Here is a clipping from College Station regarding Texas jobs that we thought you might find interesting.

STATE GOVERNMENT JOB CUTS CONTINUE

COLLEGE STATION (Real Estate Center) – All Texas industries had more jobs in April 2012 than in April 2011, according to the Real Estate Center's latest Monthly Review of the Texas Economy, but the state’s government sector continues to lose jobs.

The decrease for the 12-month period was 2.9 percent, which translated to 54,500 government jobs.

The state’s mining and logging industry ranked first in job creation, adding 32,500 jobs, followed by the leisure and hospitality industry (43,800) and the other services industry (13,900).

Texas’ economy gained 212,500 nonagricultural jobs during the period, an annual growth rate of 2 percent compared with 1.3 percent for the United States. The state’s nongovernment sector added 267,000 jobs, an annual growth rate of 3.1 percent compared with 1.8 percent for the nation’s private sector.

Texas’ seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent in April 2012 from 8 percent in April 2011. The nation’s rate decreased from 9 to 8.1 percent.

All Texas metro areas except Wichita Falls, Abilene, College Station-Bryan, Victoria and Longview had more jobs in April 2012 than in April 2011. Odessa ranked first in job creation followed by Laredo, Corpus Christi, Tyler and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown.

Giddings, Texas
May 17-19, 2012
Firemen’s Park, 2495 W. Hwy 290

13^th Annual Lee County Fair & Rodeo featuring Stoney LaRue and Kevin Fowler along with several opening acts including Texas Unlimited Band, The Original Triumphs, Mark Muniz & the Carter McKay Band.  Friday is Senior Citizen Day at the Fair which includes Bingo, Horseshoes & Washer Pitching Contests, great music and entertainment. Other musical acts that will be at the fair this year include Chris Rybak, Red Alert, Central Texas Sounds, T.J. Funk and Wild Card DJ Service.  The Great Giani, mentalist, hypnotist, and mind illusionist will perform several times.

Saturday there will be a contest sponsored by the Lee County AgriLife Extension, Home Economics division featuring homemade wine, All American Pie and homemade salsa at 1pm.

Saturday there will be a full military display at the Giddings Airport located on CR 205. Static displays will include vintage WWII Korean Era Aircraft, military vehicles and equipment. DPS helicopter, Star Flight and National Guard helicopters. The 57^th Signal Battalion will be here from Fort Hood. There will be a ceremony of honor at 12 noon with a 21 gun salute as well as a tribute to recognize veterans and active military.

Hat Trick Exotic Petting Zoo with the Guinness Book of World Records smallest living buffalo will be available all weekend. The Mighty Thomas Carnival opens Thursday night with a two for one armband special.  The Antique Hobby Horses will be open Friday and Saturday for the kids.  The infamous Charcoal Challenge BBQ Cookoff is at capacity again this year. The Rodeo tickets are available online or at the gate.  Fair passes will be sold at the gates.

The Lee County Fair & Rodeo is proud of the $140,000 that have been distributed to high school seniors through the scholarship program.  Each year high school juniors and seniors are selected to serve as Youth Fair Board members to learn the inner workings of the fair and all its activities.

Thursday Night admission is a canned food item for the Giddings Food Pantry.  Day passes are $12 and Season Passes are $25 at the gate.

Call the Chamber for more info or visit the website at www.leecountyfairtx.com

Comptroller Susan Combs Distributes $633 Million in Monthly Sales Tax Revenue to Local Governments

Local Sales Tax Allocations (May 2012)
Recipient	May 2012 Allocations	Change from May 2011	Year-to-date Change
Cities	$421.0M	↑ 4.4%	↑ 8.0%
Counties	$41.0M	↑ 9.5%	↑ 14.1%
Transit Systems	$140.8M	↑ 5.4%	↑ 9.5%
Special Purpose Taxing Districts	$30.2M	↑ 18.0%	↑ 23.1%
Total	$633.0M	↑ 5.5%	↑ 9.4%

 

Greetings,

We are so pleased to bring you the events & activities list for your enjoyment.  Please try to come out for the many exciting things that are going on in our community.  Our small businesses and civic organizations work hard to provide enjoyable activities so that you and our guests will have great memories.

