December 2022 Chamber Newsletter

The Scotts Valley Exchange Club Presents ‘Light up the Night!’

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he Scotts Valley Community Holiday Tree next to Walgreens will be lit up on December 3, 2022, continuing a tradition dating 30 years.

The celebration itself will take place at the Scotts Valley Community Center. This special community event benefits Valley Churches United Missions and is a wonderful family event enjoyed by guests of all ages!

Scotts Valley Firefighters will deliver Santa and Mrs. Claus to the Community Center to greet guests and enjoy free photos with kids and families.

Local talented Scotts Valley Community members will provide entertainment. Holiday characters will be on hand to chat with children and for photos.

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December 3 • 5-7:30 p.m.

Hot Chocolate, Cider, Coffee and Coen (Hear the Call Music), and Victor cookies will be provided by local service Alejandro. clubs including The Kiwanis of Scotts Valley, To donate or for further information email: The Rotary Club of Scotts Valley and the victor.alejandro.usa@gmail.com.

Santa Cruz Moose Lodge #545. The Scouts BSA Troop 614 will be selling popcorn.

Unwrapped new toys will be accepted by the Scotts Valley Police Officers Association. Valley Churches United Missions will be on hand to accept canned food or other donations.

Our thanks to our generous sponsors including our Platinum Sponsor: Mari Rossi, Gold Sponsors: The Exchange Club of Scotts Valley, Donna Lind, Derek Timm, Paul Burrowes, Garrison Plumbing & Septic Construction, Scotts Valley Fire District, Scotts Valley Police Department, Silver Sponsors: Robert Aldana, Valley Churches United Missions, Business with Pleasure, Bustichi & Son, Kings Village and Bronze Sponsors: Musical Me and Corvin’s Legal Services.

We also appreciate our Supporters: Scouts BSA Troop 614, Cruise Coffee, Rotary Club of Scotts Valley, Kiwanis Club of Scotts Valley, Bobbie Ward, Cindy Gorski, Ray Gorski, Vineyard Church, Otis

Join the Giving Revolution!

alley Churches United Missions (VCUM) is one of 63 nonprofits participating in this year’s Santa Cruz Gives. VCUM serves a region of the County that is chronically underserved.

This past year, with the huge increase of food costs, they are experiencing more new clients in need of food than in the past seven years.

They hopes to raise enough funds to provide at

least 15,000 pounds of food for their grateful clients — currently 7,000 annually: 5,000 adults and 2,000 children.

If you have the means, please consider donating to Valley Churches United Mission.

To donate through the Santa Cruz Gives Campaign, go to santacruzgives.org, then “meet our Nonprofits”, and click on Valley Churches United Missons.

Advertise in the Scotts Valley Chamber Newsletter • Call or Visit Today: www.scottsvalleychamber.com

www.tpgonlinedaily.com Scotts Valley Times / December 2022 / 11

Scotts Valley Chamber News

IT Service Provider, and Scotts Valley Local, CyAs Tech, Improves Technology Platforms for the City of Scotts Valley

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ast year, Scotts Valley City Hall was in the middle of an email crisis. Their e-mail server was in-house, and highly temperamental. It was up. It was down, and the City’s Administrative Director was at their wits end.

Scotts Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Danny Reber, referred family-owned business, CyAs Tech (Cyber Ascend Technologies), to the city and a mutual partnership was formed.

CyAs Tech is known for completely customizable IT Packages which provide cloud backup, endpoint protection, security monitoring, cyber awareness training, and cloud migrations.

Coordinating with other suppliers, CyAs Tech managed to modernize the City’s email system to a cloud-based model, dramatically increasing the email system’s flexibility, uptime, security, and response potential in case of a disaster.

Once engaged with the City, CyAs Tech saw other areas where Scotts Valley’s IT infrastructure could be modernized to provide residents with the standard of excellence the City’s growth and progress deserved.

The phone system was a bulky PBX type system circa the 1990s. The audio-visual system used to capture the City Council meetings for transmission to Public Access Television, was not much better. During the pandemic, a single camera was pointed to a Zoom Call on a television screen to broadcast City Council meetings.

The City has now been moved decades forward and into the modern age. The phone system has been migrated to a modern VOIP system utilizing Microsoft Teams voice collaboration technology. Not only will you be able to reach people with greater efficiency, but staff members can also collaborate more effectively, and constituent satisfaction is on the rise.

Check out the sharp video production of City Council meetings! Now equipped with a three-camera production strategy, videography is managed via iPad and live streamed to YouTube.

Please consider subscribing to the City’s YouTube channel by searching for City of Scotts Valley, or at the following URL: https:// www.youtube.com/channel/ UCLNTBScelB4wTfidYHrocWA City Hall is now better protected from potential IT disasters, and the communication infrastructure has never been better prepared to serve our great community.

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12 / December 2022 / Scotts Valley Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com

Rainy season has arrived!

It’s time to adjust your outdoor irrigation!

• Adjust your sprinkler timer. As temperatures decrease, your landscape watering habits should change too.

• Avoid watering your lawn after or before it rains!

• Utilize the free WaterSmart platform to track your water use: www.svwd.org/WaterSmart

The District Offices will be closed 12/23/22 through 01/02/22 for the December holidays.

