By Deb Beddoe Chairman of the Board Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce

The 2016 Annual Meeting was once again a resounding success and as chairman of the board, I can’t begin to thank Toni Padron enough for all of the hard work and dedication she and her staff put towards all of our events, but this one was extraordinary.

The theme “Hooray for Business” was great fun and allowed us to focus on the successes of some of our members. ViaSat, Park Hyatt Aviara Resort, Golf Club & Spa, AKT, LLP, Stellar Solar, Scripps Health, Solutions for Change, Richard Davis, Sue Loftin, and Ryan Ann Alexeev were the big winners. All the winners and nominees were very well deserved in each of their category accomplishments. 

Whether or not your business was nominated, it’s important to underscore that all of our collective business accomplishments, no matter how large or small, become the aggregate of what makes Carlsbad a great city to live, play, and work. It is also what makes the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce the best Chamber in the county (probably even the state).

Carlsbad can brag that job growth is stronger in our city than what the county and state individually report. This is thanks to each and every one of our Chamber members who are contributing to that job growth through each position you are adding to your organization. Whether your company added one job or one hundred jobs last year, you deserve your own hooray for your business achievement, and for your contribution to the community.

In 2015, almost 900 patents were issued to inventors in the City of Carlsbad. This is a big hooray for the city because countywide, only the City of San Diego filed more than Carlsbad. Again, this is thanks to every one of our Chamber members who filed patents in 2015. 

Hopefully you are starting to get the sense that the individual achievements of your own business should be celebrated as contributing to the overall success of the region.

Give yourself a big hooray if in the last year:

You have hired one or more new employees.

You have filed one or more new patents.

You have added one or more new clients or projects.

Your profit increased.

You were able to improve your operational efficiencies.

You improved a service level agreement with a vendor.

You developed a relationship with a new referral partner.

You got a building permit approved.

You got a vote of satisfaction from an existing client.

In other words, find something in your business to celebrate, everyday, because your individual celebrations lead to an amazing community. And, as the very successful businesswoman, Oprah Winfrey, once said, “The more reasons you find to celebrate in life, the more life gives you reason to celebrate.”