2010 Award Recipients
Community Inspiration Award | Ambassador of the Year | Emerging Business of the Year | Green Business of the Year (1-20 employees category) | Green Business of the Year (21+ employees category) | Non-Proift of the Year | SOAR Business of the Year | Business of the Year (1-20 employees category) | Business of the Year (21+ employees category)
Community Inspiration Award
Kristy Stark, City of San Marcos Public Information Specialist
Since TCOR moved its offices to San Marcos in 2004, Kristy Stark has been an active volunteer with the San Marcos Chamber and in the San Marcos Community. She was asked to serve as co-chair of the Special Events committee and, due to her consistent achievements and great results with Chamber events, found herself being asked to fulfill this role a few years in a row. Under Kristy's leadership, special events such as the Annual Awards Gala, Casino Night, and the Chamber Luau were always first class and raised significant funds to support the program of work of the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce.
Kristy gave up her time in order to volunteer for 6 consecutive years, leading the Chamber's Special Events committee in a long stretch of continuous improvement.
It is rare to find a volunteer with the dedication, passion, talent, and leadership ability of Kristy Stark all rolled into one. She has provided exemplary service to the Chamber and to the community and we are proud to honor her with the Community Inspiration Award for 2010.
Ambassador of the Year
Mitsie Benton, Hummingbird Enterprises and Happy Paws Pet Services
This award is given annually to the Ambassador who secures the most points for service during the year. Mitsie Benton was presented with a plaque naming her the 2010 Ambassador of the Year with 6,287 points; this is her third consecutive year to receive this award.
Ambassadors promote membership in the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce and represent the Chamber as goodwill ambassadors and delegates. They earn points through membership recruitment and by active participation in Ambassador sanctioned events, such as, Ribbon Cutting ceremonies, grand openings and other Chamber events.
Mitsie can be reached by phone at (512) 396-9996.
Emerging Business of the Year
Phoenix Rising Bakery, Owner: Steve Blank
Phoenix Rising is a small gourmet bakery focusing on Artisan breads handcrafted and created the same way as has been done for thousands of years. The breads are baked in a wood-fired brick oven and sold at weekly farmer's markets from Austin to San Antonio. Over the years, the bakery has been featured in the San Marcos Daily Record, Hill Country Sun, and Country Lifestyle.
Phoenix Rising Bakery supports the San Marcos community in several ways: Donating bread to the Hays County Area Food Bank (in 2009 they donated 4,292 pounds of baked goods); Steve is a Big through Big Brothers Big Sisters; and Steve has served on the Chamber's Education Committee.
Phoenix Rising Bakery is located at 1904 Ranch Road 12, Ste. 116, San Marcos, and can be reached by phone at (512) 392-7473. You can also visit their website at http://phoenixrisingbakery.weebly.com
Green Business of the Year (1-20 employees category)
Cool Mint Café, Owner: Suzanne Perkins
As a part of the sustainable efforts, Cool Mint only accepts products from local farmers that support sustainable farming & green products. Only certified family farms producing natural and humanely grown meats are purchased. Fish must be approved by Monterey Bay Seawatch as healthy and not an endangered species.
Prewashing lowers water consumption and sediment flowing into drain lines. Utilization of energy efficient means of heating and cooling lowers the energy consumption.
Wet garbage is composted, producing vegetables prepared with methods to preserve nutrition and health benefits. Glass, plastic, aluminum & tin cans, mountainous stacks of cardboard are recycled. A half full, 2 yard waste container is emptied weekly without foul smell and with all recyclable materials.
Employees are trained to inform guests of the benefits of composting, purchasing locally and recycling. Cool Mint Café is located at 415 Burleson St., San Marcos and can be reached by phone at (512) 306-2665. You can also visit their website at www.coolmintcafe.com.
Green Business of the Year (21+ employees category)
Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC), CEO: Jim Boyle
CTMC has converted to all eco-friendly disposable items in their Café; paper products are 100% recyclable and the plastic products are made from corn. They are also currently recycling all plastic bottles and cans with Texas State's Cans for Cure program.
Fluorescent lighting has been replaced with energy efficient models; green materials/devices have been used in recent expansions; draught-tolerant plants have been utilized in landscaping of new construction.
Additionally, CTMC has employed web/tele-conferencing to reduce travel to meetings and added bike racks and motorcycle parking to encourage eco-friendly commuting, and meeting agendas/collaterals are now produced electronically & downloaded for hardcopies. They have converted their marketing efforts to digital formats to reduce printing quantities and use recycled paper whenever possible for printing needs.
CTMC is located at 1301 Wonder World Drive in San Marcos. They can be reached by phone at (512) 353-8979, or you can visit them online at www.ctmc.org.
Non-Profit of the Year
Hays County Food Bank, Jerry Gracy
The primary mission is to provide food to needy families and individuals in Hays County.