This weekend there will be a Crawfish Boil Saturday 28th at Harv’s Hideout located on FM 141 north of Giddings.  Starts at 5pm and lasts til they run out. Price is $9.75 for approx 1 pound of crawfish and all the fixins!
Check out Harv’s Thursday through Saturday. They open at 4pm and close after midnight. 

 

Lee County Youth Center Online Auction & Fundraiser

The non-profit Lee County Youth Center (LCYC; future home of the Boys and Girls Club), which will provide summer and after-school academic support and activities for county youth, is having an on-line auction to raise money for the LCYC.  The on-line auction will be on Couchbidder.com, a local on-line auction service. Items are being accepted for inclusion in the auction. Items that sell well include: decorative items, house wares, light sports equipment, camping equipment, antiques, pictures, children’s toys, entertainment items that work, small furniture, glassware, kitchenware, bikes, jewelry and collections.  We also welcome tickets to sports events or entertainment packages.  These items do not sell well and therefore will not be accepted: upholstered furniture, sofas, beds/mattresses, books and VHS tapes, heavy equipment and clothing.  If you’d like to be recognized (name included on-line) for your donations, please label the items with your name.

Donated items can be delivered to the auction site, the former Giddings Elementary School, on Sunday, April 29 from 1-4 pm.  If you need to make other arrangements for delivery, please call Sandy Birnbaum at 979-542-4100 and leave a message or contact your church/organization LCYC representative. 

The auction will be posted on Couchbidder.com on May 14^th. A public preview of the items will be held on May 19^th from 1-4 pm at the school.  Merchandise that is purchased through the on-line auction will need to be picked up on May 26^th from 9-3.  In order to bid, you must register on-line with Couchbidder.com. If you need step-by-step information, see “How to Participate in On-line Auctions” in the toolbar at the top of the page.

 

We hope you have a wonderful week.

 

We had a great question today from one of our members and thought we would provide a little help to get your ready for tax season.

Businesses get requests many time throughout the year from churches, non-profits and other legitimate organizations for donations to be used for auctions, prizes, raffles and gifts.  That small business owner is responsible for keeping up with the donations to these organizations for tax purposes.  All legitimate non-profits and churches are issued a tax id number that identifies them to the IRS.  As a small business owner, you may want to require that those organizations requesting a donation provide a W-9 with the tax payer id number. This gives the small business owner a record to put in to their files to prove that they gave a legitimate donation.

All legitimate organizations will gladly give a copy of the flyer, advertisement, W-9 and business card for the files.  All small business owners need to be aware of the potential for scams. Always ask for as much information as possible.

We have included some additional information for your benefit. 

Qualified organizations

In order to qualify as a legitimate deduction, contributions must be made to a legitimate, public charity. Public charities include organizations such as religious organizations, educational institutions, governmental agencies, publicly supported organizations, and private foundations.

Most legitimate charitable organizations – particularly publicly-supported organizations, educational institutions, and private foundations – operate under a federally-approved designation, e.g. a 501(c)(3). A 501(c)(3) designation ensures that the charity is genuine and that it is accountable to rules that regulate nonprofit activity. It's a good idea to ask whether the organization has obtained a 501(c)(3) designation before you contribute. If they haven't, then the deductibility of your donation may be in jeopardy, not to mention the fact that the organization may not be as legitimate as they seem.

Cause-related Marketing

Strictly speaking, cause-related marketing does not necessarily qualify as a charitable deduction for tax purposes. However, it does qualify as a marketing expense deduction which is just as good. Even better, it can be a way to stimulate sales for your business.

Here's how it works: Suppose your own a donut shop. In an effort to do something good for the community, you agree to team up with a local nonprofit to help them raise funds for their annual giving campaign. To do this, you decide to advertise that 10% of the proceeds from every donut sold will be given to the nonprofit to help them achieve their fundraising goal.

The benefits of cause-related marketing are two-fold. First, your business plays an important role in raising funds for a cause you believe in. In addition, your store gets a boost in sales from customers who also sympathize with the nonprofit's cause. Even though they might normally buy donuts from the competition, if they believe in the nonprofit's cause they will give you their business – both now and in the future.

