Water Washed Air Solutions
Join Chamber Board members, as well as City and County officials for a ribbon-cutting on Friday (Oct 18), starting at 10:00 am. Water Washed Air Solutions is located at 919 N. Greer Blvd. in the Town & Country Shopping Center. Owner Stacy Gillham is excited to introduce the community to the Water Washed Air Solutions air purification system.
Mayor David Abernathy (far left) and Chamber Board President James Wallace (far right) join Harriet Harrison in a ribbon-cutting for her business, Harrison Business Solutions.
As a Certified Quickbooks ProAdvisor for eleven years, Harrison Business Solutions, LLC offers business solutions with Quickbooks Accounting software products and services, checks and deposit sheets for Quickbooks, signature stamps, and year-end W-2 and 1099 forms.
We have partnered with a CPA that can assist our start-up clients with company structuring, provide tax advice, and corporate and individual tax preparation to all our clients.
We offer innovative solutions for the way you do business!
www.harrisonbizsolutions.com | 903.268.8540
Destination Downtown Dinner
The lights and decorations in downtown Pittsburg were beautiful last year. The City of Pittsburg is committed to doing, even more, this year and will be lighting up the courthouse lawn with thousands of Christmas lights. Destination Downtown Dinner, scheduled for this coming Saturday, October 19, will help to finance the beautiful display. Help light up the Courthouse Lawn this Holiday Season by purchasing your tickets today!
It is Chef Bill Bush. He is the Chef who will be preparing the delicious meal being served at the Downtown Destination Dinner on October 19, at the NTCC Culinary building. Chef Bill was a guest judge at our Hot Link Festival, and he sculpted the beautiful HotLink ice sculpture that was on display at Pendergrass Park. Bill is an East Texas boy and has been a Chef for more than forty years in Texas at places like the Hyatt and Hilton hotels, the Dallas Convention Center, the World Trade Center, and South Fork Ranch. Presently Chef Bill is the owner of Sculptures and Catering in the Dallas area.
Meet Chef Bill at the Downtown Destination Dinner on October 19, from 6:00 until 8:00 pm at the NTCC Culinary building. Proceeds go to purchase Christmas lights for the Historic Camp County Court House. Tickets available at City Hall (903.856.3621) or on the City of Pittsburg website.
Destination Downtown Dinner Menu:
Hand Carved Pecan Smoked Prime Rib and Lemon Chicken
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Vegetable Medley
Mixed Green Salad/Orange Vinaigrette
French Bread
Dessert
Los Pinos Wine and Tea
$125.00 a couple
Live Entertainment, Silent Auction
Meet Whitney McNeil
On April 17, Whitney McNeil’s life changed forever. She was showering that morning when she felt and saw a lump in her left breast that wasn’t there the night before. She immediately called her family physician, Dr. Youngblood, for an appointment. Dr. Youngblood’s office did a biopsy of her lump and sent it off because the color looked unusual.
Everyone said, “it can’t be cancer, you’re far too young,” Whitney, who recently turned 23, said. But Whitney’s biopsy did show cancer cells, and she was referred to Dr. Rosa Cuenca, a breast cancer specialist in Mt. Pleasant. Dr. Cuenca did a second biopsy and confirmed Whitney’s greatest fear – it was breast cancer. But not just any type of breast cancer, Whitney was a rare BRCA1 carrier, which causes a mutation of the genes. It’s a chromosomal condition that causes cancer that doesn’t respond well to treatment. BRCA1 is a hereditary condition, and they determined that Whitney’s father was a carrier. Whitney encourages people to be tested for the BRCA1 gene, “Please get your family members tested if they are in question for the gene. There are preventive measures you can take.”
Whitney began chemotherapy on June 6. To date, she has had 13 rounds of chemo with three more scheduled. Whitney missed a month of treatment in August due to her platelets dropping. She has had other complications as well, including a blood clot in her arm and menstrual bleeding. Doctors have given her medication to put her body into temporary menopause. Following her last treatment, Whitney will have a mastectomy. While her cancer has been very aggressive, her oncology team in Dallas is confident that she will soon be cancer-free. A recent mammogram showed that her margins were clear. “I hope to be cancer-free by the time of my surgery,” said Whitney.
Whitney noted that chemotherapy causes side effects. For some, it can cause nausea, but Whitney’s significant symptoms have been exhaustion, depression, and “chemo brain,” she struggles to remember things. She keeps a calendar to keep her on track with appointments. She is doing her best to keep her spirits up and reminds herself regularly, “God’s got this!” Whitney also has an incredible support system including her mom, April Banks, her step-father Wes Banks, her sister Shelby McNeil, her boyfriend Jay Loftin, friend Brandi Turnage, and numerous aunts and uncles.
The Pittsburg-Camp County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Whitney will be this year’s recipient of the proceeds from the Paint Pitt Pink Chili Cook-Off, on Tuesday, October 22 from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm on the Camp County Courthouse Lawn. The cost is $5 for a bowl to taste all the chili entries. Bring extra $1 bills to vote on your favorite chili (People’s Choice Award). If you’d like to enter the chili cook-off, please call the Chamber at 903.856.3442.
Whitney is humbled to be the recipient of these funds. “The community has been amazing, and there have been several fundraisers on my behalf over the past few months.” While she has insurance, healthcare costs are mounting, and the family has spent quite a bit of money traveling back and forth to Dallas for treatments.
When asked if there were anything else she’d like for people to know, her answer was, “Yes! If you feel something abnormal in your body, get it checked out. Don’t delay or put it off. Also, women, please get your annual mammogram beginning at the age of 40. Breast cancer is curable if caught early.” Whitney added, “I’m planning to be a survivor, not a fighter like I am right now.”
Join us for the Paint Pink Chili Cook-Off!
Enjoy a good bowl of chili? Join us on Tuesday, October 22, for the 2nd Annual Paint Pitt Pink Chili Cook-Off. Enjoy all of the chili you can eat for $5.00. To date the following businesses have registered cook teams – Dierksen Hospice, Southern Wind, UT Health Pittsburg, Pittsburg Nursing Center, Cypress Basin Hospice, Flying Cow Burger & Wing Company, Mardi Gras Seafood, Wesley House Gilmer, HealthCARE Express, Titus Regional Medical Center and the Pittsburg Police Department. Want to register a cook team? Contact the Chamber at 903.856.3442.
The mammo bus will be on site. Schedule your mammogram today.