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President’s Message - 'Tis the Season Tis the Season – of gratitude, reflection, giving and merriment. This year we are particularly mindful of our blessings. While for many, this has been a tough year, we are so fortunate to have weathered the storm and stand together facing a bright new season and new year. Challenges in the economy have given us the perspective to make changes – changes to our businesses have brought us closer as a community – and the successes we have achieved remind us of how strong we really are. Goleta abounds with opportunities – for our families, our careers, our businesses and our community. Your Goleta Chamber of Commerce continues its 62-year tradition of bringing businesses and community together – celebrating our wonderful city, working to improve our economy, educating our members and working with government to make Goleta an ever great place to be. You, our loyal members, have invested your time, talent and treasure to keep our Chamber strong in a changing world. So on behalf of the professional staff and dedicated board of directors, we say, “Thank You.” Our annual membership dues for 2010 are in the mail. Please look for yours and renew your membership dues today. In 2010 and beyond – we are stronger, together. Business License FeeThe Goleta City Council voted 5-0 to implement a Business License Fee. Read the Chamber’s letter to the Council prior to the vote. An article on the fee is listed below. City Looks Forward to Connecting with Business Community As 2009 winds to a close, we at the City are able to reflect on some of our accomplishments of the past year and plan for what is on the horizon. As businesses, I know you are engaged in this same practice. We are optimistic as we look ahead to 2010. First off, the City has a new Mayor, Eric Onnen, who, as a successful business owner, intends to focus on the needs of local businesses and on developing a meaningful dialogue with the business community. As part of the City’s business outreach initiative, it is important that we have information about the composition of our business community. In this regard, the Council authorized an expansion of our Business License Program that will be effective January 1, 2010. Currently, businesses that operate in Goleta but which do not maintain a fixed location in Goleta pay $100 per year (plus a $15 annual renewal fee) and some businesses located in the City (e.g. massage establishments, taxis…etc.) pay various fees from $10 a day to $100 a year to support the regulatory programs for those businesses. The list of businesses required to obtain a license is from a 1939 Santa Barbara County Ordinance that the City adopted when it incorporated in 2002. We are bringing the City into the twenty-first century with a streamlined Business License Program that simply requires all companies that do business within the City of Goleta to pay a flat fee of $100 per year for a General Business License (plus a $23 First Time Administrative Set Up or $15 Renewal Fee). In the next few weeks, you should receive a letter from the City regarding our new program. Please contact the City if you don’t receive one. We look forward to a good year working with our local business community. Thank you for all you do to keep our community vibrant and brimming with possibility. Chamber Partners with Local Agencies for iHubGoleta has a long history of providing high-paying jobs in the technology, industrial, research, bio-medical device, defense, aerospace and software industries – sometimes generalized as “high-tech”. Many of these jobs come from businesses that started, often with just one-or two enterprising entrepreneurs, right here in Goleta, in the backyard of UCSB. The Chamber sees this history as our future. We recently took a huge step forward in creating a lasting program to help spur entrepreneurial growth and high-tech jobs – with the help of several partners. The Goleta Chamber of Commerce, City of Goleta, UCSB, Workforce Investment Board, County of Santa Barbara, and VAI Global came together to submit an application for the Goleta Valley to be designated an official innovation hub, by the State of California. The State’s new designation, called iHub, will give our area the ability to apply for future funding and access statewide resources that help us connect engineers and scientists at UCSB with the business community in Goleta. The six groups worked together for the past couple of months to hammer out wide parameters of a plan that can be implemented whether or not we received the State designation. It’s only the beginning, but it’s a great start. These partners are ideally suited to focus energy and resources on growing local jobs and the economy. The City of Goleta is taking a lead role in preparing the start-up documentation and the Chamber is helping to bring all the partners together.Renew Your Membership Today The holiday season is in full swing, and so is the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce's annual membership renewal drive. There are countless benefits of continuing your Chamber involvement. Like attending functions for a discounted rate, participating in special informative events, receiving exclusive marketing and promotional opportunities, enjoying legislative representation, and much more. Most importantly, these benefits are not limited only to Goleta businesses, but extend to our members from Thousand Oaks up to Buellton, from Santa Ynez to the coast. In fact, more than 55% of Chamber members are based outside