2019 Annual Report - Simi Valley Chamber of Comerce

ANNUAL REPORT

2019

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE page 2

MEMBERSHIP BREAKDOWN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page 3

EVENTS AND NEW ITEMS page 4

EVENTS, PROGRAMS AND COMMITTEES page 5

FINANCIAL SUMMARY page 6

STAFF THANK YOU page 7

2020 OFFICERS

A Message from the President/CEO

BRIAN REED Board Chair Simi Hills Golf Course

JILL HANEY Chair-Elect

It is my honor to serve as the President & CEO of the 5Star Accredited Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce. 2019 was a year of firsts for me as in January, I began my journey as your President and CEO.

Montecito Bank & Trust

DORINA TIMBOL Past Chair/Secretary Platinum Sports Center

Throughout 2019, we continued to provide our members with engaging and beneficial programming to help support the business community. Our popular networking breakfasts continued to see 100+ business professionals each month, and our annual Simi Valley Street Fair was more popular than ever!

MIKE NOLAN

At the end of the year, we submitted our application for reaccreditation to the United States Chamber of Commerce. This was the culmination of a year’s worth of work completed by our Chamber staff and Board Members. This process required us to assess and evaluate nine areas of our organization: governance, finance, human resources, government affairs, program development, technology, communication, facilities, and benchmarking.

Vice-Chair, Legislative Advocacy

The Chamber has held a 5-Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since 2010, and we are very proud and honored to announce that the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce was once again awarded the 5-Star Accredited distinction in March 2020.

CFO/Treasurer Aflac Insurance

MELANIE VOLLBRECHT AXICOM, Inc.

KATHI VAN ETTEN President/CEO Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce

DIRECTORS: LIZ ARANDA Aranda Accounting & Tax Services

The Chamber Staff and Board Members continue to work on innovative ideas and programs to increase opportunities for our members. However, we cannot achieve success without the assistance of our members. We look to you to identify areas where you would like to see our organization grow and improve.

PAUL GOODNOUGH

We exist to further the interests of our business community by listening to their needs and engaging them in a vital network of community and business leaders who strive to provide an exceptional quality of life for our residents and businesses.

STEVE MURPHY

As you look back at our year in 2019, we hope you feel just as accomplished as we do with our achievements, and look forward to the changes, challenges and opportunities that 2020 will bring.

KAREN TROOP

Paul Goodnough, CPA

LARRY HIBBLER Simi Valley Ford

Legal Production Services, Inc.

JENNIFER SWENSON Adventist Health Simi Valley

Pinnacle Estate Properties

KAILEY WAGNER Edward Jones Financial

BOARD ADVISORS:

Kathi Van Etten President/CEO

HARRY VAN DYCK Retired

JIM VIGDOR Howmet Aerospace

The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce promotes a strong business community

ACTIVE MEMBERS NEW MEMBERS RETENTION RATE

RIBBON CUTTINGS

s

A thriving community through business success.

CHAMBER NEWS I’m Here Cards: The Simi Valley Chamber produced “I’m Here” cards as another way to support Chamber member businesses. Chamber members are encouraged to visit other members and leave them a card to signify that they patronized the business because they were both members of the Chamber.

Salute to Excellence - The Salute to Excellence Gala honored the 2018 recipients for Business of the Year - The Junkyard Café; Business Person of the Year - Mike Nolan; Non-Profit Organization of the Year - Not One More; Community Volunteer of the Year - Karen Finmark; and Strathearn Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient - Larry Hibbler.

Inspire Entrepreneurship Speakers Event: Chamber staff partnered with members of the Y.E.S. Advisory Board to present the Inspire Entrepreneurship Speakers Series event in November. This was the first event to explore the creation of an incubator space in Simi Valley. #SimiNow: In order to promote our many businesses in a modern and fun manner, our Director of Member Relations visits members’ businesses and creates promotional videos which are shared through social media.

Reaccreditation Process: In 2019, Chamber staff and board members began the process of applying for 5-Star Reaccreditation through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Simi Valley Chamber has held a 5-Star Accreditation since 2010, and is one of only 7 Chambers in California to hold that distinction. The application was submitted in December 2019.

IN THE COMMUNITY WINS: Staff provides updates on Chamber activities at the monthly Women Information Networking Simi Valley group.

Simi Valley Street Fair - On May 4, 2019, over 375

vendors set up on Simi Town Center Way to welcome over 25,000 attendees. Visitors experienced the kids FUNZONE, an expanded beer and wine garden featuring local breweries and wineries, and our 5-Star Entertainment Stage!

YES: Chamber Staff is part of the Simi Valley Youth Employment Service (YES) Advisory Board, which works to provide educational opportunities, training, and career options to students and young adults between the ages of 15 – 25 in the community.

Taskforce on Homelessness: The Simi Valley Chamber is part of the City's Task Force on Homelessness, which was created to address the issue of homelessness and provide recommendations to City Council to assist in developing the community's response to homelessness Startup Simi Valley: The Simi Valley Chamber has participated in regular meetings with business leaders and members of the YES Advisory Board to develop and launch a business incubator/co-working space for entrepreneurs in Simi Valley. The group has toured HUB 101, an incubator space that is managed by California Lutheran University in Newbury Park, CA.

