June 23-July 6, 2015

June 23-July 6, 2015 www.lbbusinessjournal.com

‘But For The CVB, We Wouldn’tHave Come To Long Beach’

A Look Inside The Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

SPECIAL REPORT – THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia speaks to meeting planners during a presentation at Washington, D.C.’s Mango Tree Restaurant. Mayor Garcia joined staff and members of the Long Beach Area Convention& Visitors Bureau (CVB) on their annual sales mission to the nation’s capitol. The week-long marketing effort included sales calls and special events, reaching out to more than 300 professional meeting plannersto show why Long Beach is the perfect destination for their meetings. (Photograph provided by the CVB)

We often hear about “what a great job” this or that local group is doing. The Business Journal wanted a closer look atone such group, the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB). After all, it receives several million dollarsa year in tax dollars to “sell Long Beach” and put “bodies in hotel beds.” It’s an important job that impacts a wide arrayof local businesses – and city coffers. So we asked Brian O’Leary Bennett, a writer with a political background andknowledge of the nation’s capitol with nearly 17 years on Capitol Hill, to tag along on the CVB sales mission to Wash-ington, D.C., earlier this month. Here’s what he learned. – Publisher George Economides

� By BRIAN O’LEARY BENNETT

Special to the Long Beach Business Journal

D r. Lucinda Maine, CEO ofthe American Association

of Colleges of Pharmacy (repre-senting 64,000 students, 6,000teachers and 5,000 grad students),sat in her Alexandria, Virginia, of-fice reflecting on the last time shewas in Long Beach. It was 2003,her first year as the association’sCEO. “Very industrial. Wasn’t col-orful. Or what our members liked.It’s a port city.” So when Barbara Gustis, the

group’s senior director of meet-ings, told Dr. Maine that she wasin Anaheim but wanted to makean unplanned site visit to LongBeach for an upcoming confer-ence, Dr. Maine responded withan incredulous thud, “Huh, LongBeach? I was skeptical. But Itrusted Barbara.”Gustis, in turn, trusted Long

Beach Area Convention & VisitorsBureau (CVB) sales rep, Art Scan-lon. “He took me to lunch in De-

cember and asked me to remem-ber Long Beach for a site visit,”Gustis said. “When I was in Ana-heim this past March, Art pressedme to please go over to LongBeach. If it wasn’t for Art, wewould not have visited LongBeach as a potential site.” Now the national association is

holding its Leadership Forummeeting in Long Beach in March2019. Then in 2020, the full an-

Long Beach Business Journal2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212Signal Hill, CA 90755-2139562/988-1222 • www.lbbusinessjournal.com

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PAIDLos Angeles, CA

PERMIT NO. 447

Long Beach Hotels Surpass

Expectations For Occupancy,

Room Rates� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

L ong Beach hotels are ex-ceeding expectations for oc-

cupancy rates and average roomrates so far this year. For the firsttwo months of 2015, hotels inLong Beach experienced an over-all increase in occupancy of 3 per-cent, according to Bruce Baltin,senior vice president of PKF Con-sulting, a hospitality research firmthat is part of CBRE Inc.’s Hotelsdivision. Average daily room rates(ADR), meanwhile, increased by11 percent in the first two monthsof the year.The increase in occupancy rates

slightly exceeds PKF’s projec-

The Year AheadIn Conventions,Meetings AndTrade Shows

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

T hanks to a combination ofcollaborative and persistent

sales efforts spearheaded by theLong Beach Convention & Visi-tors Bureau (CVB), coupled withbuzz about upgrades at the LongBeach Convention & Entertain-ment Center, the year ahead isbrimming with meetings and con-ventions in Long Beach.There are 238 confirmed con-

ventions and meetings at the con-vention center this year, which theCVB estimated will translate to

FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY

Long Beach’s Tech And Innovation CommissionTo Consider Apps, Open Data And Broadband

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

T he City of Long Beach nowoffers nearly a dozen mobile

phone applications or apps, five ofwhich were updated this year. Theapps, which can be downloaded onto smart phones, allow residents to“report a water waster,” get instant

election results or look up real-timeflight information from the LongBeach Airport. The question now being posed

by some city officials is should thecity continue expanding the num-ber of apps it offers or consolidate? Apps and other technology-re-

lated topics, such as broadband,connectivity and open data, are justsome of the issues being consid-ered by the seven-member LongBeach Technology and InnovationCommission, which was formed byMayor Robert Garcia as one of his

(Please Continue To Page 22)(Please Continue To Page 16)

(Please Continue To Page 25)

Tech Company Profile: FreeConferenceCall.com • See Story Page 14


1_LBBJ_June23_2015 2_PortAnniversary 6/20/15 7:32 PM Page 1

Inside This Issue4 Inside City Hall

• How We Will Owe Our Soul To The Company Store. Pt. IBy Former Councilmember Gerrie Schipske

6 Helping Long Beach Businesses Grow• Success Story: Groundwork Fitness

7 Newswatch• City Officials’ Vision For Economic Development

• Midtown Business Improvement District Hearing Set

• Reminder: Sick Leave Law Goes Into Effect July 1st

• City Council Prioritizes Tidelands Projects

• Contract Awarded For Shoemaker Bridge Project

• Long Beach Election Season Starting Early

• Development Task Force Proposed For QM Area

12 Focus On Technology• Update On Innovation & Technology Commission

• Tech Company Profile: FreeConferenceCall.com

14 In The News

16 Special Report: Hospitality & Tourism Industry• A Closer Look At The CVB, continued from Page 1

• Conventions And Meetings, continued from Page 1

• CVB Board Of Directors

• Member Hotels: Tourism Business Improvement Area

• Long Beach Hotels Surpass Expectations

• Unique Venues For Meetings, Special Events

• Visitors Boost Business For Long Beach Attractions

• Steve Goodling: Maestro Behind The Ballroom Curtain

36 Perspective

38 Art MattersPresented By The Arts Council For Long Beach

39 The Nonprofit PagePresented By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

Free: Long Beach Business Journal Digital Edition, Monday Morning Coffee, NewsFlash

Sign up at: www.lbbusinessjournal.com • Follow us on Twitter: @LBBizJourn

2 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015


2015



How We Will Owe Our Soul To The Company Store:

Part I

The current machinations regarding the announcedplans for a new civic center, remind me of the old Ten-nessee Ernie Ford song: “Sixteen tons and what do youget? Another year older and deeper in debt. Saint Peterdon’t you call me cause I can’t go, I owe my soul to thecompany store.”And the taxpayers of Long Beach will owe their souls

if the city goes through with a “private public partner-ship” that finances for 50 years the totally unnecessaryreplacement of a city hall and library that were builtonly 39 years ago, packaged with the giveaway of priceyproperty where the old Long Beach courthouse sits. That’s right folks, those facts alone should worry peo-

ple. Buildings don’t wear out in 39 years and sincewhen does this city have enough money to give awayproperty or to take on a 50-year debt?

Before I discuss the horrors of the financing, let merefresh the collective memory how this project gotlaunched. This all started back in 2005 when the publicworks department produced a report that discussed theneed to retrofit both the city hall and the main librarydue to seismic and water issues. The report discussedseveral alternatives but for some reason only the alter-natives of demolishing and rebuilding were put forwardas viable. In 2007, then-public works director Christine Ander-

son suggested that both the library (which had waterdamage to the garden roof) and the city hall could be re-paired, but no one listened. Is the city hall so seismically unsafe that it cannot be

retrofitted and repurposed? Is the current location thebest place for a civic center in light of earthquake pre-dictions on a massive scale?The answers were never given, but keep in mind that: • Not one of the 769 city employees working in city

hall have yet to be relocated to a “safer location” eventhough this issue has been discussed for 10 years;• If the buildings are so seismically unsafe, how was

the city able to purchase earthquake insurance in 2014but didn’t have earthquake insurance previously; and• Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Francisco, Oakland all

had city halls with serious seismic problems which wereretrofitted instead of demolished.After being promised that the city would never pay

more than the $12.6 million annually spent to operatethe current civic center, the majority of the city counciltook the bait and moved forward on selecting a devel-oper that would design, build and lease back a new cityhall, smaller main library and parking structure. The de-veloper would also be given the former courthouse prop-erty to develop retail, hotel and residential units. Totalcost to the city: $358 million.The city then lobbied the state legislature to change

the law that limits city governments to a maximum of35 years for lease-back agreements and extend it to 50years for this specific project. Okay. So the city will pay$12.6 million x 50 years = $630 million? Really?Readers should note that only one other government

facility (the Long Beach Courthouse) has been financedand built in the same way as being proposed for theLong Beach Civic Center complex. I will cover the ad-vantages and drawbacks in the next column.Next column: What are Private Public Partnerships and

Why the Long Beach Courthouse Cost So Much More.(Gerrie Schipske is a native of Long Beach, an attor-

ney, registered nurse practitioner and full time instructorat CSULB Department of Health Care Administration.She was elected to both the Long Beach Community Col-lege Board of Trustees and the Long Beach City Council.She is the author of several books on Long Beach historyand her blog, www.longbeachinside.blogspot.com.) �

INSIDE CITY HALL

� By GERRIE SCHIPSKE

Contributing Writer

2015

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Career Mentors are a special brand of business owner. They help foster youth by giving them work experience,career advice, and emotional support.Through Pacific Gateway, Fabrizio connected to a youth who was eager to work and in need of the guidance most teens get from a parent. What started as a summer job grew into something life changing – for both of them. Join us. pacific-gateway.org/mentor

Made possible by the California Workforce Accelerator Program.WIA Title I-financially assisted program or activity is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities.

To request a reasonable accommodation, please call 562.570.4711 or TTY 562.570.4629 at least 72 hours prior to event.


June 2 6 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015

Groundwork Fitness

Helping Long Beach Businesses Grow

Giovanna “Gio” Ferraro, owner of Groundwork Fitness in Downtown Long Beach, recently hired17-year old Jonathan through the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network’s Youth JobsProgram. Pacific Gateway covers Jonathan’s wages as he gains work experience assisting Fer-raro with cleaning, maintenance and some client mentoring. (Photograph by the Business Jour-nal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

As an owner of a small gym in Downtown Long Beach, Groundwork Fitness, Gio-vanna Ferraro doesn’t always have time to devote to small but necessary operationaltasks – she’s too busy running her business and teaching fitness classes. The PacificGateway Workforce Investment Network’s Youth Jobs Program turned out to be anideal solution.“I do not just own the gym; I work there as well. I teach most of the classes,” Ferraro

said, explaining that, because her time is stretched thin, she needed someone to assisther with daily tasks like cleaning gym mirrors. “As a small business owner you are try-ing to do it all, and those little things really do help,” she said. After chatting about this issue with a staff member of the Downtown Long Beach

Associates (DLBA), the organization that oversees downtown’s business improvementdistrict, the DLBA referred her to Pacific Gateway. Administered by the City of LongBeach, Pacific Gateway provides workforce development services to individuals andbusinesses in Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita and Signal Hill.Ferraro sat down with Pacific Gateway staff members to tell them about her employ-

ment needs. She needed someone who could perform duties such as cleaning and main-tenance, and assist with special events. Pacific Gateway presented its Youth Jobs Program as an option, and Ferraro was im-

mediately interested. The program is open to youth aged 14 to 24 who live in PacificGateway’s service area. The organization places those youths in jobs with local busi-nesses, and pays their wages at the minimum wage rate. “Everything about it appealed to me,” Ferraro said of the Youth Jobs Program. “I

used to be a 9th grade high school teacher . . . in South L.A., and 33 percent of thatschool [population] was homeless students,” she said. “They were always talking abouthow they wished they had a job,” she reflected. “I was also someone who worked as ayoung teen,” she noted.After reviewing applicants, Pacific Gateway selected Jonathan, a local 17-year-old

high school student who is passionate about fitness and seemed like a good fit for Fer-raro’s business. Since he started work three weeks ago, “It has been a huge relief,” Fer-raro said. “My gym has never been this clean and organized.”Jonathan’s daily tasks include cleaning, organizing storage areas and equipment, and

painting. Ferraro also brings him with her to fitness events and has him give informa-tional and motivational talks. “He lost 60 pounds on his own just by running, and hehas done it in nine months. So I have him tell his story to inspire clients,” she said. “Heis so driven that the potential he has right now is ridiculous.”Working with Pacific Gateway and Jonathan “has been a blessing,” Ferraro said.

“The big positive at the end of the day is that you’ve helped impact that youth’s lifenot only with a paycheck, but . . . showing them that the sky is the limit for them,and this is just the beginning.” For more information about Pacific Gateway’s business assistance services, call

562/570-3700. �

Presented monthly by the Long Beach Business Journal and the Pacific Gateway Workforce Investment Network

www.pacific-gateway.org


� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

As Long Beach’s economic developmentdivision has been slowly built back up afterit had been eliminated because of budgetcuts years ago, city officials are now prais-ing recent successes, including a lower un-employment rate, while proposing ways tocreate a framework for new investment anddevelopment in the city.During a study session on June 16,

Mike Conway, director of the Long BeachEconomic and Property Development De-partment, which was created last year aspart of Mayor Robert Garcia’s budget rec-ommendations, gave a presentation on thecity’s vision for stimulating economic de-velopment in the city. Conway said the city is continuing the

mayor’s recommendation of taking a“holistic” approach to economic develop-ment in which all city departments worktogether to collectively attract and retainbusinesses. Economic development “is intended to

be inclusive of all city departments and allcity employees,” Conway said. He added,“We have a responsibility to ensure thatLong Beach is open for business.”Conway said all city departments and

employees should work together as a“unified team” that is focused on spurringeconomic development, adding that everycity employee should be considered abusiness ombudsman. As the city is now in the process of sell-

ing several former redevelopment proper-ties, specific economic developmentefforts should take into account “qualityof life” issues, Conway said, adding thatthe goal should also be to provide a “fast,cost-efficient and certain” path for projectimplementation. “We have a new vision for this depart-

ment,” he said. “It’s not solely about dol-lars and cents. It’s also about quality oflife. The focus is not on an individualproject but the entire city fabric to makesure that economic development alignswith neighborhood development.”Conway said 31 former redevelopment

parcels have been listed on the market andthe city has already received a number ofoffers. He said all requests for proposals re-garding the city’s 161 former redevelop-ment parcels for future development wouldbe released by the end of the year. The sale of former redevelopment prop-

erties for the development of future proj-ects, Conway added, will help reduce “salestax leakage” in the city while ensuring thatdevelopments are consistent with the city’slong range property development plan andalso comply with the state’s requirementsto promptly dispose of properties. Conway said city staff plans to work

with the mayor, city council, the eco-nomic development and finance commit-tee and the economic developmentcommission to form a strategic plan aswell as an economic indicators report.He added that the city plans to realign

the regional Pacific Gateway workforcedevelopment program with the city’s eco-nomic and property development depart-ment to coordinate efforts, supportbusiness growth, increase sales tax rev-enue and create jobs.

