Staff Reports

Belinda and Steve Short, of Tyler, acquired Regency Cleaners.

They bought the 28-year-old business from Stacey Hiles , who owned it for 12 years, on Jan. 1. Regency Cleaners offers same-day service Monday through Friday at 122 W. Amherst Drive and 5920 Old Bullard Road. They also offer complimentary pickup and delivery services. Regency Cleaners is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. For more, visit regencycleanerstyler.com. The Shorts also own Celebration Yard Signs.

STATE OF THE CITY

The Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce State of the City luncheon with Tyler’s newly elected mayor, Martin Heines , will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Harvey Convention Center. The graduation of Leadership Tyler’s Class 27 also will be held.

TOUR

A Smith County Agriculture Tour on Friday will show participants agriculture production first-hand on the farm and at the nursery. The Smith County Farm Bureau, Texas Farm Credit and East Texas Farm and Ranch Club are sponsoring the all-day event. It will start at 8:30 a.m. with registration and bus boarding at Wal-Mart on Texas Highway 64 West. The group will tour RanPro Farms; Kiepersol Estates, including lunch at Kiepersol restaurant and touring its vineyard and winery; and Red Rock Ranch. The event will wrap up at 2:30 p.m. RSVP by calling 903-596-0690.

JOINED

Danielle Herd joined the staff of Texas Bank and Trust Co. as senior vice president and director of retail services. Ms. Herd has more than 15 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as manager of the East Texas region retail division of JPMorgan Chase & Co. In her new position, she will be responsible for the oversight and management of the bank’s branch operations functions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management degree from Baylor University.

PRESENTATION

Sam Dawson, president and CEO, and Lee R. Gibson , senior EVP & CFO of Southside Bancshares Inc., presented at the Gulf South Bank Conference in New Orleans on Tuesday.

ACCREDITATION

The Community Health Accreditation Program Inc. (CHAP) announced that Hospice of East Texas was awarded CHAP accreditation under the CHAP Hospice Standards of Excellence. Hospice of East Texas has been accredited by CHAP since 2004. Accreditation demonstrates that it meets the industry’s highest nationally recognized standards on structure and function, quality of services and products, human and financial resources and long term viability. A nonprofit community-based organization, Hospice of East Texas provides care to people with life-limiting illnesses and support to the families who care for them in 23 counties of East Texas. For more, visit www.hospiceof easttexas.org.

DONATION

United Steel Workers, Local 202, and Delek Refining Ltd. donated $1,000 to the Texas Hunger Initiative — Tyler Regional Office for summer meals in East Texas. In 2013, more than 108,000 meals were distributed at more than 60 program sites and the projections for the number of children served this coming summer are expected to be even higher. The USDA’s Summer Food Service Program was established to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is out. “We are thrilled to partner with the Texas Hunger Initiative and their efforts to feed children in our area as they continue to fight food insecurity in East Texas,” Fred Marshall , president of United Steel Workers, Local 202, and Louis LaBella , vice president and general manager of Delek, said. Visit www.summerfood.org.

RESIDENCES

Country Place Senior Living will open two new assisted living residences in Canton. One will be at 1833 and 1835 S. Trade Days Blvd. The residences will offer seniors a secure place to live and an active lifestyle where they can maintain their dignity and freedom. There will be a ribbon-cutting and grand-opening ceremony for both residences on Thursday. Seniors in the area are joining the Country Place Senior Living Founders Club and preparing to move into the new residences as soon as they are open. Each senior residence will feature 24 suites, where seniors can be independent, form strong friendships with fellow residents and receive care from supportive and highly trained staff members. For more, visit www.countryplaceseniorliving.net or call 903-567-2942.

FELLOWSHIP

Dr. Peter Michael Sanfelippo was elevated to Fellowship in the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine at the college’s annual membership meeting in April. Sanfelippo has practiced occupational and environmental medicine, as medical director of the Occupational Medicine Center in Tyler, for nine years. The fellowship qualifies Sanfelippo to use the designation FACOEM after his name. It is the highest class of membership within ACOE and recognizes physicians who have been and are engaged in the full-time practice of occupational and environmental medicine. Fellows also have demonstrated their expertise within the specialty by achieving board certification in preventive and occupational medicine.

DONATION

Jarvis Christian College received $10,000 from the Home Depot “Retool Your School” HBCU Campus Improvement Program. The grant program is geared toward historically black colleges. This is the second year Jarvis has received the grant. Gwendolyn Winters , director of Sponsored Programs at Jarvis, said the funding will be used for the Jarvis Observatory Garden, “a public sustainable community garden and farmers’ market, energy efficient observatory platform with a lecture-style learning lounge and nature preserve.”

ENERGY

The opportunity for Texans to save money on energy efficient appliances in the state’s annual ENERGY STAR Sales Tax Holiday runs Saturday through Monday. Shoppers are expected to save an estimated $3.8 million in state and local sales tax during the Memorial Day sales tax holiday. The sales tax break applies to ENERGY STAR qualified air conditioners priced at $6,000 or less; refrigerators priced at $2,000 or less; ceiling fans; fluorescent light bulbs; dishwashers; dehumidifiers; and clothes washers.

For more, visit www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxpubs/tx96_1331.

RANKING

For the 10th consecutive year, chief executive officers rated Texas as the No. 1 state in which to do business, according to Chief Executive magazine’s annual Best & Worst States for Business survey. The survey gauges the sentiment of CEOs on a variety of measures, including the tax and regulatory regime, quality of workforce, and quality of living environment. Five hundred CEOs participated in the 2014 survey.

Texas ranked as one of seven best states for startups. The Economist reported that it takes six to eight weeks to open up a new restaurant in Texas, compared to two years in California.

The Lone Star State tied for fifth in the Kauffman Index and ranked 11th in the Tax Foundation list, including No. 7 in the crucial “individual income” category.

In the last legislative session, the legislature passed a $1-million tax deduction for Texas businesses. Visit chiefexecutive.net/2014-best-worst-states-for-business.

DIVIDEND

Heritage Land Bank paid $2.25 million in cash patronage to its customers in April. This year’s patronage distribution represents 65 basis points and is based on the association’s solid 2013 net earnings of $7.4 million and total assets of $321.5 million.

As a cooperative, Heritage Land Bank customers share in the ownership and earnings, with a portion of the earnings paid in the form of patronage dividends, which reduce the cost of borrowing from the bank.

A part of the nationwide Farm Credit System, Heritage Land Bank has been financing the needs of farmers, ranchers, agribusinesses, rural landowners and country homeowners for nearly 100 years. The lending cooperative is based in Tyler, and operates branch offices in Athens, Fort Worth, Greenville, McKinney, Nacogdoches and Palestine.

CRAFTS SITE

Michaels announces the launch of its new inspirational arts and crafts website that offers 24-hour shopping on any computer, tablet or smartphone. The new site includes project ideas and one-click shopping lists for projects all in one. It also features “Favorite Pins” — projects and products that are trending on Pinterest from Michaels.com. During the launch period, Michaels.com will feature 21 days of hourly, daily and weekly online specials.