Rich Gabel, Chairman of the Board 

Well, it's hard to believe we're already on the back side of 2008. One thing I have learned in my experience as Chairman of the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce is that this organization has momentum beyond compare.

When I addressed those in attendance at our annual dinner in January I mentioned that my job description is pretty simple (1) keep things going and (2) don't mess it up. It's actually simpler than that, more like "don't get in the way".

When I stood back and took stock of the Chamber's accomplishments from January through June, I was truly amazed. Here are some, not nearly all, of the accomplishments so far:

There have been 28 ribbon cuttings for new members, coordinated & performed by the Ambassadors.

Our Government Affairs Committee has further refined its protocol for issue consideration; it has taken positions on Measure R & Propositions 97/99 dealing with eminent domain; we reiterated our support of the proposed Indian Casino during the EIS hearings; Bob Harlan, Past-Chairman co-moderated the Yuba and Sutter County candidates' debates for the June elections.

There were six Business After Hours Events, again organized by our Ambassadors (we couldn't get by without their help). The BAH's were held at Larry Geweke Ford, Baymont Inn & Suites, Sutter North Medical Foundation, Gauche Aquatic Park, Comfort Suites, and Hi Tech Electric.

There have been 6 Business Connection Breakfasts where those who attended learned about Enterprise Zone benefits, State of the Counties, Generation "Me", E Commerce Tips, the history of Marysville and Yuba City, and Gang issues.

Two New Member Orientations were held to acquaint and re-acquaint members with the long list of Chamber benefits available for the taking.

A very successful Shop Local Festival was held in May at the Raley's parking lot. Approximately 60 merchants were on hand to underscore the value and benefits of keeping our shopping $'s here in the Yuba-Sutter community.

Three Legislative Lunches have been held; the first featured Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa and Rick Keene; Senator Sam Aanastad was our guest of honor at the second one, then Congressman Wally Herger.

The monthly Chamber Challenge game show was launched. The format includes fun and interesting local trivia questions plus $500 each month going to the charity of the winner's choice. So far, Gauche Aquatic Park, Family Soup, Virginia School, 2 PTO's, and the Yuba City Girls BB Team have benefited.

Through the Workforce Development Awards program approximately $21,000 has been provided to individuals enabling them to continue or re-start their education.

Our tourism website has been vastly improved; since January, it has seen 15,000 new visitors and over 40,000 page views. Advertisements promoting our area have been run in Sunset, Via, and Gold Country Getaways publications. Almost 900 Visitor Guides have been distributed; we are very close to having secured funding to continue our tourism efforts through 2009. Check it out at www.visityubasutter.com.

LEAD Yuba^Sutter graduated 17 students in June; their curriculum included visits to Beale AFB, Sunsweet, Tarke Farms, different area schools and the legislative floor at the State Capitol; LEAD completed a beautification project at Ella School. An ethics and leadership symposium was also held by LEAD alumni.

10,000 Farmstand Maps were printed, up from 7,500 a year ago. By the end of the California State Fair almost all will have been distributed.

The Chamber and the Sutter-Yuba Association of Realtors will co-venture to update our area map. A very good agreement was reached with a new map producer to update the maps for the next 3 editions.

The Chamber joined the Beale Enhancement Team to work toward landing (no pun intended) the Cyber Command operation at Beale AFB.

The Chamber through the Yuba Sutter Business Consortium helped bring renowned motivational speaker Doug Lipp to speak at Yuba College.

There is plenty more to tell, but not enough room to tell it. We have a pretty good thing going here in the Yuba-Sutter community. With an extremely talented, dedicated and loyal Chamber staff, a group of highly energized Ambassadors, a conscientious Board of Directors, scores of generous volunteers and a Chairman who will continue to "stay out of the way", we're on track to accomplish our stated objective for 2008, making it a year for "Peace, Love and Prosperity."