Alyssa Alsayyed is walking and talking her way around Fort Worth.
She is building community relationships as the volunteer co-chair of the Fort Worth Chamber’s Small Business Appreciation Walks, a quarterly effort over three years to spotlight local businesses.
Small businesses help build Fort Worth and still maintain a strong presence throughout the city, Alsayyed said.
“It’s really nice to see other people from Fort Worth’s small-business community go out, be more involved and let (other business owners) know they are appreciated,” she said. “They feel safe opening up to people that are coming in as volunteers. You’re just another person who lives in Fort Worth and shops small businesses.”
Her work leading the walks led to her nomination in 52 Faces of Community, Fort Worth Report’s weekly series highlighting unsung heroes in Tarrant County.
Welcome to 52 Faces
52 Faces of Community is a Fort Worth Report weekly series spotlighting local unsung heroes. It is sponsored by Central Market, H-E-B and JPS Health Network.
At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
Alsayyed, vice president of community lending at Happy State Bank, said volunteers make sure that the businesses know they are appreciated — an effort that leads to “truly organic conversations that helps us collect information that can help the (business) environment.”
The east Fort Worth resident, who trains volunteers and assists in coordinating the tours, said the walks occur in the north, south, central, east and west parts of the city.
“I do a lot of walks on the west side and my office is on the west side but I live in east Fort Worth,” the 32-year-old said. “For me, I like to choose a list from the east side so I can go and venture around and visit businesses in my neighborhood that I’m not familiar with.”
Alsayyed has learned more about the city and is now investing in eastside commercial and residential properties that she and a partner own.
Steve Montgomery, president and CEO of the Fort Worth Chamber, said Alsayyed is a “force of nature” in helping to coordinate the walks.
“She has been instrumental in the success of the chamber’s Small Business Appreciation Walks from the beginning,” Montgomery said. “She has brought energy, enthusiasm, innovation and leadership to the project and we simply could not have done it without her — and that’s not an overstatement.”
Ben Robertson, founder and owner of TEI Consulting, nominated Alsayyed for her work on the small-business walks.
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“I have had the pleasure of volunteering and co-chairing alongside Alyssa for numerous Fort Worth Chamber initiatives over the years,” Robertson said. “Beyond her roots of owning her own small business and a rapidly rising executive in the local banking community, her heart for helping our small-business community is truly inspirational and challenges many of us to ensure we are doing all we can to help others succeed.”
A walk on May 6 — as part of the National Small Business Week and Small Business Month activities — drew 150 volunteers, Alsayyed said.
Volunteers handed out swag bags with items donated by companies. The walks also provide an opportunity to connect entrepreneurs with local resources, including the chamber’s homeless tool kit, which offers suggestions for businesses to deal with the unhoused population.
“Beyond her roots of owning her own small business and a rapidly rising executive in the local banking community, her heart for helping our small-business community is truly inspirational and challenges many of us to ensure we are doing all we can to help others succeed.”
Ben Robertson, nominator
“We’re so lucky to live in a city that has so much support for small businesses,” said Alsayyed, who grew up in the Diamond Hill neighborhood. “We’re very organically run by small businesses here. There’s a lot of hands-on knowledge. People like to be part of the solution. There are so many things that affect small businesses.”
During one eastside walk, for example, a business owner complained that a new bus stop hampered customers from entering and exiting the establishment’s parking lot. But the issue was solved with a phone call to Trinity Metro, she said.
“One call solved the problem,” she said, adding that the bus stop was moved a few feet away and everyone was happy with the solution.
“These stories are why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Alsayyed said.
Eric E. Garcia is senior business reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at eric.garcia@fortworthreport.org.
Disclosure: Ben Robertson is a member of the Fort Worth Report’s business advisory council. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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