OFFICERSchair of the board ERIC HOWARD • Bruce’s Tire, Inc.

Past chairman KATHERINE FILICE • Articulate Solutins

chairman of the board-elect ERIC GEBHARDT • Hilton Garden Inn

secretary/treasurer DAVID MATUSZAK, Ed.D. • Santa Clara County R.O.P.

Vc oPerations & deVeloPment JAN PEAT • McDonald’s of Gilroy

Vc Public affairs KRISTINA CHAVEZ WYATT • Farmhouse Communications

Vc business Programs & serVices DEBBI SANCHEZ • Fortino Winery

Vc marKeting & communications JULIE ALTER • Recology South Valley

BOARD OF DIRECTORS BRIGITTE NICHOLLS • Santa Barbara Bank & Trust CHAR MARRAZZO • Ellington Financial LLC LISA CASSARA • Coldwell Banker GREG GIUSIANA • Retired Police Chief GREG GALLUP • Cintas Corporation

CHAMBER STAFF Susan Valenta • President/CEO Michelle Garcia • Administrative Assistant Chris Bevilacqua • Administrative Assistant Rosie Vogel • Administrative Assistant Sue Thurman • Business Relationship Manager

WELCOME CENTER STAFF Jane Howard • Executive Director Pam Gimenez • Office Coordinator Tracy Romero • Retail Service Coordinator

edc staff Tammy Brownlow • President/CEO

focus Production staff EDITOR • Susan Valenta, President/CEO Gilroy Chamber of Commerce

PRODUCTION & DESIGN • J. Chris Mickartz InfoPOWER Communications

PHOTOGRAPHY • Larry Mickartz InfoPOWER Communications

7471 Monterey Street • Gilroy, CA 95020 web: www.gilroy.org e-mail: chamber@gilroy.org phone: (408) 842-6437

Gilroy Chamber of Commerce

ERIC HOWARD 2012 Chair of the BoardGilroy Chamber ofCommerce

SUSAN VALENTA President/CEOGilroy Chamber ofCommerce

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR OF THE BOARD

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

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Page 2 Gilroy Business Focus I October 2012

THE PEOPLE OF GILROY will have spoken and the next group of City Council leaders will be set. Throughout the election season we speak with and listen to candidates about local issues. But then, what?

Political issues and campaign promises are no less important once the campaign rhetoric is over. If fact, this is when we should be testing the integrity and principals of our leaders. We must keep talking and hold our leaders accountable for the promises and decisions they make. However, communication with deci-sion makers should not be limited to our local leaders.

Now, more than ever, the effects

Keeping The Lines Of Communication Openof decisions made outside our city limits are having a greater affect on our businesses and quality of life than those of our local leaders. Examples include State pillaging of local coffers compounded by lack of funding for critical programs such as regional transportation improvements. Some of our County decision makers also intend to “go to the well again” for sales taxes. Outside decision makers will not act in Gilroy’s best interest unless we speak with one loud voice and demand attention and action.

If our leaders do not act in our best interest, we must hold them accountable. Conversely, if we are

THE COUNTDOWN IS BEGINNING, and I have a proposition for you -- let’s get engaged.

Every registered voter will be receiving information in the mail on local, state, and federal elections. There will be ballot measures and Propositions that, at times, can be confusing. In addition, you will be bombarded with sound-bites to help you make a decision without hav-ing to read through all the material. Don’t fall for it!

The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce takes pride in represent-ing the interests of business with government. The positions we take go through a process where we thor-oughly review and vet issues through the Government Relations Committee and then present recommendations to the Chamber Board for final approval. Although we would love to take on every ballot measure, limited resources prevent us from doing so.

Want To Be Engaged?

complacent or indifferent about deci-sions that affect us, we must also hold ourselves accountable.

Your Chamber leadership will be meeting with local, regional and State leaders to clearly communicate our expectations and demands. Your Chamber leaders, in turn, invite our members to communicate their expec-tations and hold us accountable.

We are, however, confident in the ones we have been able to vet:

no on Proposition 30 – Sales Tax and income tax increase

yes on Proposition 32 – Paycheck protection initiative

no on measure a – County sales tax increase

yes on measure b – Santa Clara Valley Water District parcel tax extension

support for rob bernosky for Assembly District 28

Each of these positions was pub-lically reported to our members with reasons why it would be beneficial or detrimental from a business per-spective. In the case of Proposition 30, we continue to stand firm, even with the Pension Reform law signed by Governor Brown that promises to save taxpayers billions of dollars.

