Events

Annual Business Awards January 2024

The annual business awards (for 2023) will be January 25th, 2024. The awards are hosted by the Mesquite Regional Business Retention and Expansion Task Force and will take place at the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce monthly luncheon. Register to attend here. View the event recap from last years' event here. 

Live. Work. Play. 2023

The Live Work Play event, hosted by the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce, will be November 4th, 2023.

Manufacturing Day October 2023

Mesquite Manufacturing Day, hosted by the Mesquite Regional Business Retention and Expansion Task Force, will take place at Mesquite ISD's Vanguard High School on October 4th, 2023. No more plant tour hosts are needed (thank you Rainstamp, Harmon, Gemini, Strukmyer, HKI, FedEx, J&R, and Orora Visual!) but manufacturers and related are encouraged to sign up for the job fair. 

Industrial Strength Summit August 2023

Industrial Strength Summit June 2023

Industrial Innovation Summit March 2023

Economic Development Strategic Plan Launch March 2023

Business Awards January 2023

Manufacturing Day October 2022

Entrepreneurs Day May 2022

2022's Third Annual Entrepreneurs Day was May 12th, from 4:00 to 8:00pm at the Mesquite Arts Center.  Entrepreneurs Day is an informational event for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.  The event was held in 2018 and 2019.

View a recap of the event here.  

Tickets were $20 and were available on Eventbrite.  The Mesquite Arts Center is located at 1527 N Galloway Avenue.  There is ample parking and no fee to park.   

Luke Silver, President of Steve Silver Company, was the keynote speaker.  Steve Silver Company is an industry-leading importer of furniture for the entire home.  It started when Stephen C. Silver started selling imported goods at the Canton, TX flea market.  Click here to read more about Steve Silver Company.   

There was six roundtables manned by experts ready to answer attendees questions.

• Business planning and management principles
• Marketing
• City of Mesquite Economic Development department
• Real Estate
• Finance
• Planning/Code/Health

For questions, you may contact the following.

• Beverly Abell, Downtown Development Manager, City of Mesquite, [email protected], 972-216-6450.

2022's Third Annual Entrepreneurs Day was May 12th, from 4:00 to 8:00pm at the Mesquite Arts Center.  Entrepreneurs Day is an informational event for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.  The event was held in 2018 and 2019.

View a recap of the event here.  

Tickets were $20 and were available on Eventbrite.  The Mesquite Arts Center is located at 1527 N Galloway Avenue.  There is ample parking and no fee to park.   

Luke Silver, President of Steve Silver Company, was the keynote speaker.  Steve Silver Company is an industry-leading importer of furniture for the entire home.  It started when Stephen C. Silver started selling imported goods at the Canton, TX flea market.  Click here to read more about Steve Silver Company.   

There was six roundtables manned by experts ready to answer attendees questions.

• Business planning and management principles
• Marketing
• City of Mesquite Economic Development department
• Real Estate
• Finance
• Planning/Code/Health

For questions, you may contact the following.

• Beverly Abell, Downtown Development Manager, City of Mesquite, [email protected], 972-216-6450.

Around 60 people attended 2022's Human Resources Day on March 11th.  There were organizations tabling that may be of interest to HR reps, Vanguard High School led tours of their new Career and Technical Education High School, and four panelists spoke on our HR panel.  

You can watch a video recap of the event here.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Virtual Manufacturing Day.  We had approximately 38 attendees plus approximately 50 MISD students.  Click here to access the presentations, supporting materials, and event flyers presented/discussed in the event.  

Click here to view the event recording. 

The June 9 Mesquite Job Fair, held at the Mesquite Convention Center and Exhibit Hall, attracted 213 job seekers from 17 different cities across the DFW metroplex, and was highlighted by many receiving job offers by the end of the day.

The event was presented by the Business Retention and Expansion Task Force, which consists of the City of Mesquite Economic Development Department, Mesquite Independent School District, Dallas College-Eastfield Campus, Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas and the Mesquite Chamber of Commerce.

The city’s Director of Economic Development, Kim Buttram, said, “We had 150 job seekers pre-register and were able to connect people with employers looking to hire immediately.”

Buttram shared that one success story included a job seeker having his name pulled from the drawing to win a large flat screen TV and then getting a job offer later that day. He wrote in an email to the city, “That is some fantastic news. I have never won anything. Thank you all so much. I picked up the TV and then got a job offer. This has been a truly blessed day. Just shows the power of prayer. It's been a rough year and then I got a little windfall.

The fair had more than 60 companies representing various professions as well as supporting agencies. This included businesses in the food and beverage industry, hospitality, healthcare, industrial, manufacturing and more.

The job fair featured a “how to” section that offered tips to teenagers looking for work as well as new job seekers. This area of the fair gave guidance on resume writing, interview techniques and counseling on how to dress for interviews.

Mayor Bruce Archer stated, “Today was a wonderful day in Mesquite, Texas! When I walked into the Convention Center at the opening there was already a strong stream of job seekers coming in. I met and spoke with employers and visited with many job seekers. Each person’s story of where they’ve been and where they hope to go inspired me greatly. Helping get people back to work, expanding hope and offering economic opportunity is exciting and something I’m passionate about it.”

Avison Young Research Manager Micah Rabalais provided a Local Market Data & Trends presentation.  Rabalais's presentation highlighted data from quarter one of the current calendar year and focused on the City of Mesquite, Texas and the larger Dallas/Fort Worth region.    

This event was brought to you by the Mesquite Business Retention & Expansion Task Force. Avison Young is a Dallas-based commercial real estate advising firm providing services for investment sales, leasing and project management in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  

The event was free to attend and participants could join via a Microsoft Teams Live link at 12:00 noon April 13.  

The presentation provided valuable information for local business owners and managers, investors, commercial real estate brokers and anyone interested in the Mesquite- area business climate. 

Winners:

Entrepreneur of the Year - Big Hit Creative

Tourism - Xcape Adventures

Business Legacy - PepsiCo

Downtowner of the Year - Mesquite BBQ

Manufacturer of the Year - Orora Visual

Internship Partner of the Year - Jerry Junkins Head Start

Employer of the Year - Elements International         

More than 50 dreamers, business owners and experts gathered for collaboration and best practices at the Mesquite Arts Center.  

More than 45 aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners/dreamers attended these workshops on planning, funding, marketing and budgeting.

This event brought more than 100 business owners, doers, dreamers, counselors, and supporters under one roof.

This event was held from 7:30 to 9:00 am at the MISD Professional Development Center.