FEATURE STORY
	PRESIDENT'S LETTER
	MEMBERSHIP NEWS
	EVENTS

Upcoming Events

Texas-OU Kickoff Reception
Oct. 7
Warwick Melrose Hotel
Register Now

TA Dallas Luncheon
Oct. 14
The Tower Club, Dallas

Water: Regional Resource Summit
Oct. 20
Hyatt Regency DFW
Register Now

Webinar with Bud Weinstein
Oct. 25
Register Now

New Members

Renewed Members

The following is a list of members who renewed their NTC membership in August or September:

Accenture
Baylor Health Care System
BNSF Railway
City of Euless
City of Kennedale
City of Mansfield
City of Midlothian
City of Richardson
City of Rowlett
Colliers International
Cooper & Stebbins
Cousins Properties
DFW International Airport
DFW Airport Marriott
Dallas Cowboys Football Club
Denton County Transportation
   Authority
Fidelity Investments
HNTB
IESI
Jones Lang LaSalle
Lockheed Martin
Luminant
Metroport Cities Partnership
Oncor
Reliant Energy
Tarrant County College
Texas Christian University
Tom Thumb
Town of Haltom City
Town of Highland Park
TXU Energy
University of Texas at Dallas
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Walter P. Moore
Weaver and Tidwell

Founding Members

The North Texas Commission honors its founding members:

Arlington Chamber of Commerce
AT&T
City of Dallas
City of Fort Worth
DFW International Airport
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Greater Irving-Las Colinas
    Chamber of Commerce
Kimbell, Inc.
Lewisville Area
    Chamber of Commerce
McKinney Chamber of Commerce
North Central Texas
    Council of Governments
North Dallas
    Chamber of Commerce
Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce
Tom Thumb Food & Pharmacy
TXU Energy

Meet and Greet the Troops

If your organization would like to volunteer to meet and greet our returning troops arriving at DFW Airport, click here for information. Troops arrive daily for R&R.

FEATURE STORY

40 companies, leaders named Regional Superheroes

Celebrating the North Texas Commission 40-year anniversary, Verizon presented the NTC’s 40th Annual Member’s Luncheon on Sept. 28 at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. Along with the anniversary celebration, the NTC recognized and announced the top Regional Superheroes in North Texas.

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NTC announces third class of Leadership North Texas

The North Texas Commission was proud to announce its new Leadership North Texas Class presented by Chesapeake Energy at the end of August. This third class will continue the Leadership North Texas tradition of being composed of leaders throughout the region who have a commitment to civic engagement and to the North Texas region. The new class is made up of 29 leaders who during this regional leadership program will learn the best practices in regional stewardship from experts and discuss key issues our region faces, including education and workforce, the North Texas economy, sustainable development, healthcare and transportation. Read More

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

President's Letter: Superheroes in our midst

Ask any child on the street and he or she will tell you that they have a superhero. It may be Batman or Superman, could be Wolverine or the Green Lantern, but most likely it will be Mom, Dad or a teacher; someone who has made a real difference in that child’s life.

Superheroes should not be a youthful fascination. While we may outgrow comic book characters, we should continue to look up to the superheroes around us: the business or community leader, the innovator, the pioneer or the volunteer.

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MEMBERSHIP NEWS

NTC honors team behind Super Bowl XLV transportation planning, longtime transportation leader with 13th annual TEAM awards

The13th annual Transportation Excellence Award in Mobility (TEAM) was presented in August to the transportation planning team behind Super Bowl XLV. The awards were presented during the luncheon of the Annual Transportation and Infrastructure Summit in Irving.

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Global economies a match for North Texas

After a summer that included international trips to Australia and Turkey, NTC President and CEO Mabrie Jackson believes more than ever that North Texas is poised to become a destination for international businesses looking to expand into the U.S.

