December 2009 Clarion

The Brentwood Clarion Page

December 2009 Vol. 45, No. 12 The Brentwood Voice of Business

Welcome New Board Members

Starting January 1, 2010 four new Board Members will be joining the Brentwood Chamber Board of Directors.

New to the Chamber Board is Donna Spencer. Donna is the Executive Director of the beautiful Cortona Park Senior Living Facility in Brentwood. She has lived and been active in the Brentwood Community for four years. She currently serves on the City of Brentwood Art’s Commission. Donna and her management team have been active with the Chamber since the senior living facility opened 18 months ago. Donna will be serving a three-year term.

Returning to the Chamber Board for a three-year term will be Dirk Zeigler. Dirk has lived in Brentwood for years and just recently moved his Farmers Insurance business to Brentwood. Dirk and his family have been involved in many Brentwood activities. Dirk most recently served as the President of the Brentwood Rotary Club.

Joining the Board for a one-year term will be Lori Knudsen. Lori works for California Payroll’s Brentwood office. Lori has lived in Brentwood for many years and has been active in many local organizations, for example Lori has been a member of the Business International Networking group (local chapter Delta Business Connections) for three years now, and is also in the American Payroll Association.

Also returning to the Chamber Board is Shelly McMahon. Shelly is the owner of Shelly’s Herbs, a local small farm operation. Shelly brings her long term Brentwood community service and her connections to the agriculture industry to the Chamber Board. Shelly served as the Chamber Board President four years ago.

Welcome to the new Board Members!

The Brentwood Clarion Page 2

Chamber President Karen Spann’s

Farewell Message The year 2009 will not soon be forgotten and what a ride! Sadly, we have watched some businesses fall, but resurface in a completely different role. Others have survived the ride and new businesses have opened and still (!) we continue to see signs and banners that say “Coming Soon,” giving us hope for a better and growing economy. As we approach the end of the year, we would like to salute our local business owners.

What we should remember about entrepreneurs is that we do it because we love it and are passionate about it and the real beauty of this is that, when we share the secrets of our trade, we make a difference in our community. If our business is built on “passion,” changes are easier and we can get through much adversity while the “heart” of the business remains the same. We are also probably fortunate enough to have attracted staff that owns what they do, whether it be Customer Service, Sales or just being a part of the family.

If you have weathered the storm of 2009, you are most likely “passionate” about your business pursuit. Never lose sight of your vision, as it will serve you well.

We salute your tenacity, identify with your aspirations, honor your “passion” and wish you well in the coming year. Please remember that the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce is your partner in business. We are your extended family and a reliable resource you can trust. We have put in place many business oriented programs over the last two years and we welcome your input going forward.

As I leave office, I wish to thank the directors, ambassadors, staff, volunteers and the membership for all they have contributed this past year. Their assistance and support has been valued and very much appreciated. Grapefully Yours,

Karen Spann Chamber President 2009 The Monthly Grapevine


Mission Statement: The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce is a voluntary organization dedicated to the promotion of the civic and commercial progress of the community. We will continuously strive to maintain and foster a healthy business climate for Chamber members and the entire community.

Ribbon Cuttings

Congratulations to Joseph Garcia on his opening of LA Boxing located at 8650 Brentwood Blvd. Brentwood. LA Boxing’s ribbon cutting took place on November 14, 2009 accompanied by the owner and many friends as well as chamber directors. LA Boxing offers boxing, kickboxing and MMA. Please stop by if you are interested or call (925) 634-2691. You can also visit LA Boxing on the web at www.laboxing.com/brentwood.

Catwalk

A ribbon cutting for Catwalk was held on November 12, 2009. Pictured in the photo at left are: Melinda Torgersen, owner of Catwalk, along with Chamber President Karen Spann of The Monthly Grapevine, Pat Trombino of First Bank, Kathi Reed of Wine Shop at Home, Shayn Cutino of Anja Wellness and a few others. Catwalk specializes in high end consignment clothing and is located at 306 Oak Street in Brentwood. Their number is (925) 240-9890 or visit them on the web at www.catwalkbrentwood.com.


Ambassadors Corner

I grew up believing in and supporting our local Chamber of Commerce in Castro Valley. My mother was a store owner back in the 60’s who ultimately became the President and later Manager/CEO of the Castro Valley Chamber of Commerce. We were taught in our family that we all support “our own” before going outside of our community. After 40 years in banking, my mother’s lessons still hold true for me. I have also found the Brentwood Chamber second to none as compared to all of the communities I have worked in.

This Chamber supports the entire community and is always looking for more ways to bring the community “into the fold”. If you haven’t attended a mixer or a ribbon cutting, you really must do so. There is great participation by members who show their support and it's always a good opportunity to network and promote one's business. In fact, if you haven’t hosted a mixer yet, sign up now. You won’t regret it.

My staff and I bring this same sense of community to our branch of First Bank. We know all of our customers and greet them – by name – when they enter the bank. We’re all local residents and strongly support Brentwood and East Contra Costa County.