Scotts Valley Chamber News

Kumon of Scotts Valley Honoring its Students for their Outstanding Academic Achievements

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umon’s individualized approach helps children progress by ability rather than age or grade. More than 290,000 preschool to high school aged children across the United States are developing their math and reading skills independently through the Kumon Method of Learning.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, American students were significantly outperformed by 29 nations in mathematics. America’s stagnant performance and lack of advanced students impacts the country’s future growth, which is why Marwan Mezher cares deeply about helping Scotts Valley students in his after-school enrichment program achieve academic success.

The Kumon Program aims to guide children to a point where they not only reach their grade level but surpass it. In fact, many Kumon students study material one to three years above their school grade levels in math and reading.

Through continuous Kumon study, students become self-motivated, independent problem solvers. Daily Kumon study helps boost confidence and improve study habits, providing benefits that last a lifetime.

“Reading is one of the most important benchmarks in a child’s academic journey so developing a love for reading early is key,” said Marwan. “By encouraging a love of reading, Kumon can help children develop inquisitive minds, full of purpose and imagination.”

We don’t replace or replicate school. Our program works alongside schoolwork.

Kumon’s time-tested self-learning program uses engaging worksheets and guidance from an on-site instructor to present new concepts and materials, giving

children an academic advantage in the classroom — and throughout life.

Elijah was awarded the “J by 6” achievement award in recognition for studying advanced algebra before the end of sixth grade. By reaching ‘J by 6,’ Elijah is well on his way to program completion

and is well prepared for high-school math.

Research has shown that a student is much more likely to attend and complete a fouryear college program after completing coursework equivalent to algebraSIPC II. > edwardjones.com | Member “Kumon” page 14

Season’s Greeting During this holiday season, we wish you all the best.

Season’s Greeting

During this holiday season, we wish you all the best.

MKT-9811C-A

© 2022 EDWARD D. JONES & CO., L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. AECSPAD

www.tpgonlinedaily.com Scotts Valley Times / December 2022 / 13

Scotts Valley Chamber News

‘Tis the Season

Kalani Day Spa Gives Back

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he holiday season in Scotts Valley brings such a warm and welcoming feel to our mountain communities. Neighbors, friends, and families coming together is one of the core reasons Kalani Day Spa Owner, Kim Pursley, chose Scotts Valley for her award-winning day spa.

In fact, her commitment to the community is why you’ll find a Valley Churches United barrel at Kalani through the holidays to give others an opportunity to drop off canned goods and dry food for those in need.

Giving back is a year-long component of Kalani’s services with the spa’s “Tender Touch” program for seniors and “Healing Heroes” program for first responders, veterans, and current members of the military.

“What isn’t there to love about the holidays in Scotts Valley? It’s almost like being in a Hallmark movie-- the tree lighting ceremony, the holiday lights and decorations

that go up throughout the city, our community out shopping for those they love,” adds Pursley.

Relaxing face and body treatments are always on the menu at Kalani. “It’s our busiest time of year—whether someone is buying one of our spa products or a gift card, it’s joyous to be part of the gifting process. And who doesn’t want to receive a gift card to enjoy a massage or facial after the hustle and bustle of the season has passed?”

On December 10th & 11th, Kalani is also celebrating their annual “spa-la-days”, Those that come in on one of those two days will be treated to spa gifts, special shopping discounts on retail, BOGOs on spa services, and an opportunity to enter a drawing for a spa day. There will, of course, be treats for everyone that stops by. Kim notes, “My team and I are all-in when it comes to the holiday spirit, and it shows.”

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Federally Insured by NCUA | Equal Housing Lender 14 / December 2022 / Scotts Valley Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com

“Kumon” from page 13 Thimmaiah, 4th grade, is studying 2 Levels above his grade in Math. Thimo is a role model for the other students at the center. He faces the challenge of new concepts with confidence and enthusiasm.

Zoe is in 4th grade and is studying 2 Levels above her grade in both Math and Reading. Zoe created a daily routine to complete her Kumon worksheets, even during the summer, holidays and her birthday — never missing a day. In the Reading Program, Zoe studied interpretation and critique of great works of literature ranging from Shakespeare to T.S. Eliot. In math, she mastered concepts like differential calculus, indefinite/definite integrals and differential equations.

“As parents plan for kindergarten enrollment, it’s important to remember that while many schools accept students based on age, a child’s readiness really relies on social, emotional, motor and language development,” said Marwan. “The habits and attitudes with which children approach learning are important factors when it comes to school success.” For that reason, we

honored multiple preschool students studying and getting ready before school starts: • Belanna (6 years): Math • Nandhanna (4 years): Math and Reading • Taha (5 years): Reading • Nathan (6 years): Math and Reading • Lana (5 years): Math and Reading “The holidays are a great time for families to take a break from the hectic school schedule, but that doesn’t mean children should stop learning,” said Marwan. “There are many ways to incorporate a few educational activities that will encourage learning and promote screen-free entertainment, while enjoying quality family time.”

Here’s more about the Kumon Program: • Students complete daily assignments that take about 30 minutes per subject.

• Assignments are completed twice weekly at the Kumon Center, and the other five at home.

• Kumon’s Math Program progresses through calculus.

• Kumon’s Reading Program progresses to critical reading of high-school level literary text.