The U.S. Census held a Grand Opening and ribbon-cutting for the Navarro County office with a ceremony this past Friday at their Navarro Center office located at 800 N. Main Street, the former Navarro Mall, in the same complex as Brookshire’s. Mayor C.L. “Buster” Brown was the keynote speaker and the Mayor talked about the importance and need to get a thorough and accurate count as it affects the amount of Federal funds a county receives, our number of representatives in the House of Representatives and re-districting is based on population. Mayor Brown talked about the impact this has on economic development with one reason being that when businesses are looking for a site/location, one of the main selection criteria is does the area have the population needed to support and sustain their business investments. These site selectors generally will look at census numbers first and even if the City and County gets a “look see”, it is hard for them to convince the site selectors that our numbers are better than what is on record. The most common concern I hear throughout our City and County are about the conditions of our roads, well this is our opportunity do something that can impact funding coming to our community and economic development that will aid in improving roads and enable us to solicit more businesses to invest in our City and County. In 2008 the Federal government committed $357 in Navarro County. For the 2010 census, only a short form will be used and every household, regardless of legal status, is asked to fill out the form, and residents are assured their information will remain confidential with the Census Bureau and is not shared with other branches of the government. Part of the census takers’ job is to keep that confidentiality. The office is already open and should remain open through September. If you are interested in finding out more information, please go by their office or call toll-free 1-866-861-2010 or go online to HYPERLINK “http://www.2010censusjobs.gov” www.2010censusjobs.gov and enter your zip code and you will be directed to the local office here in Corsicana. You must be at least 18 and there is a test required to qualify for these positions and you can find out more about the test at the website or the toll-free number. This is everyone’s opportunity to do something that can help our community. Please be on the lookout for your census form and please take the time to fill it out and return it as you will become part of the solution in changing and improving your community. Remember, “It is in our hands”. Thank you!

The Candidate Forum Committee has chosen Tuesday, February 9th as the date for the public candidate forum that will be held in the Council Center at the Government Center. Information will be going out to Democratic Chair, Eddie Pevehouse and Republican Chair, Frank Steed shortly. There are a number of contested races for both parties and this is your chance to meet and hear those seeking office in person. Please mark this date on your calendar and plan to come out and meet the candidates.

Invitations went out in the mail this past Friday for the Chamber’s 92nd Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony on February 4th that will again be held at the Commons at Corsicana High School. If you do not receive an invitation and would like to attend or need more information, please contact Semonna here at the Chamber.

This year the Chamber Committee will have four (4) door prizes that will be given away for those in attendance that includes a 32” flat screen TV, two (2) tickets to Elegance, dinner tickets to Harbor Inn at Richland Chambers Lake for each person at one (1) table chosen and an Arts Package that is out of this world with tickets to Warehouse and Palace shows throughout the year. The door prizes themselves are well worth the price of a ticket or table to be a part of this year’s banquet.

Awards will be presented for the Volunteer of the Year, Arthur J. Keeney, President and Past President. This is an exciting time for a Chamber when we recognize some of all those that have supported the Chamber and made a significant difference and contribution not only to the Chamber but our community. Dr. Ray Perryman, well known economist, is this year’s keynote speaker who will talk about the economy, specifically for Texas and what our business members, City and County can do to see our way through these times and prepare ourselves for better times ahead.

Unveiling of the new “City Brand and Tagline” for the first time will be another presentation at this year’s banquet. The Corsicana/ID Branding Committee, a sub-committee of the Corsicana Development Commission an entity of the Chamber, has been working diligently for the past two (2) years going through an extensive process of evaluating and gather information and input from across our community working to develop a “brand” that will be used to identify Corsicana and Navarro County not only locally but outside our area. The committee has worked closely with HCK2 Partners, a marketing firm out of Dallas, since May of this year and the final brand and tagline that has been selected will be unveiled at the Chamber banquet. This project has been funded by the Hotel Motel Taxes the City receives and these funds are strictly regulated in how they are to be used.

I want to recognize and thank the following Chamber members who are Valued Sponsors for our 92nd Annual Banquet. They are: C.L. “Buster” & Toni Brown, Cellular One, Community National Bank & Trust, Haynie Drilling, HCK2 Partners, Navarro Regional Hospital, True Value Company and Wal-Mart. Each year the Valued Sponsors are treated to a VIP Sponsor Reception with our Keynote Speaker prior to the Chamber’s banquet and this year we are happy to announce that Wicklow Inn will be hosting this reception.