We are a family owned bank and operate as a small regional bank. We will and do treat you like family. If you haven’t become a customer, we invite you to do so – you won’t regret that either.

As an Ambassador of the Chamber, I enjoy volunteering for the many Chamber sponsored events. If you are interested in volunteering as well, please do not hesitate to call the Chamber today.

Vicki Sexton First Bank


Phone: 925-625-0278 P.O. Box 406 Oakley, CA 94561 http://linmarkltd.logomall.com Email: [email protected]

On November 21, 2009 the Brentwood Chamber celebrated their 27th Annual Holiday Parade sponsored by PG&E. It was a joy to “Bring Home the Warmth for the Holidays” by ending the parade with the Tree lighting ceremony in the park.

Winners of the Holiday Parade will be presented with their awards at the Holiday Mixer on December 17, 2009.

Happy Holidays to everyone from Santa!

Best of Parade was Dainty Center of Brentwood.

At left we have the Liberty High School marching band who won best Band entry.

Best Float entry Brentwood Chamber/ Tri Delta Transit.

Charros Los Costenos de Brentwood won the best Equestrian group.


Pictured at top is one of the newest restaurants at the Streets of Brentwood Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill. If you like Mexican and spicy food then you’ll love Rubio’s…...

Taste of Brentwood Restaurant

Tour

Congratulations to our $100 winner from the Taste of Brentwood Tour. She has been participating in the Brentwood Tour now for 4 years and has been a resident of Brentwood for some years now.

The Brentwood Chamber of Commerce would like to Thank all the following restaurants that participated in our Taste of Brentwood Tour: Brentwood Fine Meats, Brentwood Spice & Olive Oil, Vic Stewart’s, Bagel Street Café, McCauley Brothers Olive Groves, Rubio’s Fresh Mexican Grill, Fuzio Universal Bistro, and Haagen Dazs.

McCauley Brothers Olive Groves which is pictured at the left here looks to have been a great hit for our Taste of Brentwood Restaurant Tour, with all food catered by Niel Ruggiero’s Italian– Style Catering.

Bill Harris and Greg Karkas of Brentwood Fine Meats.

Biggest and most important job of the tour was handled by Val Tompkins, and Rick Lemyre of the Kiwanis Club.

Brentwood Spice & Olive Oil was also a participant of the Taste of Brentwood Restaurant Tour. Seen in this picture is one of the owners David Navarrette, Dawn Fischer is the co-owner.

Last stop on the tour was Hagagen Dazs Ice Cream.


925 Designs Charles Estes 7351 Brentwood Blvd. Ste B Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 240-1701 AJR Watch Repair John Warren 1175 2nd Street (Located in CVS) Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 240-9996 Black Diamond Holdings Jessica Pierce 144 Continente Ave. Ste 270 Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 634-3244 Champion Chiropractic Nancy Belliveau 8157 Brentwood Blvd. Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 516-1395 Advance Networks William Vance P.O. Box 1851 Brentwood, Ca 94513 (866) 485-6387 Cookie Lee Jewelry Paulette McWalters 1199 Lake Park Drive Oakley, Ca 94561 (925) 437-3106 Balfour Dental Dimple Rayani 3120 Balfour Road Ste. D Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 634-9901 Brentwood Minuteman Press Bob Nicoles 200 Sand Creek Rd. Ste. E Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 513-4400 Making Changes Linda Davis 71 Sand Creek Road Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 513-3157

Extreme Pizza Stephen Johnson 3120 Balfour Rd. Ste. F Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 513-3001 Farmers Insurance Maurice Daroy 9040 Brentwood Blvd. #C Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 634-9999 Greene Insurance Agency James Greene 245 Oak Street Ste. E Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 240-7776 Pillowpc.com Lee Pillow 308 Pebble Beach Drive Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 584-6951 Herbalife Eden Nyirendah 2638 Orange Way Antioch, Ca 94531 (925) 215-1604 Rubia Salon & Spa Danny & Lisa Senn 2440 Sand Creek Rd. Ste. E-1 Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 240-7777 The Skin Liaison Dynese Mouzakis Hess 8330 Brentwood Blvd. Ste. B Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 516-9000 Armand’s Hot Dogs Armand Alfred 1213 Royal Ann Ct. Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 216-2308 Business Books & Office Service Tanya Marvin 700 Harvest Park Drive, Ste. C Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 759-1058

