December/January Newsletter

Click Here for Adelante Newsletter PDF format

RIBBON CUTTINGS & BUSINESS AFTER HOURS MIXERS

Action Aces held a ribbon cutting on November 12, 2009 in celebration of the opening of their new office location. The Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Embajadores along with owners, Leslie Wood and Janie Perez, conducted the ribbon cutting. Special guests were Mayor Chris Boswell, and City Commissioner Kori Marra. Action Aces specializes in process service and is available for walk-throughs at the courthouse, filings, courier services, and subpoena preparation. We locate defendents, witnesses, or respondents if they need locating. Action Aces also provides credit card machines, check readers, wireless credit card machines, processing, ATMs and technical support.

The Southwest Minority Supplier Development Council along with the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber, Harlingen Area Chamber, and San Benito Chamber hosted a Fall Harvest Business Mixer at the San Benito Municipal building on November 19, 2009. This mixer is a great way to network with other businesses in the area. Attendees were asked to donate non-perishable items which were to be divided between the San Benito Food Pantry and Loaves & Fishes in Harlingen. Guests enjoyed great food, refreshments, networking and door prizes.

A ribbon cutting was held for the Harlingen Recycling Center, honoring Texas Recycles Day, on November 17, 2009. The Harlingen Hispanic Chamber and the Harlingen Area Chamber conducted the ribbon cutting. The recycling center is located at 1006 S. Commerce, next to the old police station.

The newly renovated Harlingen Municipal Auditorium held a ribbon cutting and open house on November 21, 2009. The auditorium had been closed due to damages caused by Hurricane Dolly. The Harlingen Hispanic Chamber and Harlingen Area Chamber conducted the ribbon cutting. After the ribbon cutting, the auditorium was open for guests to come in and enjoy a presentation by the Harlingen High School South Orchestra.

The celebration for Harlingen's 100th Anniversary Begins!

Harlingen's Centennial Celebration kicks off with a flag raising ceremony of the Centennial Flag. The flag raising ceremony was held in front of City Hall on November 5, 2009. Centennial Celebration committee volunteer, Juan Salas, designed the flag for the city celebration.

DON'T LET STRESS CHANGE "HO! HO! HO!" TO "NO! NO! NO!"

Running a business or keeping up with a busy job along with having a family life can become overwhelming, especially during the hectic holidays full of parties, end-of-year business activities and preparations for the coming year. Want to keep your head above water during the holiday? Here are some helpful hints to get prepared and keep your stress in check:

• Reserve your turkey or ham far in advance and schedule a pick-up time and date, so you avoid racing around at the last minute to find the perfect one.
• Do you enjoy special holiday linens? Wash and iron them early so they are table-ready in advance.
• Pull out those special holiday-only utensils you use once a year - the Christmas punch bowl with matching cups, the turkey platter and carver, the menorah-shaped candy dish - -have them washed and ready to go so you're not scrambling at the last minute.
• Candles are important for the remaining holidays of the season. Christmas and Kwanza. Stock up early (and maybe get some extra) with elegent tapers, fun specialty candles, along with pillars and votive candles in holiday hues and scents to give your home a warm glow at this special time of year.
• Want a special centerpiece for the big holiday meal? Place your order early at the florist! If you play on making your own, order flowers that your local shop can set aside for you. Consider Santa, dreidels, figurines, pine cones sprinkled with glitter - all sorts of objects to make a unique centerpiece perfect for your family's table.
  
• Lots of people coming for dinner? Create place cards for your guests. Purchase plain cards and dress them up with ribbons, glitter or greenery. Do you tend to invite the same people each year? Be sure to gather them up and store them away. One less task for next year!
• Be your own DJ by crafting a music playlist. Burn CDs and create a long holiday mix that will provide the perfect musical background for the whole day.
• Refresh your refreshments. Place your orders early with your local stores, stock up on wine and beverages (again, a little extra on hand never hurts) and make sure you have plenty of glassware.

CHRISTMAS FACTS:

• Each year, 30-35 million real Christmas treees are sold in the United States alone. There are 21,000 christmas tree growers in the United States, and trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
• Today, in the Greek and Russian orthodox churches, Christmas is celebrated 13 days after the 25th, which is also referred to as the Epiphany or Three Kings Day. This is the day it is believed that the three wise men finally found Jesus in the manger.
• In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous - a lot like today's Mardi Gras parties.
• From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Boston, and law-breakers were fined five shillings.
• Christmas wasn't a holiday in early America - in fact - Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the country's first Christmas under the new constitution.
• Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.
• The first eggnog made in the United States was consumed in Captain John Smith's 1607 Jamestown settlement.
• Poinsettia plants are named after Joel R. Poinsett, an American minister in Mexico, who brought the red-and-green plant from Mexico to America in 1828.
• The Salvation Army has been sending Santa Claus-clad donation collectors into the streets since the 1890's.
• Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was the product of Robert L. May's imagination in 1939. The copywriter wrote a poem about the reindeer to helplure customers into the Montgomery Ward department store.
• Construction workers started the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree tradition in 1931.

100 TREES FOR 100 YEARS

In honor of the centennial celebrations in Harlingen and San Benito, Simmons Oak Farms will be donating 100 live oak trees to deserving public and private organizations.

Schools, churches, public entities, and not-for-profit organizations in the Harlingen/San Benito area are eligible to apply. The donated trees will range from 12 to 18 feet tall. They will be available for installation in February, the month designated as All Valley Arbor Month by the Valley Proud Environmental Council. Donation recipients are expected to install, stake and maintain the tree(s) they receive. Applications are available at the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber of Commerce office and onlie at www.simmonsoakfarms.com . For more info, please call (956) 245-9682.

CATHOLIC DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAS - NEW YEAR'S EVE SCHOLARSHIP GALA

Catholic Daughters of the Americas will be hosting a New Year's Eve gala on Thursday, December 31, 2009 from 9 pm to 1 am. The gala will take place at A Catered Affair located at 301 E. Jackson St. Harlingen. Ticket prices are $30 pp. For more info contact Connie Garza at (956) 343-7821. Tickets are also on sale at the Harlingen Hispanic Chamber office.

HARLINGEN CENTENNIAL BOOK NOW ON SALE

Purchase your Centennial book "At the Crossroads", at the Harlingen Arts & Heritage Museum. Sales of the commemorative publication ($34.95 tax) will help raise funds for a wide range of Centennial activities in 2010. For more info call (956) 216-4901.