Like so many things in our fair city, we have much to be proud of, great public and private schools, a very well-managed city government that is both fiscally responsible and innovative, a beautiful natural environment and a strong business community that is growing even stronger.
Representing this growing business community is the No. 1 job of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. The leadership and staff of the chamber do a magnificent job. Indeed, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is the 2nd largest chamber in the San Diego region and the 10th largest in the state of California. It also is the 4th largest association in the San Diego region.
My term as chairman of the chamber's board of directors is about to come to an end, and I would like to offer the following retrospective on the objectives and milestones achieved during this past year:
• Livability, We encouraged the city of Carlsbad to contract with Partners for Livable Communities to undertake a citywide effort to obtain citizen input and responses regarding the ideas for making Carlsbad an even more “livable” city. We also wholeheartedly endorse the work and growing membership of Imagine Carlsbad, a grassroots movement of citizens who are committed to “building the future of Carlsbad together.”
• Small business success, We are continuing to build our capacity to serve and strengthen our small business members through the resources of our Small Business Success Center with many thanks to the sponsorship of California Manufacturing Technology Consultants and Wells Fargo. In conjunction with SCORE, over the past 12 months we have counseled more than 40 small businesses and helped more than a dozen receive funding they may not have known existed or otherwise qualified for. Also over the last year, more than 500 people have attended our small business workshops and programs.
• Armed Services Committee, This chamber committee has worked hard to say thank you to our young men and women in the Marine Corps by hosting its annual barbeque at the School of Infantry West at Camp Pendleton. We also have provided very important support to Marines and their families in need of food resources through a grant to a local nonprofit organization that is running a food pantry on the base.
• Promoting Carlsbad Village redevelopment, We have participated in multiple and various meetings and workshops designed to promote the much needed redevelopment of the Carlsbad Village area. The chamber is represented as a member on the board of the Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership, better known as Carlsbad VIP, which will preside over the redevelopment process.
• Government Affairs Committee, This chamber committee has been very active in several local, state and federal legislative matters. We have recently officially formed our “issues only” Political Action Committee. This past year we started a new program called “Up Close and Personal With,” which is designed to give our members a chance to meet with and get to know our elected officials in a relaxed setting.
• Carlsbad desalination plant, We continue to provide our strong support of the desalination project by sending letters and testifying in support of this extremely important project. We recently testified at hearings for both the California Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.
• Entertainment ordinance, In collaboration with the entertainment establishments in the Village and throughout the city of Carlsbad, along with the Police Department and residents, we helped to craft a thorough and fair entertainment ordinance that still permits live entertainment in the Village while ensuring the least possible disturbance to those who live in Carlsbad.
• Inaugural Golf Tournament at The Crossings at Carlsbad, Last August, the chamber hosted the very first golf tournament ever to be held at The Crossings at Carlsbad, the city's new golf course. Thanks to the support of the chamber's members and the business community, we raised thousands of dollars for the Carlsbad Education Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Center at Camp Pendleton. Over the past three years, the chamber has donated more than $200,000 to the injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to help our wounded Marines and sailors.
• Celebrating 85 years of service to the business community, We have heralded on several occasions the significance of this milestone for the chamber. This organization's service to the business community in Carlsbad precedes the founding of Carlsbad as a city by more than 30 years!
As you can see, the state of our chamber is excellent and getting better every day. I would like to thank Ted Owen, our president and CEO, and his entire team for their steadfast efforts and very effective leadership on behalf of the business community in Carlsbad.
I also would like to express my strong and committed support to my successor, Lou Storrow Esq., who has already demonstrated his effective leadership on many occasions. He will be very ably supported by Gina McBride, the board's chair-elect during 2008.
Thank you all for your many kind and encouraging words to me this past year, but even more, thank you to the hundreds of chamber members who have pitched in to make this one of the most successful years in the history of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.
Representing this growing business community is the No. 1 job of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. The leadership and staff of the chamber do a magnificent job. Indeed, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce is the 2nd largest chamber in the San Diego region and the 10th largest in the state of California. It also is the 4th largest association in the San Diego region.
My term as chairman of the chamber's board of directors is about to come to an end, and I would like to offer the following retrospective on the objectives and milestones achieved during this past year:
• Livability, We encouraged the city of Carlsbad to contract with Partners for Livable Communities to undertake a citywide effort to obtain citizen input and responses regarding the ideas for making Carlsbad an even more “livable” city. We also wholeheartedly endorse the work and growing membership of Imagine Carlsbad, a grassroots movement of citizens who are committed to “building the future of Carlsbad together.”
• Small business success, We are continuing to build our capacity to serve and strengthen our small business members through the resources of our Small Business Success Center with many thanks to the sponsorship of California Manufacturing Technology Consultants and Wells Fargo. In conjunction with SCORE, over the past 12 months we have counseled more than 40 small businesses and helped more than a dozen receive funding they may not have known existed or otherwise qualified for. Also over the last year, more than 500 people have attended our small business workshops and programs.
• Armed Services Committee, This chamber committee has worked hard to say thank you to our young men and women in the Marine Corps by hosting its annual barbeque at the School of Infantry West at Camp Pendleton. We also have provided very important support to Marines and their families in need of food resources through a grant to a local nonprofit organization that is running a food pantry on the base.
• Promoting Carlsbad Village redevelopment, We have participated in multiple and various meetings and workshops designed to promote the much needed redevelopment of the Carlsbad Village area. The chamber is represented as a member on the board of the Carlsbad Village Improvement Partnership, better known as Carlsbad VIP, which will preside over the redevelopment process.
• Government Affairs Committee, This chamber committee has been very active in several local, state and federal legislative matters. We have recently officially formed our “issues only” Political Action Committee. This past year we started a new program called “Up Close and Personal With,” which is designed to give our members a chance to meet with and get to know our elected officials in a relaxed setting.
• Carlsbad desalination plant, We continue to provide our strong support of the desalination project by sending letters and testifying in support of this extremely important project. We recently testified at hearings for both the California Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.
• Entertainment ordinance, In collaboration with the entertainment establishments in the Village and throughout the city of Carlsbad, along with the Police Department and residents, we helped to craft a thorough and fair entertainment ordinance that still permits live entertainment in the Village while ensuring the least possible disturbance to those who live in Carlsbad.
• Inaugural Golf Tournament at The Crossings at Carlsbad, Last August, the chamber hosted the very first golf tournament ever to be held at The Crossings at Carlsbad, the city's new golf course. Thanks to the support of the chamber's members and the business community, we raised thousands of dollars for the Carlsbad Education Foundation and the Wounded Warrior Center at Camp Pendleton. Over the past three years, the chamber has donated more than $200,000 to the injured Marine Semper Fi Fund to help our wounded Marines and sailors.
• Celebrating 85 years of service to the business community, We have heralded on several occasions the significance of this milestone for the chamber. This organization's service to the business community in Carlsbad precedes the founding of Carlsbad as a city by more than 30 years!
As you can see, the state of our chamber is excellent and getting better every day. I would like to thank Ted Owen, our president and CEO, and his entire team for their steadfast efforts and very effective leadership on behalf of the business community in Carlsbad.
I also would like to express my strong and committed support to my successor, Lou Storrow Esq., who has already demonstrated his effective leadership on many occasions. He will be very ably supported by Gina McBride, the board's chair-elect during 2008.
Thank you all for your many kind and encouraging words to me this past year, but even more, thank you to the hundreds of chamber members who have pitched in to make this one of the most successful years in the history of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce.