Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Public Education Day hosted by the UT Health Science Center

The UT Health Science Center will host a free Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Public Education Day on Tuesday, December 2nd.  This event precedes the 10th Annual World Stem Cell Summit that San Antonio has the privilege to host from Dec 3-5.

Information for the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Public Education Day is on the flyer below. If you are also interested in attending the summit, please visit  http://worldstemcellsummit.com/ for more information.

Flyer-WSCS14 (2)

North San Antonio Chamber partners with State Farm and UTSA to launch Student Memberships

North Chamber logo 4c stackedThrough the generosity of a grant by State Farm, the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce announces the addition of college student membership to its community offerings, and the first 10 student members will be selected from the UTSA College of Business.

State Farm LogoCOSOne of the North SA Chamber’s strategic goals for 2014 is to meet the needs of the business community with a readied workforce. The North SA Chamber 2014 Chairman of the Board, Annie Turner, Vice President and Business Banking Manager for Wells Fargo, is focused on engaging millennial workers by building a bridge between education and the workforce.

“So many business owners and organizations are looking for qualified people. If you have a qualified workforce, then that just improves the community overall,” says Turner. “Thousands of baby boomers are retiring from the workforce each day, and we’re facing an enormous leadership gap. The North SA Chamber can help veterans, millennial workers and just about every professional in any interest area to access resources to sharpen their professional skills and build relationships through our various instructional and networking events and volunteer opportunities,” she adds.

The college student membership is $75 per student and is a two-year, non-renewing membership. Students must be 18 years or older, enrolled in a four-year university or college, and enrolled in their senior year of coursework. Through membership with the North SA Chamber, college students will be afforded the opportunity to meet professional members, get involved in committees, learn about community initiatives, share information, gain personal visibility and develop personal, professional and leadership skills through their involvement. Additionally, student members will be promoted through the Chamber’s online membership directory under the categories of “Student” and “Job Seeker.”

North SA Chamber member Jake Jacobson, Sales Leader of the West Sales Territory for State Farm, was seeking ways to increase the insurance company’s involvement within the North SA Chamber and recognized the student membership offering as an ideal opportunity to support emerging leaders. “State Farm engages in ongoing efforts to recruit the best qualified talent,” says Jacobson. “Getting college students involved in real-world interaction with the business community struck us as a practical way to help grow the local talent pool,” he adds.

Jacobson, who works closely with the UTSA College of Business, identified UTSA as the sponsoring university to select the inaugural 10 student members.

Dr. Lisa Montoya is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies in UTSA’s College of Business. She will work with Jacobson to identify eligible students and the State Farm Team will select the grantees. The 10 student members will be identified and their memberships activated by August 1.

“At UTSA, we’re doing our part to educate our future business leaders and provide them with the skills they will need to compete in the business world,” says Dr. Montoya. “We’re excited that the North Chamber is providing college students a forum for relationship building with business leaders in a real-world environment. Experience makes all the difference when it comes job seeking and candidate selection. We’re grateful to the North Chamber and State Farm for creating this opportunity,” Dr. Montoya adds.

State Farm will identify five local agents who each will mentor two college students through their early months of membership with the North SA Chamber. “The business community is a big place. We want to help shepherd the college students through to help them network and build confidence,” says Jacobson. “But we trust this first class of students will leverage their membership, and hope to see each of them placed with local employers as they build relationships and build their resume,” says Jacobson.

Businesses interested in sponsoring college student members, or students interested in joining individually may learn more by visiting www.northsachamber.com and clicking on the Join Now tab or calling (210) 344-4848.

About State Farm®
State Farm and its affiliates are the largest provider of car insurance in the U.S. and is a leading insurer in Canada. In addition to providing auto insurance quotes, their 17,800 agents and more than 65,000 employees serve 81 million policies and accounts – more than 79 million auto, home, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and nearly 2 million bank accounts. Commercial auto insurance, along with coverage for renters, business owners, boats and motorcycles, is also available. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 43 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com®.

About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is an emerging Tier One research institution specializing in health, energy, security, sustainability, and human and social development. With nearly 29,000 students, it is the largest university in the San Antonio metropolitan region. The UTSA College of Business offers a comprehensive curriculum at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral level that expands the boundaries of a traditional business education. Nationally ranked and internationally recognized, the college is home to 5,100 business students and features traditional degrees in areas such as accounting, finance and marketing as well as specialized programming in entrepreneurship, information security and real estate finance and development.

About North SA Chamber
The North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce has been keeping member businesses and San Antonio strong for 40 years by advocating on behalf of member businesses large and small; delivering exceptional, business-to-business networking opportunities; honoring leaders at every age and career stage; and cultivating the workforce through leadership and professional development training. For more information, visit us online at www.northsachamber.com.

 

Express-News wins community service prize

SA Express News logoThe San Antonio Express-News has built a reputation for solid journalism and community involvement since their first edition in 1865.  That mission continues today, almost 150 years later.

The Texas Associated Press Managing Editors awarded the Express-News first place in community service at the organization’s convention April 5-6 at South Padre Island for the newspaper’s in-depth coverage of sexual assaults in the military.

In the same contest, the Headliners Foundation of Texas also awarded investigative reporter Karisa King a Star Reporter of the Year Award for her work in “Twice Betrayed,” a seven-month project that revealed pervasive and long-standing problems of sex assaults in the military in which offenders are rarely punished or let go from duty. It focused on victims who reported the incidents but often faced retaliation and discharges on questionable claims that they had mental disorders.

Express-News art director Adrian Alvarez also won a Star Designer of the Year Award for his page designs of “Twice Betrayed” and other news stories.

“Series like ‘Twice Betrayed’ exemplify our commitment to public interest journalism,” Express-News Editor Mike Leary said. “We’re proud of receiving recognition for the fine work our staff does.”

The series let many victims tell their stories publicly for the first time and sparked a national debate about the military’s handling of sexual assault cases.

King, who won the Star Reporter Award in 2007 while at the Express-News, now works for the Chicago Tribune.

The newspaper’s community service prize was for its broad coverage of sexual assault cases at Lackland AFB, where training instructors were accused of victimizing trainees.  The winners were King, military writer Sig Christenson, projects editor David Sheppard, photographer Lisa Krantz and director of photography Luis Rios.

The Express-News also won third place in the Team Effort Award for “Twice Betrayed” and an honorable mention for online newspaper of the year.

In addition, Jason Buch, who covers border security issues, won first place in specialty reporting for his writing on money laundering in Mexican drug cartels.

Express-News staff writers Michelle Casady, David Rauf and John Tedesco shared in the first-place award for Class AAAA breaking news report of the year, which was awarded to the Houston Chronicle. Casady and Tedesco also took third place in deadline writing.

Additional Express-News staffers also winning awards in the contest are:

  • John MacCormack won third place and Jennifer Hiller took honorable mention in feature series.
  • O. Ricardo Pimentel won second place in editorial writing.
  • Buck Harvey won second place, and Mike Finger took third place in sports column writing.
  • Patrick Danner and Valentino Lucio combined for a second-place finish in business reporting.
  • Kin Man Hui won second place in sports photography.
  • Lisa Krantz and staff won third place, and Bob Owen won honorable mention in photojournalism. Owen also won honorable mention in the Star Photojournalist of the Year category.
  • The Express-News photo staff won third place and honorable mention in best photo gallery.

Each year, the Express-News competes against other newspapers across the state with Sunday circulations of 125,000 or more, a list that includes the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle and the Austin-American Statesman.

Also at the convention, Diana R. Fuentes, Express-News editor of community publications, took office as the new president of the Texas APME organization.

The Express-News award-winning journalists tell the stories that matter to San Antonio, from in-depth local and enterprise reports to investigative articles.

Plans for the Express-News’ 150th anniversary celebration next year will be announced as the date draws closer.

Chairman’s Reflection on 2013

Rollins_Brad-Chairman lgAs the 2013 Chairman of the Board, I want to extend my appreciation to the North San Antonio Chamber and Lead SA Board of Directors, our volunteers, members and Chamber staff for your support, involvement and accomplishments this year.

Over the last year, our volunteers and staff collaborated to: increase visibility and promote commerce among our members; deliver best in class leadership and professional development programs; recognize outstanding business leaders; and hear your voice on important issues affecting San Antonio.

Promoting Your Business, Promoting Commerce
At the beginning of 2013, I called upon our member businesses to Buy Local – Buy North Chamber – and commit to doing business with a fellow member. To support that effort, the North Chamber has implemented a number of strategies to help you get noticed.

Through the Chamber’s website and social platforms, members had the opportunity to increase their online presence and improve their visibility among fellow members and the community. We now offer improved web services like: enhanced online directory listings, special offers, and the inclusion of links to member social profiles. Additionally, chamber staff received and posted nearly 4,500 member news items across our social platforms and blog – creating thousands of impressions for our member businesses.

And, we launched yet another tool to help you operate your business. Our new Job Bank went live in October, and has already seen an abundance of listings and activity. The Job Bank is a free community resource and no cost to members to post job opportunities.