of the Goleta Valley. “In these economic times, no business can afford to operate under yesterday’s ‘backyard’ mentality,” emphasizes Kym "Max" White, Director of Business Development and Volunteers for the Goleta Valley Chamber. “To survive, we must reach beyond our physical borders and open our minds and our businesses to the prospects that exist throughout the Central Coast.” Hallie Avolio of Latitude 34 Technologies, and secretary for the Chamber’s volunteer Ambassador team, concurs. “The value of being a Chamber member is having a presence in the community and making strong connections so you can grow your business. It’s all about who you know; our continued active membership helps our company get lots of new clients.” Our enthusiastic Ambassadors are holding their first-ever Renewal Phone-a-Thon on Thursday, December 10th from 3:30 to 5:00pm at the Ramada Limited Hotel, 4770 Calle Real, Santa Barbara. So, if you still haven’t sent in your renewal form for 2010, you can expect to get a friendly reminder call that day. If you have renewed your membership already, please consider joining the phone bank for a half-hour shift to help us reach out to other members. Just show up at the Ramada’s “boiler room” during those hours — and bring your cell phone. We are also looking to expand the Ambassador Team in 2010 and invite any current Chamber members who are looking to get more involved with the local business community to contact Max White Max@goletavalley.com] for details. The role of Ambassadors is to help fellow business owners get connected, to encourage and mentor new Chamber members and to assist at various functions. In the process, you’ll receive some great exposure and opportunities to grow your business as well! An orientation for new Ambassadors will be held on Thursday, January 7th, 2010. Member News and Events Airport Looking for New Terminal Concessionaires - Local Businesses Encouraged to Attend Dec. 10 Presentation The Santa Barbara Airport’s (SBA) new larger Airline Terminal is currently under construction with completion expected in early 2011. The second floor of the new 67,000 square foot terminal will be the primary space for a variety of concessions. Local businesses are encouraged to consider operating in this environment that will have an average of over 1,000 potential customers each day. An informational meeting for prospective concessionaires will be held on Thursday, December 10th from 10 a.m. to noon in the Airport Departments’ Administration Conference Room at 601 Firestone Road, Santa Barbara, 93117 (next to the Elephant Bar Restaurant off Hollister Ave. near Fairview Ave.). The December 10th meeting will provide useful information to interested retailers and restaurateurs in an effort to develop strong local participation in concession opportunities at SBA. There will be presentations by Karen Ramsdell, Airport Director, and Hazel Johns, Assistant Airport Director, as well as the Airport’s concession consultants, explaining the requirements for operating in a post security airport setting. For more information about SBA concessions, please contact Hazel Johns, Assistant Airport Director, at 805.967.7111 or HJohns@SantaBarbaraCA.gov. Ventura Limoncello Originale Wins Platinum Medal at 2009 Sip Awards Ventura Limoncello, a local Ventura owned and operated company took the 2009 MoveGreen Collecting Toys, Donations for Preschoolers in Need Movegreen has partnered with Santa Claus to provide a little Christmas cheer to a few less fortunate children in our local community. They are collecting toys for boys and gifts age 3-5. Movegreen will use all donations for the direct purchase of toys. You can drop off a toy at anytime to 747 S. Kellogg Avenue in Goleta or make a donation via credit card or paypal at www.wemovegreen.com/about-us. For more information or to make a donation, please contact Anthony at anthony@wemovegreen.com 5th Annual Stuff the Bus Campaign Helps Needy Kids Santa Claus will make his 5th annual bus ride down State Street in Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 16 at 10:00 am, to collect hundreds of unwrapped gifts for children ages infant to 11 years for low-income families living at Peoples’ Self-Help Housing’s (PSHH) affordable housing properties in southern Santa Barbara County. Collection sites are located throughout the area. Volunteers can participate in sorting and wrapping the toys and gift cards on December 16th from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which will then be transported to PSHH affordable rental complexes that afternoon, in time for their site holiday celebrations. If you would like to sponsor, donate new toys or gift cards, or volunteer, contact Monica Iverson at Peoples’ Self-Help Housing at (805) 962-5152 x220 or email monicai@pshhc.org.. Patty Montana is collecting Food and Funds for the FoodBank of Santa Barbara County. For any food donation or Fund donation that you make, Patty Montana will give you 15% off your purchase. Patty Montana is located at 5726 Calle Real. Celebrate New Year’s Eve at The Circle Bar B Guest Ranch! They are offering a special horseback ride and prime rib dinner package for two. Want to stay the night? Overnight packages available as well. To book your New Year’s Eve Celebration at (805) 968-1113 or email circlebarb.info@gmail.com From the Cal Chamber CalChamber Releases List of New Laws Affecting Businesses in 2010 California Launches First-Ever Site Certification Program Small Business Administration Offers National Answer Desk
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