More than 200 Chamber members replied to the annual membership survey that gathered information and opinions to help the Chamber improve its events and services.

Not surprisingly, 45 percent of those responding sited the economy as their biggest concern. Thirty seven percent said the Chamber's main function should be to support a strong local economy and 30 percent said we needed to support the community. We did okay on how well we meet those goals but you also said we can do better.

In looking at those expectations, we are looking at our communication methods and seeing if we can come up with ways to better let you know what the Chamber is doing to meet your expectations. Also, if you have ideas please e-mail them to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call me at 743-6501.

I did want to share with you some of the recent activities of the Chamber committees and staff that you might not know about.

Promoting a Strong Local Economy

Every day, the Chamber staff is taking calls from people looking for information about the community and local businesses. Over the past several weeks the Chamber staff and volunteers began receiving the traditional summer calls. Those calls included getting information about the Sleep Train Amphitheatre, finding out where the Yuba City Farmers Market is now, calling for details about the new Gauche Aquatic Park and looking for places to stay with an RV in the foothills.

Callers included a woman looking for the name of a relative's new business to send a gift, callers finding a business that recently changed its name, a woman who needed resources to help her aging mother whose home had fallen into disrepair and another woman who was looking for people who give riding lessons to children. An Ohio man called for the historic landmarks brochure he found on the tourism web site to surprise his wife when they come to the area to visit.

Our clubs and halls for rent list is popular as people in the area plan weddings. It is available online at www.yubasutterchamber.com.

Our tourism effort included placing print and online advertising in Sunset and VIA magazines. That has generated more than 500 requests for Visitors Guides to date. Thanks to tourism funding from the cities and counties, we increased the re-print of our popular Farm Stands map to 10,000 copies. The Tourism Committee also printed 7,500 copies of a "Walking Tour of Marysville" with a user-friendly map included. All of these products will be going to the state fair in Sacramento and have been distributed to more than 100 locations.

Chamber volunteers served on the Yuba City Economic Development Task Force and the Chamber was asked to partner with the California Public Utilities Commission on a  small business expo and matchmaking session to get more small businesses working with state agencies. That will be in November.

We met visitors from Salt Lake City and San Diego who were looking for something to do for the day and helped a gentleman from Lincoln find restaurants in Marysville to meet up with friends he hadn't seen in years. A couple considering re-locating from Washington, D.C., also called for information about the area. A couple from Chico called to plan a day-trip to the area.

Oh, and we hosted the fifth Shop Local Festival with 50 vendors at the Raley's Shopping Center.