It's just a small, one-room office, but it is located in the heart of downtown Anderson and it is accessible for persons that experience difficulting walking up and down stairs. Plus, there is room for expansion into larger, multiple offices at a later date, should it become economically feasible to do so.

"Since I spend so much time in the downtown Anderson area, my bride, Amy, suggested that I get a small satellite office in the heart of downtown so that it would make it better for seeing some of my local-area and visiting clients, so I now figured out where I wanted this office and my downtown satellite office will officially be open for business as of Monday, January 5th, 2009," said Capt. Ortiz.

If you have problems with your Social Security,
Have applied for disability benefits and been turned down,
then contact Capt. Leonardo Ortiz for help.

Representing clients in Social Security matters since admitted to practice before Social Security in April, 2001.

The initial introductory and organizational meeting of the Downtown Anderson Merchants Association was held on Monday, Dec. 29th, 2008 at Our Daily Grind on Whitner St @ Main St in downtown Anderson.

Officers of for the Board were chosen and inducted. The Officers for the corporation are as follows:

President: Joey Preston
Vice President: Mack McLeskey (Kitchen Emporium)
Secretary: Debbie Cantrell (Our Daily Grind)
Treasurer: Matt Morrison (Matty's)
Incorporator: Capt. Leonardo Ortiz

Also decided during the organizational meeting were:

Membership definitions and amount of annual dues;
Schedule of Regular General Membership meetings.

A follow-up Board Meeting was scheduled in order to complete the initial organizational elements prior to the first general membership meeting.

Downtown Anderson Merchants Association (DAMA) was created as a SC Domestic Non-Profit Corporation for the benefit of its members (Merchants) and officially commenced as of midnight + 1 second on January 1, 2009.

The purpose of DAMA is to increase awareness, safety, security and economic growth for the downtown community by benefitting the Merchants through providing them with collective unity. "By DAMA benefitting the merchants, it translates into increased activity downtown, which translates into maintaining and developing a viable economic attraction for merchants, which then translates into attracting more merchants and less empty buildings, which translates into growth and better economic sustainability... not only of the downtown Anderson area, but through ripple-effect principles, it also brings about positive effect to the entire city and county," said Capt. Leonardo Ortiz.

The first general membership meeting will be held on the 2nd Tuesday of February. Contact Capt. Leonardo Ortiz at 202.8634 for location and time and for more information.

Capt. Leonardo Ortiz has incorporated and is organizing the Downtown Anderson Merchants Association, a SC recognized Non-Profit Membership organization whose purpose is to help downtown merchants in Anderson through unity.

The initial orientation and organizational meeting will be held downtown in Anderson on Monday, Dec. 29th. Contact Capt. Leonardo Ortiz for more information and for the time and location of the meeting. Downtown merchants and residents are welcomed to attend and participate.

"I've started this thing, will be holding the initial meeting in December and a subsequent organizational meeting in January, 2009. Then in February, we'll hold elections for the officers (Pres., VP, Sec., Treas.) Once the officers have been elected, I'll be turning the whole thing over to them and shall be involved in an advisory and representative capacity," said Ortiz.

The official name of the non-profit corporation is the "Downtown Anderson Merchants Association" (DAMA), and it shall become an official corporation, effective January 01, 2009 at midnight.

Talk about a horrid waste of time!

I decided to check out the GM website since they've been crying poor-mouth and even went to Washington, DC in their private jet to beg and plead for bail-out money.

Amazing! Their website is horrible! Even I could have made a better website than theirs, and I don't make websites! I went to the General Motors Corporation home page and scrolled down. Then I clicked on the "contact us" button. All it did was pull up the same page again. I did it again and the same thing happened.

If there is an award given for terrible websites that are difficult to navigate, GM would be in the running for first place.

Doreen Montepara, of the Homeland Park Task Force surprised Homeland Park Fire Dept. Chief R. Wood with a check for $500 during the Christmas Dinner meeting held on Thursday, Dec. 11th.

The Task Force also recognized and welcomed the new county administrator, Michael Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham said the blessing before dinner. Also attending the meeting were Anderson Co. Councilman Michael Thompson and Councilwoman Gracie Floyd. Councilwoman Floyd introduced community leaders visiting from other communities, including Terry Chapman from the Appleton Mill Community and Roy & Peggy Ivey from the Broadway Lake Community.

There were about 30 people attending the event.

Now that the election is done with, I turn toward looking for a new office location.

I am thinking I could do better for my clients if I open an office downtown in Anderson. Currently, I am in the process of looking at 3 available locations. All 3 of them appear to be fit for my needs and wants, so I have to decide which of the 3 will best suit my tastes and allow for expansion in the future. My choice will also depend highly on what each location is willing to negotiate.

I hope to have something figured out before the end of 2008.

In the meantime, I still work out of my current office.

My hours are by appointment, so if you wish to come see me, please submit the form in the "Contact Us" link and be sure to fill it out completely, including your phone number.


Plain.
Simple.
Common Sense.