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 continues to partner with the Green Business Program of Santa Barbara County, and provided financial reports for their steering committee.

• The Chamber highlighted the Central Coast Jet Center in their “Local Business Spotlight” series done in partnership with the Santa Maria Times.

• The Chamber continues to keep in touch with local organizations on upcoming events and changes in an effort to keep their local community events calendar current for the community.

• The Economic Development Commission provided start-up assistance to 8 local businesses.

• The Economic Development Commission assisted local businesses with securing funding from the latest round of COVID-related grants and financial assistance.

Convener of Leaders and Influencers

The Chamber highlighted in members at their September Mixer at Moxie Cafe.

• Leadership Santa Maria Valley held their Health & Human Services Topic Day. A full recap of the day’s activities can be found on p. 4

• The Chamber continues to hold their weekly “Build Your Business” breakfast meetings, an opportunity for local businesses to network and provide leads and testimonials.

• The Chamber held its September Mixer at Moxie Café, where local business leaders had a chance to network and enjoy another great local business in the Santa Maria Valley.

• The Visitors Bureau hosted two journalists, who will help promote the Santa Maria Valley to potential visitors.

• The Chamber held their 2021 Annual Awards Gala outdoors at Allan Hancock College. The event honored a number of local businesses, community leaders and organizations who have shown resiliency over the past year.

Champion for a Stronger Santa Maria Valley

• The Chamber held a number of ribbon cuttings celebrating new Chamber member businesses. A full list can be found on p. 5

• The Chamber remains actively involved in the Veteran’s Stand Down event, and attended their recent planning meeting to learn more about opportunities to promote the community event.

• The Chamber filled its Fall Session of their Junior CEO program, a hands-on education opportunity that walks 6th graders through how to start their own business. The program begins in October.

• The Visitors Bureau attended the CalTravel Summit in Huntington Beach to learn more about industry trends and how to attract tourists to the Santa Maria Valley.

• The Visitors Bureau partnered with Bottle Branding on a motorcycle photo shoot for an upcoming tourism campaign.

• The Visitors Bureau published two blog posts to the Visit Santa Maria Valley website using California wine keywords in an effort to drive SEO traffic to the site.

• The Chamber provided 50 visitor bags for visitors attending an Early Motors event in Santa Maria.

• The Economic Development Commission assisted AT Still University with finding housing for students moving to the area to attend the university.

• The Economic Development Commission continues to play an active role in the City’s downtown revitalization project.

• The Economic Development Commission continues to work with Allan Hancock College on finding a developer to build campus housing.

• The Chamber launched “Santa Maria Next”, a program done in partnership with the Santa Barbara County Education Office that highlights local high school students excelling in the various career pathways. This month’s featured student can be found on p.8.