Conway also touched on a number ofthe city’s recent successes, includingbeing able to swap 10 acres of tidelandsproperty at The Pike downtown for park-zoned property at Bluff Park and the Col-orado Lagoon, enabling the creation ofThe Pike Outlets. He also noted that business ombuds-

man assistance, which includes providingprospective businesses with support andguidance through city processes, wascritical in attracting major tenants toDouglas Park, including Universal Tech-nical Institute, Virgin Galactic and Mer-cedes Benz. Conway discussed the city’s revolving

loan fund, which uses community develop-ment block grant (CDBG) funding andother financing to provide small business

loans. In addition, the city partners with theNational Development Council to provideloans of more than $100,000. He also highlighted new technological

advancements, including online programssuch as ZoomProspector, a geographic in-formation system for finding the right lo-cation to open a business, andOpenCounter, which provides existing andprospective business owners with easy ac-cess to city permitting processes.Conway noted that city’s unemploy-

ment rate has dropped from a peak of14.6 percent in 2010 to 7.7 percent as ofMarch 2015, adding that more than19,000 new jobs have been created withinthat time frame. Mayor Garcia lauded the city’s economic

development efforts, adding that there has

been substantial progress made in terms ofjob growth in Long Beach. “[The unemployment rate] is certainly

the lowest it has been probably in almost 10years,” he said. “I think you’re going to,hopefully, see that unemployment rate con-tinue to drop, but the progress that’s beenmade to today [from] when the economicrecession started has been quite incredible.”Garcia said the economic development

commission is working on a long-term eco-nomic development plan that would bebrought to the city council for review. Additionally, at the request of Coun-

cilmember Roberto Uranga, Conway saidhe would present a study on the city’s feestructure at the next economic developmentand finance committee meeting, which isscheduled for today, June 23. �

June 23-July 6, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 7 2015 NEWSWATCH

Long Beach City Officials Lay Out Vision For Economic And Property Development


June 2

Hearing On FormationOf Midtown BusinessImprovement District

Set For August 11� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

The City of Long Beach has receivedsufficient petitions from property ownersto form the Midtown Business Improve-ment District (BID), encompassing Cam-bodia Town, in Central Long Beach,according to city officials. Now, a publichearing to present the results of a finalvote on the proposal has been scheduledfor August 11.During its June 16 meeting, the Long

Beach City Council voted unanimously to

set the hearing date and adopt a resolutionof intention to form the Midtown BID to belocated along East Anaheim Street betweenRaymond and Alamitos avenues. The proposed district corridor, which

would be adjacent to the East AnaheimStreet Business Improvement District onthe east, would include a diverse row ofmostly small businesses, including super-markets, restaurants and cafes. Property-based BIDs are established

after property owners agree to form an as-sessment district in which they “voluntarilyassess themselves for various services be-yond those provided by the city, includingpublic safety, beautification, marketing andeconomic development programs,” accord-ing to a city staff report. Throughout the years, several BIDs have

been established in the city, including thosein downtown, Belmont Shore, 4th Streetand Bixby Knolls. Most recently, the Up-

town PBID in North Long Beach went intoeffect on January 1, 2014. Property owners within the proposed

Midtown BID boundaries, which wouldcross City Council Districts 4 and 6, willnow receive a ballot to vote yes or no on theproposal. If the yes votes represent at leasta simple majority (51 percent) of the totalproposed property assessment, then theBID is established and an advisory board isappointed, according to city officials.Leading up to the final vote, it was re-

quired that property owners representinga simple majority in the proposed districtsign a petition. At the council meeting, Mike Conway,

the city’s director of economic and prop-erty development, said petition responsesindicate that owners representing 55 per-cent of the proposed total district assess-ment support the proposal, givingpermission to move forward.

According to a management districtplan prepared by Urban Place ConsultingGroup, Inc., property assessment fees forthe Midtown BID are estimated to total$161,501 annually with an additional$5,952 from other revenues. According to the plan, properties owned

by the City of Long Beach, including for-mer redevelopment properties, representthe largest parcels in the district and 40percent of the total assessment. In otherwords, the City of Long Beach will bepaying $65,700 of the annual assessment.City-owned properties include the LongBeach Transit facility, MacArthur Parkand the Mark Twain Library. Total assessment revenues would cover

costs associated with a safe team programthat would provide security services in theform of bicycle and walking patrols, aclean and beautiful program, sidewalkcleaning, graffiti removal, landscape main-tenance, marketing and BID management. During the council meeting, 6th Dis-

trict Councilmember Dee Andrews saidthe new BID would help attract new busi-ness and enhance the area to its “full po-tential.” He said the BID would helptransform the business corridor intosomething similar to 2nd Street, addingthat he has been planning the project withcommunity members for several years. “We’re talking about a PBID that’s going

to make the central area look a lot like Bel-mont Shore,” Andrews told the council.“So, you guys, I want you to stay with usand be behind us.”If established, the Midtown BID would

go into effect on January 1, 2016. The citycouncil will annually review and considerapproving renewal of the levy, budgets andreports as submitted by the Midtown BID,according to city staff. Upon annual re-view, the city council may increase thelevy up to 4 percent. �

Reminder: State’s NewSick Leave Law GoesInto Effect July 1 As

‘Clean Up’ LegislationMoves Forward

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

On July 1, the rules change for most em-ployment payrolls in California. Under Assembly Bill (AB) 1522, known

as the Healthy Workplace Healthy FamilyAct of 2014, all private and public employersregardless of size are required to start provid-ing at least three days of paid sick leave toemployees who work 30 days or more withina year from beginning of employment.California lawmakers assert that about

40 percent of the state’s workforce cur-rently doesn’t receive paid sick leave andthat the new law will extend paid sick leavebenefits to some 6.5 million workers. Cal-ifornia is the second state in the country topass such a law, after Connecticut.California employers were required to

place workplace notices after January 1,advising employees of the new law. Thenew state law carries fines starting at $100for failure to post the notice and adminis-


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NEWSWATCH



trative penalties as high as $4,000 for non-compliance of policy requirements. As enacted, the law gives employers the

option to either provide paid sick leave onan accrual basis by offering a minimum ofone hour of sick leave for every 30 hoursworked or to provide paid sick leave upfront at the beginning of each year. At the same time, just a few weeks be-

fore the new law goes into effect, Assem-blywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego)introduced urgency “clean up” legislation,AB 304, which is moving through the leg-islature and which proposes several amend-ments to the law. The California Chamber of Commerce

(Cal Chamber) has opposed AB 1522, stat-ing that it would be too costly and admin-istratively difficult for most employers tocomply with. Cal Chamber currently hasno position on AB 304. As of June 19, AB 304 was awaiting ac-

tion by the Assembly to move on to theSenate and then to the governor’s desk forapproval. Since AB 304 is an urgency bill,it must pass both the Senate and the Assem-bly by a two-thirds vote.The new law was covered in detail in the

May 26 edition of the Business Journal. �

City Council OkaysNew List Of Prioritized

Tidelands Projects� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Following a 50 percent drop in the priceof oil last year, Long Beach city officialshave reprioritized a list of capital improve-ment projects along the waterfront that arefunded by oil revenue.The Long Beach City Council voted

unanimously (7-0) to sign off on a five-year capital plan and approve a new pri-oritized list of tidelands projects duringits June 16 meeting.The new list of projects comes after the

price of oil dropped from about $100 to$50 a barrel between July and December2014, according to city officials. Tom Modica, Long Beach assistant city

manager, said there are more than $230million worth of tidelands projects neededover the next five years, but, with the pro-jected drop in oil revenue, only $95 millionin funds are now available. He said the city might have to conduct

another prioritization of tidelands projectsdepending on the price of oil. “Oil is very mercurial,” Modica said. “It

may go up. It may go down. So we’re pre-pared to be flexible, and, as additionalmonies come in, we can go through anotherprioritization process.” In February, after receiving a memo on the

need to revise the tidelands budget, the citycouncil approved nine criteria for evaluatingtidelands capital projects. The prioritizationcriteria included: public health and safety,the number of California residents impacted,urgency, poor condition/ high need, qualityof life, revenue generation, ability to attractadditional funding, lack of alternative fund-ing sources, and capital cost. The $103-million Belmont Plaza Pool

project remains at the top of the list for tide-lands funding, with about $43.6 million re-served for the project, taking up nearly halfof the total programmed funds. The newpool is being proposed as an aquatics centerafter the original Belmont Plaza Pool, builtin 1968, was demolished last year.Third District Councilmember Suzie

Price, who represents much of the tidelandsarea, clarified that, even if the city had therequired funding for the pool project, it stillwould be delayed because of various envi-ronmental reviews and permit processes. “It’s not about having the money in hand;

it’s a process we have to go through in re-gards to the pool,” Price said. Modica said it could take 18 months to

two years before construction begins on thenew Belmont Pool, as the city has yet to re-lease an environmental impact report or re-ceive coastal development permits from theCalifornia Coastal Commission. While city officials said the pool project

is a high priority for the city as a whole,until more funding is available there are var-ious other tidelands projects that could usethe funding. Modica said that so far the cityhas set aside $60.1 million for the BelmontPool project, but $43 million is still needed. Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, who repre-

sents the 2nd Council District, also in thetidelands area, made two amendments tothe list that were seconded by Price and ap-proved by the city council. The first amendment includes allocating

$1.3 million to the Aquarium of the Pacificto be the city’s match to the capital campaignfor fiscal year 2015. The amount would in-clude: $250,000 from any funds available atthe end of the year from closed-out con-struction projects, $250,000 from critical in-frastructure funding to be paid back when

funds are available, $400,000 from the Ma-rina Vista special events bathroom projectthat would be paid back for projects in thesame area, and $400,000 from the CherryBeach playground funds that would be paidback when funds are available. The second amendment ensures that

“all funds diverted would have first prior-ity for repayment when new dollars be-come available,” according to theminutes, which also state that “any futureallocation for the Aquarium of the Pacificwould be on a case-by case-basis and re-viewed annually against funds availableand outstanding needs.” �

Qatar Confirms Purchase Of Four C-17s, One Unsold

Aircraft Left� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Qatar Armed Forces (QAF) has signedan agreement with Boeing to purchasefour more C-17 Globemaster III Strategicairlifters, according to a statement fromBoeing released on June 15 during theParis Air Show.The purchase leaves one last unsold C-

17 as Boeing is expected to shut down itsassembly line of the military aircraft inLong Beach after the flyaway of its final C-17 sometime this year, said Tiffany Pitts, a




spokesperson for Boeing’s military aircraftdivision, in an e-mail. The four aircraft purchased by Qatar are

part of eight final C-17s that are currentlyin various stages of assembly and test, shesaid. Of the eight aircraft, one has beensold to an unnamed customer, two havebeen sold to Australia and four have beensold to Qatar, leaving one remaining C-17to sell, Pitts said. “We remain in close communication

with potential customers and are confidentour full production run of C-17s will besold,” she said. The four new aircraft doubles Qatar’s

fleet of C-17s. The QAF is the first Mid-dle East customer to order C-17s, accord-ing to Boeing.“We are pleased with the C-17s from Boe-

ing and look forward to doubling our fleetto enhance worldwide operations,” said Gen.Ahmed Al-Malki, deputy commander of theQatar Emiri Air Force and chairman of TheAirlift Committee, in a statement. Boeing representatives add that the aircraft

manufacturer will continue to provide C-17sustainment operations for years to come. “We’re confident the additional C-17s

will significantly increase the QAF’s abilityto support the people of Qatar and their al-lies with transport, airdrop and humanitar-ian missions,” said Tommy Dunehew, vicepresident of international customer serviceand sales for Boeing military aircraft.“Boeing stands ready to support, sustainand maintain Qatar’s expanded fleet of C-17s to keep their planes mission ready.” �

Gulfstream To ExpandLong Beach Facility,Add 50 Employees

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., a corporatejet manufacturer, has announced that it plansto expand its operations at the Long BeachAirport and create at least 50 new jobs in thecompany’s product support organization. Gulfstream Long Beach, home to an air-

craft service center, a completions facilityand a sales and design center, is expectedto expand its operations with the openingof a new 19,000-square-foot maintenancehangar and nearly 10,000 square feet of ac-companying support and office space. “We expect the facility to be operational

in mid to late summer,” said Becky John-son, vice president and general manager ofGulfstream Long Beach. “The additionaljobs and added capacity are fantastic newsfor this community and our customers.”Gulfstream Long Beach’s new hangar is

able to accommodate up to three Gulf-stream large-cabin aircraft. The accompa-nying ramp space can hold up to 10 aircraft. The Long Beach facility anchors Gulf-

stream’s U.S. West Coast operations. Thesite encompasses nearly 370,000 squarefeet and has approximately 900 employees.Last year, Long Beach technicians servicedmore than 1,000 aircraft at the facility oron road trips to nearby general aviation air-ports, including Van Nuys Airport.Gulfstream, a wholly owned subsidiary of

General Dynamics, acquired the Long Beach

site in 1986 and, with a workforce of about100 people, initially served as a completionscenter for the Gulfstream IV/IV-SP. Thecompany expanded the facility’s capabilitiesto include aircraft service and maintenancein 1989. Then, through 1998, GulfstreamLong Beach underwent several renovations,more than tripling its under-roof space, ac-cording to a company statement. �

Long Beach CityCouncil In The NewsFirst Annual State Of The5th District Set For June 27Fifth District Councilmember Stacy

Mungo is inviting residents, business ownersand community members to the first annual“State of the Fifth Celebration and Address”this Saturday, June 27, at 6 p.m. at PanAmerican Park at 5157 E. Centralia St. According to an announcement, Mungo

will reflect on the work and progress beingachieved in the district and across the citywhile celebrating the accomplishments oflocal neighbors in the past year that thecouncilmember has been in office. Mungowill also provide highlights on what isplanned for the future. The event will feature music by Knyght

Ryder and food prepared by Long BeachFirefighters Local 372, concluding with afireworks show on Clark Avenue. For more information, call 562/570-5555

or email [email protected].

Councilmember Al AustinAppointed To Metro CouncilEighth District Councilmember Al

Austin has been appointed to the Gateway

Cities Services Council, which advises theLos Angeles Metropolitan TransportationAuthority (Metro) on the planning and im-plementation of bus and rail service withinthe area, according to his office. The Metro advisory council also reviews

proposed service changes and makes policyrecommendations to the official MetroBoard of Directors. The Gateway Cities Service Council

covers 27 cities, including Long Beachand the unincorporated areas of South-east Los Angeles County. The councilcomprises four elected officials and fivenon-elected officials who are nominatedby the Gateway Cities Council of Gov-ernments (COG) and appointed by theMetro Board.

Job Fair Tomorrow, June 24,At Convention Center

First District Councilmember LenaGonzalez and the Pacific Gateway Work-force Investment Network are partneringto host a job fair tomorrow, June 24, at 9a.m. at the Long Beach Convention andEntertainment Center’s Seaside Ballroom,located at 300 E. Ocean Blvd. According to a statement from Gonzalez,

more than 50 businesses, representing hun-dreds of local current and future employers,are planning to participate. Participatingemployers include: Arrowhead Products,DIRECTV, Lowes, Molina Healthcare andTilly’s, as well as dozens of other localbusinesses. In addition, job search assistance, em-

ployment workshops and other resourceswill be provided by a network of local non-profit agencies and by Pacific Gateway.Participants are encouraged to bring re-sumes, other employment documents and tocome prepared for on-the-spot interviews. For more information, call the 1st Dis-

trict office at 562/570-9675 or PacificGateway at 562/570-3723.

