Working Hard on Your Behalf: Chamber Month in Review

The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce is here for business. We are a catalyst for business growth, convener of leaders and influencers, and a champion for a stronger Santa Maria Valley. We continue to work hard to serve our members, local businesses and the Santa Maria Valley community. Here’s a glimpse at what we’ve been up to lately.

Catalyst for Business Growth

• The Chamber and Visitors Bureau held the Great Santa Maria Valley takeout as part of restaurant month, and a way to encourage the community to continue to support our local restaurants, wineries and breweries.

• Santa Maria Valley Chamber Staff attended the virtual conference for the Western Association of Chamber Executives to continue their professional development and learn best practices and successful programming from others in the Chamber Industry.

• Santa Maria Valley Chamber’s Director of Member & Community Engagement Molly Schiff was accepted into the Western Association of Chamber Executive’s Emerging Leaders Council.

Convener of Leaders and Influencers

• The Chamber’s Business & Government Roundtable met for their January 2021 meeting and received an update on local vaccine distribution from the County Public Health Department, and a presentation on the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber’s Roadmap to Recovery plan from Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce CEO Kristen Miller.

• The Chamber Ambassador Committee welcomed two new ambassadors; Karen Edwards of Laurus College and Kelsi Fitzgerald of Phoenix Property Inspections.

• The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors welcomed new board member Angelica Gutierrez.

The Chamber's Business & Governement Roundtable met for their first meeting of 2021. The group helps guide the Chamber's work in political and regulatory advocacy.

• Santa Maria Connect Young Professionals produced a video of local leaders discussing how young professionals can do their part to make our society more just and equitable. Clips of the video are showcased on their social media throughout the monthly of February, and the full discussion is available to watch on YouTube.

• The Chamber continues to host their weekly Build Your Business virtual networking events to provide local professional the opportunity to network and hear from our Chamber Member businesses.

Champion for a Stronger Santa Maria Valley

• The Chamber continues to attend CalChamber’s monthly legislative update calls to stay at the forefront of legislation affecting our business community.

• The Santa Maria Valley Visitors Bureau Tourism Marketing District launched their stimulus campaign to encourage those nearby to safely visit the area. Local hotels offered a $100 visa gift card to those who booked a minimum two-night stay.

• Leadership Santa Maria Valley is still accepting applications for their Class of 2021, which will begin in March.

The Chamber's COVID-19 Business Recovery Toolkit provides upt to date information on reopening, financial assistnace and more. It can be found at santamaria.com/COVID19- Recovery .

• The Chamber continues to add resources to their COVID-19 Business Recovery Toolkit (santamaria.com/COVID19-Recovery) and provide timely updates to community members on reopening.