The Austin Area Ethnic Chambers and the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted an Inaugural Holiday Reception the evening of December 4th at the Crown Plaza Hotel, located at 6121 N. IH-35. Attendees of the event were members as well as guests of the ethnic chambers. Various toys were brought by attendees to be donated to each chambers charitable foundation. Vendors, like Capital Metro, were also present to showcase their business and products.

The Austin Area Ethnic Chambers consists of the Capital City African American Chamber, the Austin Asian American Chamber and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber as well as the Texas Asian American Chamber. Attendees enjoyed an evening of networking, food, drinks, music and dancing. The Austin Area Ethic Chamber alliance hopes to continue this successful and fun tradition into the next year.

CCAACC will be holding a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for a new McDonald's reopening, found at 1143 1/2 Airport Blvd. The Golden Arches have been shining in East Austin since October 1989 and in anticipation of its 20^th anniversary the newly rebuilt McDonald’s at 1143 ½ Airport Blvd will celebrate its grand re-opening the week of December 10 – 16 in the company of neighboring schools and the Austin Police Department with Ronald McDonald as host, fun activities for guests of all ages and menu specials for everyone to enjoy.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony will kick off the festivities at the restaurant on Wednesday, December 10 at 10:30 a.m. To thank area residents for their years of loyalty, McDonald’s will offer $1 drinks December through February and a new menu special every day of the grand re-opening week.

Ronald McDonald will celebrate the restaurant’s re-opening out in the community with two special shows for the students at Campbell and Norman Elementary Schools on Friday, Dec.5.

On Saturday December 13^th, McDonald’s Airport Blvd will welcome Eastside Memorial High School’s marching band, the Glamour Girls dance team and officers from the Austin Police Department for music and entertainment, a showcase of city patrol cars, a special presentation of “Stranger Danger Awareness” face painting and a live show featuring McGruff, the crime-fighting dog. Austin’s police officers will also be at the restaurant to make fingerprint identity cards for children of all ages who visit the restaurant as part of Austin P.D.’s program to keep our children safe.

“McDonald’s has always been a place for family,” said owner/operators Winston and Ann Ross. “We are looking forward to seeing our neighbors at our grand re-opening and to serving the community of Greater Austin for decades to come.”

Ronald will return to Austin to visit the brand new restaurant at Airport Blvd. for a special presentation on Sunday December 14^th at 2 p.m. and to giveaway bicycles and more great prizes. The show will wrap up the weekend’s festivities and lead the new restaurant right into the New Year looking better than ever and ready for its 20^th year as an involved and active member of the Greater Austin Area community.

The City of Austin Small and Minority Business Resources Department invites small business owners to a “Preview of Upcoming Opportunities” workshop at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, at the Waller Creek Building, 625 E. 10th St., Room 104.

“Participants at this workshop will gain information about some of the upcoming projects in 2009,” said Stephen Elkins, SMBR Director. “We will also talk about some of the program initiatives from last year and for the year ahead.”

SMBR assists small minority-owned and women-owned businesses as they pursue contracting opportunities with the City of Austin; encourages MBE/WBEs to participate in City contracts; and oversees the City’s MBE/WBE & DBE contracting goals in the areas of construction, professional services, commodities, and non-professional services.

For more information about the Small & Minority Business Resources Department, please visit the SMBR Web site www.cityofaustin.org/smbr or call (512) 974-7677.

Today at nursery and gift store Happiness on South 1st Street, Council Member Sheryl Cole announced the launch of ExploreLocalAustin.org, a Web-based tool that highlights 275 businesses in five small business districts throughout the city.

Utilizing a mapping application and highlighting a local business owner in each area through a video interview, users are able to search for retailers and consumer services in one of five areas throughout the city. The five areas, chosen for a heavy concentration of small businesses, are part of an initial phase with the hope of expansion throughout the city. Originally the idea of Council Member Sheryl Cole to help small businesses that may not have an Internet presence, the map has been developed by the City of Austin’s Small Business Development Program.

“Austin loves our local businesses and I wanted to make sure that we are doing more as a city to highlight our small business owners who contribute jobs and tax base to our city,” said Council Member Sheryl Cole. “As people are deciding how to spend their limited dollars this holiday season, they need to see all the terrific local retailers we have and know that for each dollar spent, more of that money stays right here in Austin.”

Areas in this initial phase are East 11th and 12th Street, South 1st Street, Guadalupe Street, North Loop, and East 6th Street. Some of the criteria for a business listing include the business must have less than 50 employees, provide merchandise or services to the general public, and have a physical storefront for a customer to visit. The Web site, live since the end of October, has already had more than 5,000 hits.

“The Small Business Development Program of the City of Austin helps foster and nurture small businesses throughout the city with a variety of programs from individual counseling on business plan development and accessing capital to marketing plan development and business education,” said Rosy Jalifi, Assistant Director, City of Austin Economic Growth and Redevelopment Services Office. “ExploreLocalAustin.org is another tool that brings small businesses with limited marketing funds to potential customers. We hope that it will bring more customers to uncover the treasures our local Austin businesses provide.”

“Today, we are at Happiness, and it makes me happy to think that, in addition to the plants and gifts here, I can find presents for pretty much everybody on my list within this block. My hope is that ExploreLocalAustin.org will get people shopping and become a resource for visitors and residents,” concluded Council Member Cole.