San Benito County Chamber of

Commerce & Visitors Bureau

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4 N E W S L E T T E R

Diamond Sponsors

Congratulations to our 2014

Business of the Year Award Recipients

Hospitality/Food Service-Dona Esther

Manufacturing-Corbin

Agricultural-Earthbound Farms

Non-Profit-Mr. O’s Academy of the Arts

Retail-Target

Service-Bianchi, Kasavan & Pope, LLP

Man, Woman and Ambassador

Award Recipients

Man of the Year-Bob Tiffany

Woman of the Year-Brenda Weatherly

Ambassador of the Year-Sunny Underwood

Ribbon Cutting

Flying Colors Dance & Fitness

Congratulations to Amy Redmond Waran

Thank you for choosing San Benito County for your business location.

www.flyingcolorsdance.com

Business After Hours

Thanks to Ridgemark Golf and Country Club

for hosting the December Mixer

Raffle Donors include:

CalVista, Lorry Whitacre, Rustic Turtle, Sage Point Investments,

Mansmiths, B&R Farms, Hollister Free Wheelers,

Out & About Magazine, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage,

Welcome New Chamber Members

Liberty Tax Service

Paradiso Salon and Spa

Thank you to Penny Wise Drug for being a member

of the Chamber for 37 years!

P A G E 3

S A N B E N I T O C O U N T Y C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E & V I S I T O R S B U R E A U

Thank you to our 2014 Awards Dinner Sponsors

Platinum Level

Bianchi, Kasavan & Pope, LLP

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital

Rabobank

Union Bank

Gold Level

Corbin Pacific

L & G, LLP

Earthbound Farms

Silver Level

Brent Redmond Transportation

CalVista Insurance Agency, Inc.

Dona Esther

San Juan Oaks Golf Club

P A G E 4

S A N B E N I T O C O U N T Y C H A M B E R O F C O M M E R C E & V I S I T O R S B U R E A U

Thanks to all members that renewed in December

Marilyn Ferreira / Intero

Mark Gibson

McKinnon Lumber Company, Inc.

Mini Max Storage & RV Parking

Mr. O's Academy of the Arts

Natural Selection Foods/Earthbound

Farm

Orsetti Seed Company, Inc.

Out & About Magazine

Pacific Propane

Premiere Cinemas

Professional Property Management &

Sales

Ron & Ruth Erickson

San Juan Inn

SBC Farm Bureau

Sierra Pacific Associates, Inc.

The Pivetti Company

Tiffany Motor Company

Tri Cal, Inc.

Union Bank

Victor Gomez

West Marine Products, Inc.

Wright Bros. Industrial Supply

A Tool Shed Equipment Rentals Inc

Ag Against Hunger

Amycel, Inc.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Black-Cooper-Sander Funeral Home

Brent Redmond Transportation

CALSTAR

Casa de Fruta

Catherine Dabo

Charter Communications

City of San Juan Bautista

Community Food Bank of SBC

Community Foundation for SBC

Community Services Development Corporation

Creative Design

Earth Systems Pacific

Ellen Fisher's Bookkeeping Service

Flynn Road RV & Mini Storage

Fritter & Schulz, Physical & Occupational Therapy

Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital

Hollister Auto Parts

Hollister Hills SVRA

Intero Real Estate Services

Mansmith Enterprises

P A G E 5 N E W S L E T T E R

Chamber Office Services

Certificate of Origin: The Chamber offers Certificate of Origin stamps- to its members at $10 per document. If you are

in need of a certificate of origin stamp simply stop by the office during office hours and we can take care of it.

Newsletter Marketing & Advertising: The Chamber has marketing and advertising opportunities in the chamber

newsletter. The newsletter is emailed to the entire chamber membership the first week of the month. We also have

copies of our newsletter in the office. It is a great way to get the word out about your business, organization. A Flyer (8

1/2” x 11”) the cost is $75 per insert, for non-profits the cost is $50.

Bulk Mailing Permit Usage: The chamber provides forms along with the permit stamp to all members. The fee is $100 is

to use this service.

Website: Your event can be submitted to our website www.sanbenitocountychamber.com. Just click on ‘Add Event’ on

the homepage and complete the fields. Pending approval, it will show on the calendar within 24 hours.

Membership Profiles: Our goal is to have the correct and updated information to best refer your business to custom-

ers. We can only do this with your help in keeping the chamber staff informed of any updates and changes. Please con-

tact our office and we will email you a profile form to complete and return to the chamber.

243 Sixth Street, Ste. 100

Hollister, Ca 95023

Phone: (831) 637-5315

Fax : (831) 637-1008

For upcoming events please visit our

website:

www.sanbenitocountychamber.com

WHY CHAMBER?

Creates a Strong Local Economy

The Chamber actively supports business and encourages our community

to do business locally and participates in attracting new industry to the County.

Promotes the Community

The Chamber compiles community information which includes historical

information, walking tours, economic profiles, demographics, community

calendar of events and guides to motels, camping, and restaurants.

Provides Networking Opportunities

Through monthly mixers, Ambassadors program, Lunch with Leaders,

Business Seminars, special events and more.

Represents the Interests of Business with Government

By attending frequent meetings with government leaders and by

representing the voice of local business at city and county meetings.

Political Action

Rate candidates, measures and issues that benefit business in the community.

San Benito County Chamber of Commerce

& Visitors Bureau

Advertise your Bridal orFashion Related Businessin Out & About Magazine’s

February Issue

Ideal exposure for:

• Florists• Bakeries

• Photographers & Videographers

• Venues• Limo Services• Salons/Spas

and more!