– Sean Belk, Staff Writer

City Council AwardsInitial Design ContractFor Shoemaker BridgeReplacement Project

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

A project to replace ShoemakerBridge, which currently connects the I-710 Freeway to Downtown Long Beach,is one step closer to becoming a reality.The undertaking involves building a newspan alongside the existing 56-year-oldbridge over the Los Angeles River and re-purposing the old bridge as a park with abike path. The Long Beach City Council voted

unanimously (9-0) at its June 9 meetingto award a $4.7 million contract to HDREngineering, Inc., a Long Beach-basedfirm, for the initial design phase of theproject. City officials said the contractcovers only about 30 percent of the over-all design, and construction isn’t expectedto start until 2020. During his term as councilmember and

vice mayor, Mayor Robert Garcia in 2013proposed the idea to repurpose the free-

10 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015NEWSWATCH

Boeing Sells Four C-17s To Qatar(Continued From Page 9)

Long Beach Election Season Starting Early� By GEORGE ECONOMIDES

Publisher

Despite there being 10 months beforevoters in even-numbered city council dis-tricts head to the polls, at least two candi-dates have publicly announced their plans.As reported two weeks ago, 6th District

City Councilman Dee Andrews is seekinga third four-year term in 2016. Due to thecity’s term-limit law, Andrews must runas a write-in candidate during the April12 primary. If he finishes in the top twoduring the primary, and no candidate re-ceives 50 percent plus one vote, An-drews’ name appears on the ballot in June2016 runoff.Last week, business executive and

downtown activist Eric Gray announcedhe is seeking the 2nd District city councilseat occupied by Vice Mayor Dr. SujaLowenthal. She is the senior member ofthe city council, first elected in a June2006 special election, then reelected totwo four-year terms in 2008 and again in2012. Like Andrews, Lowenthal is termedout, but is expected to announce soon ifshe will seek a third term.In the other even-numbered districts, 8th

District Councilman Al Austin is expectedto seek a second four-year term, and DarylSupernaw, who won a special election 60days ago to represent the 4th District, isalso expected to run next year for a four-

year term. The two incumbents have no an-nounced opposition at this time; neitherdoes Andrews, although he is expected tobe challenged.Gray has been rumored to be a candidate

for the past several months. A small busi-nessman, he is the founder and owner ofITO Solutions, an information technologyservices firm. His community involvementincludes serving as vice president of theDowntown Residential Council and co-founder of the Historic Pine Avenue Busi-ness Association. He also helped co-foundthe Long Beach Music Council and Culi-nary Long Beach, is a graduate of Leader-ship Long Beach, served on the board ofFriends of Bixby Park and is active with theLong Beach Lambda and Long BeachDemocratic clubs. Gray holds a bachelor’s degree in com-

munications from Towson University inMaryland. In a statement, Gray said he’srunning “to revitalize our neighborhoodsand business corridors,” adding, “Thecouncil needs new initiatives on technol-ogy, music, art and entertainment, infra-structure improvements, and open andresponsive government.”Long Beach Board Of EducationIn other election news, Jon Meyer, a 12-

year member of the Long Beach UnifiedSchool District (LBUSD) Board of Educa-tion, said he is seeking another term nextApril to represent the 4th District. The dis-trict covers all of Southeast Long Beach, toCherry Avenue on the west and AnaheimStreet to the north, and includes CatalinaIsland. There are no term limits for school board

seats. Meyer was first elected in a specialelection in 2003, then went on to win threefour-year-term elections.He has a long career locally in education,

spanning four decades as a teacher, headfootball coach and principal of an elemen-tary school and three high schools.In a statement, Meyer said, “LBUSD

has weathered unprecedented budget cutsimposed by the state over the last severalyears. It appears we can now work to re-store some of the things we had lost andbegin to move forward again . . . Withmuch of the stormy waters behind us Ifirmly believe that the next few years willbe critical in charting a long-term coursefor future of LBUSD and its students. Iam committed to seeing this importanttask through.” �

Small businessman Eric Gray announced lastweek that he is running for the 2nd District CityCouncil seat in the April 2016 elections. (Photo-graph provided by Gray)

(Please Continue Top Of Next Page)

way connector as green and open spacesimilar to High Line Park, which wasbuilt on a historic freight rail line in Man-hattan, New York. First District Councilmember Lena Gon-

zalez said that city staff is expected to seekout additional funding streams to cover theproject, which is anticipated to cost a totalof $113 million to $200 million. The pro-ject’s entire design is expected to cost $15million to $17.5 million. “It will greatly benefit and contribute to

the sustainability of our downtown andwestside,” Gonzalez said. “I couldn’t bemore proud of this project and what itcould become, hopefully, in the future.”The Shoemaker Bridge replacement

project is being funded partly throughMeasure R, which covers “early action”projects built independently and in ad-vance of the I-710 Corridor Project, aproposal by the Los Angeles County Met-ropolitan Transportation Authority(Metro) to improve air quality and allevi-ate traffic congestion. According to city staff, Metro has al-

ready provided the city with $5.5 millionin grant funds that will cover the initial de-sign phase of the bridge replacement proj-ect, proposed as a way to improve safetyand calm traffic entering downtown.Assistant City Engineer Derek Wieske

told the city council that Metro is offer-ing to provide $590 million over the next30 years for early action projects relatedto the I-710 corridor project, currentlystill under environmental review. A ma-jority of the funding, however, won’t beavailable until 2019, he said. A total of

$10.8 million has already been dedicatedfor the design of sound walls along thecorridor, city staff added. Long Beach Public Works Director Ara

Maloyan said the new bridge is being de-signed to span 1,300 feet, which is the en-tire width of the Los Angeles River, sincehydraulic calculations show that adding asupport structure would impede waterflow and force water to flow over the topof a nearby dam. The existing bridge was constructed in

1959 and named after the Port of LongBeach’s former chief harbor engineer,Robert R. Shoemaker. The new park proposed on top of the

existing bridge will connect to and enableexpansions of Cesar Chavez Park andDrake Park with a new nature center pro-posed at the east end of the bridge and anobservation tower and staircase plannedat the west end, according to a prelimi-nary sketch. The bridge park will also in-clude gardens, a promenade/boardwalkand viewpoints with shade. �

Mayor, Vice MayorPropose FormingQueen Mary Land

Development Task Force� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia andVice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, who repre-

sents the 2nd Council District, have pro-posed forming a task force to providefeedback and recommendations to thecity on developing parcels around theQueen Mary. The Long Beach City Council at its

meeting on June 23 is scheduled to voteon whether to request the city manager toconvene a 12-member Queen Mary LandDevelopment Task Force, according to astaff report. The members of the task force would be

appointed by the mayor and would includedowntown residents as well as experts intourism and hospitality, design and archi-tecture and historic preservation. “The Queen Mary is one of our city’s

most important assets, and the develop-

ment of the surrounding land needs to bedone carefully, thoughtfully and with sig-nificant community input,” Mayor Garciasaid in a statement. According to Garcia’s office, the city

has been meeting with Garrison Invest-ments, the ship’s operator and adjacentland leaseholder, to develop a timelineand process for creating a new master de-velopment. The new Queen Mary LandDevelopment task force would kick offthe community outreach process whileproviding feedback. The 43.38 acres that surround the ship

include the Queen Mary Events Park,parking lots and the Sea Walk Village, aswell as other vacant land, according tocity officials. �



initiatives to support technological advance-ments in the city and attract tech firms toLong Beach.In an e-mail sent to the Business Journal,

Garcia said he originally proposed creatingthe Long Beach Technology and InnovationCommission to ensure the city “remains atthe forefront of using technology to makegovernment more accessible, more trans-parent and more responsive.” Garcia added that the commissioners’

recommendations would address a broadrange of issues, including “improving ouruse of apps, attracting innovative technol-ogy businesses, and making city servicesmore efficient.”The ultimate goal of such initiatives is to

position the city as a “modern place whereit’s easy to interact,” said Robb Korinke, whowas recently elected chair of the commissionand works as a political consultant specializ-ing in open data and government technology. In a recent phone interview with the

Business Journal, he said reports showthat creating “innovation districts” orhubs, such as in Boston and San Fran-cisco, transforms cities into “magnets fortalent and entrepreneurs.” Long Beach’s Technology and Innovation

Commission, which has a diverse cast of techexperts, has so far had two official meetingsthat mostly involved organizational mattersand getting the commissioners up-to-speedon tech related topics in the city. The meetingscheduled for last month, however, was can-celed because there wasn’t a quorum. City staff has so far presented the com-

mission with updates on the city’s tech-nology and innovation initiatives, such as

the city’s newly revamped website, whichwas launched earlier this month, and theBloomberg Innovation Team, which isjust getting started. City officials con-firmed that upgrading the city’s websitewas approved nearly two years ago at acost of more than $200,000.Korinke, 36, said he looks forward to

the commission being able to provideinput on the city’s initiatives. Given thecommissioners’ diverse backgrounds thatinclude coding and education, the com-mission’s guidance will help propel thecity toward its goal of supporting and ad-vancing its technology, he said.

“What I’m most excitedabout is for the commissionto be able to have a chance toroll up its sleeves on one ormore issues and, potentially,break off into some workinggroups to really try and aidthe city wherever possibleand to advance some of theirinitiatives,” he said. One initiative in particu-

lar he hopes to discuss incoming months is “opendata,” a movement that in-volves opening up govern-ment data to the public forindividual or entrepreneur-ial use, Korinke said. Opening up data to the

public in an accessible andinnovative way will ulti-mately increase efficiencyfor city departments to pro-vide services and in someways will help spur new eco-nomic development, he said. Korinke, who founded a

Long Beach-based consulting firm calledGrassroots Lab that provides assistance onopen data and government technology,lauded the city’s new website featurecalled Open LB, which according to thecity’s website provides a “one-stop shopfor data and information about LongBeach,” with access to health stats, demo-graphic info and city news releases. He noted that the feature provides a “fi-

nancial transparency portal” that offersresidents different ways to visualizespending across city government. Another part of the equation is allowing

people to manipulate data to create their

own maps on how to access city services,such as locating parks, said Korinke, a five-year Long Beach resident. The City of LosAngeles has already spearheaded its ownopen data initiative, he said, adding that leg-islation is currently pending to push opendata initiatives on the state level as well. “It’s a much more contemporary way for

the city to provide information to its resi-dents,” Korinke said. “That’s a big part ofthe larger open data movement. This is onething that has been discussed informally onthe prospective open data initiative here atthe City of Long Beach and expanding onwhat’s been done at the website. This is thetype of thing that will be on the docket forthe commission.”Another topic to be discussed by the

commission is broadband and the issue ofincreasing “connectivity” and public Wi-Fiwhile coming up with ways to provide fasterInternet access for all residents, he said. In addition, city staff recently gave a

presentation on Long Beach utilizing OpenCounter, a software program first started inthe City of Santa Cruz that applies infor-mation technology (IT) to advance andsimplify the city’s permitting process. According to city staff, the new system

will “help entrepreneurs navigate thecity’s business registration process” andwill include an integrated, stand-alone“Zoning Check” feature. City staff notes that the program will also

help the city coordinate internal workflowsand build better relationships with newbusiness owners while making the citymore “business friendly” by providing im-portant city services “24/7.” Chris Wilding, who served as interim di-

rector of the Long Beach Department ofTechnology & Innovation before the de-partment’s new director, Bryan Sastokas,came on board on June 15, stated in an e-mail that the software will cost the city$40,500 per year for its subscription andhosting fee. Wilding added that there wouldbe a one-time, $30,000 implementation andconfiguration fee to set up all city ordi-nances into the system. “It will be a fantastic addition to our

online capabilities for entrepreneurs,[who] are thinking of opening a businessin Long Beach [by] streamlining theprocess,” he said. Wilding added that the city would ini-

tially pilot the program with the assistanceof the city’s business improvement districts(BIDs). The city’s financial managementdepartment will cover the first year of fund-ing for the program while the city’s devel-opment services department would coversubsequent years of subscription fees, “as-suming the pilot is successful,” he added. Korinke said such programs and techno-

logical advancements provide opportunitiesfor Long Beach to become more efficientand spark new economic development. “I think one of the catch phrases is doing

things online rather than in line,” Korinke said.“Having 24/7 access to a city process that youcan do from your home or from your officethat may not necessitate you coming into cityhall and waiting in line . . . is just so criticaland it’s something that is talked about a lot [in]the state [and in] other municipalities.”Wilding said the commission is expected

to establish a future strategy planning ses-sion at its next meeting, which is scheduledfor tomorrow, June 24, at 5 p.m. in the citycouncil chambers. �

12 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY

City of Long Beach Digital ServicesiOS application in iTUNES Store Android applications in Google Play

Application Last Update Number Of Installs Last Update Number Of InstallsGo Long Beach January 2, 2015 9,020 August 29, 2014 2,716(allows users to report problems and track service requests for broken streetlights, potholes on the road, graffiti on public building, etc.)

Long Beach PD February 2014 3,400 February 5, 2014 1,828(used to increase communication and awareness among residents by providing access to information relating to news, crime prevention, alerts,events, social media feeds, integrated crime maps, etc. Also provides the ability to submit and follow up on crime tips)

Animal Care Services November 5, 2013 1,043 February 23, 2015 161(allows searches for adoptable cats and dogs, locating emergency veterinarians, finding local dog parks, search for impounded animals and accessto social media feeds. Also, updates about upcoming low-cost clinics and special events)

Vote Long Beach Februry 3, 2015 845 January 26, 2015 502(provides information to residents on when and where to vote on city elections. Users can locate a polling place, request and track a vote-by-mail bal-lot, share election buzz on Facebook and Twitter, and receive instant elections results)

Long Beach Public Library July 30, 2012 4,354 July 19, 2012 3,438(allows patrons to search the library catalog, manage their library account, see where library materials are available, place and manage a hold, renewan item, connect with a librarian on social media, e-mail or phone, get reading recommendations, obtain general library information, etc.)

PulsePoint Response April 1, 2015 n/a December 4, 2014 n/a(alerts citizen responders who know CPR to local emergencies near them and to the location of the nearest AED – Automated External Defibrillator)

My Long Beach City Auditor March 17, 2015 66 March 27, 2015 n/a(citizens are able to learn about fraud and report it directly through the app itself, read issued audit reports, offer ideas and suggestions, etc)

Go LBG Airport January 30, 2014 1,060 January 27, 2014 546(provides real-time flight arrival and departure information, airport parking information, ground transportation options, terminal maps, links to points ofinterest in the city, etc)

Report A Water Waster October 8, 2014 429 July 8, 2014 288(enables residents to share the location of water waste, upload a photo and report a water use violation within the city)

Go Uptown Long Beach June 6, 2015 n/a June 6, 2015 n/a(allows users to connect to city resources such as activities at parks and libraries, and provides information on special deals from local businesses. Italso serves as a healthy eating active living – HEAL – resource)

LB Bridge June 15, 2015 934 November 14, 2014 1,704(allows users to stay up to date on the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project, offering the latest news, information, photos and videos of theproject, with live cameras and traffic information to help motorists navigate lane closures and detours)

Source: Prepared by the Long Beach Business Journal from information provided by the City of Long Beach Technology & Innovation Department.

Current as of May 2015.

