston," said the release.

Bridges was recognized at the annual Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council Education and Research Foundation Workforce Center's Employee of the Year Luncheon at the Arlington Convention Center held in April.

"The show will feature fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers, and is open to anyone interested in gardening in Denton County," said Erica Sullivan, economic development analyst for the City of Denton, "The show also promotes the Denton County Farmers Market, which is open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon or sell-out, June through September."

There will not be an entry fee for the show and entries will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday morning with awards announced at noon or following judging.

For more information on the show and entry rules, please contact the Texas Cooperative Extension Office at (940) 349-2883 or visit the DCMGA website at www.dcmga.com.

The free event to be held June 11 will feature speakers from many agencies which will provide information on the contracting opportunities known to date since the passage of the stimulus act.

Information on items regularly purchased or under bid will also be available from eight agencies including the University of North Texas and the city of Denton as well as traditional and non-traditional financing, construction law, and business resources.

The summit will take place at the UNT Gateway Center located at 801 North Texas Blvd. Registration is available by visiting the Web site www.alabasterweb.com before the event date and in person from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

The session entitled, "Economic Indicators: How These Affect Me... How?" will take place next Tuesday at the Denton Chamber Building at 414 Parkway.

Registration begins at 7:15 a.m. with the meeting following at 7:30 a.m.

For questions, please contact, 940-380-1849.