It is estimated to save $42 - $55 billion over 30 years; however, this is only 10% of the actual unfunded liability. Additionally, the bill the gov-ernor signed did not include a hybrid 401(k)-style plan so that some of the investment risk would be absorbed by the employees – just like in private industry -- and the bill did nothing to address the skyrocketing health care costs we, as taxpayers, are obligated to absorb. This Pension Reform law was a gimmick to dem-onstrate to voters that the government has made a good faith effort to con-trol an out-of-control system in hopes

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What’s New continued from page five

October 2012 I Gilroy Business Focus Page 9

of Distinction” from International Academy of the Visual Arts.

• Social media strategies imple-mented - GWC website blog, enhanced Facebook page and Constant Contact outreach pro-moting local events and attrac-tions.

Numerous additional activities were completed during the year all supporting the goals and objectives adopted by the GWC board of directors.

Finally, a reminder the GWC October events calendar has a num-ber of local activities listed including Downtown Historical Walking Tour, Tarantulafest at Coe Park, Pumpkin Junction at Casa de Fruta, Gilroy Gardens “Scary Boo” and Wineries of Santa Clara Valley Passport Weekend. For more details visit www.gilroywelcomecenter.org and click on the Events tab.

and Special Olympics of Northern California. Visit the website for up-to-date information.

Laura Wrede, writer, photographer, and small business brand consultant at PhotoGirlStudio.com com-pleted all coursework at the Yahoo! Academy this month. She is now a Level Three Certified Yahoo! Writer (the highest certification Yahoo! offers to its contributing writers). Courses included Branding, SEO Strategies, Writing for the Web, and Mastering Facebook and Twitter.

Patti Tartaglia (The Food Fixx) announced the location of Patti’s Perfect Pantry 15750 Vineyard

Avenue in Morgan Hill. Specializing in a host of food items from artisan baked goods that are glu-ten-free and dairy free.

Check out her website at pattisperfectpantry.com.

If you are like most business owners, you’re an expert within your particu-lar industry. But, you probably don’t have the background or time to iden-tify and address some of the financial issues that can help ensure long-term success. From retirement and pension plans to a host of tax-advantaged financial solutions, Jeff Orth has the resources to bring you solutions for your business needs. Every business is different and there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for success. Give Jeffery M.Orth, ChFC, CASL with Integrated Financial Benefits Network a call at 408-842-2716 to see how he can help guide you and your business on a road to suc-cess. ifitfinancial.com

Having an effective and efficient workforce is critical in today’s business environment. Gavilan College’s Community Education Department has training courses available to meet your workforce training needs. In October, they are offering the following classes: Excel; Word; PowerPoint; Selling Your Ideas and Inventions; iPhones, iPads and I’m

lost!; Notary Public Training and much more. In addition to these classes, they have hundreds of online classes that allow your employees to be trained at your site at times that fit their schedule. A few of these include: QuickBooks, Fundamentals of Supervision and Management, Accounting Fundamentals, Boosting Your Website Traffic, Small Business Marketing on a Shoestring, Project Management, Customer Service and much more. Check out their website at GavilanCE.com or call 408-852-2801 to get a copy of their current brochure.

Sherry Boyer, owner of The Dog House Inn celebrated the fifth

anniversary of her popular dog lodging, daycare, and training facil-ity. Located at 8525 D Forest Street in Gilroy, a complete list of

services are available at doghouse-inn.com or call 842-5600.

that voters would support Proposition 30 – we do not buy it.

Proposition 32 on the other hand is a good thing. It would ban both corporate and union contributions to state and local candidates; ban contributions by government contrac-tors to the politicians who control contracts awarded to them; and ban automatic deductions by corpora-tions, unions, and government of employees’ wages to be used for politics. Quite simply, it evens the playing field for everyone. As citi-zens, you should not expect anything less.

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Congratulations to Weston Miles Architects, Inc., recently named by the California Air Resources Board, Cool California Small Business of the Year for their ongoing

practice of inte-grating energy efficiency and education into their own offices and operations, as well as for their efforts on

behalf of clients. Their offices in the Granary, Morgan Hill, transformed this historical landmark into a state-of-the-art multi-unit office building that includes day-lighting, natural ventila-tion and energy efficient mechani-cal units to minimize the building’s carbon footprint. Visit them for a tour at 17500 Depot Street, Ste.120 in Morgan Hill or a wmarchitects.com. 408-779-6686

The Chamber’s positions on Measure A (opposition to county sales tax increase), Measure B (extension of the Santa Clara Valley Water District parcel tax), and endorsement of Rob Bernosky for State Assembly are all sound and had a sound vetting process.

The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce stands up for business – we encourage active engagement – it can lead to the perfect marriage.

The Chamber’s positions on Measure A (opposition to county sales tax increase), Measure B (extension of the Santa Clara Valley Water District parcel tax), and endorsement of Rob Bernosky for

State Assembly are all sound and had a sound vetting process.

The Gilroy Chamber of Commerce stands up for business – we encourage active engagement – it can lead to the perfect marriage.

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