FORT WORTH MAYOR MATTIE PARKER HIGHLIGHTS SUCCESSES, OUTLINES VISION FOR CITY AT FWC LUNCHEON
FWC PRESENTS 2024 SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS, INNOVATOR AWARDS
FORT WORTH, TX – Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker delivered her State of the City address Thursday at a luncheon hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber (FWC) at Dickies Arena. This year’s event, presented by Simmons Bank, marks the 28th year the FWC has hosted the annual program.
“The purpose of this event fits squarely into our mission as a chamber — leveraging our unique position as the voice of the Fort Worth business community to convene people across industries, across disciplines and across interests, giving our business leaders and our civic leaders the opportunity to come together to celebrate our achievements and our hard work, and our aspirations for our great city,” said FWC President & CEO Steve Montgomery.
To an audience of approximately 1,000 business and community leaders, elected officials, staff and media, Mayor Parker shared insights on both the city’s progress and future outlook as well as key issues impacting the Fort Worth community.
“Our success as a city has been built over time through thoughtful planning, hard work, and sometimes good timing, but most importantly, through the strength of our people,” said Parker. “The true test of a great city is how it faces challenges head-on, and we are doing just that. As one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, we remain committed to providing top-tier services while maintaining strong fiscal discipline to ensure a sustainable future for Fort Worth.”
She focused on a range of topics including budget and city services, transportation and infrastructure, community investment, economic development, education, public safety, and tourism. Parker said that investing in initiatives to further strengthen the foundation of the city are key to keeping the community thriving and staying ahead of Fort Worth’s continuing growth.
“We must plan with purpose, as we simply can’t afford to move forward without understanding what growth and infrastructure will look like 10, 20, even 50 years from now,” Parker said.
Montgomery pointed out the chamber’s involvement in advocating for its members on many city issues that are important for economic growth, such as improving infrastructure and mobility, addressing homelessness, and maintaining quality of place along with supporting small businesses — assets that he said make Fort Worth a desirable place to do business and to live, work, play and stay.
According to Montgomery, talent and workforce development are of key importance and a particular priority for the chamber:
“Our focus on workforce development is helping empower local talent, providing tools, pathways and connection points needed to meet the ever-evolving demands of our local economy,” said Montgomery. “We’ve worked to bridge gaps between academic institutions and business to ensure that our future leaders are ready to thrive in today’s and tomorrow’s dynamic workplace. And of course, our work continues.”
Additionally, several local businesses were featured in presentations honoring recipients of the 2024 Small Business Awards and The Best Place for Working Parents® 2024 Fort Worth Innovator Awards.
2024 SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS
Presented by Bank of Texas, these annual awards recognize and honor Fort Worth small businesses that have demonstrated exemplary “Best Practices” in business. Members and non-members of the FWC were eligible to apply. Award winners in four award categories were announced during the event. 2023 recipients as well as previous years’ winners can be viewed at https://www.fortworthchamber.com/small-business-of-the-year/.
This year’s winners and finalists, by category, are:
Emerging Business
Winner: Galvan Strategy Group
Galvan Strategy Group is a unique blend of industry knowledge and experience in municipal government and is the only woman-owned municipal advisory, public finance, and public affairs firm in Fort Worth. Since its inception in 2023, GSG has partnered with its clients to provide a broad range of services with a team of diverse and talented professionals who care about building stronger communities.
Other finalists:
REVFIT TEXAS
RIPE Publishing House
1-20 Employees
Winner: Panther City Media Group, parent company to Fort Worth Magazine and Fort Worth Inc. Magazine)
Panther City Media Group, LP is a multi-media publishing company. Fort Worth Magazine, their monthly flagship city lifestyle publication, was founded by Hal Brown and a partner 25 years ago. They had a vision of giving Fort Worth an independent city magazine that would provide impact and serve its readers’ interests. Fort Worth Magazine chronicles the ideas, people, and cultural events that shape our city. In 2015, they launched sister business magazine, Fort Worth Inc., to help build community among top Greater Fort Worth entrepreneurs and small business leaders. Their mission is to celebrate Fort Worth and make it better.
Other finalists:
NexCourt
iLegacy Consulting & Counseling, PLLC
21-50 Employees
Two Winners: Fort Worth Report and Quorum Architects
The Fort Worth Report is a 501(c)(3) organization that launched in 2021. This media outlet is built on a foundation of local leadership and local investment. The Fort Worth Report pledges to produce high-quality objective local journalism that informs public decision-making, addresses the quality of life of the community’s citizens, holds policymakers accountable and tells the stories of its readers by listening to them and making sure they are valued and understood. Their reporting is free to all who access their primary digital channels.
Quorum Architects is a master planning, architecture and interior design firm founded in 1992 by five friends, all architects, with a common goal of taking care of people — their staff and their clients. Leadership also prioritized providing a beautiful, light filled office to inspire creativity and collaboration. Quorum works all over the country, but continually gives back to the local community with gifts of its time, talent and resources.
Other finalist:
Valor
51-150 Employees
Winner: Ampersand Coffee
Ampersand is a Fort Worth community-driven coffee shop and bar that delivers a modern twist to the average cup of Joe. Ampersand strives to create an atmosphere of excitement and togetherness. Coffee shop by day and an inviting lounge by night, Fort Worth’s best kept secret is the perfect place to celebrate any occasion. Having recently expanded into the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport’s Terminal C and with the creation of the Ampersand Running Club, Ampersand takes pride in being a little different from your normal neighborhood coffee shop. As the name suggests, Ampersand strives not only to provide great coffee, but also opportunities to slow down and connect.
Other finalists:
Pulliam Pools
Texas Motor Speedway
2024 INNOVATOR AWARDS
Through its Innovator Awards, The Best Place for Working Parents® annually recognizes businesses that are leading the way in supporting working parents through cutting-edge, creative solutions that are benefiting their caregiving workforce and their bottom line. More about the awards can be found at https://bestplace4workingparents.com/innovator-awards/.
Family Resources Innovator Award
Winner: M2G
M2G is a micro-sized business offering big benefits to their employees, including company paid insurance, flexibility and paid parental leave. However, it is their development and integral coaching, available to all employees, weekly on-site at their work location that really highlights their commitment to adapting to the needs of their working parents in order to create a winning culture for all. Their unique coaching model is provided by a licensed social worker and is available to all employees to address any and all areas of life.
Policy Innovator Award
Winner: Elevate
Elevate Credit offers robust benefits to their employees including generous PTO, comprehensive medical, dental, and life insurance, Health Care and Dependent Care FSAs, and paid parental leave. What really stands out is the additional 10 days of paid time off that Elevate provides to primary caregivers upon returning from parental leave, to offer additional flexibility and support for those early and unpredictable days with a new baby in tow.
Events Innovator Award
Winner: Trademark Property Company
Trademark Property Company loves providing opportunities to make family memories. In addition to hosting regular events for employees and their dependents, they also make tickets to outside events available for their employees to use for family outings. The event that truly distinguishes Trademark as an innovator is their annual company-paid biometric screening offered onsite so employees don’t have to take a day off, worry about the cost, or bother with the hassle of making an appointment for their annual physical.
ABOUT THE FORT WORTH CHAMBER
The Fort Worth Chamber, with 1,300 member businesses, is one of the largest chambers in the North Texas region. Through its core functions of business retention and expansion, talent development, small business and entrepreneur support, and government advocacy, the Chamber’s vision is to drive the Fort Worth region to be the most thriving, inviting community for all. Contact the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce at (817) 336-2491 or visit https://www.fortworthchamber.com/.
###