The Hays County Food Bank, since it's beginnings in 1984, has distributed more than three million pounds of food to families and individuals by functioning as both a food pantry that distributes food at their public distribution sites Monday – Friday and as a food bank that serves the clients of their partner agencies at no charge. They serve a population that includes families struggling to put food on the table in the slow economy, seniors living on a fixed income, low income families and children, the disabled, the homeless, and people suffering from hard times because of illness, loss of a job, etc.
With only seven employees and four to six volunteers per day working out of a 2,500 square foot building, the Food Bank is still able to accomplish its mission. Staff and volunteers pick up food seven days a week and distribute it back into the community in two ways: through local organizations that work with low income people and through direct distributions to the public Monday through Friday in San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Wimberley and outlying areas.
Besides accomplishing its daily mission of bringing food to needy families and individuals, each November, through its "Turkeys Tackling Hunger" program, the Hays County Food Bank gives a frozen turkey and all the trimmings to families who could not otherwise afford to have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. In 2009, the Food Bank partnering with the HEB Store near I-35 in San Marcos provided 1,653 needy families with Turkey Boxes.
For more information about the Hays County Food Bank, please visit their website at www.haysfoodbank.org. You can also contact them by phone, Monday – Friday from 8:00am – 4:00pm at (512) 392-8300.
SOAR Business of the Year
State Farm Insurance, Agency Field Executive: Jo Stephens
SOAR, which stands for "Seeking Opportunities, Achieving Results", is a local educational collaborative formed in 2008 for the purpose of encouraging increased educational attainment in San Marcos. Find out more at www.soarsanmarcos.com.
State Farm Insurance has issued a systematic improvement grant to the San Marcos Education Foundation for three consecutive years in support of early childhood readiness programs, closing the gaps, and in support of collaboration and avoidance of duplication in local efforts to support educational initiatives. In all these areas, the State Farm Grant has aligned perfectly with the objectives of SOAR and the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce's Education Committee. Jo has been involved directly in educational support through efforts exerted through her local insurance business from its inception four years ago.
Jo has displayed other significant community involvement practices with the marketing department at the McCoy School of Business at Texas State University, donation of school supplies to Mendez School, a community presentation on proper installation of car seats coordinated with the local Wal-Mart, sports sponsorships, and involvement locally with the State Farm Steer Clear driver safety program for young drivers.
Jo's office is located at 300 S. CM Allen Parkway, Suite 400 in San Marcos, Texas, and she can be reached by phone at (512) 805-0600.
Business of the Year (1-20 employees category)
Classic Cuts, Owners: Brian Olson & Sabin Steinbacher
Classic Cuts Hair Salon has been providing quality service to the San Marcos Community since 2005, and most of their staff has been with them since opening the doors. The salon serves a major percentage of our community, and they are the only locally owned, affordable walk-in salon in San Marcos. They've taken business that often went to high-end salons in larger cities and exceeded customers expectations right here in San Marcos.
For more than five years they have been active members of the Chamber, donating free haircuts to members, major auction items and monetary sponsorship throughout the years. They are also active members of several community growth programs. Brian Olson is currently the president of Sights and Sounds of San Marcos while Sabin Steinbacher is an active member of Smart Growth San Marcos.
Classic Cuts in San Marcos is changing its name to Premier Cuts in the upcoming month to conform with the names of their other locations. There will be no change in management/ownership. You'll still see the same friendly faces and affordable prices the next time you stop in to see them.
To find the Classic Cuts location closest to you, visit their website at www.mypremiercuts.com.
Business of the Year (21+ employees category)
Cavender's Boot City, General Manager: Joe Gomez
Cavender's Boot City in San Marcos opened its doors on December 18th, 2000, and joined the San Marcos Area Chamber of Commerce in January of 2001. Over the past ten years the San Marcos Cavender's has climbed the ranks within the 53 store, 5 state empire. For the past four years, San Marcos has been ranked in the top five stores and in the top ten for the last eight years. Currently, San Marcos is in the number three spot and hopes to finish the year number one. Store manager Joe Gomez was awarded the company's highest honor as Manager of the Year in 2005, and in September was awarded the 2010 Regional Manager of the Year, an award that he attributes to the entire staff.
Since 2006 Cavender's San Marcos has brought an outstanding summertime event to the community, the "Super Sizzlin' Summer Hot Tent Sale", that continues to grow annually. This now month-long event brings live music from local artists, food vendors, games for children and great savings to their already reduced prices. Through great buying opportunities and great relationships with manufactures, Cavender's continues to find and provide the latest in footwear technology and forward fashion at exceptional value for the customer.
Cavender's involvement in the community has also grown over the last five years, knowing that with financial growth comes social responsibility within its community. They support countless community services and charities and sponsor many community events, such as the Annual Juneteenth BBQ Cook-off, and the CTMC (a not-for-profit healthcare organization) Stars of Texas Gala, through volunteering labor and auction items.
Cavender's Boot City in San Marcos is located at 4331 IH 35 South, San Marcos, in the Tanger Outlet Center, and can be reached by phone at (512) 805-8210.
