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In This Issue
Citizen(s) of the Year Named
Annual Meeting of Members
Frosty Returns
Rose Float Events
H1N1 Seminar
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Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce
Weekly Update - THERE WILL BE NO COFFEE WITH THE CHAMBER CHRISTMAS EVE OR NEW YEAR'S EVE.  PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN US FOR COFFEE WITH THE CHAMBER AFTER THE NEW YEAR, BEGINNING JAN. 7TH.
Greetings!

Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas?  That seems to be the big question.  Well, we hope you have a wonderful "whatever you celebrate!"  Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa!  As a friend said to me recently, "Who cares what you say, as long as you respond kindly?"  We wish YOU the joy that comes with celebrating with family and friends whatever holiday it is that you celebrate, as well as a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!

Dr. Paul Neiby and Wife Louise Named 2009 Citizen(s) of the Year by Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce

Louise and Dr. Paul NeibyThe Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday that for the first time, it has named two people as its Citizen(s) of the Year. Dr. Paul Neiby and his wife Louise (click photo to enlarge) were chosen to receive the Chamber's 2009 Citizen(s) of the Year award. Chamber president Matt Krantz presented the couple with a bouquet of flowers as the announcement was made by Susan Henderson, a member of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and president of Sierra Madre Kiwanis. The couple were nominated for the Chamber's annual honor by Kiwanis, of which Dr. Neiby is a long-time member and former president. Louise Neiby, while not officially a member of Kiwanis, is also actively involved with the organization. "Paul will sometimes volunteer for things, and then Louise makes it happen" said one Kiwanian, noting that Louise cooks the sausage for the organization's annual pancake breakfast, and the corn bread that is served with the chili annually when Kiwanis provides dinner for the volunteers at the Sierra Madre Rose Float barn during the Rose Float Association's decoration week.



Louise is a member of the Sierra Madre Garden Club, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Sierra Madre Historical Preservation Society. Dr. Neiby is also active with the Historical Preservation Society and has been described as one of the driving forces behind the Society's recently released history of Sierra Madre titled "Southern California Story: Seeking the Better Life in Sierra Madre" by Michelle Zack, a project that was eight years in the making.



Dr. Neiby is also actively supporting the Kiwanis and Sierra Madre Fire Safe Council's efforts to finance the town's new AM radio station, which will be used to update Sierra Madreans with the latest news and information during emergencies. He sat on the Library Board of Trustees, and spearheaded the continuation of the Library's Oral History Project after the death of the project's originator Janie Kisstner. Over the last seven years, Neiby has overseen the interviewing of forty local Sierra Madreans of note, creating an important audio archive for local historians. Dr. Neiby also served on the Senior Commission, and enthusiastically supported the renovation of the Hart Park House, used as the town's Senior Center. Dr. Neiby in 2008 received the George Maurer Lifetime Achievement award for his contributions to Sierra Madre.



He received his medical education at the Universities of Iowa and Pennsylvania. In 1961, he joined the Navy and was assigned to Okinawa, prior to the Vietnam War. He was an attending surgery staff member at USC for seventeen years. Louise was also in the medical field, she is a retired nurse.



The announcement was made at Ramada at a gathering of the couple's friends and members of Sierra Madre Kiwanis. Ramada is the historic back house on the Neiby property, built in 1931 to enclose the (formerly) outdoor fireplace built by prior property owner Gutzon Borglum, the designer and sculptor of Mt. Rushmore. Dr. Neiby bought the property in 1976, prior to his 1983 marriage to Louise.



The Sierra Madre Chamber has honored a Citizen of the Year annually since 1966. The Neiby's will be feted at the Chamber's annual Citizen of the Year Dinner, which also serves as the Installation Dinner for the incoming Chamber Board of Directors. The dinner will be held in the Chandelier Room at Santa Anita Park on January 29, 2010. Tickets for the dinner are $60, with a table for ten available at a reduced rate. Dinner will be preceded by a cocktail hour featuring jazz performed by the Mercy Powell Quartet. For information about the dinner, contact the Chamber at (626) 355-5111 or visit the Chamber's website at www.SierraMadreChamber.com and click on the link to the "What's New" page.

Annual Meeting of Members to be Held January 6, 2010
The Sierra Madre Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual Members' Meeting on Jan. 6th at 6:30pm in the Conference Room at City Hall, 232 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.  At the meeting, the ballots from the election of the Board of Directors for 2010 will be counted.  Members may bring their ballots, sent via U. S. Mail this week, to the meeting to be included in the tally.  All members - check your mail!
Frosty Returns to Kersting Court
On Saturday the 19th, Frosty returned to Kersting Court.  Since 1988, Frosty has been appearing in downtown Sierra Madre.  Andrew Graper, who was one of the original "snowman builders" provided the photo of the first Frosty.  Last weekend, as has happened the last several years, Andrew was joined by Dave Forrester and Augie Beck and friends in building this year's snowman, shown at right.  Click on an image to see it larger.
 Frosty 1988       Frosty 2009
1988 Photo courtesy of Andrew Graper     2009 Photo by Bill Coburn
Rose Float Event Schedule
 

Sierra Madre Rose Float Events:

"California Girls: Parade Entry Number:  64

First Judging: Wednesday, January 30th @ 10:23AM-Float Barn

Final Judging: Thursday, January 31st @ 10:23AM-Volleyball Court (No Rain)

Float Dedication: Thursday, January 31st @ 5:30PM-Float Barn

Kersting Court Stopover: Thursday, January 31st @ 6:15PM-Kersting Court Bus Stop

Tournament of Roses Parade: Friday, January 1st @ 8AM-Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena

Tournament of Roses Post Parade: Friday, January 1st @ 1PM-5PM; Saturday & Sunday, January 2 & 3rd @ 9AM-5PM, Sierra Madre Blvd. & Washington, Pasadena (Early Open for Seniors/Handicapped)

California Girls Float Display: Monday, January 4th @ 8AM-5PM-Kersting Court, Sierra Madre

State Compensation Insurance FundState Compensation Insurance Fund to Host Free Seminar on Preparing your Business for H1N1 and Other Diseases  

In response to confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza (swine flu), both the U.S. Department of Health and Huma Services and the World Health Organization (WHO) have issued alerts.
 
Public health officials predict that worker absentee rates will increase over the next several months.  This includes not just sick employees, but people who need to care for others who are sick, and those avoiding the workploace out of fear of getting sick.
 
State Compensation Insurance Fund will host a free seminar On January 26, 2010 from 8:30am to 12pm at their Monterey Park Regional Office at 900 Corporate Center Drive in Monterey Park.  In this seminar, they will show you the concepts of busines continuity planning and how you might apply them to your business.  They will also explain how to respond to infectious disease emergencies and protect your employees during a pandemic.
 

Guest speakers will be Michael Petrie, EMT-P, MBA, MA, Director of the Emergency Management Sciences Program at the UC Berkeley Center for Infectious Disease and Emergency Readiness, and Michael R. Wilkinson, AA.  Chief Wilkinson is the Stanislaus County Deputy Fire Warden with responsibility for supervising the Emergency Management Division.

Registration and complimentary breakfast begin at 8am.  For more information about this seminar including registration information, click here to download the pamphlet from the Chamber website.  (Be forewarned, it's a tri-fold, so it's going to look like it's upside down at first).

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