Receive FREE editorial if your ad

is at least 1/6 page in size!

For more information on advertising, call Corey Shaffer at

831.676.7800or email: shaffercorey@aol.com

*1/6 page ad = listing only

*1/4 page ad = 75 words

*1/2 page ad = 175 words

*full page ad = 300 words

2 014 R E A D E R S ’C H O I C E B A L LO T

Will they think of YOU

when it comes time to vote?

Coming in February’s Out & About Magazine

ts & Veggies

erapist

AC

Outdoors & Sports Club

prings/Nature Retreat

Path

Course

ch of Wild Flowers

king Trail

ampsite

Place to Hang Glide

Place to Skateboard

Place to Surf

lace to Watch whales

Picnic Area

Park for People

Park for dogs

Cleanest Park

Visual & Performing ArtsGallery

Mural

Artist

Photographer

Actor

Actress

Dancer

Comedian

Theater Group

After Theater Hangout

Writer

Columnist

Social ExchangeAnnual Community Event

Place to:

People Watch

Have a Birthday Party

Take Your Grandma

Who Do You Love?READERS’ CHOICE BALLOT

Call your Out & About

ad rep today tohelp you getstarted.

Give your customers a little help deciding with an ad in

the Ballot Feature.

Ten sustainable New Year’s resolutions

for businesses 1. Ask employees to turn off their computers when they

are away from work. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, users can save energy by turning off monitors that won’t be used for 20 minutes, and CPUs that won’t be used for two hours. In case you’re wondering, computers with the very best power-down features still use 30 percent of the power that they use when in normal operation.

2. Pay employees a living wage. Much attention has been paid of late to fair trade issues, which are couched almost exclusively in terms of international commerce, but the basic tenants are applicable to domestic workers as well. By paying employees well enough that they can afford to live, employers will lower attrition rates and improve productivity, thereby recovering a portion of the additional cost. The Society for Human Resource Management has a turnover cost calculator (www.shrm.org/Pages/) that may help employers determine how much they could save by decreasing attrition.

3. Ban bottled water at work. Plastic water bottles are the epitome of waste. Enticing people to buy bottled water might just be the greatest marketing coup of all time. Do you realize that water costs $5.33 per gallon when purchased in 12 oz. bottles priced at $.50 each? And we think gasoline is expensive! The worst part is that bottled water is often less pure than tap water. If employees complain about chlorine taste in water, install a filter on your tap.

4. Ban space heaters at work. Although employees may be tempted to use electric space heaters to keep warm, they are a bad idea for several reasons. They are often left on when offices are vacant and may be used to raise the temperature above what is really needed. Furthermore, they use 1,500 watts of electricity making them prone to overloading standard 15-amp circuits. And they are a common cause of fires. Consider issuing fleeces with corporate logos to workers to help them keep warm.

5. Encourage recycling. Many communities have single-stream recycling available for residences, but still lack recycling for commercial properties. Nonetheless, recycling generally saves money because it can reduce

garbage fees by an amount greater than the cost of having recycling hauled away. In San Benito County, Recology offers free recycling services. Call 831-636-7500 and ask for assistance with business recycling. Try placing a recycling bin next to every trash can in your workplace and explain why it’s important to make the effort. Ask for a free waste audit from Recology by calling the number above.

6. Consider allowing flexible work schedules. By allowing employees to vary their work hours, employers can benefit in many ways. Higher employee morale will increase creativity and productivity. By avoiding the peak rush hours, employees’ commuting costs may be reduced and their quality of life improved. Often employees granted flex time will be better able to balance their work and personal lives, leading to better attendance and fewer distractions at work.

7. Offer healthier snacks to employees. Consider substituting several healthy choices in snack vending machines. Typical snacks are great for taste buds and horrible for the rest of the human body. They are full of simple sugars, salt and cholesterol. Try replacing the least popular items with nuts, dried fruits and trans-fat-free, whole-grain crackers.

8. Hold virtual meetings. Airline travel is the least energy efficient form of transportation, yet it is often used by business travelers. Often business representatives fly to distant cities simply to attend a meeting. Now that free, internet-based video conferencing tools, including Skype, have evolved to a point where the meeting experience is quite satisfactory, it makes less sense to travel. Save time, money and the environment by staying put more often.

9. Inspire your customers with incentives. Offer discounts to clients who have demonstrated green achievements. Programs of this sort have a two-fold benefit; they position the sponsoring company as a leader in sustainability, and it inspires customers to go out and do good things.

10. Say no to polystyrene. Every year, Americans throw away 25 billion polystyrene (Styrofoam) cups. Benzene, a known carcinogen, is used to make Styrofoam. When stored or heated, Styrofoam may leach the possible human carcinogen styrene into foods and then it is consumed by eating or drinking. Most polystyrene products end up in landfills where they will never decompose. Many firms are establishing their facilities as polystyrene-free zones where cups, lunch trays, packing peanuts and plates are banned. Alternatives to Styrofoam include paper food containers and biodegradable eating utensils made from corn or sugar.

Verde Veritas Green Truth

San Benito County

Integrated Waste Management Regional Agency

Including the Cities of Hollister, San Juan Bautista and

Unincorporated San Benito County 831.636.4110

Source: http://greenbusinessmatters.com/2011/12/31/10-sustainability-new-

year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-for-businesses/

Happy New Year!