Chamber News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, September 17, 2021

Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber Announces Candidate Endorsements for November 2021 Santa Barbara Mayoral and City Council Races

SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, from Goleta to Carpinteria announces candidate endorsements for the upcoming Santa Barbara Mayoral and City Council elections in November 2021. Endorsements have been made predicated on criteria including the candidates request for endorsement by the Chamber and their stance on issuing support for the business community on pro-business policies and potential impacts to the future of business in Santa Barbara. The Chamber endorses the following candidates:
Mayor: Randy Rowse
District 4: Barrett Reed
District 5: Eric Friedman
District 6: No Endorsement – Of the four registered candidates the Chamber received the questionnaires from two of those candidates. The committee has identified that incumbent Meagan Harmon and Nina Johnson both represent business well in their responses to the questionnaire. The committee will revisit potential endorsements in this race upon further evaluation in upcoming candidate forums.
The Chamber will publish a complete voters guide with more information on each candidate in early October. Part of the Chamber’s mission is to represent business to government. The Chamber’s role is to identify candidates who are most aligned with our pro-business platform, as it relates to the business climate and quality of life in our communities.
For more information on the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce visit our website at www.sbscchamber.com.
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This month the Chamber celebrates Ruairi’s one year anniversary as the Visitor Centers Manager! With this milestone, it is with the greatest pleasure to announce that Ruairi will also be the Carpinteria Liaison. Ruairi is a 16 year resident of Carpinteria, raising his family in this tight-knit coastal community. Originally from Ireland, he brings his love of travel to assist tourists visiting our community to enjoy all that the South Coast has to offer. In this role he will continue to manage our two visitor centers, while also having an increased presence in Carpinteria to assist our Carpinteria member businesses. We will be announcing a special meet & greet event in October with more information to follow. For any questions, please contact Ruairi at Ruairi@sbscchamber.com

Join us for a morning of Business 2 Business Virtual Networking on Thursday, September 23rd at 9 AM with a special sponsor presentation by COX, a 20 second commercial from all attendees, and some great raffle items!

It is not too late to register for this event, click here.

Our Business-2-Business Network is one of our premier events held on the 4th Thursday of each month.

If you are interested in sponsoring a B2B Virtual Networking Event in 2022, please contact Michele Schneider at 805.967.2500 x105 or Michele@sbscchamber.com

Last week California State Treasurer Fiona Ma held a zoom meeting to provide information on the CalSavers Retirements Savings Program, or CalSavers. If you are an employer with 5 or more employees you are required to give your employees access to CalSavers unless you already offer a company-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k). The deadline to adopt the new program has been predicated on employee headcount: more than 100 employees by September 30, 2020, more than 50 employees by June 30, 2021 and 5 or more employees by June 30, 2022. To learn more about the program click here.

In August the Chamber Public Policy Committee welcomed several guest speakers on a variety of issues. Jaime Diamond of Santa Barbara Sportfishing with Ken Franke of the Sportfishing Association of California presented on the CARB (California Air Resources Board) Harbor Craft Rule and the potential negative impacts to the sportfishing industry and other commercial harbor crafts. Click here to view the presentation. Garrett Wong and Ashley Watkins from the County of Santa Barbara presented on the County’s One Climate Initiative and 2030 Climate Action Plan.
To learn more, click here.

Elizabeth Funk, Founder of Dignity Moves, presented on a proposal for interim supportive housing for the homeless as a bridge program to affordable and permanent housing. To view the presentation, click here. To contact Elizabeth Funk, click here.

Join the conversation on addressing homelessness and its impact on the Goleta community. The City of Goleta, the County, City Net and SB Act have partnered to continue efforts on solving the homeless crisis in Goleta. We invite businesses to participate in the conversation and report on the impacts your businesses are facing from homelessness. Every 4th Monday of the month the Goleta Rap invites local businesses and residents to engage in the conversation and share their experiences. To join this meeting next Monday, September 27th from 9 AM to 10 AM via zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87413377706

Last week’s Hospitality Committee held an in-depth discussion on the busy summer season. As a result, our State Street Visitor Center welcomed 6,664 visitors and 1,519 visitors at our Garden Street Visitor Center in August. The committee continued discussion on the impacts the industry is facing due to homelessness and remain engaged in the weekly RAP meetings. It was reported that the Cruise Ship program will remain on hold until the Spring of 2022. As we look toward the fall, the industry is beginning to see a decrease in tourist numbers but remain hopeful for a consistent flow of visitors to the area.

The Chamber of Commerce and the Carpinteria Community Awards Committee was excited to hold the Carpinteria Awards Gala this October, but due to changing conditions surrounding the Delta variant, we are sad to announce the postponement of the 2021 Carpinteria Community Awards Gala to 2022.
For press release, click here.

To wrap up our highlights we will put our focus on our Hospitality Committee, as well as the work that we have been doing to help with tourism recovery in our community. Our Visitor Centers continue to act as a safe and smart travel hub for tourists and locals alike as well as a resource to our businesses. If you want more information about what is happening in our community regarding things to do and a tourism update please email Ruairi@SBSCChamber.com to be added to our email list.

To read about our Hospitality Committee, click here.
To read about our Mergerversary newsletter, click here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, August 30, 2021

CONTACT:
Stephanie Armstrong, Chief Marketing Officer
Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce
Phone: 805.967.2500 Ext. 102
Email: Stephanie@SBSCChamber.com

Chamber Postpones 2021 Carpinteria Community Awards Gala

CARPINTERIA, CA – The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, from Goleta to Carpinteria, must announce the postponement of the 2021 Carpinteria Community Awards Gala. The Chamber of Commerce and the Carpinteria Community Awards Committee were excited to hold the popular event this October, but due to changing conditions surrounding the Delta variant, we have made the difficult decision to reschedule the event to 2022.

The Chamber is eager to continue the important tradition of celebrating the Carpinterian of the Year, Jr. Carpinterian of the Year, Educators of the Year, local non-profits, and volunteers. During this difficult time, our communities continue to be resilient, and our focus is to celebrate when the time is right. An official announcement will be sent with a new date as soon as we are able to reschedule the event.

The Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber, from Goleta to Carpinteria, continues to navigate the COVID-19 Pandemic and we are working diligently to determine when in-person events can come back safely. Our first in-person outdoor event is the State of the County, scheduled for September 30th at the Hilton Beachfront Outdoor Rotunda.

The Chamber is enthusiastic about bringing back networking mixers and in-person breakfasts along with our signature business and community events as soon as possible.

For questions about upcoming virtual events and future event plans, please contact Chelsea Weininger, Events Coordinator, at Chelsea@SBSCChamber.com.

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