Robb Korinke, who works as a political consultant specializing in opendata and government technology, serves as chair of the newly formedLong Beach Technology and Innovation Commission. He is the founderof the political consulting, technology-based firm, Grassroots Lab,which has an office in Long Beach and Sacramento. (Photograph bythe Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Commission Update(Continued From Page 1)


2015


June 2

� By MICHAEL GOUGIS

Contributing Writer

David Erickson’s path to business suc-cess is one that is well known but rarelytraveled – at least, to the extent that he hastraveled it. Erickson found a niche in theconference calling industry and worked im-mensely hard at filling that niche when hestarted his company in 2001.“It was a single-man operation. I did

everything. I worked the first 918 dayswithout a break,” said Erickson, CEO ofFreeConferenceCall.com.And as another well-known saying goes,

effort equals results. The result of that effortis that FreeConferenceCall.com now employsapproximately 120 people in its Long Beachheadquarters and around the globe, offersvoice conference call services in nearly 60countries, and is the largest privately ownedconferencing company in the world. Presidential candidates use the service;

most of the Fortune 500 companies use theservice. Even the company’s hold musichas impacted the cultural and entertainmentenvironment of the U.S.In his modest office at the company’s

building at the Traffic Circle, Ericksonoutlined his business model, his productphilosophies and his view of the indus-try’s future. Dressed in a casual short-sleeve button-up shirt and flip-flops,Erickson embodied the image of SouthernCalifornia entrepreneur cool.“I’ve been in voice, video and data since

1995,” said Erickson, a Downey native whomoved to Long Beach about 25 years ago.“I remember seeing my first voice, videoand data machine – it was produced by Intel,a product called Intel ProShare. It workedon a PC, and it was combined with ISDN, acommunication process that allowed thetransmission of voice, data and video simul-taneously over existing telephone lines.“Even after web-based systems became

available, I really stuck with the ISDN – wewere getting higher quality video, higherquality sound. Voice, video and sound overthe web at that point were pretty nascent –they didn’t penetrate firewalls well, it wasa bit of a mess. But I hung in there. I cre-ated a software-based switching system.And a few years later, in 2001, I got thisidea for FreeConferenceCall.com.”One of the things that made FreeConfer-

enceCall.com work was that it actually is –no lie, no strings, no BS – absolutely free. Due to regulatory and pricing decisions

made by federal regulators, there was a tinyamount of money to be made from localtelephone exchange companies by offeringa conference call. The trick was trying tocreate enough call volume to make thosetiny sums of money add up. Erickson de-cided to try generating volume by offeringa higher-quality service than other freeconference call services.“There were two ways to make money

off of a conference call. One was to chargean organizer fee, which is kind of the main-stream, still mainstream today,” Ericksonsaid. “The other was by working with thelocal exchange carriers – a conference calldrives incrementally more traffic into a

local exchange. Therefore, a local ex-change would be willing to pay some of the. . . fees that they receive when they getthese incremental minutes (of telephoneusage). Today, they’re fractions of a cent.They’re about maybe a third of a cent. Sothe idea was, well, if I take away organizerfees, and I make conference calling free, doI get more volume to make up for themoney I gave away in organizer fees?”It worked. But it worked because

FreeConferenceCall.com offered a bettersignal and better service. That was some-thing Erickson learned in that firstmarathon stint at the helm of his startup.“For the first couple of years plus, I

manned the customer service lines. BecauseI manned the customer service lines, I heardevery complaint. I heard every quality issue.I was real, real in touch with that,” Ericksonsaid. “I also became really in touch withwhat it meant when you have poor qualityon a conference call. If one person is havinga bad quality call, it’s making it a bad callfor the others. A lot of times the calls aremission critical. They are companies invit-ing potential customers, prospects, existingcustomers to talk over serious stuff. If itdoesn’t happen right, it’s detrimental.“I think that sitting and manning those

lines and hearing the issues and fixing theissues – and hearing what those issuesmeant to them – has always stuck with me.”Today, the company has – in addition to

the Long Beach headquarters – offices forR&D and development and network oper-ations in Chernigov, Ukraine; Nizhny Nov-gorod, Russia; and a small office inMaryland. The Maryland office is home tosome of the company’s technological engi-neers and the chief technical officer.Keeping up with technology and cus-

tomer preferences are the keys to ensuringthe company’s future, Erickson said. Thecompany is offering customers the optionof paying for upgrades like screen sharing

– the ability to see what is on the call orga-nizer’s computer screen – and is preparingto roll out its video conferencing service.Again, maintaining quality is key to mak-ing the new products work, Erickson said.“We’re proactively watching the calls.

We’ve learned to study calls. We can see,kind of like in ‘The Matrix,’ if you will,we can see problems,” Erickson said. “Wewatch the ALOCs – average length of calls– and if it’s dropping, that means peopleare getting off, or they’re getting dropped,so we manage those percentages to makesure we maintain our quality.”The company also offers customers the

opportunity to use their own hold music.It’s a paid service. But it hasn’t really takenoff, in part because the default hold musichas become one of the most popular piecesof music in history and a cultural icon in itsown right. An average of six million peopleevery month hear the song “Sunshine Soul”while on hold at FreeConferenceCall.com.“We’ve seen it in television commercials,

where they’re doing some spoof on confer-ence calls, they’ve got our hold music,” Er-ickson said. “People have rapped to it.People have danced – made dance videosto it. There was a big article in Spin maga-zine about it. It’s everywhere.” �

14 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY

FreeConferenceCall.Com CEO David Erickson: ‘We Are The Most Recognized Retail Brand Of Conferencing In The World . . .’

Smartphone ApplicationMay Help Speed Up The

Supply Chain� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGER

Senior Writer

Since January, a smartphone applicationthat tracks, orchestrates and helps optimizemovement of shipping containers has beenundergoing testing at the Port of Los Ange-les’ (POLA) West Basin Container Termi-nal. The application, developed byVenice-based firm Cargomatic, has had“encouraging” preliminary results, accord-ing to a statement from POLA. Cargomatic was originally launched in

2013 “as an online marketplace” for truck-ers seeking work and shippers needing theirservices to connect, according to POLA. Ayear later, the company began developingits Cargomatic Free Flow program forsmartphones, which allows beneficial cargoowners and drayage firms or independenttruckers to arrange movement and deliveryof a container, and to track it along the way.“We support trucks picking up a specific

container, as well as the free-flow model

where trucks stream through for any containerin a designated stack,” Cargomatic CEOJonathan Kessler said in a POLA news re-lease. “We provide the technology and do allthe coordination between shippers and carri-ers so cargo can get where it needs to go.”Container pickups are documented “by

entering or photographing the containernumber,” according to POLA. Once a de-livery is confirmed, payment is triggered.Cargomatic sets drayage service rates thatare booked through the phone application.“We also bill the shipper, pay the carrierand collapse the process so carriers arepaid within eight to 15 days,” CargomaticChief Operating Officer Brett Parker saidin a statement.Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti an-

nounced the collaboration between Cargo-matic and POLA on June 4. “This kind ofinnovation will help keep our port No. 1,benefiting working Angelenos and our localeconomy,” he stated. In POLA’s press re-lease, POLA Executive Director GeneSeroka said, “We’ve always supported in-novation and we’re proud to be a gatewaywhere new strategies are emerging.”Cargomatic hopes to move 1,000 con-

tainers per week through POLA using itsapplication. �

David Erickson, CEO of FreeConference.Call.com, is pictured at his Long Beachheadquarters. The firm offers voice conference call services in nearly 60 coun-tries. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


Randy Paulson NamedChief Marketing OfficerFor Moffatt & NicholMoffatt & Nichol, a Long Beach-based engineer-

ing firm specializing inmaritime projects, recentlynamed 20-year industryveteran Randy Paulson asits chief marketing officer.In his new role, Paulson will“oversee firm-wide market-ing activities to support thefirm’s market sectors andexplore areas of growth,”according to an announce-

ment from Moffatt & Nichol. “With this position,we’re striving to merge the data and analytic sideof business with the creative aspects of market-ing,” Moffatt & Nichol President Eric Nichol saidin a statement. “We’re thrilled to have Randy onboard as both a business and marketing leader.”Paulson most recently worked at the internationalarchitecture firm AECOM overseeing a marketingteam focused on both domestic and internationalmarkets. Prior to that, he worked for Walker Park-ing Consultants, a parking garage design firm,where he was a business development director.He also previously worked as a regional market-ing manager for David Evans and Associates, adesign firm specializing in transportation and de-velopment, energy, and water projects. Paulsonholds a degree in business administration fromCalifornia State University, Fullerton, and is a pastpresident of the Society for Marketing ProfessionalServices – Los Angeles Chapter. (Photograph pro-vided by Moffatt & Nichol)

Two MemorialCare Execs Are Among BestHospital/Health SystemCFOs In The U.S.

Two chief financial officers(CFOs) serving in theMemorialCare Health Sys-tem have been recognizedamong the nation’s bestCFOs from 150 hospitalsand health systems byBecker’s Hospital Review.The review, published byBecker’s Healthcare, coversbusiness and legal news re-

lated to the health care industry. Named in the listof the nation’s best hospital and health systemCFOs were Karen Testman, registered nurse andCFO of MemorialCare Health System (pictured atleft), and John Bishop (pictured below), CFO ofMemorialCare’s three Long Beach hospitals and itsSeaside Health Plan, which is also based in Long

Beach. Testman has servedas CFO since 2013. Priorto that, she served as thehealth system’s senior vicepresident of financial oper-ations. She has also servedas CFO of Orange CoatMemorial and SaddlebackMemorial Medical Center.Bishop has held the position

of CFO of MemorialCare’s Long Beachhospitals since 2009, and was namedCFO of Seaside Health Plan in 2014. He also pro-vides oversight for the Memorial Medical CenterFoundation, a nonprofit organization, and is treas-urer of the California Children’s Hospital Associa-tion. Prior to these roles, he also served as CFO ofSaddleback Memorial Medical Center.

Joel Cook Promoted To Commander For Long Beach Police Dept. Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna has ap-pointed Joel Cook to serve as a new commanderassigned to the security services division. Cook, a26-year veteran of the Long Beach Police Depart-

ment, began his career with the police force in1989. He was promoted to corporal in 1996, ser-geant in 1999 and then lieutenant in 2007. Cookhas worked in a variety of roles and assignmentsincluding: patrol, field training officer, crimeanalysis, vice investigations, special weapons andtactics, special enforcement, gang enforcement,homeland security, advanced officer training andspecial victims investigations. His most recent as-signment has been lieutenant of the event plan-ning and disaster preparedness division. Cookhas a bachelor’s of science in criminal justice anda master’s of science in emergency managementfrom California State University, Long Beach. Heis also a graduate of the Sherman Block Supervi-sory Institute, Class 147. �

June 23-July 6, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 15 2015

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IN THE NEWS

Aquarium Honors Oceanography Experts At Blue Whale GalaThe Aquarium of the Pacific awarded Vice Admiral Paul Gaffney II, a retired Navy service member and oceanography professional, and Dr. Margaret Leinen, an oceanographer, its 2015 Ocean ConservationAward. According to the Aquarium, the award recognizes individuals “who contribute significantly to ocean conservation and environmental education.” The awards were presented during the Aquarium’s annualBlue Whale Gala, a fundraising cocktail and dinner affair held June 17. Following his career in the Navy, Gaffney was appointed to the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy in 2001 by President George W. Bush.In 2009, he became chair of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel, and in 2014 he became chair of the Ocean Exploration Advisory Board. He currently serves as a fellow at Monmouth University’s Urban CoastInstitute. Leinen currently works at the University of California, San Diego as its vice chancellor of marine sciences, director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and dean of the School of Marine Sciences.She is also a fellow-elect of the Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America, and is president of the American Geophysical Union Board of Directors. The Aquarium itselfalso recently received recognition when its president and CEO, Jerry Schubel, was named Conservator of the Year by the Bolsa Chica Conservancy. Pictured at the Blue Whale Gala, from left, are: Schubel andhis wife, Margaret; Leinen; Gaffney and his wife, Linda; and Blue Whale Gala Chair Michelle Molina and her husband, Aquarium Board Chair John Molina. (Photograph by Caught in the Moment Photography)

Mark Paul Fine Jewelry Opens In California HeightsMark Paul, a jeweler specializing in custom and luxury jewelry, opened Mark Paul Fine Jewelryon June 20 in California Heights at 3401 Orange Ave. Before becoming a jeweler in 2003, Paulworked for the historic Black, Starr & Frost jewelry company, which was founded in 1810. Aftera two-year apprenticeship, he went on to study at Los Angeles’s Jewelry Arts And Design College,where he later taught 3D jewelry design. Since 2005, Paul’s designs have been featured inseveral television shows and magazines. According to a statement from the company, Paul begantraveling the world in 2007 to search for precious gemstones, and now operates “a few small-scale gold mining operations with his good friend and partner, Kwajo, in Ghana.” Paul uses tech-nology such as lasers, 3D scanning and robots to create unique designs. Mark Paul Fine Jewelry“specializes in custom, bridal, fashion, vintage and men’s jewelry with precious and semi-preciousgemstones and metals,” according to its website. For more information, call Mark Paul Fine Jew-elry at 562/612-3610. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


nual meeting will come to Long Beachusing eight hotels, the convention centerand the state of the art Pacific Room.

But for the CVB . . . David Fredenburgh, director of program

services for the National Criminal JusticeAssociation in Washington, D.C., had neverbeen to Long Beach. “I never thought of itas a resort or convention destination. I nevereven considered it. We were planning to putour convention in Ft. Worth.” Then Freden-burgh accepted the CVB’s Regina Richard-son’s invitation to come to the Toyota GrandPrix of Long Beach this past April. “We liked Ft. Worth. . . . they were good.

But Long Beach was exceptional in address-ing all of Ft. Worth’s deficiencies. And thewelcome we received from the CVB, the ho-tels, everywhere we went was amazing. TheCVB even had a wheelchair waiting for mysister when we arrived at the airport. Whodoes that? Regina did. They pay attention todetail and to people. We put Long Beach intothe 2017 slot and moved Ft. Worth to 2018.”

But for the CVB . . . . The non-profit Irrigation Association in

Fairfax, Virginia, is a trade association withnearly 1,800 members who represent 15,000employees. It had held seven conventions inSan Diego, several in Anaheim but not oneof their conventions with its 5,000 exhibitorsand attendees had ever come to Long Beach.“We’re a non-profit. Our conventions arerevenue generators. So if a city is not cost-attractive to participants and their exhibitors,then we won’t go,” the association’s businessdevelopment director, Scott Hersh, said. After working closely with Richardson,

the Irrigation Association is holding itsfirst-ever convention in Long Beach thisNovember.

But for the CVB . . . Jason Weinstein, director of national

events for the American Association ofRetired People (AARP), said that since2002 the group’s national conventions hadbeen held in Southern California. Onceeach in Los Angeles and Anaheim, twicein San Diego. “Long Beach was never onAARP’s map. We never considered it.Were it not for the CVB’s senior nationalsales director, Paul Romero, it would havenever happened,” he said.

But for the CVB . . .Marilyn Matthews of Meeting Solutions,

Inc. and Heather Martin of Helms Briscoeare influential, third-party convention siteselection professionals whose companiesrepresent many corporate and associationclients. Martin was invited by the CVB tovisit Long Beach, and she asked Matthewsto join her. Matthews had never heard ofLong Beach. Soon, they are each doing asite visit to Long Beach. The first conven-tion availabilities for their clients are asearly as 2018. The women shared that theyare encouraged by hotel pricing, reasonableoverall convention costs and that the hotels,restaurants and convention facilities arewithin walking distance. These are not isolated or anecdotal.

