Barbie Butz

ANM: What is your history with the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce?

BB: John and I and our three sons moved to SLO County in 1977 and then to North County in 1980. I worked as a substitute teacher until 1985. After that, I got involved in nonprofit work as a volunteer and became acquainted with Chamber members and staff.

Through my membership on the Colony Days committee, I met Maggie Vandergon, the founder of Colony Days. I then found myself more and more involved with the community and especially the Chamber, where Maggie served as the director. In 1991 I was honored by the Chamber as Citizen of the Year, a very humbling experience.

In 2000 I was asked to join the Chamber Board of Directors, serving a term as Chairman of the Board.

John and two of our sons formed a partnership with Butz Construction, building custom homes and some commercial buildings. I felt that as business owners, it was very important to belong to the Chamber of Commerce. What they had to offer a new business was invaluable. Just helping owners connect with the community alone was worth the dues.

ANM: What are some of your favorite things that the Chamber has brought to Atascadero?

BB: The Chamber interacted with the community in many ways ... letting nonprofits have tickets to their fundraisers available at their office, posting fliers for nonprofit events, presenting their popular annual awards dinner each year, providing business owners opportunities for learning, and providing a very informative newsletter for its members.

Two of my favorite ways that the Chamber interacted with the community and my favorite events that it brought to the community are the Tuesday Evenings in the Park and The Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival.

I remember that Community Band Director George Beatie and Chamber member Lee Swam put their heads together and came up with the idea of the Chamber organizing the barbecue part of the event from 5 to 7 p.m. and George had the involvement of the band from 7 to 8 p.m. Nonprofits became involved and many, many of those Tuesday night barbecues were enjoyed by this and surrounding community people.

In 1996, Mickie Ready, the director of the Chamber at that time, and a group of her friends (city staff, business owners, etc.) came up with the idea of a wine festival, using Lake Park. I was on that first committee ... we were so excited when we realized that we cleared $3,000 from that event and a winemaker’s dinner held the night before the festival. The rest is history, of course. We have gone from a grassroots committee to partnering with the Chamber on the highly successful event. Donna Marshall and I co-chaired the event the second year and I chaired the committee up until 2019. I am still serving on the committee.

There is no doubt in my mind that there is strength in the Chamber of Commerce in this community. But the organization does not work alone — they have increased membership, offered more new opportunities for businesses to survive and grow, continued to work closely with nonprofits (which are really businesses) and strengthened their relationship with the city.

There are a few people who have been awarded a “Lifetime Membership” in the Chamber. I am proud to say that I am one of those few. I see a great future for our city, for the Chamber and for those of us who live and work here.