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DFW International Airport continues international growth with first nonstop service to the Middle East

North Texans will be able to fly nonstop to the Middle East from DFW International Airport when Emirates begins daily service between DFW and Dubai International Airport on Feb. 2, 2012.

Emirates, the largest air carrier in the Middle East, will serve the route with Boeing 777-200LR aircraft equipped with 266 seats. This service marks DFW’s first nonstop flight to the Middle East, a key strategic goal for the Airport.

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Andre Norman, president of the National Gang Council, shared his story with thousands of North Texas schoolchildren, leaders

The NTC hosted Andre Norman at Verizon presents the North Texas Commission’s 40th Annual Members’ Luncheon on Sept. 28 at the Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. In addition to speaking at the luncheon, Norman visited several local North Texas schools, speaking and inspiring students to step up and become leaders and superheroes for future generations.

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North Texas loses regional icon

Carl Hecht, a longtime employee of the North Texas Commission who retired last fall, passed away July 16 after a brief illness. Hecht was 91.

Hecht was a member of the North Texas Commission staff for 25 years, and was involved in membership development, directed the Mentor-Entrepreneurship program, led the Logistics Development and Marketing Committee and was instrumental in advocating for Foreign Trade Zones across North Texas. Most recently, Hecht served as vice president of the North Texas Future Fund.

Read More

EVENTS

Regional Water Summit discusses long-range water planning

Water, water, every where,
Nor any drop to drink.
– Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

The poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in the late 1700s spoke of the perils of maritime crews lost at sea, but it could also offer a peek into our region’s future if our long-range water needs are not met.

Read More

News briefs

ALCON LABS
Alcon Labs is moving about 100 positions from Atlanta to Fort Worth as the company consolidates its eye-care headquarters operations.
The move follows the acquisition of Alcon by Switzerland-based Novartis in April. As part of the merger, Alcon became the Novartis eye-care division, incorporating the company's Ciba Vision and Novartis Ophthalmics units. Nestle had had majority ownership of Alcon.
The jobs moving to Fort Worth are in marketing and other administrative functions that were part of Atlanta-based Ciba Vision, which produces contact lenses and lens-care products, said Bettina Maunz, Alcon's vice president of corporate communications. Ciba Vision's contact lens manufacturing and research operations will remain in Atlanta, Maunz said Tuesday.

ALLIANCE OPERATING SERVICES
NTC member and event chair Kathy Wilkins is working to bring an annual LPGA event to the North Texas region with The Nexus Club. The group is holding The Nexus Club Golf Charity Classic at Las Colinas Country Club with LPGA players on Oct. 31 to raise awareness of this initiative. To participate or learn more, please go to www.thenexusclub.org.

BAYLOR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas are forming a clinical training program in Dallas, giving the city its second medical school.
The program will welcome 23 third-year students in December and a comparable number of new third-year students will arrive in Dallas the following academic year, Baylor Health Care System said.

BNSF RAILWAY
The 162-year-old Fort Worth based company, BNSF Railway, was awarded the 2011 Tech Titans Award for Technology Adopter. BNSF's Best Way initiative uses technology to monitor 120 performances metrics including velocity, safety, manpower and costs. With those measures they then can analyze those metrics to reduce costs and improve efficiency for the company which includes 6,000 locomotives and 32,000 miles of track.

DALLAS COWBOYS
The Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable team in the National Football League for the fifth straight year, according to a study by Forbes magazine.
Owner Jerry Jones' financial juggernaut is worth $1.85 billion, according to the magazine. That's up 2 percent from last year.
Forbes determined that the average NFL team is worth $1.04 billion, up 1.4 percent from last year. The magazine said Jones continues to find ways to leverage the team's brand through merchandising and partnerships.