STAR (Success Through Active Role Modeling), a Chamber Educational Committee, is actively recruiting role models to work with students in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program at Corsicana High School providing guidance for students with understanding career objectives and goals You do not have to be a Chamber member to participate in this program. If you are interested in finding out more information, please contact the Chamber or log onto STAR’s website at HYPERLINK “http://WWW.STARNC.ORG” WWW.STARNC.ORG or plan to attend one of our Information Session.

I am confident that with all the “changes” this past year and the “changes” planned for next year, our Chamber members will continue to see more benefits for being a Chamber member and the positive “changes” the Chamber will continue to make in 2010.

Please Remember to Buy Local because “buying local does matter”! It is not always possible to buy everything you need from locally-owned businesses, but if everyone purchased one more item locally when they shopped, the effects would be tremendous. The point of this campaign is to encourage people to think local first: choose locally owned businesses when choosing where to buy goods and services. If there is some item or purchase you will be making, I encourage us all to think where we can get this in Corsicana and Navarro County. We as residents owe it to each other, our City and County to do our part as this is one way we can all pull together to make a difference.

If you have any suggestions for how I can improve or make the Chamber News better and more informative, please do not hesitate to let me know. I know the same old thing becomes boring and needs to be revisited regularly. My goal is to keep you updated on what your Chamber is involved in and doing. I have never heard a bad idea. I welcome and would appreciate your suggestions.

What’s Coming Up?

January 18th - Navarro County NAACP presents Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration

“A Day of Celebration”

Rally at 10 AM at Bunert Park. March to MLK Center-Immediately after the Rally. Oratory Contest at noon - Dr. King's, “I Have a Dream “speech recited by Youth of Navarro County Entertainment-Youth Exhibits. Please come out and support our YOUTH! For more information, please contact E. Burrell at (903) 874-2821.

January 25th – STAR Information Session – Chamber of Commerce – 5:00 to 6:00 PM

This is open to the public and you do not need to be a Chamber member to be a STAR Role Model. If you are interested in finding out more about STAR, AVID and being a Role Model, please plan to attend this session.

January 30th – Knights of Columbus Fund Raiser for the Collins Catholic School

The Knights of Columbus will start serving dinner at 6:00 PM with the Casino night starting at 7:00 PM where you will get a $1000 in chips with options to purchase more. The brisket and food is out of this world and if you want a good meal and friendly evening out, this is where you need to be. There will be 15 door prizes valued from $50-$75 each given away throughout the evening. For more information or where to get tickets, please contact Ric Pallanich at the Copy Center at (903) 874-6657.

February 4th – Chamber Annual Banquet

Dr. Ray Perryman, president and CEO of The Perryman Group, will be the featured speaker at the Chamber’s 92nd Annual Banquet. Dr. Perryman has been called “the most quoted man in Texas” and “the primary force in re-shaping the fortunes of Texas”. He has been cited by the Texas Legislature for his “tireless efforts in helping to build a better Texas.” Who better to speak to what our Navarro County businesses need to do during these extraordinary economical times to meet the challenges and be stronger when the economy improves. Invitations went out in the mail this past Friday, so please mark this date on your calendars. Please contact the Chamber office at (903) 874-4731 for more information.

February 20th – Elegance 2010 – Cook Education Center – 6 PM

This year’s theme is “Le Jardin de la Connaissance”, which translates to the “Garden of Knowledge”. For more information, contact Donna Parish at HYPERLINK “mailto:donna.parish@navarrocollege.edu” donna.parish@navarrocollege.edu or (903) 875-7338.

If you know of any events going on in our community, I invite you to add it to the Chamber’s Events Calendar at HYPERLINK “http://www.corsicana.org” www.corsicana.org. The Chamber website averages 40,000 plus visits per month with the Events Calendar being the Number One page viewed every month (approx. 10,000 views). People want to know what is going on and what there is to do here in our community and you can tell from the number of visits to our website that a lot of people look to the Chamber to find information.

If you cannot find an event on the Chamber’s Community Calendar, please take a look at the Corsicana Daily Sun’s Local Beat on their website ( HYPERLINK “http://www.corsicanadailysun.com” www.corsicanadailysun.com) as they have a list of many other events going on throughout our community.