Message from the CEO Event Season is in Full Swing!

Dear Members,

Happy Small Business Month! As we celebrate the importance of small businesses in our economy, let’s also take a moment to appreciate the most important women in our lives – our mothers. According to the National Retail Federation, Mother’s Day spending is projected to exceed $31.7 billion this year. As we shop for gifts, let’s remember to support our local businesses that contribute to the backbone of our economy.

Recently, we were proud to be a sponsor of Give Big Kern, a day of giving that demonstrated the potential of social media and collaboration. The program, run by the Kern Community Foundation, raised close to $1 million this year, and has raised more than $3 million since 2016, while also increasing the visibility and support for nonprofits in Kern County.

Spring continues to be a busy time – event season is in full swing! We wrapped filming for the Kern County Economic Summit, which is an annual partnership with Kern EDC and California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB). The program will be broadcast on KGET-TV 17 from 6-7:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 13, and live-streamed on kget.com. This year’s topics include panel discussions on local health care and carbon capture storage.

Our annual Beautiful Bakersfield Awards, presented by Valley Strong Credit Union, is right around the corner! Invitations have been mailed, planning is underway and we look forward to hosting you on Saturday, June 17 at the Mechanics Bank Theater & Convention Center! To stay up-to-date on this year’s event, visit beautiful.bakochamber.com/.

Here are a of couple highlights from the many activities we’ve participated in over the past month:

Our entire staff attended this year’s Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference. The event featured a variety of workshops and keynote speaker Daymond John from ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank.” We were inspired by the messages of empowerment throughout the day as well as the overall theme, “Bringing Business Back.”

Lastly, we had the chance to attend CSUB’s second annual Carbon Management Technical Symposium, where experts gathered to discuss the opportunities, challenges and urgency for developing carbon capture, utilization and storage projects in Kern County to help the state meet its climate goals and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

On behalf of the Chamber, thank you for your continued support as we continue to advocate for policies and offer programming that benefits our members and community.

Cheers!

Hillary Haenes Interim President & CEO Greater Bakersfield Chamber