Over the course of three days and nights, Ishadowed Long Beach CVBPresident/CEO Steve Goodling and LongBeach Mayor Robert Garcia on the CVB’sannual sales mission to Washington, D.C. Irandomly spoke with more than 30 associ-ation convention planners. They spoke withme about how the CVB put Long Beach on

their radar, resulting in them already visit-ing or planning a visit to the city.So “what” is the CVB? The question is not

“what” but “who?” Regina Richardson, PaulRomeo, Art Scanlon, Chris Lappia. Peopleyou don’t know and will likely never meet,but who are Long Beach’s ambassadors inour nation’s capital. Every day of every weekthey’re courting the largest concentration ofbusiness and non-profit associations in anycity in America. When they succeed, and itis often but never easy, thousands of conven-tion visitors come to Long Beach spendingtens of millions of dollars, resulting in eco-nomic activity that creates thousands of goodpaying, permanent jobs locally.The CVB staff has redefined Long Beach

from a nickel-and-dime, post-naval base,aged, industrial port city in recovery, barelyworth a second thought into a reinvented,big-time convention destination with worldclass service, facilities, hotels and recre-ation wrapped in the casual charm and hos-pitality of a Southern California beach city. Trudie Finley, vice president of meetings

and special events for the huge and hugelyinfluential National Retail Federation(NRF), put it best: “Long Beach is the buzzin our industry these days as the place tohold conventions.”The NRF represents the big, powerful re-

tailers in D.C.: companies like Target, Wal-mart and Macy’s. Where the NRF holds itsconventions carries considerable influenceamong the association fraternity. The NRFis holding its first convention in LongBeach this month with more than 1,400 at-tendees. The CVB is on the competitivetrack for another major NRF convention in2019. Finley is so impressed that she ap-peared in her first-ever promotional videofor any CVB. And it was for Long Beach.During the meeting with her at NRF

headquarters – attended by Mayor Garcia,Goodling and team-CVB – Finley volun-

teered: “You don’t need to sell us. We loveyou. Long Beach is a perfect fit for us. Ilove that city. I know their people. I wantto rotate us through Long Beach every twoor three years. I wish I could put every con-vention I ever planned in Long Beach.” An endorsement doesn’t get much better

than that.This just didn’t happen. It took a decade

of focused strategic planning, reinvention,collaboration with hospitality partners andcooperation from city officials. Most of all,it took the sustained leadership by theCVB’s president/CEO and board of direc-tors. Goodling’s leadership and strategicplans have been endorsed and assisted bythree successive mayors of Long Beach,other elected officials, city managers andtheir administrations, business and commu-nity leaders and the CVB’s partners in thehospitality business. One absolutely essential element of the

Goodling plan is the annual sales missionto Washington, D.C. The planning is ex-haustive and begins almost a full year out.With laser-like precision, his team identifiesbest new opportunities, checks in with as-sociations with pending conventions, andtakes considerable time to thank all of them.“We go,” Goodling said, “to renew friend-

ships, help further along closing pending op-portunities, visit new clients as a total cityteam and deliver new marketing messagesabout what’s great about Long Beach.” The “total city team” always includes the

mayor, sometimes other electeds, hospital-ity partners from hotels and the conventioncenter, along with Long Beach-based CVBstaff so the potential client feels the full em-brace and support of the city establishment. What’s at stake in the 2015 annual sales

mission to Washington? The potential op-portunity to bring home to Long Beachconvention business totaling:• 76,000 total room nights;

• $32 million EEI (estimated economicimpact); and• $2.2 million in transient occupancy tax

that goes directly into city coffers.According to Goodling, 35.6 percent of

total room night use in Long Beach is at-tributable to the Washington, D.C, market.This is why the CVB hosted

“#DCmeetLB” earlier this month wheremeticulous planning created a schedule forthe delegation that included:• 26 sales calls to individual association

headquarter offices, several attended byMayor Garcia;• 8 customer events (receptions, lunch-

eons, forums); and• attended by 300-plus association cus-

tomers and guests. Each event is carefully scripted for max-

imum impact. Goodling, Long Beach Con-vention & Entertainment Center GeneralManager Charlie Beirne and the CVB’sD.C. sales rep each speak briefly, mostly totee up the two highlights of every presen-tation: Mayor Garcia and four brief butbrilliantly produced videos.“We are grateful for your business,” the

Mayor begins as he speaks with unbridledenthusiasm about Long Beach. “LongBeach is a big urban metropolis with a greatcommunity feel because it remains a city ofneighborhoods. Downtown is one of thoseneighborhoods. It’s where I live. It’s safe,with great people, restaurants, shopping anda beautiful coastal view. A new $80 millionretail project is underway just steps from theconvention center which will have new retailand premier shopping, Nike, H&M, Gap. “We have the lowest level of crime in the

city’s history. We have our own airport withits beautiful new terminal. Long Beach isan incredibly safe, walk-able, biking, funbeach city. If the mayor lives and invests ina home in downtown, you know it’s a greatplace for you and your conventions” – a linethat always gets a laugh of approval.Garcia continues: “We are larger than

Miami, Atlanta, Minneapolis and New Or-leans. It’s a great city, a big city with asmall town community feeling whose peo-ple are welcoming and helpful. And theweather is always terrific. We will roll outthe red carpet for you. Go Long Beach!”ending his remarks as he always does withhis trademark, enthusiastic sign-off.During the reception and after the formal

presentation, the mayor works the room,talking up Long Beach and thanking eachperson for attending. This kind of personal,hands-on support from a big-city mayor onbehalf of a CVB is unusual, and the guestsknow it. Association presidents are lobbiedby mayors about legislation. Rare is themayor who spends two 10-hour days onconvention business with an associationvice president or director. The four videos intro’d by Messrs.

Goodling and Beirne speak entertaininglyand substantively about Long Beach. First-rate production value showcasing the beat,the best of Long Beach:• Andrew’s Long Beach Experience – a

millennial-targeted, trendy, upbeat videoshowing fun sites and sounds of the down-town convention area; • Discover Long Beach – a collage

made from 12 award-winning videosabout Long Beach by Long Beach resi-dents. Themed to an original song,“Downtown Long Beach” is written and

16 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015SPECIAL REPORT – HOSPITALITY & TOURISM

Top: Art Scanlon, national sales director, Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), talkswith clients, from left: Mary Spruill and Rebecca Lamb, both with The NEED Project, and MarilynMatthews, For Meeting Solutions, Inc. Bottom left: Paul Romero, also a national sales director for theCVB, talks with clients Terri Long, left, with the North American Millers Association, and Peggy Kniznerof the National Agricultural Aviation Association. Above right: Regina Richardson, another nationalsales director for the CVB, hugs her client, Sheila Varner, of Meeting Management Services. (Pho-tographs provided by the CVB).

A Look At The CVB(Continued From Page 1)



2015


June 2

performed by Charles Whitehead specifi-cally for this video. • The Pacific Room: Inspired Design,

Where Connection Happens – about the$10 million renovation of the Long BeachArena and creation of the one of its kindnew Pacific Room, which has alreadybooked $80 million in convention business.Unmatched anywhere in the U.S., theArena can be configured into any shapes,sizes and styles of meeting space the cus-tomer desires (and at no charge). “We have created an environment for

networking and collaboration at the Arenaand convention center. Our buildings arenewly designed to do just that. We are stateof the art. We are the trend others now fol-low,” explains Beirne.• What Meeting Planners Say About

Long Beach – short, personal, specific tes-timonials by D.C.-based association col-leagues about Long Beach’s unique anddesirable location for conventions.The four videos were played at each event

and most meetings. Well worth watching.You’ll find them on the CVB website:http://www.visitlongbeach.com/videos/Twenty Long Beach hospitality partners

traveled back to D.C. as part of the delega-tion, including the general managers ofLong Beach’s best convention-related ho-tels. Many of them are competitors at home.All of them partners in D.C. acting as ateam promoting the City of Long Beach. “All the hotels come to pitch ‘the city’

even though they have their individual tablesset up at each event. Everyone knows this trip

is a team effort and what benefits the citybenefits each of them,” Goodling explained.Kelly Fogarty, director of sales for the

Queen Mary, explained it this way: “I go onthis sales mission to support Steve (Goodling)and the CVB. They’re great partners. I’m alsoable to meet clients at receptions and makeother appointments of my own. The hospital-ity people and CVB are a tight group becausewe are literally all close by to one anotherand support one another because it’s best forthe city. Steve has a strong team and I ap-preciate that he goes out on sales calls withus and supports the Queen Mary.” Bianca Ware, citywide sales executive for

Marriott’s Renaissance, Courtyard and Res-idence Inn, complimented the CVB for itssuccess at “coordinating the support of cityhall, sheriff and local police” any and all cityservices. Ware appreciates that the CVBshows no favorites and “promotes everyone.” Kristi Allen of the Hotel Maya was

happy to have met with more than 300planners during the sales mission “includ-ing big users of the Maya like Lockheed,Tesoro and Boeing.” Allen explained that the Maya is not re-

ally a convention hotel but rather an up-scale boutique hotel used by transitbusiness travelers and for smaller executiveboard meetings. However, Allen added, en-couraging convention business is good forthe city and still helps the Maya. When theconvention-sized hotels in the city getbooked solid, “transit non-convention busi-ness travelers will then be directed to theMaya. So we all benefit whether we areboutique or convention hotels.”The CVB further, very effectively, used

Mayor Garcia by visiting potential clientsat their offices with whom the mayor sharesa strong public policy connection.Cynthia Nagendra, director, Center for

Capacity Building, and David Dirks, meet-ing and events planner, both with the Na-tional Alliance to End Homelessness, werewell acquainted and impressed with MayorGarcia’s aggressive goal to end veteranhomelessness in Long Beach by year-end2015. They were also familiar with themayor’s longtime concern over the highrate of LGBT youth homelessness. A city’s policies are part of the site selec-

tion committee’s decision-making process.So to have a mayor personally pitching LongBeach with a track record on their issues isa powerful tool in CVB’s strategy to win theAlliance’s February 2017 convention.“Your conference in our city will allow

for a great exchange of ideas among all ofus, not just your convention attendees,”Mayor Garcia told them. He volunteered apromise to attend their conference, whichwas unexpected and appreciated. The last event of Mayor Garcia’s two-

day, all-day efforts on behalf of the salesmission was billed by the CVB as the“Mayor’s Educational Forum.” The guestsrepresented educational associations thatwould be interested in the mayor’s educa-tional initiatives and might choose LongBeach as a convention site. Once again, thepartnering of convention marketing withpublic policy to an issue-specific group ofassociations proved compelling. “Most important part of the fabric of

America is the educational system,” MayorGarcia said to the group of 30 representing

more than a dozen educational associations.He went on to outline the “Long Beach Col-lege Promise” whereby he pledged the city’spartnership with LB Unified, LB City Col-lege and Cal State LB’s landmark program toprovide a tuition-free semester at LBCC andguaranteed admission into CSULB for thoseLBCC graduates achieving specified goals.“Long Beach is an educational city and

a place for free exchange of ideas. I liveand breathe education and I will be happilyinvolved in your conventions if you want.Thank you and Go Long Beach!”CVB vice president of sales, Quentin

Roberts, observed how virtually unprece-dented this kind of support from a mayoris. Roberts, who’d only been on the job forjust two weeks, has over 28 years in thehospitality business. “It’s been my experi-ence mayors or CVB presidents don’t goout on client calls let alone pitch their cityto like-minded public policy associationsthe way Mayor Garcia did today. It’s a realboost for our sales mission and for the rep-utation of Long Beach.”Many used to see Long Beach as only a

“port city.’ But to others, having the sec-ond-largest container port in the country inyour convention portfolio is a valued toolfor the CVB.Victoria Cartwright, manager of educa-

tion and meetings for the National Associ-ation of Foreign-Trade Zones, shared, “Ourmembership has an affinity with a port city.Port of Long Beach officials have agreedto come and speak at our 2016 conventionand they even offered to give our conven-tion attendees a tour of the port facilities.We were very pleased by these gestures.”


A Look At The CVB(Continued From Page 16)


This highly targeted approach, leverag-ing all of Long Beach’s varied and uniqueassets, is what makes the CVB such a dy-namic sales force. They do their homework.Anticipate needs. Customize conventionprograms. No person or organization istaken for granted and they never quit.The CVB’s Roberts, to whom the metro

D.C. sales force reports, noted, “We’re pas-sive and we’re aggressive. Every day wemake emotional deposits with our clients.We have to be both persistent and consistent,balancing grace and finesse but not beingintrusive. Timing, knowing their needs,doing homework and research as to whyLong Beach would be a good fit. Giving upis not an option, no matter how long it takes.“It reminds me of the movie 50 First

Dates,” Roberts joked. “We know there’s arelationship there with our customer andafter a while they give in.”The D.C. team is dogged. Relationships

can cut both ways, as Paul Romero learnedwhen he first pitched Long Beach in 2011to the National Association for Home Care& Hospice (NAHCH) for its 2014 annualconvention. The CEO came to Long Beachfor a site visit. They liked what they saw,but Long Beach didn’t get the business; theCEO had close ties with Phoenix. However,Romero did secure a smaller association“meeting” which exposed the full leader-ship to Long Beach. So when it came time for the group to ro-

tate west again for its 2017 annual confer-ence, Romero pitched Scott Baum, head ofadvertising sales, in December 2014. TheCEO and Baum, who had never seen LongBeach, visited in March 2015 for a “famtrip” – familiarization trip. Came out againfor Grand Prix weekend in April. On June2nd, Romero and the CVB received verbalconfirmation that Long Beach beat out SaltLake and Seattle for NAHCH’s annual con-ference, which will bring 3,000 convention-eers to the city’s convention facilities, hotels,restaurants and shops in October 2017 forfive days with an estimated $2.3-$2.5 mil-lion economic boost to the city economy. Four years passed, but Romero never

gave up. Always kept NAHCH on his radar.And it’s not like the contact ends after the

convention contract is finalized. Romeroattended the first day of the conference andthe check-in process for The Sulphur Insti-tute in 2014, something Stephanie Santini,manager of meetings and member services,called a “rarity” for any CVB sales forces.There is a “Year Out Promo” – where the

sales reps will go to an association’s con-vention a year out from their Long Beachconvention to hype Long Beach to the at-tendees, explain what to expect, encourageattendance. The CVB also will get a boothat an association’s trade show after the con-tract is signed. At the CVB’s offices thereis a “Convention Services” unit that kicksin after the signing to prepare them and theassociation for the convention, workthrough all requests, requirements andmake sure the CVB makes good on all itspre-signing promises and commitments.Nothing is left to chance during this sales

mission, yet they have with their guests awarm feeling of friendliness and spontane-ity. It is incredibly hard work and the com-petition from nearly 500 other CVBs isfierce. Attention to detail, homework, de-votion and knowing their customers en-ables the CVB to compete for everyassociation-type’s business.

Cvent, a worldwide event managementcompany, headquartered in Northern Vir-ginia with 1700 employees, 14,000 cus-tomers and over 200,000 suppliers, posts itsTop 50 Meeting Destinations in the UnitedStates each year. For 2014 Long Beach ranks44th, moving up four from 48th in 2013.There are nearly 500 CVBs in the Conven-tion and Visitor Bureau Directory placingLong Beach CVB among the Top 10 percentof all convention destinations in America.The last major hospitality study was done

by the CSULB Economics Department in2011. (Isn’t it time for a new one?) It calcu-lated the economic impact of overnight vis-itors, convention and non-convention, onthe Long Beach economy. Its findings werestunning, even more so considering it wasat the height of the Great Recession:• $328 million overall economic impact• 6,729 direct jobs• $170.7 million payrollIt is estimated that more than 6.6 million

visitors came to Long Beach in 2014.That’s as if the entire population of the Cityof Los Angeles came to visit Long Beachonce, then two-thirds of them visited twice!The direct and secondary economic bene-fits are staggering – a lifeline to jobs, taxrevenue and enhanced reputation.But it’s more than that. The Long Beach

Area Convention & Visitors Bureau isbranding hospitality, Long Beach hospitalityfor the long term where even the unsuspect-ing guests of the sales mission leave feelingthey are part of their Long Beach family.Corny? Maybe. But it’s authentic. SteveGoodling “only hires people who like peo-ple, like the business and are excited abouthospitality.” Goodling understands the vastpersonality difference between sales repswho instinctually know “liking people isgood business” from reps who think “goodbusiness is liking people.” Relationshipbuilding is infused in all that is done by hisreps because they feel it on the natural.Fifteen years ago there was no buzz,

only fizzle. It’s taken a decade-plus tochange the image of Long Beach from aboring, dreary port city recovering fromthe loss of a naval shipyard to vibrant,cutting-edge, trendy business destinationwith world-class facilities. Fifteen years ago, Steve Goodling had

a vision to create a customer-focused, re-sponsive CVB that acted with integrityand transparency promoting a city heloves. Part relationship rebuilding, partsales strategy, carefully designed andmeticulously implemented. Goodling sur-rounds himself with strong, confident, ca-pable, down-to-earth staff, gets assistsfrom a cooperative city government andappreciative elected officials, and buy-infrom the city's hospitality partners.Everyone has benefited from the successof that vision.Observing them today, it feels real because

it is real. Goodling couldn’t have pulled it offif he and his team, including those on the an-nual sales mission, weren’t themselves as au-thentic, unpretentious, caring and welcomingas the product they are selling – the city andpeople of Long Beach. But for the unique-ness of Long Beach and the public’s strongsupport for tourism, the CVB wouldn’t havesomething special to sell. The city and its CVB – it’s been a re-

markably long, bold, mutually beneficialpartnership that has served the people ofLong Beach well. �





June 2

194,332 room night stays at Long Beachhotels, generating $2,407,257 in transientoccupancy tax (hotel bed tax) for the city.The estimated citywide economic impact ofthese groups is $246,490,129, according tothe CVB. About 1.7 million people are ex-pected to come to Long Beach through theseevents, according to Steve Goodling, presi-dent and CEO of the Long Beach CVB.

