Chamber Connection (June 2023)

JUNE 2023

CHAMBER CONNECTION

SANTA MARIA VALLEY CHAMBER MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

BUILDING THE NEXT LEADERS OF THE SANTA MARIA VALLEY

The Santa Maria Valley Chamber recognizes the great importance of workforce development in our efforts of continuing to promote the development and success of the Santa Maria Valley. Over the last few years, the Chamber has implemented several programs and initiatives to support our local students and professionals as they grow and learn.

Junior CEO provides local youth with an opportunity to build entrepreneurship skills and launch their own business.

The Junior CEO program is a six-week business course developed to teach kids the basics of starting their own business. Educational sessions throughout the course include topics such as: business

LEADERSHIP SANTA MARIA VALLEY AGRICULTURE TOPIC DAY P.3

LOCAL LEADERS WEIGH IN: JUNIOR CEO REFLECTION P.4

CHAMBER IN ACTION P.5

MEMBERSHIP CORNER P.6

MONTHLY FEATURED BUSINESSES P.7

Pictured above: Students in the Spring 2023 cohort of the Junior CEO program participated in a Business Launch Day during early May before graduating from the program.

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CHAMBER BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Executive Committee

Chairman: Sandra Dickerson, Your People Professionals

Chairman-Elect: Paul Cook, CoastHills Credit Union

Vice Chairman: Shannon Seifert, Santa Maria Valley YMCA

Vice Chairman: Laurie Tamura, Urban Planning Concepts

Past Chairman: Danny Deveraux, Calportland

Board Members

Sue Andersen, Marian Regional Medical Center

Dominick Barry, Quintron Systems, Inc.

Michael Boyer, Boys & Girls Clubs of Mid Central Coast

Ron Cossa, Tolman & Wiker Insurance

Donna Denham, Santa Maria Country Club

Karen Fothergill, Andre, Morris & Buttery

Gina Gluyas, Realtor, Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Haven Properties

Emily Kitts, Naughty Oak Brewing Company

David Leroy, Toyota Of Santa Maria

David Merlo, Glenn Burdette

Luke Ontiveros, Santa Maria Bonita School District

Tere Paredes, Maya Restaurant

Era Polly, Era Polly Real Estate

Max Tucker, Best Western Plus Big America

Kevin G. Walthers, Allan Hancock College

Tim Williams, Digital West

Interested in Chamber volunteer leadership opportunities? Contact Molly Schiff, Director of Member & Community Engagement, at molly@santamaria.com to learn more about open positions on our committees.

BUILDING THE NEXT LEADERS...

Continued from p.1 fundamentals, marketing, customer service, money management, and safe food handling procedures. After completing the course material, the students participate in a Business Launch Day where they are able to officially open their business to the public for the first time. The program is licensed from the Visalia Chamber of Commerce and is locally operated by the Santa Maria Valley Chamber with the support of several community sponsors.

The Junior CEO program recently graduated the Spring 2023 cohort, the fourth cohort of students to complete the program. This hard-working and creative group’s business products varied from accessories to sweet treats, candles and much more.

The SMVCC connects local educators and school professionals with the SMV business community.

Fostering community relationships across various sectors of our community is a great strength and mission of our organization. To bridge the business community and our local education systems, the Chamber has held an annual State of Education event for several years. This event has great success in bringing together community leaders to hear from leaders in education about the most pressing challenges and greatest successes of our school districts throughout the last year.

“With workforce development

as a priority of our organization, we view partnerships between local businesses and education systems as a vital component to these efforts,” said Glenn Morris, President & CEO of the Chamber. “The State of Education event is not only an opportunity to educate our community on the work being done by our local education systems but also to inspire business leaders to further engage in the efforts of building our future workforce.”

However, the Chamber hopes to see these connections develop into ongoing partnerships. To support this hope, in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, the Santa Maria Valley Chamber launched a Teacher Tours program this academic school year. This collaboration effort is designed to provide local teachers/school administrators the opportunity to tour local businesses and speak with industry-specific leaders. This allows for a unique platform for the group to discuss local workforce challenges and needs. Teachers are able to take this new insight into the classroom as they continue to refresh their curriculum with ever-changing industries.

LEADERSHIP SANTA MARIA VALLEY TOPIC DAY HIGHLIGHTS AGRICULTURE IN OUR COMMUNITY

Christopher (Chris) Narez Staff Development Manager, Santa Barbara CountyDepartment of Social Services

The Santa Maria Valley Leadership Class of 2023 conducted their Agriculture Day on May 5th, 2023. The day was spent visiting local farms, making butter, listening to how Agriculture awareness is being brought to our community, and having the opportunity to learn about Allan Hancock College Viniculture program. The day was highlighted by learning about a local company that is a major player in the world of berries. Driscoll’s berries (located off Stowell in Santa Maria) controlled 1/3 of the $6 billion berry market in 2017. This family-owned company has a major distribution center in Santa Maria, where they send locally grown products all over the world.

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LSMV HOSTS ALUMNI REUNION AND ANNUAL MEETING

Earlier this month, the Leadership Santa Maria Valley program held its Alumni Reunion and Annual Meeting. Approximately 35 Alumni and a few members of the current class joined us for a fun evening at Naughty Oak. In addition to the announcement of the new program board, the group also heard about the Class of 2023’s Legacy Project.

Pictured above: Leadership Santa Maria Valley program board members attend alumni reunion and annual meeting.

