New chamber board members elected

The Wharton Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture board will have four new members effective Oct. 1.<p>

Joining the board will be: <p>

— John Bard, owner of Burr Trading Co.

— Terri Mund, owner of Terri Mund & Associates Real Estate Services.<p>

— Jonathan Jeter, director of the Wharton County Junior College Foundation.<p>

— And, Chad Faucett, Edward Jones financial adviser.<p>

Rotating off the board on Oct. 1 will be Steven Wisnkeski of My Storehouse Mini Storage, Debbie Folks of Wied Realty, and Sandra Kachmar of Mid-Coast Title Co. Inc.<p>

The 13-member body is the governing board of the Wharton Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture. The votes were cast by the general membership.<p>

In other matters, the inaugural class of the Billie H. Jones Leadership Class will have its first session on Friday, Sept. 8. They will spend the morning in a classroom setting and make a field trip in the afternoon to JM Eagle, a plastic pipe manufacturing facility on the southeast corner of U.S. 59 and FM 102.<p>

The group will meet once a month for seven months. The class is under the direction Shannon Haltom, a Maxwell Leadership Certified Trainer and the Owner/Operator of Run Your Race Leadership Consulting Services.<p>

Also, among other matters, the planning is continuing for the Oct. 19 Party Under the Bridge. It’s the sixth annual. And planning is under way for another event, the 43rd Annual Christmas Holiday Parade, set for Tuesday, Nov. 21. Jeff Rainer is the parade chairman.<p>

“Players win games, but teams win championships.”<p>

Barbecue, Wharton County's best-kept secret

 You may be seeing more about something already familiar to Wharton County: Barbecue.<p>

 

We have started something called the “Wharton County Barbecue Trail.”  This trail will spotlight 11 barbecue restaurants in Wharton County.  A promotional campaign will include fliers, stickers, social media, emails, and newspaper and radio advertising.<p>

 

Our intent is to build synergy  — promoting all these restaurants together, from East Bernard to Hungerford, Wharton, El Campo and Louise. We want our barbecue restaurants to be front and center.<p>

 

Sometimes, when things are familiar to us, they may become too familiar. People tell me barbecue is Wharton County’s best-kept secret. <p>

 

We have heard exciting promotional ideas from many people. If you would like to help, we welcome your ideas. It does not start elsewhere, it starts here. With us. If barbecue is our best-kept secret, let’s not keep it a secret any longer. Consider it just the beginning.<p>