Chamber Honors Four Businesses for Their Growth

The San Angelo Chamber of Commerce held its annual Economic Development Awards Ceremony yesterday at the San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts.Chamber members gathered to honor local businesses for growth in sales, employment and physical expansion.

It was a buffet-style catered event by City Café; the meeting room was crowded with a mix of large and small business owners, city officials and law enforcement. People even filled the space on the balcony, seeking refuge in the empty space above from the crowd below.

Four businesses were recognized for expansion in 2014.

Yellow House Machinery Co. experienced growth in sales percentages as well as employee count. They also physically expanded the building the business is housed in by 10,000 square feet. Yellow House Machinery is a community partner with the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, the FFA, and SAISD.

DeCoty Coffee has been in business since 1929 in San Angelo, when founder C.T. Ducote, Sr. and his son opened a small café down on Chadbourne St. In present the day, DeCoty Coffee not only makes coffee but manufactures barbeque sauce, pancake syrup and salad dressings. In 2014 they added a new warehouse to the property, acquired six new packaging machines, added two international trucks to their vehicles, created four new management positions and grew 40 percent more than the year before.

Devon Energy is an independent energy company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla. that works to find oil and natural gas. Devon Energy has a brand new regional office spanning 40,000 square feet at 424 S. Chadbourne St. In 2014 Devon increased its employees by 76 percent. The company’s community outreach includes partnerships with Concho Valley Regional Food Bank, San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo and Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Angelo along with the United Way of the concho Valley.

New Quest IT Solutions, LLC is a managed service group that provides on-site services, data backup and recovery and basically provides professional technical support for any computer needs. In 2014 they experienced a 60 percent increase in employees.

The Special Community Impact Award was given to Just Between Friends for having a positive impact on the city’s local economy. The JBF Sale started as a sale in the gym of a church and to date has grown in size so that it can be held at Foster Communications Coliseum. The eight-day sale brought together over 400 local moms and 250 volunteers, making it an obvious community supported event. Sandy Jameson accepted the award apologizing for her voice then cut in and out, laying blame on the sale this past week. Over $293,000 in merchandise and admission fees has been given to local charities, and over $870,000 paid out to moms whom participated in the sale.