Business Notebook: Tax receipts on pace to generate more money than previous years

After a little more than halfway into the 2020 fiscal year, Cape Girardeau's hotel and restaurant tax receipts are running well ahead of last year and are on pace to generate more money than any previous year.

Through the first seven months of FY20, July 2019 to January 2020, the city's hotel tax had generated $501,767.13 and was nearly 9% ahead of FY19, when the tax generated a total of $787,752.54 for the entire year.

Meanwhile, the restaurant tax receipts for the first seven months of the fiscal year stood at $961,874.10, 2.6% ahead of the same period in FY19.

Combined, the hotel and restaurant tax receipts through the first seven months of FY20 had generated $1,463,641.23, 4.7% more than last year's record pace for the same period when the two tax accounts raised just over $2.4 million for all of FY19.

A new location of Offices Unlimited at 900 S. Kingshighway is seen in this undated photo.Courtesy Tom Kelsey, Lorimont Commercial Real Estate

Offices Unlimited in new location

Offices Unlimited recently moved from 2127 William St. in Cape Girardeau to 900 S. Kingshighway, Suite A, near the intersection of South Kingshighway and Southern Expressway.

The company, owned by Sally Legrand and established in September 2001, handles office furniture and supplies and serves customers throughout Southeast Missouri and several adjoining states.

Offices Unlimited occupies about 6,000 square feet of the building formerly occupied by Cape Tractor Trailer Supply for many years. The building, which sits on two acres, is owned by B&T Rentals LLC.

According to Tom Kelsey, commercial broker with Lorimont Commercial Real Estate, which handled the Offices Unlimited lease, the remaining 11,000 square feet of the building is being remodeled for an additional tenant he says will be announced in the near future.

GlennView to host True Colors workshop

A True Colors workshop, led by GlennView president and certified True Colors facilitator Tracy Glenn, is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. until noon May 8 at the Jackson Civic Center, 381 Deerwood Drive in Jackson.

The "True Colors Keys to Personal Success" program is a model for understanding yourself and others based on your personality temperament and can be applied in a variety of circumstances, from personal relationships to professional success.

As a certified True Colors facilitator, Glenn will lead workshop participants through a variety of activities to determine their specific personalities and corresponding colors. Each participant will receive a 25-page booklet for future reference.

To register for the workshop or for more information, visit www.glennpr.com/public-workshops or call (573) 270-3580.

'BYOB' sessions set for Tuesday

DSW Signs is hosting a series of BYOB (Build Your Online Business) conference sessions Tuesday at the Drury Plaza Conference Center.

The 90-minute program will be offered at 8:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and will cover several topics including:

• How to get to, and stay, at the top of Google
• The latest trends in online marketing
• Creating a marketing plan with traditional media, targeted mobile ads, YouTube, email and more

Conference speakers will include SEO, SEM and reputation management specialist Kent Oglesby, digital marketing specialist Steve Weir and media targeting specialist Crag Diebel.

RSVP at www.connectdsw.com/events.

VA hosts training for caregivers

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A "Caregivers FIRST" training program for caregivers of veterans with physical or cognitive impairments is scheduled for next week at the John J. Pershing Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

The training is set for 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. March 19 in the Learning Resource Center (Building 2) at the medical center at 1500 N. Westwood Blvd in Poplar Bluff. The training is free and open to any veteran caregiver. Lunch will be provided.

Participants are asked to register by March 16 by calling Jessi Houchins, (573) 778-4545, or Trish Castillo, (573) 686-4151, ext. 52149.

Registration open for golf scrambles

Registration is underway for the Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's 28th annual Golf Classic set for April 24 at Kimbeland Country Club in Jackson. Lunch that day will start at 11 a.m. followed by tee time for the four-person scramble tournament at noon.

The registration fee for a four-person team is $500. Various sponsorship opportunities are also available, including hole signage for $125 and a team and hole signage combination package for $550.

For more details about sponsorships or to sign up a team, call the Jackson chamber office, (573) 243-8131.

Registration has also begun for the annual Friends of Saint Francis golf tournament scheduled for Aug. 14 at Dalhousie Golf Club. The four-person scramble event will feature two flights with tee times of 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., preceded by breakfast and lunch, respectively.

Sponsorship and registration fee information is available at www.foundation.sfmc.net/friends-golf-tournament or by calling (573) 331-5791.

And although October is still more than half a year away, registration has begun for the United Way of Southeast Missouri's 33rd annual Golf Tournament set for Oct. 2 at the Cape Girardeau Country Club. Tee time will follow an 11 a.m. lunch.

Entry fee for the four-person team scramble event is $130 per player for those who register by Sept. 18.

To register or for more details, contact Raechel Reinitz at the United Way office, (573) 334-9634.

Lambert's to receive hospitality award

SIKESTON, Mo. -- The Sikeston Convention & Visitors Bureau, a division of the Sikeston Chamber of Commerce, will present its inaugural Hospitality Award of Excellence this week to Lambert's Cafe and the Lambert family in honor of their outstanding contributions to Sikeston's tourism and hospitality industry. The award will be presented during a luncheon set for noon Friday at the cafe, 2305 E. Malone Ave. in Sikeston.

The lunch, which will feature door prizes, is $10 per person payable at the door.

The landmark restaurant, founded in 1942 by Eearl and Agnes Lambert and known for "throwed rolls," serves approximately 16,000 customers a week (that's about 830,000 a year) and throws around 2 million rolls annually.

Chamber notes

The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce's next Business After Hours membership mixer will be from 5 until 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Alliance Bank, 2320 E. Jackson Blvd. in Jackson.

Business After Hours events are free and open to members of the Jackson chamber and their guests.

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Leadership Cape alumni are invited to a reception for the 2020 Leadership Cape class from 5 until 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Montgomery Bank Training Center, 526 W. Main St. in Jackson.

Leadership Cape is a leadership development program sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

Those interested in attending the reception are asked to RSVP to the chamber by noon today.

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The Cape Girardeau chamber will host a free business safety workshop from 8 until 10 a.m. Thursday at the chamber offices, 220 N. Fountain St.

In this workshop, Lt. Brad Smith of the Cape Girardeau Police Department will share tips on crime prevention for small businesses.

For more information or to register, contact the chamber (573) 335-3312.

Business license applications

Dennis DeLonais-Turner of Oak Ridge has submitted a business license application with the City of Cape Girardeau to operate Little Latitudes Travel, a travel agency at 1650 N. Kingshighway, Suite 304. The business has a projected opening date of April 1.

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Jera Hutson of Cape Girardeau has filed a business license application to operate Atelier Provisions at 120 Independence St. in Cape Girardeau. The retail clothing and gift store is scheduled to open March 20, according to the application.

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