Copyright © 2001-2011. Gaebler Ventures. All rights reserved.

We have the Martin Luther Lutheran Church Walk In Coffee on the schedule for Tuesday, April 3^rd from 10am-1:30pm. We hope you will come out to support the ladies.  They always have wonderful homemade sandwiches, salads and desserts.  We will see you there!

Also, 290 Grind is open for business. Stop by between 6am and 4pm to try out their wonderful pastries, smoothies, coffee, sandwiches and salads.  Ashley Johns, Executive Chef has developed some fantastic flavors for your enjoyment.

Greetings,

290 Grind opened their doors this morning, April 2^nd at 6AM.  They will be serving a full menu with coffee, smoothies, pastries, sandwiches and more!

We hope you will stop by to give Ashley and all the 290 Grind staff a big grin!  We are glad to have them open in Downtown Giddings.

Greetings,

Spring has Sprung!  As is always the case, we have been so busy with all the great activities that are going on that we may have failed to tell you about some other upcoming events & activities that need to be added to your calendar!

•·       March 29, Thursday: Social Media Workshop from 2-4pm at Citizens National Bank Community Room.

•·       March 31, Saturday: Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Show and City Wide Garage Sale in Downtown Giddings from 10am to 5pm.  Sign up for door prizes at the Chamber table, visit the Union Station Transportation Museum and Sterling Theater.

•·       April 2, Monday: Country Music Monday ~ Lone Star Opry is held at Giddings High School Cafetorium, on highway 77 north of

Giddings. Admission $5.00. Food available and parking assistance. Entertainers for the evening are: Rick Cavender, Ken Brothers, Sally Carlson, Cay Windham, and Brett and Silva Neal. Brett and Silva are transplants from California to Austin and have been quickly become a part of the Austin Music Scene. They have been invited to participate in a number of gigs, are daily adding to their schedule, and assembling a line-up of top notch Austin musicians, have cut a number of studio tracks. Silva says, “Our goal is to get out there and continue to connect with people who love the kind of music as much as we do, and for that we couldn’t be in a better place.”

•·       April 3, Tuesday: Walk In Coffee at Martin Luther Lutheran Church from 9am to 1pm in the Fellowship Hall. Great food made with love!

•·       April 3, Tuesday: 290 Grind Coffee House will open their doors.  Check out the assorted pastries, Royers Pies, coffee, espresso,smoothies and sandwiches.

•·       April 5, Thursday: Bake Sale from 9am to 3pm at FIRST NATIONAL BANK MAIN LOBBY, ALL PROCEEDS BENEFIT AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY “RELAY FOR LIFE”

•·       April 14, Saturday: Lee County Clean Up Day 

We want to welcome our newest members to the Chamber of Commerce family –

•KasperTonn’s Collectibles & More located on Hwy 77 South,  890 S. Main, selling antiques, vintage jewelry and collectibles. Ray Sanders, owner.

•China Buffett located at 1199 E. Austin, next to El Charro T. Full service restaurant with a huge selection. Guo De Chen, owner.

Looking for new customers?  Plan an Open House, Business Breakfast or Chamber Mixer! Call us for more details. Let us help you reach your next customer with the many tools we have here at the Chamber.

See you in the neighborhood!

Greetings,

We are having a busy week!  The sunshine has encouraged the trees, flowers and shrubs to emerge victorious from the winter sleep.  Stop and smell the flowers every chance you get.  We are grateful daily for all the blessing that we receive.

•·       Tuesday – BBQ on Bun Luncheon from 11am to 1pm at First Presbyterian Church in Cherry Hall, sponsored by the Lee County Heritage Society.   We look forward to seeing you there!

•·       Thursday – Social Media workshop for small business owners.  Get more customers through your facebook, LinkedIN and other places.  Free from 2-4pm at Citizens National Bank Community Room. You still have time to register! Call 542-3455.

•·       Saturday – Spring Fling Arts & Crafts Show and City Wide Garage Sale from 10am to 5pm in the Downtown Landmark Parking lot behind City Meat Market.

See you in the neighborhood!