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Longview Businesses Helping Our Community
Education
Organizational Strength | Community Impact | Business Development
Although high school seniors have missed many last-semester milestones due to the COVID-19 quarantine, they are learning valuable skills that will help them transition from secondary school to college and/or the workplace. Lack of soft skills has long been a concern employers have of prospective employees. Local superintendents feel that this unprecedented world-wide event will help equip today’s students with broader levels of resiliency, flexibility, and time-management discipline, among other skills, than seniors of the past.
Hard Times TEACH Soft Skills
Soft skills can be learned through experience and are often not taught. Longview ISD Superintendent, Dr. James Wilcox, during Longview Chamber of Commerce’s Solutions with Superintendents webinar on March 31, endorsed that theory:
It has constantly been reinforced to our students that they are not going to graduate high school and go directly into the workforce and keep one job for thirty years with one skill. They’re going to have to retrain. They’re going to have reboot. They’re going to have to be flexible. They need to understand that change is inevitable and, no matter what they do, they have to be ready. They have to be flexible to change their career projection and move that comfort zone and accept that life is ever-changing. Resiliency is what is going to move someone forward, and I think this is just another step in reinforcing that. I don’t have concerns about our students making the transition because this is just one more thing to ready them for life. This is one more step that reinforces the flexibility and trainability that they are going to have to have the rest of their working career.
– Dr. Wayne Guidry, Superintendent of Spring Hill
As famous author, blogger, and CEO, Rachel Hollis, suggested as a way to come out of this quarantine better on the other side, “Look at this as an opportunity instead of a challenge.” These hard times are teaching valuable soft skills.
Define the Post-Pandemic World Work Skills Bridging the Talent Gap Employer Survey
What does the new normal look like?
Bridging the Talent Gap is an initiative sponsored by The Graduate! Network with the goal of helping employers, learning providers and other community stakeholders understand the challenges of ensuring a skilled workforce. This survey provides you the opportunity to define how your work is changing and adapting, and what the new skills need to be in the post-pandemic world. With your help, we can create programs to address our new reality, the new education needs, the new skill set needs. We have an opportunity to define skills and training opportunities for the adjusted future.
This survey is even more important than when we started in January. Help define the skill set needs for our future, and let’s address those needs and identify training to produce a workforce that will move the Longview trade area forward!
[ TAKE THE SURVEY NOW! ] Survey is open until May 31, 2020
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LEADING PEOPLE. LEADING PROSPERITY. E D U C A T
I O N | A D V O C A C Y | C O L L A B O R Good News Chamber Businesses Helping Longview Area Communities Over the past 8 weeks companies have become quite creative by embracing technology and re-inventing their business model to serve customers and keep their doors open. We were excited to learn how some our investors had demonstrated their agility by:
• Modifying drive through strategies and increasing parking places for curbside pickup. • Restaurants transformed into neighborhood markets to sell excess food ingredients. • Retailers adopted delivery services. • Businesses embraced live streaming services and virtual meetings. • Triads of support were created as groups formed to raise funds to buy food from local restaurants to feed first responders, medical personnel, and those working shifts, and that restaurant would then pay it forward by donating funds toward the next meal for the next restaurant to provide.
Our community’s resiliency has been amazing. The altruism is humbling and inspires each of us to continue to uplift one another during trying times. Here are just a few of the many examples:
Gregg County Title is extremely busy with an overwhelming amount of refinance transactions due to low interest rates. It’s great, but it’s challenging while learning new procedures, especially as directions across multiple counties vary. Central Title Company has rented the drive-through area of former Regions Bank building downtown in order to offer drive-through closing services to keep business going. Freedom Yoga shared their virtual class membership link on the Chamber’s Facebook page. This is a great way for people to take care of their physical and mental well-being during isolation.
Copper Tree Retreat is keeping their business running by continuing to offer and highlight their IV Therapy.
