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Chamber Orientation September 2020
September 30 @ 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm -
Education Committee Meeting via Zoom
October 21 @ 10:00 am - 11:30 am
Members Helping Members!
Has looking over the SBA loan options, the CARES Act, and the constant barrage of information about COVID-19 left you overwhelmed or frustrated? Here at the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce, we can help! Check out our Membership Directory to find the business professional that best fits your needs!
Welcome to the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce (GHACC) is a member-focused organization through which members can effectively develop their business and themselves. Since its founding in 1988, the hallmark of the Chamber has, and continues to be: “People do business with people they know, like, and trust.” Relationships developed in the Chamber become part of one’s business infrastructure. New friends can be found in the Chamber and some of those friendships will last a lifetime. Members can learn how to grow their markets, supply their business, mentor associates or even find a special mentor. GHACC works diligently to provide benefit to all members, be they new, or long-term.
This growing Chamber provides a forum into which its members’ businesses can fit together in an atmosphere of mutual benefit. Active participation provides multiple benefits including access to the entrepreneurs and management of business and organizations with differing viewpoints and methods that work. An abundance of activities provide networking occasions to create new business opportunities, obtain business referrals, join committees, have fun and enjoy a camaraderie unique to Heights Chamber members.
Just as the “Heights” is known for its uniqueness and historical Houston significance, the GHACC blends businesses, promotes “Buy Local First,” and has often been described as a “not so well kept secret for successfully serving its members.”
Chamber News
2020-2021 Board of Directors
As we start our new fiscal year, we would like to introduce you to your new board of directors. The Board of Directors governs the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce and is responsible for all policy-making decisions. Board members often serve as liaisons to each of the committees. We would also like to thank outgoing board member Craig Atkinson. Craig has been involved in all of the Chamber's major events since joining as well as a member of our Finance Committee.
Interim President, Dee Farino
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce (GHACC), it is my pleasure to announce our Interim President, Dee Farino. After Dee joined in 2005, she immediately became involved as an Ambassador, which eventually led to joining and chairing numerous committees including Gala and Crawfish Festival. Dee has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2006, became Secretary of the Executive Committee in 2007 and Chairman of the Board of Directors 2009-2010; 2017-2018; 2018-2019. While Dee serves as Interim President, she will take a leave of absence from the Board of Directors. Dee’s Chamber knowledge was essential in the Board’s decision and we are confident that her [...]
Chamber Introduces “Adopt a Teacher” Program
Recognizing that continuing education online, in the classroom, or even both, represents a cause for growing concern among teachers whom must adapt to extraordinary teaching conditions. To aid teachers with much needed support in the midst of pandemic times, the GHACC is establishing an “Adopt a Teacher” program. The online program will pair up teachers, from schools that are allied with the Chamber’s Education Committee, with sponsors who will provide supplies, materials, prayers, and other needs as identified by each teacher. Sponsors will have the opportunity to support an individual teacher or teachers from a selected school; choose to support their child’s school; or provide assistance as an alumnus of a particular school they attended. Sponsors [...]
Please Spare a few Minutes for the 2020 Census
The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census be taken every 10 years to count all people-both citizens and non-citizens-living in the United States. Every household in the U.S. is asked to answer a short series of questions that will influence policymaking and planning for the next decade. April 1 is Census Day where the U.S. Census Bureau wants the nation to respond to the 2020 Census, either online, by phone or by mail telling the bureau where they live and other information about themselves and their families. With the advent of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the deadline for responses has been extended to mid-August. Feel free to use either the form previously mailed, by phone (by calling [...]
Membership
Member Benefits
Why join the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce? If you own a business or are involved in the Houston Heights, being a member of the Greater Heights Area Chamber of Commerce brings you numerous benefits. Invest in your organization’s future and join the over 500 members that already are reaping the benefits. To begin learning about membership benefits, attend a monthly Member Orientation Luncheon and begin to realize them immediately.
Chamber Connections
Here is an unusual new business contact made at a recent ribbon cutting. Ambassador Jordan Bailey of Sabo Tax & Accounting Services was speaking with Danielle Stewart of Historic Heights Living magazine. Jordan was holding the new member plaque for Daniel Wood Floors, which he was going to present later. Danielle saw the name on the plaque, wrote it down and said that she was looking for a flooring company. Truly a networking contact success and the Chamber at work.
