October 2010 Newsletter From the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce

October, 2010
Cushman

Chamber enters contract with Tin Roof. The Chamber is delighted to announce a partnership with Tin Roof. We will present a seminar on the application and how it can benefit any retailer, restaurant or service provider on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 1:30 PM at the chamber conference room. Rsvp to jbeck@systenomics.com. Tin Roof is the iPhone app that helps you find and buy from locally owned businesses. With location awareness, built-in deals and opportunities are easy to find, use and share. WEA™ powered means merchants only pay when customers come to their place of business. Key features are, Merchants and Users are compensated for spreading the word and a percentage of that revenue can automatically be directed to the charity of the User's choosing or to the Users' personal account.

Chamber and CEC to produce energy seminar with Nikkei International. The Chamber and the Community Environmental Council will present a January seminar on unique energy products from Japan specifically for the hospitality industry. Nikkei International will sponsor the seminar. The CC and CEC hope to create a dialogue and innovative thinking on the part of local builders, architects and the hospitality industry as it relates to energy savings. Space is limited; if you are interested in attending, contact Steve Cushman (steve@sbchamber.org)

Chamber Board of Directors endorses Measure Q and R. The Chamber Board of Directors endorses Measures Q and R on the ballot for the November election. These are renewals of bond sales to benefit the Santa Barbara Elementary and High School districts. The Chamber endorsed the previous bonds in an earlier election. Details on the measures can be seen at www.smartvoter.org.

Chamber awards first HUB International " Young Entrepreneur Micro Loan." Darren and Tom Caesar, representing HUB International, have provided the seed money for the first Chamber micro loan. The loan is being awarded to Ed Dent and his new company Chelsea Jewelers.

The Chamber has established a scholarship program for students at Santa Barbara City College (Chance for Change). The Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation administers the scholarship program. Currently ten students attend City College on Chamber scholarships. The scholarships are targeted for students who have left youth gangs or are at risk of joining youth gangs.

As a link to the City College scholarship program, the Chamber will utilize referral resources from City College Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation to identify young student entrepreneurs who may wish to apply for a Chamber Microloan for their business. The Chamber will create a loan committee to approve applicant loans and assign optional mentors.

The Chamber short-term objective is to fund a test program of five (5) new microloans in 2010. The long-term objective is to raise a fund of at least $100,000.00 to support this business development effort.

Santa Barbara AIA nominates Michael Holliday for membership in National Fellows Society. It has been nearly two decades since Ken Kruger, FAIA, Santa Barbara's only living Fellow, that an AIA member from Santa Barbara has been elevated to Fellowship. Only about 3% of the AIA architects in the country are elevated to FAIA status and only about 30% of Fellowship candidates are accepted their first year of consideration. Just to be nominated is a great honor for Michael. We all wish him the best of luck.