Panama Red Coffee Co. Stephen Welty 4431-A Balfour Road Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 240-0536 Purple Cow Websites John Smulo P.O. Box 566 Rio Vista, Ca 94571 (925) 914-1511 Getaway Cruises N Tours Bill Rogers 2063 Main Street Oakley, Ca 94561 (925) 679-8428 Integrative Health Centre Sherene Flores 8157 Brentwood Blvd. Ste. A Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 330-3559 Paradigm Wealth Management LLC Richard Inglis 60 Eagle Rock Way Ste. C Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 525-8891 Senior Helpers Jenny Lind 1170 Burnett Ave. Ste. J Concord, Ca 94520 (925) 677-2150 Sexton Heating and Air Patrick Sexton (925) 783-0987 Code Brew Coffee & More Wuolfran Sanchez 2485 Sand Creek Road. Ste. 140 Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 513-3500 Exquisite Security Protection George Robinson 2420 Sand Creek Road C-1 #224 Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 727-8731 Lisa Moore Homes Lisa Cessaro Moore 1111 Woodside Drive Brentwood, Ca 94513 (925) 628-8669


Our monthly chamber mixer was held on November 19, 2009 at our local biker shop right here in town located on 3933 Walnut Blvd. We would like to thank Ann Marie Salas, owner of Scary Larry’s for hosting this event.

Special Thanks to the Wineshop at Home, The Monthly Grapevine, Edible Arrangements, Brentwood Press, Mary Kay, and Quality Stitches for all the great raffle donations that we received for our November Chamber Mixer.


2009 CALENDAR OF

EVENTS

December 10 Good Morning Brentwood Microsoft Windows 7 at 7:30 a.m.

December 15 Lunch with Assemblymember Joan Buchanan at Caps Restaurant

December 17 Holiday Chamber Mixer hosted by the City of Brentwood from 5:30– 7:30 p.m.

January 14 Good Morning Brentwood Supervisor Mary Piepho at 7:30 a.m.

January 21 January Mixer Hannah Nicole Vineyards From 5:30- 7:30 p.m.

January 28 Ribbon Cutting Salon Vitor at 6:00 p.m.

January 30 Brentwood Chamber’s Annual Awards Dinner from 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Nines In Brentwood February 11 Good Morning Brentwood East Bay Park District Nancy Kaiser 7:30 a.m. Events may be subject to change at any time. Check the Calendar of Events on our website for updated information at

www.brentwoodchamber.com

Ground Breaking of the new Civic Center in

Brentwood

Our Mayor Bob Taylor getting off to an excellent start with the groundbreaking of the all new and improved Downtown Civic Center.



Pat Trombino, First Bank 2008 Ambassador of the Year Michael Hernandez, Chair, New York Life

The Chamber Ambassador Team

BRENTWOOD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Karen Spann, President The Monthly Grapevine

Kathi Reed, Past President WineShop at Home

Shayn Cutino, President-Elect Anja Wellness

Ken Seamann, CFO Discovery Professional Services

Joe Trebino, Executive Committee Delta Pure Water, Etc.

Brent Aasen, Director EQUUS Group

Amy Alvis, Director Living Trusts by Amy

Greg Benner, Director Les Schwab Tires

Bill Fee, Director Mazzy’s Fire Protection Specialists

De-De Hays, Director Prudential California Realty

Paul Kelly, Director Home One Mortgage

Sean McCauley, Director McCauley Olive Groves

Richard Perez-Pacheco, Director Black Sheep Design

Marlon Smith, Director Best Buy

Olga Vidriales, Director Travis Credit Union

—————————————————— Harry York, CEO

Lyle Miller, Membership Services Dir.

Lisa Hurt, Support Services Dir.

Jilda Fairhurst, Event Coordinator

Bill Putman, Volunteer

Pat Trombino, Event Coordinator

CHAMBER HOURS Monday through Thursday

9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Friday 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Phone (925) 634-3344 Fax (925) 634-3731

email: [email protected]

www.brentwoodchamber.com

The Chamber Welcomes two new ambassadors: Jeanette Hemenway, Tummies to Tots Maurice Daroy, Farmers Insurance Amy Alvis, Living Trusts by Amy Donna Zickerman, Fifth Avenue E. Scott McKnight, E.S. McKnight Insurance Agency Ed Gutierrez, Certa Pro Painters Lori Knudsen, California Payroll Olga Vidriales, Travis Credit Union Paul Roman, Window Innovations Sarah Jamar, Paychex Vicki Sexton, First Bank

• Good Morning Brentwood: Learn about Microsoft Windows 7 on December 10, 2009 at 7:30 a.m.

• Visit with Joan Buchanan: December 15,

2009 at Cap’s Oak Street Bar and Grill at 1:30 p.m.

• The 2010 Annual Awards Dinner: Saturday, January 30, 2010 at the Nines in Brentwood from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. • Our monthly Clarion will be coming in a

digital format and we will be discontinuing the paper mailing and printed inserts.


Phone: 925-634-3344 Fax: 925-634-3731

Email: [email protected] www.brentwoodchamber.com

The Brentwood Clarion Brentwood Chamber of Commerce

8440 Brentwood Blvd., Suite C Brentwood, CA 94513

All Sports Trophies

Advertising Specialties

Custom & Corporate Awards

(925) 516-8880 • Fax (925) 625-5316 Email: [email protected]

Bob & Sharon Sherriff, Owners

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December 2009 Clarion