CITY OF DALLAS
The City of Dallas will be the first major city in Texas to have a carton recycling program, and boosts the number of households nationally that have access to carton recycling. The effort is supported by the Carton Council, a collaborative of carton manufacturers committed to expanding carton recycling in the U.S.
"Dallas is proud to be the first big city in Texas to make sure that liquid food and beverage cartons are recycled and kept out of landfills," says Mary Nix, director of sanitation services. "Carton recycling is good for our customers and for the environment."
Under the new initiative, residents will be able to place all empty cartons-such as milk and juice cartons, along with soup and broth, soy milk and wine cartons-in their blue recycling bins or community recycling drop off containers.
The City of Dallas has added food and beverage cartons to its residential curbside recycling program. Dallas will be the first major city in Texas to have a carton recycling program, and boosts the number of households nationally that have access to carton recycling. The effort is supported by the Carton Council, a collaborative of carton manufacturers committed to expanding carton recycling in the U.S.
"Dallas is proud to be the first big city in Texas to make sure that liquid food and beverage cartons are recycled and kept out of landfills," says Mary Nix, director of sanitation services. "Carton recycling is good for our customers and for the environment."

LOCKHEED MARTIN
Lockheed Martin Corp. reported winning a contract worth $84.3 million to supply four C-130J Maintenance and Aircrew Training System II, or MATS II, weapons systems trainers and also program management and engineering services. The trainers are expected to be utilized by the Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command and Air Force Special Operations Command in 2014.

METHODIST HEALTH SYSTEM
Methodist Health System is planning a $108 million-plus upgrade of its north Oak Cliff Hospital.
Methodist Dallas Medical Center will expand its emergency, critical care and surgery departments with a new six-story trauma, critical and surgical care tower.
The 248,000-square-foot tower will include 58 new emergency beds, six trauma suites, eight surgical suites, a 36-bed critical care unit with potential expansion to 11 stories. Construction will begin early next year with completion in summer of 2014.
Methodist is also planning a $27.3 million expansion of its Charlton Medical Center in southern Dallas near Duncanville.

ONCOR
ECOtality Inc. says it has deployed a Blink commercial electric-vehicle (EV) charging network in the Dallas metro area within utility Oncor's service territory.
ECOtality began installations of its Blink Pedestal charging stations earlier this year. The company says it worked closely with stakeholders, including Oncor and the North Central Texas Council of Governments, to determine the best sites for the public charging stations.
"Oncor's investment in millions of advanced meters and 1,000 miles of new transmission lines to deliver clean, renewable domestic power make Dallas the best city in the world for electric vehicles," says Debbie Dennis, a vice president at Oncor. "Using information from their smart meters, customers can choose the best plan for cost-effective charging, and EV owners in Texas can take advantage of abundant wind power at night when they're parked at home."

RELIANT ENERGY
Reliant Energy is now the official electricity supplier for Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Reliant will also be a "major sponsor" of the Cowboys, the company said.
Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. The deal does not include stadium naming rights, a Reliant spokesman said. Reliant already owns the naming rights to Reliant Stadium in Houston, the home of the NFL's Houston Texans.
Reliant said it will purchase Texas renewable energy credits to help reduce the stadium's environmental impact on regular season game days.
Under the plan, Reliant will ensure that renewable sources in Texas generate the same amount of energy consumed by Cowboys Stadium on game days.

VERIZON
With the football season kicking off, Verizon is launching the FiOS1 High School Sports Widget exclusively for FiOS TV customers in the company's Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex service area. Through the FiOS1 High School Sports Widget, only FiOS TV is delivering on-demand high school sports news, stats, photos and video highlights for area schools through an enjoyable, informative TV-entertainment experience. The widget is the latest addition to a robust array of options on FiOS TV to enhance the viewing experience for high school, college and professional sports.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS
The University of North Texas System is on the "fast track" to launch the region's first pharmacy school, part of continuing efforts to position itself as a cutting-edge medical training and research institution, Chancellor Lee Jackson said Thursday.
UNT plans to start a doctor of pharmacy program by August 2013, with 80 students in the first class. The College of Pharmacy could grow to 100 students by the third year.