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Enjoy a free Trolley Ride
to the Ventura Harbor!
 Thousands of visitors and Ventura County residents alike are enjoying free rides from downtown Ventura and other locations in the city to Ventura Harbor Village, thanks to a new trolley service that launched July 3.
The 25-passenger Downtown-Harbor Trolley is owned by the Downtown Ventura Partnership (DVP) but has many sponsors and partners. Operations are funded through a partnership with the Ventura Port District, Ventura Harbor Village, the Rhumb Line Restaurant, the Ventura County Fairgrounds and the City of Ventura, with additional support from local government agencies and businesses including Island Packers and Andria's Seafood Restaurant & Market, according to the Ventura Visitors & Convention Bureau.
The Downtown-Harbor Trolley runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every week on Wednesday through Sunday and Mondays that fall on major holidays.
The route is a 45-minute loop that starts at the Amtrak Platform at the Fairgrounds on Harbor Boulevard. It then stops at the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau on the corner of California and Santa Clara streets. It then makes it way along Pierpont Boulevard for a stop at Pierpont and South Seaward Avenue. The trolley then heads to the Rhumb Line Restaurant, 1510 Anchors Way, with a final stop at Ventura Harbor Village. The trolley will also pick up passengers from local beach hotels.
The trolley has been a huge success so far. In its first week alone, the trolley had 1,000 riders, including local residents and out-of-town visitors, said Marlyss Auster, executive director of the Ventura Visitors and Convention Bureau.
If you're wondering where the trolley is, call the driver at 805-827-4444 for a location update or hotel pick-up. Info: www.venturatrolley.com.
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Ventura Law Firm
Has New Website
 The Ventura law firm of Hathaway Perrett Webster Powers Chrisman & Gutierrez recently unveiled its new website, prepared by Whisenhunt Communications. Graphic designer Cindy Daly worked on the design, WC's Joan Phelps took new photos of the attorneys and offices, and Amy Bentley assisted with editing and proofreading.
Cindy started out with a site that a previous designer had created and customized it for the firm, making several improvements such as creating new pages and adding new graphics on pages for different practice areas. Joan took new photos of the attorneys and various interior photos of the law firm's offices. All the text was updated throughout the site as well, to keep it fresh and current.
Hathaway Perrett Webster Powers Chrisman & Gutierrez was founded in Ventura in 1961. The attorneys' areas of practice include corporate and business law; litigation; estates; trusts; tax and legacy planning; employment law; real estate and land use; education law; franchise law; admiralty and maritime law; and general practice.
Please visit www.hathawaylawfirm.com and check out the new website. Whisenhunt Communications is happy to help any client whose website needs updating or an entirely new look.
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Port District Welcomes New Commissioner; Jim Friedman
is Re-Appointed
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Jim Friedman (left) and Bruce Smith
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The Ventura Port District welcomes Bruce Smith as its newest member of the Board of Port Commissioners. Smith, a retired planner for the County of Ventura and a longtime Ventura resident, was appointed June 15. Commissioner Jim Friedman also was appointed to a new four-year term. Friedman's and Smith's new terms end June 30, 2017.
Smith is a retired planning manager and former associate planner with the County of Ventura Resource Management Agency, where he worked for more than 28 years. Before that, Smith worked for the city of Oxnard Planning Department as an assistant planner. In 2009 he received the County of Ventura Management Award for Integrity.
"One of the things I've always wanted to do was to give back to the community that I've loved," said Smith, a Ventura resident for more than 40 years.
Among Smith's goals are to ensure the economic sustainability and viability of the Port District and the Harbor. He also would like to work more closely with city officials and merchants for the Harbor's benefit.
Friedman joined the Port District Board in August 2012, when he was appointed to finish the remaining term of the late Commissioner Keith Turner. Friedman is the current Board vice chairman. An employee benefit and retirement planning specialist for 35 years, Friedman previously served a Ventura City Council member, from 1995 to 2003, and he was Ventura's mayor from 1997 to 1999.
Friedman said the Port District Board faces challenges, including pursuing capital improvement projects that have been deferred, and that his financial experience will help the Board.
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Agromin Named 19th District's Small Business of the Year
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Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson presents Bill Camarillo with the 19th California Senate District's Small Business of the Year award.
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Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson has named Harrison Industries strategic partner Agromin as the Small Business of the Year for the 19th California Senate District. The district encompasses a majority of Ventura County and all of Santa Barbara County.
Agromin CEO Bill Camarillo was on hand in Sacramento on June 10 to accept the honor, with 70 other businesses in the state. The ceremony was part of California Small Business Day, which has been observed since 2000 by the California Small Business Association.
"This is a small but pioneering business," Jackson said. "I think it's a terrific example right here in our community of a small business. Small businesses are the backbone of our community."
Before 1993, most grass clippings, tree branches and leaves from the front and back yards ended up in local landfills. But, for the past two decades, Harrison trucks have transported the yard waste from homes in the brown curbside containers to Agromin. Agromin uses cutting-edge technology to convert almost 380,000 tons of yard waste materials each year into its organic mulches, compost, wood chips and other products that naturally fertilize plants and trees.
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Longtime Employees
Honored by CMHS
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Gary Wilde, CMHS President & CEO and Bonita Altman, CMHS Laundry Worker II in the Laundry Department, who was honored for her 45 years of service.
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Community Memorial Health System honored 326 employees at its annual Employee Recognition Dinner, including one employee with 45 years of service, one with 40 years and three others who celebrated their 35th anniversary with CMHS.
CMHS recognized scores of employees at the event who together have cared for patients and supported healthcare in a variety of jobs at Community Memorial Hospital, Ojai Valley Community Hospital and CMHS's 11 Centers for Family Health offices in Ventura County. This year's awards banquet was held June 14 at the Ventura Beach Marriott.
Bonita Altman, Laundry Worker II in the Laundry Department, was honored for her 45 years of service. Carmen Chacon, Medical Support Clerk III in Physical Therapy, was honored for 40 years. Leora Chrestman, Assistant Director Medical Records in Health Information; Judy Drew, RN Case Manager in Utilization Review; and Sally Molenhouse, Clinical Lab Scientist in Pathology, were honored for 35 years of service.
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Social Media Is a Great Small Business Tool
A recent survey by HubSpot, a marketing software company, reports that 52 percent of marketers have found leads through Facebook so far in 2013, and 43 percent of marketers have found customers through LinkedIn and company blogs.
The numbers demonstrate that social media continues to be a cost-effective marketing choice. Still, most businesses will need someone to manage their social media, in order to keep it fresh.
Businesses don't have to pay to use Facebook or Instagram but it takes human power to work these free resources. Businesses should consider that it's far less expensive to have someone manage the company's social media than it is to spend thousands of dollars or radio or print advertising, with the successes hard to gauge. On Facebook and other social media, you can see or measure your reach in real numbers.
Oftentimes, all it takes is a small time investment to reach broad audiences with social media. Using a social media management system like HootSuite can help. HootSuite helps businesses and organizations execute campaigns across multiple social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tumblr and more, from one secure, web-based dashboard.
If you're not using social media as much as you should to promote your business, contact Whisenhunt Communications to help.
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Check Out WC's
Website
Visit Whisenhunt Communications' Website www.whizcomm.biz.
Read about the company and its team of media and graphics experts.
Founded in 1990, Whisenhunt Communications specializes in helping businesses, school districts, governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations reach targeted audiences.
The firm's many diverse clients make enormous contributions to the community and the public relations firm has been instrumental in helping them accomplish their goals.
All Whisenhunt associates have extensive experience with print and digital media.
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