I’m proud to announce special recognition the North Chamber received at the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives conference this past summer. Two Chamber staff members earned 20-year Tenure Awards – congratulations to Chris Bugg and Marilyn White for their many years of dedication to our membership and the community. Additionally, the North SA Chamber website, marketing and social media programs were recognized with Media Excellence awards.

Leadership & Professional Development
The North Chamber worked diligently to engage our emerging leaders and millennial workforce through a number of programs – primarily, Leadership Lab. The number one priority for area businesses is an educated and prepared workforce. Our nine-month leadership academy, Leadership Lab, is the centerpiece of our effort to respond to that need.

This year, the program surpassed 2012’s record-breaking class registration with 79 Lab participants – the largest graduating class to date. Lab participants heard from many local thought leaders and explored topics including self-awareness and leadership style, ethics, high-performance, communication, negotiation and change, community and leadership in action.

As we all operate in the digital age, the North SA Chamber is committed to educating business and bringing our members into the world of social media. Through our quarterly How 2 Series and our newest program – Social U, we are helping businesses replace concerns about social media with information to undertake and implement interactive marketing techniques.

Finally, the North Chamber has distinguished our programming with events designed to meet the specialized needs of financial, technology, construction and facilities professionals and our community’s women leaders. You supported and attended several educational events including CFO and CIO Breakfasts, Business Technology Series, the CIO Panel, On the Horizon, SustainAbility Seminars and the Enterprising Women’s Conference.

Honoring Leadership
We know that people make the difference in our companies and our community. And the North Chamber is dedicated to honoring the individuals who are innovating, contributing to our community, achieving in business and leaving a legacy from their life’s work.

In 2013 we honored pediatrician Dr. Dianna Burns-Banks as the Small Business Leader of the Year and CPS Energy for their Small Business Advocacy. Lead SA saluted USAA CEO Maj. Gen. Joe Robles, USA Ret. for his transformative leadership and commitment to education with the Governor Dolph Briscoe Excellence Award. We recognized Conceptual MindWorks CEO Elaine Mendoza with the ATHENA Leadership Award, SeeKing HR’s Jennifer Swisher with the ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award, Susan G. Komen San Antonio with the ATHENA Organizational Leadership Award, as well as acknowledged many others for their achievements in small business, personal and organizational leadership.

Amplifying Your Voice
Finally, our voice is never stronger than when we speak as one on the issues that affect our businesses and quality of life. Last year, our members had a number of opportunities to be heard before their elected officials at every level.

Members met with U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith at the Spring Chairman’s Council breakfast, and Senator Ted Cruz hosted a small business roundtable at our Chamber headquarters. County Judge Nelson Wolff and Mayor Julián Castro each addressed our members – and guests even got a surprise performance from Indy rock band, Girl in a Coma, as Judge Wolff promoted Bexar County as an ideal venue for an outdoor music festival.

The North Chamber Government Affairs Council partnered with a number of like-minded organizations and chambers to advance a legislative agenda focused on: creating a sustainable, long-term source of revenue for transportation infrastructure funding; restoring funding for public education and tuition revenue bonds for public universities; and diversification of water resources. Locally, the board of directors endorsed: 1) a local supplier ordinance that allows the City of San Antonio to give preference to businesses located in the city; and 2) Texas Constitutional Amendment No. 3 to eliminate the tax levy on aircraft and other manufacturing inventory, and No. 6 implementing the State Water Implementation Revenue Fund.

Furthermore, we partnered with the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber to present the Mid-Year Economic Report to our members, and conduct a City Council Meet & Greet with both of our Chamber boards in attendance. My special thanks to North SA Chamber President & CEO Duane Wilson and Hispanic Chamber President Ramiro Cavasos. I’m appreciative of their continued efforts to do the good work of Chambers – promoting economic development and prosperity for our business community.

Keeping Bexar County Strong
As I exit my post as Chairman of the Board, I want to extend to you my sincere thanks for the honor of serving this organization and each of your businesses. We’ve had an incredible year, and I’m grateful to each of you for your membership, involvement and patronage. Our volunteer work is supported by the day-to-day and hands on efforts of the North Chamber staff and the leadership of Duane Wilson. I want to offer special thanks to them for their commitment to our member businesses and the community.

Finally, please join me in welcoming our 2014 board chair, Annie Turner of Wells Fargo. I call on you to continue to support her and the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce in all that we endeavor in the New Year. We’re humbled that you have chosen us as your Chamber and we’re here to be a resource to you. Thank you for all you to do keep San Antonio and Bexar County strong.