Reflecting on a Phenomenal 2023 Q2 at the Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce
Par-Tee & CaddyShack
The Rockwall Area Chamber of Commerce’s Annual CaddyShack Golf Tournament was held on Thursday April 27th. It was a day full of fun and a little sun, with 37 teams from our amazing partners competing for the top prize. Thank you to X-Golf Rockwall for hosting our Par-Tee the night before. What a way to kick off the tournament!
The Caddyshack Tournament was held at Buffalo Creek Golf Club in Rockwall, featuring 18 holes of golf, raffle prizes, and awards. The course was challenging, with a bit of rain the day before to make things interesting.
We had an amazing time celebrating our winners; 1st place: Brady Z Hill Farmers Insurance, 2nd place: American National Bank, 3rd place: Rockwall Ford, Dead Last: Rest Haven Funeral Home, Longest Drive: Ryan Merrell with Advantage Roofing, Closest to the Pin: Landon Lowrey with HomeBank Texas. Overall, the Golf Tournament was a great success, with some memorable moments and impressive performances from our Partners.
Lemonade Day
Celebrating the inaugural year of the Rockwall Area Lemonade Day! A fun, experiential program designed to teach youth how to start, own, and operate their very own business- a lemonade stand. This national program give youth the opportunity to experience entrepreneurship by setting up their business during their city’s community-wide Lemonade Day.
This year, we were proud to bring over 80 new entrepreneurs to our area, including our
- Entrepreneur of the Year- Zackary Clark, Lemonology
- Best Stand- Little Lady Lemonade
- Best Tasting – Briee Hubbard, Sunny Lemonade Stand
We can’t wait to bring this program back next year!
Partnership Luncheons: Stay in the Know
We had fantastic attendance at our Q2 Partnership Luncheons.
- April- State of Education & Talent Development. Dr. John “JJ” Villarreal, RISD. Kevin Worthy, Royse City ISD.
- May- Special guest, Dan Henry from FOX4. “Building Community Leaders” – Leadership Rockwall Class of 2024 Graduation.
- June- Unlocking the Future: Introduction to AI in Business. Special guest, Vamsi Nellutla from the Dallas Data Science Academy.
These topics are designed for everyone doing business in the Rockwall Area. We’d like to thank all of your speakers and volunteers for their time to bring updates to our community each month.
Ribbon Cuttings
We celebrated 25 ribbon cuttings and welcomed 36 new Chamber partners in the second quarter of 2023 and can’t wait to see what the rest of the year will bring the business community!
Congratulations to the following businesses on their ribbon cutting:
- A+ Athletics
- A/C Parts Warehouse
- AmeriSports
- Capital Title
- Cavender Nissan
- Community BBQ & Grill
- COXCO Construction
- The Dog House
- Ellie Mental Health
- Erinakes Law
- Fable & Fire
- Frost Bank
- Greater Rockwall Youth Symphony
- Hollywood Feed
- Hotworx Rockwall
- Iron Ranch Business Park
- Mills Mercantile
- Nicholson Premier Realty
- Orthopaedic Specialists of Dallas
- Restoration Marketplace
- Sarah Wandrey Mosaics
- Sear Steakhouse & Lounge
- Starbucks, Fate
- Texas Waterboys Sprinkler & Drainage
- Wickland’s Candies and Confections
New Team Members at the Chamber
- Jodi Willard – Director of Tourism
- Lonny Schonfeld – Partnership Development Manager
- Andrea Carr – Marketing & Communications Coordinator
- Amy Busch – Administrative Coordinator
Leadership Rockwall Class of 2023
Community Project
Fate’s historic community center was built in the 1950s from the lumber of Fate’s former school. Used now as a venue for Fate’s Senior Program, birthday parties, baby showers, group meetings, and more, the community center was in dire need of renovations. The Leadership Rockwall class of 2023 stepped in with the help of 33 generous sponsors throughout Rockwall County to make these renovations happen. The class worked diligently over the past year to organize and complete the project. Citizens and organizations throughout Rockwall County can reserve the Community Center at Fate’s website here.
Mayor Billings stated “Leadership Rockwall did an amazing job with this Community Center project and we are extremely grateful for their efforts. The renovation will make a big difference for all who want to use the facility, including Fate’s Senior Program. We are excited for families to enjoy this facility and for all the meaningful memories that will be created here in Fate.”
Leadership Rockwall Student Allen Robbins was excited to work on this amazing project stating “As a member of the Leadership Rockwall class of 2023, I am so happy to have been a part of this project and humbled to see what we were able to accomplish with the help of the many wonderful sponsors and donors throughout Rockwall County. Citizens will be able to enjoy this Community Center in Fate and make memories there for generations to come.” They are so thankful for the countless hours and donations put into this community building.
Congratulations Leadership Rockwall Class of 2023!
- Linda Bonin – Baylor Scott & White
- Susan Burt – American National Bank
- Desiree Dominguez – Rest Haven Funeral Home
- Andrew Hawkes – Town of Sunnyvale
- Beth Johnson – Frost Bank
- Clarence Jorif – The Compound Royse City
- Dominique Komarek-Hall – Brady Z Hill Insurance
- Henry Lee – City of Rockwall
- Amy Mitchell – Rockwall ISD
- Christy Lynn Myers – Rockwall County Elections
- Leigh Northcutt – All Care Comfort Solutions
- Mike Rannigan – Doc’s Roofing
- Allen Robbins – City of Fate
- Ann-Marie Samford – Jungle Trek
- Rachael Schmidt – Avidea Social
- Shawn Yerks – City of Rockwall
- Harold Young – YMCA Metropolitan Dallas
Texas Chambers of Commerce Executives Conference
We recently had the incredible opportunity to attend the prestigious Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives (TCCE) Conference, hosted by the Odessa Chamber of Commerce and TCCE. This annual conference and meeting draws chamber executives and industry leaders across Texas and beyond to share in collaboration, learning, and engagement.
The TCCE conference prides itself on hosting renowned keynote speakers who share their expertise and inspire attendees. These notable figures offer fresh perspectives on economic trends, leadership strategies, and innovative approaches to addressing the challenges faced by Chambers of Commerce.
Additionally, the conference program comprised a diverse range of educational sessions covering a wide array of topics. From economic development and tourism to membership engagement and digital marketing, the sessions addressed the critical issues faced by chamber executives in today’s ever-evolving business landscape. Participants had the opportunity to gain experience from subject matter experts, acquire new skills, and gather valuable insights to implement in our organizations. Our President and CEO Darby Burkey was welcomed to the stage to speak about our Event in a Box: Lemonade Day 2023. What a success story about supporting our young entrepreneurs in the Rockwall Area.
The Chamber is grateful for all of the support and participation in these events and programs, and we look forward to engaging with our partners and the community even more in the coming months.
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