Fellow member: 

Celebrating Kelly Boyd: I suppose one of the most important things that has happened in Laguna this month is the change of ownership of the Marine Room, the iconic bar in downtown Laguna. Chamber of Commerce member Kelly Boyd, former Laguna Mayor and current City Councilman, has operated the MarBar for over twenty six years. Kelly has been a strong supporter of the Chamber, and will continue to be on the City Council.    

Kelly has sold his bar to recent Chamber President Chris Keller, owner of Casa del Camino, K'ya, The Rooftop, and House of Big Fish and Ice Cold Beer. Chris is obviously no stranger to the tastes of Laguna residents and guests.                                                                        

Chris and Kelly celebrated the transfer of ownership with two parties, one on Tuesday (November 27) and the other the following Wednesday. We wish both success in their newly renovated lives!

Hospitality Night: Everybody knows about the Chamber sponsored Hospitality Night-it's the night when Santa arrives in town, everybody in town comes downtown to party, and the town is a sparkling sea of lights. And that will happen in a few days, on December 7, starting at 5 pm. Come on down and enjoy the happenings.

Laguna's radio station: Laguna's own radio station, KX 93.5 (FM) will be broadcasting from Hospitality Night this year. If you have not tuned in to 93.5, you will find it is a delightful mix of Generational Alt Rock from the 1960's to today, particularly offering local musicians a chance to be on the radio. You can also listen to 93.5 at http://www.KX935.com. You will also discover that, in addition to Alt Rock, KX935 offers talk radio discussing local politics, health, surf culture and more-in short, a huge variety of interesting topics.

KX 93.5 is a 501(c)(3) (fully tax deductible) charity, so you get a tax deduction for becoming a supporter. To contribute, go to http://www.KX935.com/support.

Installation Dinner and Spirit of Laguna Awards: Do you know a business, organization or person who should be honored by your Chamber of Commerce? You could make that happen for them at the Spirit of Laguna Awards, presented at the Chamber Installation Dinner at Tivoli Too on January 25. Send a brief note explaining who and why to Michael@Kinsmans.com I will pass that information on to the selection committee. And be sure to come to the installation dinner, where a lot of fun things, including the Spirit Awards, will happen.

I have a couple of postponements to announce. To my chagrin, we ran out of time to get all of the approvals necessary for the Christmas lighting contest I had hoped to have for 2012. Look for it in 2013-and if you plan an outstanding 2012 light display, please let me know so I can highlight it in my next President's letter.

We have also rescheduled the First Chamber Golf Tournament to a more golfer-friendly spring date. Watch for details.

As always, if you have questions please email me or a member of the Board. And remember, if you like what the Chamber is doing, get your neighboring businesses to join-our membership is at a multi-year high right now, and we are taking our place as an organization that gets things done in Laguna.