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Celebrate!

Thank you to our members who recently renewed their membership with us. The businesses featured below are celebrating Chamber milestone anniversaries. Your partnership in our organization makes a difference in our community. Join us in celebrating these members for their ongoing investment in our community.

15 years

PrimeCare of Corona

(951) 371-8440 2275 Sampson Ave. Ste. 111 Corona, CA 92879 We put members first. PrimeCare is part of OptumCare®, a care delivery organization that improves patient health and helps make health care work better. OptumCare is reinventing health care to help keep people healthier and feeling their best. We’re led by physicians who understand the needs of patients and providers. We’re committed to make the health care system work better for you. We believe that improving quality will create an efficient health care delivery system and that we have a social responsibility to utilize health care resources appropriately.

10 years

Ash W. Shenouda, CPA

(951) 739-4688 Newport Beach, CA Ash W. Shenouda C.P.A. is a verified accounting firm, offering accounting and tax preparation services to customers and small business owners located in and around Newport Beach, California. Ash W. Shenouda C.P.A. is a CPAdirectory verified accounting firm, licensed to practice in the state of California. The requirements for licensure in California ensure that Ash W. Shenouda C.P.A. maintains the highest standard of knowledge and ethics when operating as an accounting firm. We can help you with tax preparation services, consulting, business planning and auditing.

Bear Alignment & Brake Service

(951) 737-8820 927 W. 6th St. Corona, CA 92882 Whether your car is making a funny noise, or you want to keep it running like new, Bear Alignment and Brake is your one-stop complete car care shop! Bear Alignment and Brake is dedicated to vehicle safety and customer service. Located in Corona, CA, we have everything for your brakes, steering, suspension and more.

Cappuccine, Inc.

(951) 880-9200 375 Klug Cir. Corona, CA 92878 Cappuccine is the innovator of award-winning gourmet beverage mixes and is the perfect solution for any busy specialty beverage environment. Extremely simple to make, our famous powdered frappe mix can be used to prepare frozen, over ice, or hot beverages and is unmatched for flexibility, efficiency, and taste. We are international experts with over 20 years’ experience in exporting to over 40 countries. We believe that quality and flavor span all languages.

Developlus, Inc.

(951) 738-8595 1575 Magnolia Ave. Corona, CA 92879 Developlus, Inc. is a 3rd generation, family-owned hair care company based in Southern California. Founded in 1991 by Ann and Dave Agrey, Developlus commits to providing salon quality hair products to customers worldwide. All our products are proudly made in the USA and are vegan and cruelty free. Developlus manufactures brands that are created for beauty professionals and consumers who demand innovation at an affordable price. We are a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBENC).

Western States Financial & Investments

(951) 371-7608 2275 S. Main St. Ste. 101C Corona, CA 92882 At Western States Financial & Investments, we’ve been helping families with their finances and investments for 28 years. As an independent, privately-owned financial advisory firm, we have a wide range of products and services available to individuals, families and business owners. We’re committed to helping our clients pursue their dreams and retirement goals by providing them a plan that best fulfills their purpose. Based on our values of faith and family, we are dedicated to our clients’ financial stability. Come on by or give us a call for a free consultation.

Bedford Canyon cont’d from page 1

features over 130,000 square feet of retail, shopping, a gas station, and a hotel to serve all of Eagle Glen and South Corona. It is anchored by an exciting new supermarket and a Hampton Inn and Suites. To date, Kiddie Academy, Starbucks, Bedford Modern Dentistry, School’s First Credit Union, and Quick Quack Car Wash have opened with many more to come! Below is a complete list. • Starbucks Coffee • Kiddie Academy • Bedford Modern Dentistry • Carbon Health • Newest Unique Fresh Grocer • Everbowl • Chase Bank • Bedford Nail Salon • Roll Em Up Taquitos • School’s First Credit Union • Shell Gas • Quick Quack Carwash • Crumbl Cookies • Spin 22 • Tannery B&H • Hampton Inn and Suites Wes Speake is Corona Mayor, elected as City Council Member by District 5, serving the entire city of Corona. His term as mayor ends December 2022.

Paying it Forward for Years

LOCAL RESTAURANT OWNER RECEIVES OVERWHELMING RETURN OF HIS GENEROSITY

Robert & Diana Hernandez

The Silver Dollar Pancake House at 710 East 6th has been serving meals longer than any other restaurant in Corona. Robert Hernandez, who will turn 60 soon, began working there as a teenager and eventually became the owner. For decades, diners could see Robert through the window dividing the kitchen and dining room, most days.

Robert and his wife Diana have worked very hard to make the business a success with responsible stewardship in a building that saw its first restaurant 86 years ago. Robert has always generously supported people, organizations and charities while providing good jobs to area residents.

Last December, Robert began experiencing muscle weakness. The muscle weakness became so bad, that Robert could not lift his arms. On December 13th, he went in for surgery for a hernia. After the surgery, there was even more muscle fatigue and pain throughout his entire body.

