2022 Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Business Summit a huge success

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Approximately 255 businessmen and -women attended the 2022 Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce Business Summit, held at the Lone Star College Administrative Offices recently. This one-day event was presented by Tachus Fiber Internet. Team leads for the event included Ann Wolford of The Wolford Group, Kristen Bates of The Strong Firm P.C., David Deveau of Woodforest Wealth Strategies, and Stacey Falletti of Express Employment Professionals.

A front conference area filled with more than a dozen exhibitor stations – and refreshments galore – led the way to the main conference area, where everyone had a good (and comfortable) seat to catch the business leaders and luminaries speak individually and in panel discussion from the raised stage flanked by giant screens.

Kicking off the event was a venerable panel of business leaders – including Jeff Newkirk of Blanton Advisors LLC, Darlene Gagnon of WeKinnect Global Branding Agency LLC, and Stephen Quezada of Ogletree Deakins discussed and debated the topic of ‘Prepare Your Business: Takeaways from 2022 and Tools for 2023.’ The panel moderator was Megan Alarid of Heightened Leaders.

Separated from the main stage area were a series of breakout rooms that provided numerous sessions and lectures in a more intimate and niche format. Fifteen such breakout sessions took place throughout the symposium, with highlights including The Importance of Storytelling by Amanda Wood of Avail Marketing, Power to Choose: Radical Responsibility through Personal Integrity by Brit Deveau of Deveau Wellness Haus, ROE: Return on Emotion by Ian Ramirez of Madera Estates, Tech Savvy for Small Business Owners: How to Maintain Your Client Base and Increase Productivity by Zipporah Singleton of Radiant Purposes, and The Great Resignation: Retention and Employment Law Issues Facing Employers by Amy Davidson and B.D. Griffin, County Attorney for Montgomery County.

JJ Hollie, president and CEO of The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce, was delighted at the turnout. “I think it’s phenomenal,” he said. “We’re just catapulting off of last year’s success; our attendance is about 25 percent more over last year’s, so it’s definitely growing, and it appears that we sold out this year. We’ve got great speakers. Everybody needs to hear these discussions about how we’re all in the same boat, how we can support each other, how you can start a business, how you make it out of the first few months, how to manage employees… There’s just so much good information here.”

Exhibitors included Tachus Fiber Internet, Lone Star College, Heightened Leaders, The Howard Hughes Corporation, WeKinnect Global Branding, Consolidated Communications, Express Employment Professionals, G&A Partners, SHSU SBDC, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, U.S. Small Business Administration, Weygandt Law, Woodforest National Bank, Stibbs & Co., P.C., Attorneys, and The Woodlands Area Chamber of Commerce.

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