4th of July - In 2019, the Chamber organized the 50th

Annual Star Spangled Fireworks Celebration, in partnership with the City and the RSRPD. Over 10,000 community members celebrated our nation’s independence with music, food, and a firework show to end the night.

Philanthropies: In 2019, the Chamber participated in many fundraising and philanthropic activities. Staff members volunteered their time at the City of Simi Valley 50th Anniversary Celebration, the Boys & Girls Club Golf Tournament, and the 2019 Cajun and Blues Festival.

EVENTS State of the City: The Chamber, partnering with the City, presented the annual State of the City address in April 2019. Attendees heard from Mayor Mashburn, the City Manager, and other City staff on updates and programs.

Networking Breakfast: On the second Friday of each month, over 100 business professionals come together to network and give their “30-second commercial” to promote their services.

Connections Luncheon: Attendees were able to give their “30-second commercial” to network with other business professionals, as well as hear an informational presentation from a guest speaker.

After-Hours Mixers: The Chamber organized after-hours mixers for members and the business community, including the Mardi Gras Gumbo Cookoff, Oktoberfest, and the Holiday Mixer.

PROGRAMS Business Builders: Business Builders is a mastermind group comprised of Chamber members to promote sales and marketing among its members. Meeting twice a month, the group selects a business related topic to discuss each session.

Leadership Simi Valley: The 2020 Leadership Simi Valley Class, which commenced in September 2019, will graduate 23 students, the largest class to date. Their class project is focused on improving the look of the Simi Valley Welcome Corner by fundraising for a flagpole and lighting.

Restaurant of the Week: Restaurant of the week is a weekly highlight of one of the Chamber Member Restaurants in Simi Valley. This program is designed to spread awareness to the “Restaurant and drive traffic to their location, encouraging the community to "Eat Local" Retailer of the Week: Retailer of the week is a weekly highlight of one of the Chamber Member Retailers in Simi Valley. This program is designed to spread awareness to the various retailers in the area and to encourage the community to "Shop Local" when they do their shopping.

Shop Simi Valley First: Shop Simi Valley First is designed to encourage residents to shop, dine, and support local restaurants and keep their dollars local! Businesses in Simi Valley are encouraged to claim their business online, build their profile, and offer specials to community members.

COMMITTEES Ambassadors Committee: The Ambassadors are members that act as the welcoming arm of the Chamber and are the force behind our special events, ribbon cuttings, grand openings and mixers. In 2019, the Ambassadors consisted of 15 dedicated Chamber members!

Automotive Council: The Simi Valley Chamber Auto Council continued on their efforts to brand the Simi Valley Auto Center and in supporting the community through sponsorships and participation in events such as Street Fair and the 4th of July.

Economic Development Committee (EDC): The Economic Development Committee works to educate the business community on the economic development within the city. In 2019, the committee heard from developers on project proposals in the community, heard monthly updates from the Mayor, and listened to presentations from the City on upcoming proposals.

Emerging Leaders: The Simi Valley Emerging Leaders is the young professionals sector of the Chamber designed to assist business professionals age 21 – 40 in Simi Valley by providing monthly “Meet & Eat” networking lunches and quarterly mixers.

Health & Wellness : The Health & Wellness Committee presents the annual Happy Healthy Happy Hour each January, an event for health & wellness businesses to showcase their goods and services to the community.

Legislative Action Forum (LAF): The Legislative Advocacy Forum continues to work and advocate on behalf of our members and the business community. In 2019, the Chamber fought to protect businesses from the reclassification of Independent Contractors as determined in the Dynamex decision through lobbying for business exemptions to lessen the burden on business. The IMPACT newsletter is sent out regularly to our membership with resources, updates and information. The Chamber was awarded the President’s Circle Award in May 2019 through CalChamber for the seventh year in a row.

Tourism (SVCTA) : In 2019 the Simi Valley Chamber Tourism Alliance focused on expanding its online digital presence. The SVCTA focused on gaining new visitors by strategically marketing Simi Valley on digital platforms. In 2019, the SVCTA also proudly launched Film Simi Valley, a resource to attract film scouts and directors to Simi Valley for their filming needs.

SIMI VALLEY

Events Membership Programs City Contract Publications SVCTA Office Income

$261,946 $208,630 $64,482 $70,000 $41,866 $31,069 $9,145

Total

$687,138

Payroll Events Programs Admin and Operations Other General Expenses Publications Contract Professional Services Member Expense Conference/conventions Facilities and Equipment Marketing and Communications

$314,505 $161,214 $49,936 $102,171 $17,507 $18,168 $13,522 $5,284 $10,503 $10,166 $1,778

Total

$704,754

Thank you for being part of our 5 Star Chamber.

Your continued support has enabled us to continue to be successful and to offer more programs to the business community in Simi Valley.

CHAMBER STAFF MEMBERS

Kathi Van Etten President / CEO

John Tolson Director of Membership

Samantha Shapiro Director of Operations & Government Affairs

Layma Askarzoi Director Tourism Chamber Tourism Alliance

Amy Corneau Director of Member Relations

Tricia Johnston Administrative Coordinator

The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce 40 W. Cochran Street, Suite 100, Simi Valley, CA 93065 | 805.526.3900 | www.simivalleychamber.org | info@simichamber.org