In addition to these confirmed groups,another 49 conventions and meetings aretentatively on the books this year. Theseevents would generate an additional 16,746room nights at hotels, $82,734 in transientoccupancy tax and $8,420,075 in estimatedeconomic impact, the CVB estimated.

“The hotels are enjoying the highest oc-cupancy they have in a long time,” IrisHimert, executive vice president of salesfor the CVB, told the Business Journal in

an interview with Goodling, CVB staff andCharlie Beirne, general manager of theconvention center.

A new organization coming to LongBeach this year is the National Retail Fed-eration (NRF), which is holding its LossPrevention Conference and Expo at theLong Beach Convention & EntertainmentCenter this week, from June 23-25. In a re-cent promotional video used by the CVB ona sales mission to Washington D.C., TrudyFinley, NRF’s vice president of meetingsand special events, gave Long Beach whatGoodling called an “out of the park” review.“I wish I could put every convention I everplanned in Long Beach,” she said.

In addition to conventions and meetings,the convention center is set to have a goodyear for special events such as concerts andcomedy shows. Goodling called 2015 “thebest year” so far for special events. “We’rehaving a tough time finding dates for them,”Beirne said. “It’s a nice problem to have.”

Both Goodling and Beirne attributed thestrong year for conventions, trade showsand special events to a “buzz” about LongBeach in the industry that has reached asfar away as Washington D.C., where theCVB and Long Beach leaders just com-pleted a sales mission to attract moregroups to Long Beach.

Potential customers called upon by theCVB team and Long Beach leaders – in-cluding Mayor Robert Garcia and generalmanagers from Long Beach hotels – duringthe trip to D.C. were impressed by the col-laborative sales effort, Goodling noted.

“They loved that a mayor of a city wouldcome . . . [and] that general managers wouldtake time to leave their hotels and actuallytalk to them as customers,” Goodling said.“These are things that don’t happen in ourindustry very often, if ever. So it has differ-entiated our selling process,” he explained.That process involves “relationship-drivenselling where we develop that rapport, trust,[and] confidence that we will help themmake their program a success,” he added.

“Important to add also is [that] some-times we work on a piece of business fortwo or three years,” Himert noted.

In addition to the CVB’s sales efforts,Goodling and Beirne pointed to renova-tions and upgrades that have taken place atthe convention center over the past fewyears as a big driver behind the buzz aboutLong Beach as a meeting destination. Thefacility now features networking spaces, anindoor party venue complete with versatilelighting and lounge seating, an outdoorpatio with fire pits, a restaurant with a con-temporary feel, and more.

The biggest renovation, however, camein the form of the Pacific Room at the LongBeach Arena, which was outfitted with amoveable ceiling truss system with built-inlighting, plus an adjustable curtain systemto fit any size event, from a banquet to arock concert.

“We booked over $80 million worth ofbusiness since the opening,” Goodling saidof the Pacific Room, which debuted in No-vember 2013. “We have hit a stride, andhonestly I think the Pacific Room helpedus hit that stride,” he added.

The biggest selling point of the PacificRoom has been that its built-in lighting andrigging systems create significant cost sav-ings for event planners who would haveotherwise had to hire outside help for thoseservices, Beirne pointed out. “Labor costs[and] production costs are so low that it isa home run,” he said of the Pacific Room.

“The Pacific Room gives us an ability tocreate an environment no other city has,”Goodling said. Beirne agreed. “It is unlikeany other place in the country, in my opin-ion,” he said. “And I work for a company thatmanages over 264 [convention centers].”

The entrance to the convention center onSeaside Way will soon be livened up withvarious improvements. The entrance to thecenter under the Terrace Theater will fea-ture a lighted chandelier, and the walls oneither side of the entrance will be paintedby street artists as part of a citywide eventcalled Pow! Wow! Long Beach, whichtakes place June 21-28. Additionally, theTerrace Theater is going to be outfittedwith new lighting to create visual interestat night, according to Beirne.

Among the 238 conventions and meet-


Plans are in place to outfit the Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center (part of the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center) with new indoor and outdoor lighting systems. According toCharlie Beirne (right), general manager of the convention center, and Steve Goodling, left, president and CEO of the Long Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, the center is having its “best year” for specialevents such as concerts and comedy shows. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Conventions, Meetings(Continued From Page 1)


ings planned for the convention center thisyear, 32 of those are being held in the Pa-cific Room. Those events alone stand togenerate 113,195 hotel room night stays,about $3.4 million in transient occupancytax and about $83 million in estimatedeconomic impact within Long Beach, ac-cording to the CVB. Another 19 conven-tions for the Pacific Room are tentativelyon the books for this year, which wouldcreate an additional $60.4 million in esti-mated economic impact and $2.7 millionin transient occupancy tax.

The CVB’s social media efforts have alsogenerated attention for Long Beach. Lastyear, the CVB partnered with attractionsincluding the Queen Mary and the Aquar-ium of the Pacific, JetBlue Airways, andlocal restaurants and hotels to create asweepstakes called Beach with Benefits.Winners received round-trip airfare toLong Beach, hotel accommodations, com-plimentary dining and attractions tickets,and more. Following the big contest,smaller weekly competitions were held forgift cards, date nights and other prizes.More than 6,500 people entered the bigsweepstakes, and there were 2,000 weeklyentrants for the smaller giveaways.

In 2014, the Beach with Benefits cam-paign generated 56.3 million online im-pressions via social media and online news,according to the CVB.

This year’s big Beach with Benefitssweepstakes just closed with even moreentries than last year – 10,562, to beexact. Loren Alexis Simpson, digitalcommunications manager for the CVB,said the Beach with Benefits campaign

has “tremendously” contributed to creat-ing buzz about Long Beach.

Nicole Zystra, also a digital communica-tions manager for the CVB, has been work-ing to integrate social media into the CVB’ssales efforts. During the recent trip to Wash-ington D.C., all CVB messaging integratedthe use of the phrase #DCMeetLB to en-courage people to use the phrase on socialmedia, thereby generating online chatterabout Long Beach. “It came out to be a po-tential reach of over 450,000 [people] thatcould have seen it socially [online],” Zystrasaid. The phrase was mentioned 839 timeson social media, according to the CVB.

The CVB’s digital communicationsstaffers are also working with meetingplanners to engage their attendees via so-cial media, Zystra noted.

For the next two years, “the outlook isstill very good” for conventions, meetingsand events in Long Beach, Himert said. Sofar, convention bookings for 2016 are“slightly behind” 2015, she noted. LongBeach faced the same issue ahead of 2014,but that year ended up being “one of thehighest producing room night years inLong Beach,” she pointed out.

The CVB fills any gaps in convention ortrade show bookings with local or “in-house business,” she said. The CVB re-cently hired on a third sales persondedicated to Southern California, which“has helped us find a lot of short-term cor-porate business,” Goodling said.

Bookings for conventions and otherevents are already “pacing way ahead” in2017, according to Himert. “The future islooking bright,” she said. �



June 2 24 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015SPECIAL REPORT – HOSPITALITY & TOURISM

The Long Beach Tourism Business ImprovementDistrict was formed about 10 years ago to pro-vide a steady revenue source to be used to mar-ket the city as a destination for meetings,conventions, trade shows and tourists. The fol-lowing Long Beach hotels and motels are mem-bers of the district and contribute a percentageof room revenue to promote the city. The list wasprovided by the Long Beach Area Convention &Visitors Council, which oversees th e district.

Hyatt Regency Long Beach200 S. Pine Ave.562/491-1234www.longbeach.hyatt.comTim Meyer, GM

The Westin Long Beach333 E. Ocean Blvd.562/436-3000www.westinlongbeachhotel.comKen Pilgrim, GM

Hilton Long Beach &Executive Meeting Center701 W. Ocean Blvd.562/983-3400www.hiltonlb.comGreg Keebler, GM

Renaissance Long Beach111 E. Ocean Blvd.562/437-5900www.renaissancelongbeach.comPam Ryan, GM

Courtyard Long Beach Airport3841 N. Lakewood Blvd.562/429-5803www.courtyardlb.comChris Dougherty, GM

Long Beach Marriott4700 Airport Plaza Dr.562/425-5210www.marriott.com/lgblbImran Ahmed, GM

The Queen Mary1126 Queens Hwy.562/435-3511www.queenmary.comJohn Jenkins, GM

Holiday Inn Long Beach Airport Hotel& Conference Center2640 N. Lakewood Blvd.562/597-4401www.hilongbeach.comRobert Smit, VP & GM

Courtyard by Marriott500 E. 1st St.562/435-8511www.courtyard.com/lgbcySilvano Merlot, GM

Hotel Maya, a Doubletree by Hilton700 Queensway Dr.562/435-7676www.hotelmayalongbeach.comKristi Allen, VP & GM

Residence Inn by Marriott4111 E. Willow St.562/595-0909www.marriott.com/laxbhMac McCann, GM

Residence Inn by MarriottDowntown Long Beach600 Queensway Dr.562/495-0700www.marriott.com/lgbriIlona Altmann, Interim GM

Hyatt The Pike Long Beach285 Bay St.562/432-1234www.thepikelongbeach.hyatt.comTim Meyer, GM

Best Western Plus Hotel at the Convention Center517 E. 1st St.562/285-0281www.bwconventioncenter.comHitu Patel, Owner

Extended Stay America4105 E. Willow St.562/989-4601www.extendedstayamerica.com/lgbCarlos Elias, GM

Travelodge Convention Center80 Atlantic Ave.562/435-2471www.travelodgelongbeach.comDennis Patel, GM

Inn of Long Beach185 Atlantic Ave.562/435-3791www.innoflongbeach.comPaul Grewal, GM

City Center Motel255 Atlantic Ave.562/435-2483Lapa Patel, GM

Rodeway Inn50 Atlantic Ave.562/435-8369www.rodewayinnlongbeachca.comHitu Patel, Owner

Member Hotels Of The Long Beach Tourism Business Improvement Area

CVB Board Of DirectorsBottom row, left to right:William RouseLong Beach Yellow CabSteve GoodlingLong Beach Area Convention & Visitors BureauPam RyanRenaissance Long BeachRobert SmitHoliday Inn Long Beach Airport

Row 2, left to right:Terry AntonelliL’OperaSilvano MerloCourtyard by MarriottKen PilgrimWestin Long BeachJane NethertonLong Beach Community FoundationJimmy LoizidesGeorge’s Greek CafeLarry JacksonLong Beach Transit, retired

Row 3, left to rightKristi AllenHotel Maya, a DoubleTree by HiltonWilliam CollierKeesal, Young & LoganTim MeyerHyatt Regency & Hyatt at the PikeDoug DrummondLong Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners

Top row, left to right:Charlie BeirneLong Beach Convention & Entertainment CenterEd ProenzaEnsemble Real Estate ServicesMac McCannResidence Inn Long BeachJim MichaelianGrand Prix Association of Long Beach

(Long Beach Business Journal photograph)


tions, which were made at the end of lastyear, Baltin told the Business Journal.The occupancy rate for Long Beach ho-tels was about 75 percent in January andFebruary, he noted. The 11 percent roomrate increase, too, was beyond PKF’s pre-dictions. “We wouldn’t have projectedthat high,” he said.

PKF’s original projections were thatLong Beach hotels would experience a 4.5percent increase in ADR by the end of2015. “But I think that’s very conservativeat this point,” Baltin said. “I’d estimate ourADR is going to be up about 7 percentfrom where it was last year,” he said. In2014, the average daily rate for a LongBeach hotel room was $133.47.

“Long Beach, [over] the last couple ofyears, has been gaining ground relative tothe overall market,” Baltin said, compar-ing Long Beach’s hospitality market tothe greater L.A. region as a whole.“You’re getting room rates right now thatare similar to or in line with Pasadena, forexample, which is really a pretty strongsubmarket,” he said.

Baltin partially attributed the positivemovement of the Long Beach hospitalityindustry to the efforts of the Long BeachArea Convention & Visitors Bureau in at-tracting visitors and conventions to thecity, and renovations at the Pacific Roomat the Long Beach Convention & Enter-tainment Center. A resident of LongBeach, Baltin also observed that the “re-vitalization” occurring in DowntownLong Beach with new restaurants, retailand residential developments “helps thehotel industry as well.”

General managers of Long Beach hotelsreported that they have been able to raisetheir average daily room rates this year,with some reporting single-digit growth,and others, double-digit growth.

The Hotel Maya, a DoubleTree by Hiltonlocated near the Queen Mary, is ahead ofthe average when it comes to ADR growth.“We are seeing about a 12 percent growthin average room rates here at the Maya,”Kristi Allen, vice president of hotel opera-tions for Ensemble Hotel Partners, told theBusiness Journal. Allen oversees opera-tions at the Maya.

Up until June, at any given time 25 per-cent of the Hotel Maya’s rooms were out ofservice for renovations, which meant thehotel’s lower occupancy rates through thattime didn’t reflect the dynamics of the mar-ket, Allen explained. However, the increasein ADR suggests “that the market occu-pancy is high and strong,” she noted. “It’sall good news coming out of the hospitalityindustry so far this year.”

Tim Meyer, general manager of theHyatt Regency Long Beach and Hyatt thePike Long Beach hotels in DowntownLong Beach, shared Allen’s sentiments.“It’s a good year in the city,” he said, notingthat bookings at the Long Beach Conven-tion & Entertainment Center increased thisyear in comparison to last year. “The mar-ket is up overall,” he said. Meyer estimatedthat occupancy rates of both Hyatt hotelsare in the 80 percent range.

Through the first three months of theyear, the Hilton Long Beach has been ableto increase ADR between 8 to 10 percent,

according to General Manager Greg Kee-bler. The occupancy rate for that period wason par with 2014, he added. “We were ex-periencing a very healthy first quarter withconvention business and our own in-housegroups, so we were doing very well relativeto average [daily room] rate and occu-pancy,” he said.

Since April 20, the Hilton has had about130 rooms offline for renovation on a dailybasis, so occupancy rates from that pointon do not reflect the overall hospitalitymarket, Keebler noted.

The Westin Long Beach, also in down-town, should be able to increase ADR by 7to 9 percent this year, General ManagerKen Pilgrim said. Occupancy rates at thehotel are “very competitive,” he added.“The outlook for the summer is very good. . . We are going to be in the mid-80s [per-cent range] to 90 percent occupancy,” Pil-grim said. “There is a lot of interest incorporate America continuing to do busi-ness here, and the weekends are very goodwith the leisure travel.”

