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My Trip to WashingtonD.C.
On April 16, 2008, I flew to WashingtonD.C. to participate in a Small Business Summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. There were a group of us that attended the Summit including
v Chris Wallace, President of the Irving Chamber,
v Peggy Masters, Chairwoman of the Board of the Irving Chamber and Manager of Comerica Bank,
v Don Williams, Economic Development Coordinator for the Irving Chamber,
v Denise Demonbraun, Small Business Development Coordinator for the Irving Chamber,
v Jeff Youngblood owner of Fast Signs and Chair of the Small Business Committee with the Chamber,
v Carol Wood from Joe’s Coffee Shop and her friend Joe Synder (and no, he is not the Joe in Joe’s),
v Chris Mammon and hid Dad John Mammon from Mammon Glass,
v Judy Stasky, Partner Receptions on The Main (who happens to be my Mom and an elementary Special Ed teacher)
v and myself, Jo Ann Goin, owner of Glory House Catering and Receptions on The Main and Ambassador for the Irving Chamber.
The summit was organized to honor the businesses that won Blue Ribbon awards from the U.S. Chamber and to announce the overall winner for Small Business of the Year (this year it was Permac Industries). I was very impressed with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. What an advocate for small business in Washington! They are a team of passionate individuals devoted to protecting free enterprise; this means every business owner in the United States!
During our stay in WashingtonD.C., we crammed enough site seeing, conference meetings and event attending into two and one half days to fill a typical seven day work week for all of us! The whole City of WashingtonD.C. is buzzing with excitement and a level of involvement that is inspirational!
Don Williams came up a day early and organized a great itinerary and mapped out our course. He was such a driving force of organization and communication I have donned him with a new nickname – “The Train.” Don gets you to your destination on a straight path, on time and productive, no hindrances, no backtracking! I was very impressed. I was also impressed with his attention to detail in small things. For example, Don brought small little Texas flags to the awards dinner and placed them on the two tables for the Irving folk. It was such a nice little plug for Texas, even President Bush noticed them!
During multiple tours of monuments, the Capital and many buildings and sites, we all got to know each other better and found we made great company and travel companions. We all have something in common – the desire to see businesses in Irving succeed. Chris Wallace is passionate about small business and has a great desire to promote and protect. He understands that small business is the backbone of the American economy and wants the Chamber of Commerce in Irving to progressively protect the interests of business in our great city.
I had wonderful and interesting conversations with Jeff Youngblood with Fast Signs who is amazingly moved by our nation’s history, especially Thomas Jefferson. Jeff was very involved in photography in college and took beautiful pictures. He also showed several of us how to operate our cameras! Jeff is very ambitious (in a good way) and is determined to be the best sign business in the U.S. He critiques every sign he sees. Now I find myself doing this as well…every sign I see, I ask myself “how effective is this sign?” Jeff loves to talk about marketing strategies and operations and he is supremely interested in other business. He desires to see every business in Irving succeed on a grand level.
Carol Wood and her friend Joe have a wonderful relationship and are so comfortable and interesting together. Joe is of Polish decent and during a conversation with my Mom, found that some of his ancestors are buried in the small town she lives in- Bremond, Texas. Bremond has a population of about 800 and we flew all the way to WashingtonD.C. to find out that a man from Irving has history in Bremond. My Mom is on the historical society board in Bremond and she is married to a fabulous Polish gentleman, Richard Stasky, who happens to be on the cemetery board of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where Joe’s relatives are buried. This discovery led to a wonderful conversation about Polish history and immigration and Polish words and common experiences. What a small world!
Denise Demonbraun, who is always happy, had a crazy experience during an impromptu manicure session at a small shop in ChinaTown. I’ll let her tell you about it, but it was a means of jokes and laughter throughout our trip. Denise is the reason why I was in WashingtonD.C. She implored me to complete the application to enter for Small Business of the Year with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Her confidence in my company led me to complete the extensive application and send it in! Without her, it would have never happened and I would have missed out on one of the most wonderful experiences of my life! Denise is like a watchwoman on the hill looking for opportunities to promote small business in Irving. Great job, Denise!
Peggy Masters, my wonderful friend, is very family oriented and missed her daughters on the trip. We spent extra time in D.C., staying through Sunday AM and went site seeing with Peggy. Peggy has been an advocate of my dreams in business from day one. Her support over the years has been key to our success! She loves Irving and loves the Chamber. She is an inspiration to me and many businesses in our city!
I sat by Chris Mammen and John Mammen at the awards banquet. The room was charged with excitement. To be in a room with that many entrepreneurs at one time was electrifying! This is the second year Mammen has won a Blue Ribbon Award and was in the running for the overall winner. Chris and John are grassroots entrepreneurs with a wonderful heritage and history in their business. They have moved Mammen Glass into our modern business environment and still kept the culture of personal relationships and family in their business. I was jealous of Chris and John on the last day of the conference! They were seated in the very front about 6 feet from President Bush when he spoke to the Summit attendees on Friday, April 18. I can’t complain too much, though, the rest of us were seated 3 tables’ back- about 15 feet from the podium and the President.
President Bush spoke on making tax cuts permanent and other issues regarding small business in America. It was wonderful to say the least!
As for me, I was invigorated by the trip to WashingtonD.C. I cried when the played the National Anthem (nothing new for me), I was moved at ArlingtonCemetery when I read the sign “Freedom Isn’t Free!” I came home with a renewed since of future success and pride in my community and in my business. I am proud to be an American and proud to live in Irving, Texas. I am exceptionally proud of our Chamber of Commerce and the vision for our City exhibited by Chris Wallace, Don Williams, Peggy Masters and Denise Demonbraun. Our Chamber represents a team of individuals that work very hard to promote and aid in the success of businesses in Irving. They are our P.R. team, our cheerleaders, our proud friends!
Jo Ann Goin
Partner, Glory House Catering Co., LLC
Partner, Receptions on The Main, LLC
109 S. Main Street, Irving, Texas75060