Wild Honey Creamery is offering delivery service (check their Facebook) and also working on their new location downtown so it will be ready after quarantine! Chuck’s Travel Coaches shared they are faring okay, but many in their industry are not because travel coach travel has been halted. They are reaching out to help the business community have a better understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on the transportation industry. Coffee & T’s is taking neighborhood appointments. You can check out the neighborhood stories on their Facebook page. This new business strategy has increased their business! Brookridge Internal Medicine Associates is promoting and utilizing telehealth in addition to office visits in order to meet their patients’ needs. Azalea Orthopedics shines with innovation as employees created protective masks for all of their coworkers Painting With a Twist changed their business model and created “Twist Fun”. Now customers can purchase Twist at Home Kits with curbside pickup. The kits come with all the art supplies you need plus step-by-step instructions and many have an accompanying video tutorial! Plus, kits can be shipped directly to your home! Both can be purchased online. Perfect Catering, Lori Valenti There is a reason that Lori Valenti was the recipient of the Minority Business of the Year by the Chamber in 2018 - she knows how to overcome obstacles. When she purchased Perfect Catering, people told her she was past her prime to open her own business, and she persevered to build a recognized quality brand. When COVID-19 shut down large gatherings, she quickly shifted her business model to serve in a different manner, while still maintaining the high quality her customers have come to expect. They remain open and have changed operations to do door drop deliveries for homes and families. She is catering weekly lunches to large and small companies including a manufacturing plant. For the Easter holiday, Lori surveyed her customers and created an Easter menu for home deliveries. The Easter Bunny came through! Heartisans continues finding ways to serve. They have created a new product line of masks and donated hundreds to front line emergency response teams. Now the masks are available on their website. Sugar Magnolia Properties hosted a virtual Lender Fair on April 23rd. They were able to gather their team of agents and area realtors, to “Speed Date” with local lenders to learn more about available products. Participants had the opportunity to hear about the changes in the mortgage industry and gain clarity as to how lenders are working remotely to meet the needs of their customers! Lenders “hopped” in and out of the meeting in 5 minute increments, to provide as much information as possible during their time together! Barron’s Café and Shop Barron’s has gone virtual! Their fine dining can now be enjoyed at home via curb-side pick up or delivery. And yes, they are opening a portion of the cafe on May 1st. Reservations are HIGHLY recommended. To help keep retail sales flowing in the shop, Lacy and Brandon are hosting Facebook live stream events showcasing their product lines. Tuscan Pig Italian Kitchen The famous East Texas Italian Country cooking has diverted to curb-side and delivery as well, offering their full menu and take and bake items to feed the family. Days and hours of operation have been streamlined to protect customers and staff alike. Country lasagna is alive and well! The Cace Kitchen This icon briefly closed doors to quickly emerge with an online ordering, prepay system with curbside pickup, or select products can be shipped. Get your Cajun fix on!
[ CLICK HERE ] For a list of Business Member adapting to change, visit our resource page!
Our arts community has begun to provide streaming performances and
virtual tours. Now is the time to embrace virtual art as it is just a click away...
Longview Museum of Fine Arts With their doors closed, they had to find a way to connect with their members. Tiffany Jehorek, the Executive Director, found a way. She began creating virtual tours of their permanent exhibits and posting them to their Facebook page and web site. The annual student invitational was cancelled as a public event, but awards were still given, and the winners posted as well as a virtual tour of featured winners. The Historic Landmarks Show will be delayed. Jehorek said that before the videos were posted online, the museum had about 4,200 followers; that number is up to more than 5,400. The summer arts program will be available virtually!
The Longview Arboretum remains open, adhering to social distancing guidelines, and is a wonderful break when you need a fresh air break. With plenty of walkways, paths and beautiful plantings, it a wonderful way to escape and enjoy the beauty of East Texas.
Longview City Parks Although the playgrounds are off limits, the paths and trails are open for strolling, running and just meandering, all while practicing social distancing. A great way to get fresh air and exercise.
Sweet Shop USA A chocolate factory owned by Michael and Angie Moss is among the factories that have converted to make medical face shields to supply hospitals with personal protective equipment needed. Sweet Shop USA, the largest handmade chocolate manufacturer in the country, located in Mount Pleasant. With the slowdown of sales at retail stores because of the coronavirus pandemic, they had begun laying off employees.
On March 20, Michael Moss woke up with an idea to make medical face shields. He found out his die cut machine could cut plastic shields to make face shields. Within hours hospitals in New York, Chicago and Seattle were interested, and they pre-sold in the first three days almost 300,000 facial shields.
They converted their packing area — 20,000 square feet of the 80,000 square feet facility – to make the shields. As long as they’re able to get the plastic, which is in short supply, they can make up to 40,000 shields per day. When shortages occurred, additional suppliers were found to maintain production. They’ve been “blown away” by the response from hospitals in desperate need of something they can provide.
NetworkIP is providing free audio conferencing in response to the COVID-19 Crisis.
As a member of the East Texas business community for over 20 years, NetworkIP is pleased to share its JustMeet audio conferencing service to area businesses, organizations, churches, and schools in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The service is unlimited and free for 30 days. With this resource, employees working from home and anyone social distancing themselves may stay better connected. It is a simple solution for meetings and connecting people when just voice is needed. With no special equipment required, up to 50 participants can join a single conference call from any mobile phone or landline.
Example: Not actual mask