Robert finally experienced complete paralysis and was hospitalized during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Without any diagnosis, he was eventually sent home and became frustrated as his condition continued to worsen.

When he could no longer swallow, Robert returned to the hospital and learned his throat muscles had collapsed. Additionally, he was on the verge of complete organ failure. It took a week for Robert to finally be diagnosed with dermatomyositis (an inflammatory muscle disease that deteriorates the muscles and causes skin rashes).

Robert has had intensive physical and speech therapies. He has experienced many challenges, including immobility, receiving nourishment through a surgically implanted feeding tube and daily struggles to reach a normal quality of life.

Though always fiscally responsible, Robert has incurred unmanageable medical expenses while being unable to work at the restaurant. This situation has forced him to hire more staff and to increase overtime pay for existing employees work weeks. Sadly, an additional expense drained the family resources as a new sewer line needed to be installed.

Robert is a Corona native whose family has served our community for many decades. His grandfather, Cipriano Hernandez, was the first Mexican-American member of the Corona (later Corona-Norco) Unified School District.

A proud man and not wanting to ask for help, a group of friends organized a “Go Fund Me” campaign to help shoulder the financial burdens the Hernandez’s are currently experiencing. To date, over $11,000 has been raised through this effort.

Robert and Diana’s daughter, Jennifer Antonopoulos is filling in as restaurant manager, while the expenses for Robert continue. Any assistance that you can provide would appreciated and welcomed. This is the link to the “Go Fund Me” campaign: https:// gofund.me/9ee5bbda or connect with Jennifer at the Silver Dollar Pancake House.

For years this business has supported so many non-profits, charities, and youth organizations throughout our region. They have fed the less fortunate and have donated to many causes. Now is the time for others to step up and give something back.

Don Williamson was the CORONA Chamber Board Chair in 2020, and is founder of the Corona History Association

Don Williamson presented over $11,000 raised from Go Fund Me to Jennfer Antonopoulos

Corona’s Homeless Strategic Plan Decreases Homelessness by 33%

By Karen Roper

On August 3, 2022, the City of Corona was highlighted by the League of California Cities for its collaborative approach to reducing homelessness in partnership with the City of Norco. Both cities share a single staff person to manage their homeless programs, a set of strategies and a supportive services provider to provide a systems-oriented approach to addressing homelessness.

SINCE THE CITY OF CORONA ADOPTED ITS HOMELESS STRATEGIC PLAN IN 2020, THE NUMBER OF UNSHELTERED RESIDENTS HAS DECREASED BY 33%.

This reduction is due to a drastic shift in the way the City responds to homelessness. Examples of the City’s efforts to address homelessness include: • Increasing the number of available emergency beds and

City Net case managers • Providing move-in kits and other home furnishings to shelter graduates through the Make It Cozy Warehouse partnership • Finalizing partnerships that will provide 25 units of permanent

supportive housing and 110 units of multifamily affordable housing • Approving an expansion to the

Harrison Emergency Shelter/

Navigation Center, which will be equipped to provide comprehensive supportive services and an onsite clinic for medical, dental, and behavioral health services • Working with Riverside County to convert a hotel into 53 units of supportive permanent housing • Converting 12 units of transitional housing into permanent supportive housing

According to the article from the League of California Cities, another key factor in the program’s success is the City’s efforts to provide a clear path to, and between, emergency services, shelter, supportive services, and eventually, housing. Please click here for a link to the full article from the League of California Cities. To view a summary of the City’s accomplishments to date, please click Dashboard.

Karen Roper is the Homeless Solutions Manager for Corona-Norco Region and can be reached by calling 951-739-4949 or email: Karen. Roper@CoronaCA.gov

The Importance of Exercising Good Business Ethics

What is it that we all want as business owners and leaders within our communities? Most of us, if we care about the people we serve, desire to be known as a person with a good reputation, which means having a good name. A good name means that you have integrity, and your interest is not only about making money but taking care of the people who work in your business, along with those customers who patronize your business.

What exactly does taking care of the people mean? Well, it starts with the following three points that we all should exercise daily. 1) Always maintain honest dialogue even when you or your company have dropped the ball. According to Small Business, “2022 … the greatest measure of our character and tenacity is how we deal when things go wrong”. 2) Always show empathy when people complain about any part of your company’s service to the public. Research has shown that when it comes to empathy in customer service, it is not enough to offer it situationally (Sottrup, 2022). Instead, it needs to be the common thread that is woven into the fabric of every customer service interaction (Ibid, Sottrup, 2022). 3) Create an atmosphere where your employees feel safe, welcomed, and appreciated. High levels of trust and support, effective communication, encouragement, and compassion are hallmarks of a good and positive workplace (Cullen, 2022).

In closing, exercising good business ethics is “par for the course” if business owners desire to be in business for the long haul. It may mean staying up a little longer at night to figure things out or even investing in some needed training for your team. Whatever the cost, it will mean the longevity of your life’s work, and very much worth it in the end.

Dr. James E. Owens, Dare to Dream Leadership Consulting Firm