Field of roses near Wasco.
Photo by Casey Christie
Photo by Maria Ahumada-Garaygordobil
Debbe Haley
“From a defibrillator to an MRI machine, all has to go through this office,” he said. “We look at medication errors down to cash deposits.” Since November 2010, Aguirre has been on the Delano City Council. “I watched a serious matter go before the council with a standing-room only audience, and I saw these five council members vote on what four of five people there wanted, and against the 200 or so people who didn’t want it,” Aguirre said. “That did not register, and I thought to myself, ‘Are we listening to our community?’ So, I decided to run because we need someone to do something about this.” At 45, he has lived in Delano, off and on, for 20 years. In 1995, he started his own Delano-based business, Executive Housekeeper, geared toward medical offices and other local businesses. He continues to help with the business, now run by his daughter and wife. But it
wasn’t his health care or business background that spurred him to join the Delano Chamber of Commerce. “I got involved two years ago because I noticed that locally, National Day of Prayer, was dissolving, and it didn’t appear to be a priority on anyone’s list.” He said the chamber was facilitating it, but with no support. “I wanted to put some synergy into the program, and get people more aware of it,” he said. “That was my sole motivation.”
Debbe Haley, Shafter Debbe Haley of Shafter is president of her town’s Chamber of Commerce too. She runs her own scrapbooking business from her home office, which resembles a downtown business. As a Creative Memories unit leader, Haley offers regular and digital scrapbooking classes. “It’s about telling family stories,” Haley said. “Either with traditional scrapbooking or digital scrapbooking, you celebrate life and your family. And I get to do that for a job. Once you are done, you can pass it down to your other family members, so people feel connected.” The converted-garage served as a family room for the Haleys before they turned it into her “studio.” “The studio is very self-contained,” she said. “So I can make a mess and don’t have to
worry about it.” Haley and her husband are both originally from Fresno, but moved to Bakersfield, and have lived in Shafter for the past 13 years. Quite a few customers still make the short trek from Bakersfield. She also offers home visits as well as scrapbooking parties. She remembers joining the Shafter Chamber of Commerce six years ago, when it was “reorganizing.” “I had been involved with the Bakersfield Chamber, and I knew the value of networking,” Haley said. “So I got involved with the chamber here, and next thing you know, I was president.” Being part of the chamber not only allows for business growth, but personal growth, she said. “I am meeting people I would not have met otherwise.”
Gary Farrell, McFarland Gary Farrell grew up in Shafter, but he has made his mark in McFarland and its Parks and Recreation Department over the past 30 years. After graduating from Chico State University with a degree in business administration and religious studies in 1981, Farrell was pondering his bleak future. “I had planned to do my graduate work at UC Berkeley in religious studies, but I got a call from my parents who told me about a job
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