LOCAL LEADERS WEIGH IN: JUNIOR CEO REFLECTION

Each month, we’re asking our local leaders to weigh in on a timely topic. This month, we’re talking to our graduates from the Spring 2023 Junior CEO cohort. As the program concluded, we asked students to reflect on their biggest challenges, greatest lessons learned and most enjoyable moments experienced through Junior CEO. Here’s what they shared:

“My favorite parts were creating my product, talking to people, and making money.”

- Adriano, Adriano’s Honey Company

“I learned that preparation is key and it takes commitment, hard work, and dedication. Along with a great team to run a successful business.”

- Jeremiah, Ice Shack

“Creating your own business is hard. But you should do it anyway.”

- Ainsley, Ethereal

“I learned how important it is to let my friends and family know about my business.”

- Samantha, Sammie’s Cupcakes

“My favorite part was being able to make a product that I love into my own little business, and serve it to my community in the mall with my fellow Junior CEOs. I had so much fun!”

- Avery, Ave’s Ube Bowls

“My favorite part of junior CEO is the opening day were I sold all of my candles.”

- Caleb, Caleb’s Custom Candles

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CHAMBER IN ACTION

1. Recently, our business community heard from local education leaders on the most pressing topics facing schools during the Santa Maria Valley Chamber’s annual State of Education event.

2. The Hispanic Business Committee hosted a fiesta business mixer for dozens of Hispanic business leaders at the Veterans’ Memorial Building.

3. This month the Chamber held a new member orientation for businesses who have recently joined membership.

4. Jennifer Harrison, Tourism Director at the Chamber, sat down with KEYT’s Morning News Team to discuss the launch of the 2023 Santa Maria Wine Trolley earlier this month.

5. Recently, The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce was one of 10 chambers of commerce who receive the 2023 President’s Circle Award from the California Chamber of Commerce.

6. In partnership with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, the Chamber organized its final “Teacher Tours” day of the school year. The career pathway explored through the day-long series of tours was arts, media and entertainment.

Here’s a look at what our Chamber & our member businesses have been up to this past month.

GROWING MEMBERSHIP: CHAMBER WELCOMES NEW MEMBERS

As champions for a stronger Santa Maria Valley, the Chamber is excited to welcome more businesses to our growing organization. Please join us in welcoming the following new Chamber members, who joined in April 2023.

Director:

WINGS Preschool

(805) 623-4313

www.crrsbc.org/who-we-are/

Premium:

eXp Realty

(714) 422-6825

www.ShopCentralCoastHomes.com

Santa Maria Public Market

www.sm-publicmarket.com

Member:

805Concerts LLC

(805) 710-8055

www.805Concerts.com

Member:

Better Business Bureau Of The TriCounties

(805) 963-8657

www.bbb.org/local-bbb/bbb-of-thetri-counties

Casa Comal Cocina Tradicional Mexicana

(805) 285-7925

www.casacomalcocina.com/

Connect Auto

(805) 623-0790

www.connectautoca.com

CRES Training, Inc. (707) 569-6754

www.cres.education

EP Safety Plus, LLC

(805) 332-0041

www.epsafetyplus.com/

Member:

Feed My Seoul LLC

(805) 888-7226

www.FeedMySeoul.com

Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad

(805) 614-7093

www.friends-smvrr.org

Insperity

(805) 878-7943

www.Insperity.com/bpa/carlos.lesne

Savinas Home-Made Tamales Co LLC

(805) 631-1469

www.savinashomemadetamales.com/

Volt Workforce Solutions

(805) 349-1212

www.volt.com

CELEBRATING LOCAL BUSINESS: CHAMBER RIBBON CUTTINGS

These Chamber member businesses recently celebrated joining the Chamber or a major business milestone with a ribbon cutting. Join us in congratulating them!

Gina’s

205 E. Clark Avenue, Old Orcutt (805) 922-7866

www.ginaspieceofcake.com

The

3503 Rancho Tepusquet Rd, Santa Maria (805) 318-6503

www.biennacidoestate.com

Cambria

5475 Chardonnay Ln., Santa Maria (805) 938-7318

www.cambriawines.com

HAVE AN UPCOMING MILESTONE?

WINGS Preschool

1550 S. College Dr., Santa Maria (805) 623-4313

www.crrsbc.org/who-we-are/

The Santa Maria Valley Chamber wants to celebrate with you. For more information about ribbon cuttings and how to schedule your own, please contact our Adminstrative Support Coordinator-Patricia Horta at patricia@santamaria.com or (805) 925-2403 x 812.

MONTHLY FEATURED BUSINESSES FOR MAY 2023

Each month the Chamber in partnership with the City of Santa Maria recognizes two deserving businesses through the “Monthly Featured Business Program.” We are excited to announce this month’s recipients!

CONGRATULATIONS TO BOTH OF THESE BUSINESSES!

A.J. Diani Construction Corp and its affiliate, Diani Building Corp. are recognized at City Council as the longstanding featured business of the month for May 2023.

Marian Regional Medical Center and Pacific Central Coast Health Centers (PHC) are recognized at City Council as the Healthcare featured business of the month for May 2023.

If you know a long-standing or healthcare business in the City of Santa Maria who deserves recognition, email madison@santamaria.com to nominate them for this program.

Piece of Cake- Orcutt

Gatehouse at Bien Nacido

Winery & Vineyard