Always good to hear from Jack Van Pelt, our resident jeweler. Jack proudly reports that Byron Rusk and the staff at Master Car Care have always helped him with his car repairs. In return, Byron has made purchases at JVP Jewelry.
Jan Stephenson of Jan M. Stephenson Designs has designed business cards for Jack Van Pelt as well as being a customer of his.
Tommie Vaughn Ford, long term member of the Chamber has provided Jack Van Pelt with so much automotive buying and vehicle servicing benefits he can’t even remember them all.
If you have a good example of members doing business with each other and would like to see it on the Chamber website, just email a short note with the details to communications@heightschamber.org.
Welcome New Members!
Brian White & Associates P.C.
Briggs ‘n’ Wiggles
Criterion Therapy
Grace’s Custom Creations
Kit
Lighthouse of Oak Forest
Refrigeration Gaskets
Testimonials
Here’s why being on a Chamber Committee expands my business connections.
“Joining other Chamber members on a committee establishes recognition of me for my business and service capabilities. With an opportunity to provide new ideas or input in the planning and staging of Chamber events, I have the occasion to meet and interact with fellow members in different fields. Working together provides an arena for me to expand my skills in areas where I may not have been involved before. Equally important is learning how vital collaboration can be to my future success. The Chamber offers a variety of committees, so there are many looking to grow and add new talent.”
Here’s why I put Noontime Networking on my Calendar Every Time.
“I know the Chamber monthly Breakfast Connection is a good networking opportunity but, as a working mom, early mornings can be hectic for me. The bi-monthly Noontime Networking sessions fit my schedule perfectly. I can have lunch, learn about a member’s business, and effectively network all in the course of time I would normally spend just going to lunch. Thanks to the Chamber for serving my needs.”
Here’s why I Sponsor a Chamber Event!
“One of the benefits of being a part of the Heights Chamber is the opportunity to promote and highlight my business in a cost-effective way to fellow members. I have found that sponsoring an event brings with it an additional emphasis on my business and recognition of me and my services. I know that members do business with fellow members and getting them to know me and my capabilities better, leads to future business and referrals.”
Member Spotlight
April Petronella
Where to start with this member profile? Well, how about we start with her name, April? More specifically, April Petronella of PetroFox Education. Her name is of Latin origin, and the meaning of April is to “open and blossom.” And she has certainly done that as a dedicated and respected Chamber member. Active in the Chamber for over five year, April has truly lived up to her name through her involvement, volunteering and wanting to help the Chamber grow.
How did it all start? Well Houston was her birth place but she grew up in Bellville, Texas. Now Bellville had it’s good and bad aspects, but according to April, “I couldn’t wait to get out of there, because I was perhaps the most liberal person in the whole town!”
She came to Houston in 1997 to attend the University of St. Thomas and the University of Houston. Looking at her educational accomplishments, April again blossomed by earning a B.A in Liberal Arts, a M.A. in History and topped it off with an M.Ed. degree in Early Childhood Education. Certainly, the credentials of a woman who excelled, but that wasn’t her early original life’s goal. Regarding that she said: “Well believe it or not, I considered a vocation in the religious life and wanted to be a nun as a child.” Contrast that with a first job that saw her as a beer tub girl at Club Blue Planet on the Richmond strip in Houston when it was cool.
So much for finding your way along the way. April’s talents are plentiful, and we can accurately say that because she has worked as a middle school teacher, a community college professor, the director of an art museum, and as the director of an educational franchise. Today she calls on all that experience in her own company, PetroFox Education. April is a professional writer and focuses on educational content like standardized tests and textbooks and digital curriculum products.
Joining the Chamber was a natural for April because as an entrepreneur she could benefit from making connections. Her satisfaction with that decision enabled her to take advantage of the opportunities to volunteer and meet new people, plus, in her words, “drink wine!” Presently April chairs the Member Engagement Committee and has worked tirelessly on previous Galas and the Crawfish Festivals including the parade. In addition, she is on the pastoral council at All Saints Catholic Church and the committee that supports the early childhood center plus the alumni board at the University of St. Thomas.
Her family includes husband, Todd, who is literally a rocket scientist at NASA, and two stepchildren. She enjoys tennis, running, watching bad reality TV and is interested in reading books and articles in the genre of postmodern feminism. It is interesting to note that the birthstone for the month of April is a Diamond, and a Diamond April certainly is. Thank you April, for your on-going support, your dedication to the Chamber and for being dazzling in so many ways.