So far this year, the Queen Mary’s occu-pancy rate is pacing ahead of last year byabout 4 to 5 percent, according to GeneralManager John Jenkins. “Group businessseems to be very strong in the city rightnow,” he said. Business from corporategroups coupled with the leisure travelerswho frequent the historic vessel have“fared very well for us,” he added. “Wehave seen some increase in room rates yearover year so far.”

Further north, off of the 405 Freeway, theHoliday Inn Long Beach Airport Hotel &Conference Center has experienced in-creased occupancy rates over the last cou-ple of years, according to Robert Smit, vicepresident and general manager. “We havebeen able to increase average [room] ratesslightly over the last year,” he reported. TheHoliday Inn began room renovations in thehotel’s tower about a month and a half ago,so some business has been displaced sincethat time, he said.

“We’re anticipating after our renovationto be able to increase our rates,” Smit said.The hotel is being renovated in twophases. The first phase of construction istaking place in the main hotel tower, andincludes guest rooms, the lobby, meetingspaces and public areas. The existingrestaurant at the top of the tower is goingto be replaced with executive rooms, anda new Sporting News Grill will be built ona lower level. “It’s an upscale sports barwe believe will be very successful in thisparticular neighborhood,” he noted. PhaseOne renovations should be complete bythe end of the year.

Phase Two involves tearing down a sep-arate structure north of the tower and re-placing it with a new 125-room StaybridgeSuites hotel, Smit said. Staybridge is partof a group of hotel chains, including Holi-day Inn, operated by InterContinental Ho-tels Group. It should be about two yearsuntil it is up and running, Smit said.

Keebler projected that the top-down ren-ovation of the Hilton Long Beach shouldgenerate more business, but noted that itmight take some time following comple-tion in August. “We expect to have a fairlystrong fourth quarter as the word gets outabout our renovations through all kinds ofonline media channels.”

The Hilton’s renovations include all


Long Beach Hotels

Surpass Expectations(Continued From Page 1)



guest rooms, public spaces, meeting roomsand the lobby. “It’s a very Long Beachfeel,” he said of the design.

The Westin recently completed reno-vations on all of its meeting spaces,

which take up 36,000 square feet of thehotel, Pilgrim said. In July, work willbegin to revamp the pool and workoutarea of the hotel.

Now that the Hotel Maya’s room reno-vations are complete, Allen expects abusy summer. Room renovations in-cluded adding hardwood floors, new win-dows, sliding glass doors and carved

wooden doors for an “upscale boutiquefeel,” she said.

“This is going to be an extremelystrong summer,” Allen said. “Obviouslythe summer is always strong at the Mayabecause we are a leisure-based hotel onthe water, so it is really our peak sea-son,” she noted. The Special OlympicsWorld Games, taking place in Los An-

geles at the end of July, plus otherevents in the regional area, should alsotranslate into more business this sum-mer, she explained.

“We are expecting a really busy sum-mer,” the Hyatts’ Meyer said. “There isa good mix of business on the booksalong with a lot of families coming in forleisure on weekends,” he explained,adding that the annual summer Jehovah’sWitness convention at the Long BeachConvention & Entertainment Center al-ways generates quite a bit of business aswell.

One thing Allen is confident about isthat more travelers will keep coming toLong Beach. “The economy is comingback, corporate travel is up, and that willlead the leisure travelers to be more con-fident in the market as well,” she said.The addition of new restaurants and barsin Downtown Long Beach, plus The PikeOutlets being planned should lead morepeople who normally just take day trips toLong Beach to stay overnight to see anddo more, she added.

While all agreed the outlook for theyear was positive, Smit pointed out thatthe hospitality industry’s success is aboutmore than occupancy and ADR.

“Occupancies and average rate are oneindicator of success, but we’re constantlystruggling to maintain our costs and ourprofitability,” Smit said. “We are faced,like many other businesses, with a lot ofincreases in our costs – increases in [costsfor] products, energy, utilities, food andbeverage, labor costs, insurance [and]health care,” he explained. �


Numerous Long Beach hotels have re-invested in their properties during the past few years with major renovations to guest rooms, meeting rooms and otheritems to ensure a positive experience for visitors. One of those properties is the 199-room Hotel Maya – a DoubleTree by Hilton, which rests along theQueensway Bay and adjacent to the Queen Mary. It recently completed a $4 million “refresh.” According to the hotel’s vice president of operations, KristiAllen, Hotel Maya completely transformed its guest rooms by installing “new, custom hardwood floors for a sleek, modern, coastal feel. Each guest roomentry door was replaced with an exquisitely hand-carved wood door. New floor-to-ceiling retractable sliding doors lead to water view and garden viewpatios and balconies, offering an expansive indoor/outdoor living space evoking a tropical resort.”

� By SEAN BELK

Staff Writer

Whether it’s a corporate gathering for afew hundred executives or a grand galawith several thousand attendees, there are

more than enough options in the LongBeach area for hosting a meeting or a spe-cial event.

With a wide selection of hotels, attrac-tions and event centers, there is no short-age of unique accommodations for nearly

any occasion. Local venues present a va-riety of choices, from outdoor, intimatedining on the waterfront, to settings withthe latest audio and visual equipment togive a banquet a boost.

Long Beach is home to a number of at-tractions to make any special event or meet-ing more, well, special.

For instance, The Aquarium of the Pa-cific, overlooking Rainbow Harbor, pro-vides a fun and unique underwater-likesetting with marine life from the PacificOcean supplying a built-in conversationpiece.

“Located along the waterfront and withinwalking distance of many hotels, the Aquar-ium is in an ideal area for special events,”said Erica Noriega, the Aquarium’s specialevents manager.

For social or corporate events, picnicsand fun nights out, the Aquarium’s sense ofwonder is sure to delight attendees, she said

Events may be arranged for groups of anysize, ranging from a lunch meeting of 10people to a reception dinner for 2,000 peo-ple, she said, adding that people may alsorent out the entire Aquarium if desired.

The Aquarium offers accommodationsfor events ranging from formal dinnersunder a hanging sculpture of a blue whalein the Great Hall with a cocktail receptionin the Shark Lagoon, to casual banquetson the Aquarium’s Rooftop Veranda orsmall dinners in the upstairs galleries andwatershed classroom, and simple picnicsnear the front plaza.

The Aquarium’s commitment to the en-vironment and its “finesse to exceed ex-pectations” makes each event special,Noriega said. The Aquarium’s caterer,SAVOR Long Beach, offers a special at-tention to culinary presentation while uti-lizing sustainable practices and fresh foodfrom local growers, she said.

“Our philosophy is ‘good food, goodcompany and great results,’” Noriega said.“Every catered affair here is a one-of-a-kind experience that furnishes more thanfood and fun. It creates the kind of mem-ories that will endure long after your lastguest departs.”

Various entertainment centers and per-forming arts venues in the local area alsoprovide a wide range of options for enter-taining events and classy occasions.

One of the largest venues in SouthernCalifornia for conventions and specialevents is the Long Beach Convention & En-tertainment Center (LBCEC), a huge com-plex of venues that includes the Long BeachArena, three ballrooms, three exhibit halls,34 meeting rooms and two theaters.

The Long Beach Arena’s 45,000-square-foot Pacific Room offers space forup to 13,000 people, with banquet, theaterand reception seating. The Terrace Theaterprovides seating for up to 3,000 people,with 600 seats for banquets and 1,121seats for receptions. The Center Theater,home to International City Theatre, offersseating for up to 800 people

Long Beach Area Hotels, Attractions And Centers Provide Unique Venues For Meetings, Special Events

Long Beach Hotels

Surpass Expectations(Continued From Page 25)

(Please Continue To Page 28)A classroom-style set up at the Queen Mary Salon (Queen Mary photography)


2015


June 2

The three exhibit halls total 224,000square feet of exhibition space, with theGrand Ballroom offering 20,456 square feetof space with 1,200 banquet seats and 2,272reception seats. The Promenade Ballroomhas 820 banquet seats and 1,466 receptionseats while the Seaside Ballroom offers 400banquet seats and 700 reception seats.

In addition, an indoor atrium providesseating for more than 5,500 people whilethe outdoor plaza can seat more than2,500 people.

Other accommodations offered at theLong Beach Convention & EntertainmentCenter include outdoor rooftop parking,which has capacity for 9,700 guests; thePacific Gallery Patio, with seating for upto 2,200 people; and the recently reno-vated Bogart & Co. catering space, whichoffers seating for more than 600 peopleand a casual atmosphere for dining at theLong Beach Arena.

“The Long Beach Convention & Enter-tainment Center has versatile meeting ven-ues that can be customized to suit anymeeting planner’s imagination,” said Bob

Maguglin, public relations director for theLong Beach Area Convention & VisitorsBureau. “Modern, flexible exhibit halls,meeting rooms, ballrooms, theaters, a sportsarena and open-air special event spaces pro-vide the perfect venue for a perfect event.”

In close proximity to major freeways andcentrally located between Long Beach Air-port and LAX, the Carson Center at 801Carson St. in the City of Carson has over27,000 square feet of usable space, accord-ing to the facility’s manager Michael Page.

The center’s nearly 12,000-square-footballroom can accommodate a general ses-sion of 1,200 theater-style seats, he said,adding that it can also be divided intothree large breakout rooms, which can ac-commodate 250 to 300 theater seats. Thecenter also offers 10 to 16 breakout roomsthat can accommodate 30 to 150 peoplefor theater-style seating.

The Carson Center, located adjacent to a225-room Doubletree hotel, has a maximumcapacity of 800 people, with a dance floorfor a sit-down dinner, Page said, adding thatthe center can also accommodate 85 exhibitbooths, eight feet wide and 10 feet tall.

After undergoing a $1 million renovation,

the Carson Center’s main ballroom is nowequipped with state-of-the-art audio and vi-sual technology along with Wi-Fi, he said.

“The Carson Center is freeway close,”Page said. “We have easy access to the 405,91, 110 and 710 freeways. We also offerfree parking and an excellent on-site con-tracted caterer, Choura Venue Services.”

The Grand Long Beach, meanwhile, lo-cated at 4101 Willow St., advertises itselfas the place where “new-world luxury”meets “old-world hospitality.” The venuehas been hosting weddings, events andmeetings since 1960.

The 40,000-square-foot facility has20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoormeeting and event space, with a maximumcapacity of 450 people for a sit-down dinneror special event, according to Dan D’Sa, di-rector of food and beverage for The Grand.

The Grand has seven flexible indoorspaces, two room-adjacent patios and twooutdoor courtyards. Accommodations in-clude complimentary parking, wireless In-ternet access and proximity to nearbyfreeways, airports and lodging, accordingto the venue’s website.

“The Grand has the feel and service levelof an upscale venue with the ability to workwithin all types of budgets,” D’Sa said.“We’re a family-owned company and youfeel that when working with our entire staff.It’s about the customer experience for us.”

Hotels, which are plentiful in the LongBeach area, also provide unique accommo-dations for meetings and special events.

The Hyatt Regency Long Beach on PineAvenue in downtown, for instance, offersmore than 35,000 square feet of flexiblemeeting and event space, according toMary Carley, the hotel’s director of events.For a single sit-down dinner or a specialevent, the hotel has a maximum capacity ofup to 1,000 people, she said.

The Hyatt Regency’s Beacon Ballroomoffers panoramic views of the waterfrontwhile the Regency Ballroom at 10,000square feet includes soaring 16-foot ceil-

ings. The Regency Boardroom offers anocean view from 16 stories high while thehotel’s newly renovated lower level eventspaces offer a rotunda with 4-story win-dows overlooking Rainbow Lagoon.

Outside, the hotel’s poolside deck offersan intimate atmosphere for outdoor eventswith a fire pit, while the lagoon, sur-rounded by palm trees, is used for cere-monies and receptions, Carley said.

“Hyatt Regency Long Beach makes iteasy to hold your meeting in style,” shesaid. “From boardrooms to exhibit halls tobreakout rooms, [there is] over 35,000square feet of flexible meeting space,much of it filled with natural light and of-fering stunning views of the harbor,Queen Mary and Catalina Island.”

Adjacent to Long Beach Convention &Entertainment Center, the Hyatt Regencyhotel is “fully furnished for any function,”from trade shows and conferences to wed-dings and galas, Carley said.

“You can opt for an intimate receptionwith ocean views or set a majestic scene withour lagoon and Japanese bridges,” she said,adding that the Hyatt’s staff is “here to help”with any assistance in staging an event.

The hotel also has ample “modernamenities,” including wired and wirelessInternet, individual climate controls and thelatest in audio and visual technology, in-cluding video conferencing, Carley said.

Not far away, Hotel Maya, a DoubleTreeHotel, offers a boutique, resort-style get-away, overlooking Queensway Bay and theDowntown Long Beach skyline with LatinAmerican-inspired design and tropical gar-dens with more than 500 palm trees.

Kristi Allen, vice president of hoteloperations, called the Hotel Maya a “hid-den gem” and “not your typical big boxproperty.”

After a recent $4 million renovation, the199-room Hotel Maya now offers two newevent venues, the 64,000-square-foot Lagu-nita pavilion and the 10,000-square-footVista del Mar, a pre-function outdoor area,


The historic Queen Mary provides one of the most unique settings anywhere for a meeting or special event. The ship offers a variety of options for meetings of all sizes and special events, including having awedding on its deck as pictured here. The ship has 346 original staterooms and suites, a wedding chapel, numerous onboard shops, a wide selection of dining options and much more. (Queen Mary photograph)

The Grand Long Beach has a model display room where clients can explore various options and mixand match cololrs for their special event or meeting. The Grand is located on Willow Street near the405 freeway and the Long Beach Airport.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Meeting, Event Venues(Continued From Page 26)


she said. Both event spaces are located atthe water’s edge. The improvements also in-clude updated and modernized guest rooms.

In addition, there are 15 distinct meetingand event spaces with more than 30,000square feet of flexible indoor/outdoorareas, including the Jardin De Palmeras,which has a gazebo and a tropical waterfall;the Esplanade outdoor area, topped with a14-foot-tall, 42-foot-wide umbrella; andthe Playa at the Maya, which offers a6,500-square-foot exclusive beach.

“Guests are encouraged to stretch their legsand get their creative juices flowing from theinspirational elements found throughout theproperty,” Allen said. “Whether it’s a dreamwedding, corporate social event or annualconference, retreat or incentive trip, atten-dees will walk away with a memorable ex-perience to last them a lifetime.”

Allen said that the new event venues nowgive the Hotel Maya capacity for standingreceptions of up to 2,000 people along thewaterfront. The new Lagunita space seatsup to 450 people in rounds and up to 350people in classroom style seating while theVista Del Bar seats up to 350 people inrounds, she said.

“From the exclusive beach, private dock,waterfront pool with floating cabanas, in-door/outdoor Fuego restaurant to simply tak-ing in the spectacular Long Beach skyline,there’s something for everyone,” Allen said.

Another hotel in Long Beach with accom-modations for meetings and special eventsis the towering Holiday Inn near the LongBeach Airport on Lakewood Boulevard.

The hotel offers a 5,000-square-footballroom that accommodates 300 guests

for theater seating or 400 guests for din-ner, according to Bess Cruz, director ofsales for the hotel. The ballroom can alsobe divided into three separate rooms forsmall banquets or meetings.

As for outdoor options, the hotel offers alarge swimming pool facility and an opensitting area for an outside reception areathat can accommodate up to 100 guests.

The hotel also has a state-of-the-art din-ing facility called Panorama Restaurant,known for its panoramic view, which canaccommodate 75 people. The hotel also hasa lounge bar currently situated at the hotel’spenthouse, Cruz said.

“The location of our property is the perfecthub to exciting locations such as DowntownLong Beach, the Queen Mary, the LongBeach Airport, golf courses and fabulousrestaurants in the South Bay,” she said. “Wehave been the choice of many because of ourlarge meeting rooms, flexible room config-uration, an abundance of parking spaces, ac-cess from the 405 Freeway and somethingwe are most proud of – our service. We bendover backwards for our guests, indicative oftheir continued use of our facilities.”

Cruz added that the hotel is planning toundergo a major renovation to significantlyupgrade hotel rooms, the ballroom, andbanquet facilities. In 2017, upon comple-tion of the hotel’s Staybridge Suites on theproperty, the hotel will add six additionalmeeting/boardrooms on the first floorwhile upgrading all meeting rooms to be-come “upscale, modern and very contem-porary,” she said. “We are certain that, withour expanded facilities after renovation, ourproperty will be second to none.” �



June 2

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Visitors BoostBusiness ForLong BeachAttractions

� By SAMANTHA MEHLINGERSenior Writer

Executives overseeing Long Beach at-tractions and tourism-based businesses arereporting increased visitor counts and rev-enues this year, and project that thesetrends will continue into the summer.“We are doing very well,” John Jenkins,

general manager of the Queen Mary, toldthe Business Journal. “The number ofevents and the number of guests that arecoming onboard continues to grow,” hesaid, estimating that visitor counts have in-creased 5 to 6 percent so far this year incomparison to 2014.In addition to some of the Queen Mary’s

annual events, such as the All-American4th of July, the spooky Dark Harbor in Oc-tober and the holiday-themed CHILL at theend of the year, the Queen Mary is hostingnew events this year. Recently, the newShipKicker event, a country music festival,pulled in nearly 6,000 guests, Jenkins said.About 41 weekends out of the year arebooked with special events, he noted.The historic vessel is losing one of its

staple events, the Ink-N-Iron festival,

June 23-July 6, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 31SPECIAL REPORT – HOSPITALITY & TOURISM

Shoreline Village, a popular tourist destination in Long Beach, offers waterfrontshopping, dining and a variety of activities such as an indoor arcade, Segwaytours along the shore, and even boating. According to Debra Fixen, propertymanager, the businesses at the village have all been doing well so far this year.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)



June 2

which just wrapped up its final weekend inLong Beach. Although the festival, whichfeatures tattoo artists, musical acts, hotrods, burlesque and more, is relocating toTennessee, Jenkins said the event organiz-ers are considering starting up anotherevent at the Queen Mary. “They will belooking at doing something a little bit dif-ferent . . . more of an art show,” he said.A new 4-D movie theater is currently

under construction at the Queen Mary,which will be used in conjunction withCHILL and Dark Harbor in a way similarto a theme ride, Jenkins said. This summer, new sights at the Queen

Mary will include additional dresses wornby Princess Diana of Wales at the ship’sDiana: Legacy of a Princess Exhibit, plus

a 27-foot long replica of the Queen Marymade out of Legos, Jenkins said.The redesigned and all-new retail shops

at the Queen Mary, which opened in April,have gone over very well with ship visitors,according to Jenkins. “We reduced the num-ber of shops, but actually increased revenuethrough those shops,” he said. Stores in-clude a wine tasting room, boutiques and aWyndham Vacations Visitor’s Center.In early June, a wedding salon opened for

couples getting married aboard the QueenMary to plan their big day. The salon isstaffed with a wedding planner who can as-sist with selecting invitations, party favors,flowers and other accoutrements.Recently, a nonprofit organization called

the Queen Mary Heritage Foundation wasformed to steer the creation of a new con-cept on the ship – a maritime and science

museum, Jenkins said. Plans for that arestill preliminary.The Aquarium of the Pacific is also

doing well so far this year, and the out-look remains positive. “All of our metricssuggest that 2015 will be a very strongyear for the Aquarium,” Jerry Schubel,president and CEO of the Aquarium, toldthe Business Journal. “We are 4 percent ahead of last year in

terms of visitors. I expect we will end thisyear somewhere a little bit above 1.5 mil-lion visitors,” Schubel said. “Our projectedrevenues are 3 percent ahead of last year,”he said, adding that retail revenues are cur-rently 8 percent ahead of 2014’s sales. Thestrong start to the year and positive outlookare largely due to “the diversity and qualityof the programs that we have becomeknown for,” he said.

On May 22, the Aquarium debuted Jellies,a new exhibit showcasing several species ofsea jellies throughout the facility. “The re-sponse so far has been very good,” Schubelsaid. “We not only have live animals, but wehave a 12-minute film about jellies, [and] . .. another very short film in the Great Hall,”he said. A lecture series accompanies the ex-hibit, with scientists and Aquarium staffscheduled to speak about jellies on July 30,August 18 and September 10.Also new at the Aquarium this summer is

a program about sea level rise. An exhibitin the Great Hall showcases photographs(on loan from the Annenberg Foundation)of locations around the world impacted bysea level rise. “We complement the photog-raphy with the Science on a Sphere exhibitabout sea level rise,” Schubel said. Scienceon a Sphere, designed by the National


The historic Queen Mary, built in the 1930s, is a hotel and attraction with year-round specialevents. The vessel, permanently anchored in the Long Beach harbor, has experienced an in-crease in overnight hotel visitors this year, according to General Manager John Jenkins. Dur-ing the summer, Catalina Express, pictured at right, departs from a dock by the Queen Maryfor trips to Catalina Island. (Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Attractions(Continued From Page 31)


Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,allows scientific simulations to be projectedand played across a replica of the globe.

The Aquarium is hosting three lectureson sea level rise on June 24, June 25 andJuly 1. The first and last lectures focus onscientific reasons for and implications ofsea level rise, while the June 25 lecture is ahistorical perspective about how humanityhas dealt with sea level changes in the past.

This summer, the Aquarium is also hold-ing a series of concerts on its rooftop ve-randa, plus two theatrical performances.On August 16, the Aquarium is hosting acomedy play about climate change called“Lollygaggers,” written by a Jet PropulsionLaboratory scientist. On August 9 and 12,a production of “The Tempest” by WilliamShakespeare will be performed on theAquarium’s front lawn.

Across Rainbow Harbor, the shops andrestaurants at Shoreline Village are doingwell so far this year, according to DebraFixen, property manager. “It is super busy,”she said. “We have had a lot more cruise pas-sengers stopping by,” she said, referring totourists traveling on Carnival Cruise Line’sthree ships that leave from Long Beach. “Wegive them a discount at a lot of restaurants.”

All the retail space at Shoreline Villageis currently full, Fixen said. One shop, acandy store, has yet to open its doors as itawaits approval from the health depart-ment, which Fixen said should come in afew weeks. Two stores, Queen Mary Cou-ture and Transatlantic Style, recently relo-cated from the Queen Mary and have beendoing very well, she noted.

This summer, Shoreline Village is again

hosting its Seaside Summer Concert Series,featuring two bands on Saturdays and oneon Sundays. “There are a lot of things to dowith the family,” Fixen said of the village.“It’s a great place for waterfront dining . . .We have the arcade. You can rent a bike, ridea surrey, or take a Long Beach Segway tour.”

Fixen said she expects this summer tobe busy. “I think tourism as a whole isup in Long Beach . . . I am really opti-mistic,” she said.

Water ActivitiesFrom cruise liners to sea shuttles, opera-

tors of seagoing vessels in Long Beach arereporting that, thus far, 2015 has been abusy year.

Since Carnival Cruise Line began offer-ing year-round travel to the Mexican Riv-iera and Hawaii last October, the cruiseshave been very well received, according toVance Gulliksen, spokesperson for thecruise company. “Additionally, the CarnivalMiracle underwent a multi-million-dollardry dock renovation that added a numberof guest-pleasing features” that include apub, bar and entertainment, Gulliksenwrote in an e-mail to the Business Journal.

“With Carnival Miracle’s seven-dayMexican Riviera sailings and 15-dayHawaii sailings, combined with year roundthree- and four-day Baja voyages operatedby the Carnival Imagination and CarnivalInspiration, Carnival Cruise Line expectsto carry 550,000 guests annually fromLong Beach,” Gulliksen said.

“Carnival is the only cruise line to oper-ate three year-round ships from LongBeach and, with such a diversity of cruise

June 23-July 6, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 33


June 2

lengths, itineraries and departure days, wehave high expectations for sailing fromLong Beach this year,” he added.For those looking for a closer getaway

across the water, Catalina Express offers dailytrips to and from Catalina Island, located just22 miles of the coast of Long Beach. ChrisAustin, who recently was hired on as CatalinaExpress’s new marketing director, said busi-ness this year has been strong.“We are seeing very high numbers [of

passengers] every month out of the year,and we’re carrying the momentumthrough to the summer,” Austin said.Catalina Express’s ridership figures are“trending along with 2002, which was ourbest year to date,” he emphasized. “I thinkthe weather has been a huge help in[2015] getting to be one our best yearsever,” he added.Over the past year, a beach club, a spa

and zip line tours have opened on the island,which Austin said are being well receivedby visitors. “There are so many things thatyou can . . . attract different people with [toCatalina], whether it is the diving or the hik-ing or restaurants, or just the regular beach-and spa-type vacation,” he said.Catalina Express is continuing its birth-

day promotion at leastthrough the end of theyear, allowing guests toregister online for freerides on their birthdays.“It has been really suc-cessful. We have seenthousands of riders everymonth that are goingfree on their birthday.”Harbor Breeze

Cruises, which offerswhale-watching outingsand cruises in the LongBeach harbor, experi-enced a 25 percent in-crease in business in thefirst quarter of 2015

compared with the same time in 2014,owner Dan Salas told the Business Journal. “We attribute a big portion of that

growth to the corporate business comingto Long Beach,” he said, referring not onlyto conventions but also to groups bookingevents with Harbor Breeze. “We are get-ting some big name clients. We have hadHonda and Boeing, just to say a few.” Har-bor Breeze’s most popular cruise is itswhale-watching cruise, Salas said.Walk-up business alone has grown about

5 percent, Salas said. “I don’t anticipatemuch more growth until we get The Pikeback in business,” he said, referring to theconstruction to create new outlet storesnear his business. “We are keeping our fin-gers crossed that we will get some trafficoff the new and improved Pike.”Last year, traffic on Long Beach Transit’s

(LBT) water taxis – the AquaBus, whichferries people around Rainbow Harbor andQueensway Bay, and the larger AquaLink,which goes from Rainbow Harbor as far asAlamitos Bay – was as high as it has everbeen, according to LBT spokespersonKevin Lee.“If you look at our total ridership last

year for all the water taxis, it was 50,000customers,” Lee said of 2014. That’s a 60percent increase since 2011. “It is justmore and more popular. We are getting theword out more now that the water taxis areavailable,” he said.The AquaBus costs only $1 per trip,

while the AquaLink is $5 one-way. “Ourwater taxi service is the best view in town,especially in the summer [and] especiallyfor the price,” Lee said.LBT’s water taxi service began over Me-

morial Day weekend, beating last year’s pas-senger figures for that weekend, Lee said.The taxis run seven days per week throughLabor Day weekend, after which point theyrun on weekends through November 1.This summer, LBT is also offering $10

bus trips to Los Angeles County and Or-ange County museums. A schedule is avail-able online at www.lbttransit.com. �


Attractions(Continued From Page 33)

Above, Dan Salas, owner of Long Beach-based Harbor Breeze Cruises, said whale-watching cruisesare his company’s most popular offering. Harbor Breeze also offers harbor cruises and special eventsaboard its vessels. Harbor Breeze Cruise’s newest vessel is the Triumphant, pictured below, operatingyear-round whale-watching cruises. (Photographs by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)

Aquarium of the Pacific President and CEO Jerry Schubel saidhe expects a busy summer at the Aquarium, and anticipates thatmore than 1.5 million people will visit the Aquarium this year.(Photograph by the Business Journal’s Evan Patrick Kelly)


� By BRIAN O’LEARY BENNETTSpecial to the Long Beach Business Journal

“I love the selling process,” SteveGoodling said to me on the phone lastweek. It explains much about his leadership,

methodologies and values for the 15years he has been president/CEO of theLong Beach Area Convention and Visi-tors Bureau (CVB). His “process” – oth-ers say vision – led to the CVB’sextraordinary success in rebrandingLong Beach nationally as an “urban wa-terfront playground,” and catapulted thiscity into the top 10 percent of destinationcities across America as a preferred con-vention site, particularly with Washing-ton, D.C.-based associations.“It’s about Long Beach, not Steve

Goodling,” he told me. Having just spentseveral days with him, his smart, seasonedteam and Mayor Robert Garcia on theCVB’s annual sales mission, #DCmeetLB,it became clear why this is true.Part of his success is that he doesn’t

worry about his success. Goodling isn’t thefirst one to speak, makes no grand en-trances or appearances, his name and pic-ture aren’t splashed all over CVBmaterials. In fact, he’s not anywhere men-tioned on the CVB website – unlike everyother CVB president/CEO in the top 15largest American cities. It’s not that he doesn’t like the limelight,

but it’s a tool he uses strategically for theCVB, not himself. Goodling’s focus is onthe “process” that implements his vision.During each presentation in Washing-

ton, D.C., when it came time to intro-duce Mayor Garcia to a room full of

existing and potential clients, Goodlingdeferred. It added the familiar, personaltouch to have the CVB’s D.C. team in-troduce their mayor to their customers,clients, friends in the nation’s capital.Goodling spoke third and only briefly. “It’s important they know the head of

the organization is here and supportive ofthe full organization,” he said. That con-tribution to the process was enough tohelp create the right environment for hiscustomers.“When we brought the birthday cake to

the AACP [American Association of Col-leges of Pharmacy] client meeting, it feltlike families meeting for the first time,” hesaid. “Thirty of their staff. Our staff andmayor. We created a union. And when wetold her [the CEO] to ‘make a wish’ andshe said, ‘I already got it – we’re going toLong Beach,’ it makes it all worthwhile.You’re successful when you make themsuccessful. It’s that simple.”His judgment, leadership and vision

comes after a decade with Marriott Ho-tels, followed by another decade in Asiaas a senior executive with the Shangri-LaGroup, Asia’s premier five-star hotel andresort chain. “We hosted heads of state. I was ex-

posed to international standards of excel-lence. We were anticipatory, providednon-intrusive service, had customer de-liverables and we had to hit our time-lines,” Goodling recounted.He also surrounds himself with a

smart, confident and seasoned staff.“Steve sets the bar. Has a vision. Andwhen it’s decided we, he, all of us imple-ment it,” said Quentin Roberts, the newCVB vice president of sales.“In D.C., we had a nickel-and-dime-ya

reputation with hidden costs,” Goodlingsaid. “There was a lack of trust betweenour customers and us. At home we werenot as responsive and strong as we shouldhave been. I was determined to create acustomer-focused organization. “All work was verified with our cus-

tomers before their convention so theyunderstood costs and risks. And therewere no hidden costs!” he continued.“We initiated customer response surveys,which never existed, and helped us im-prove and reshape the CVB and conven-tion center. We created a separatemarketing department and a new post-convention booking service departmentto move things faster and make it an en-joyable experience for our clients. It’s allabout the customer. Do it the right way –details are very important – and ensurethe customer has a great experience.“Many CVB’s stumble because they

haven’t forged friendships with their cities.We went out of our way and never had onedepartment that hasn’t helped us. We re-spect institutions. We work with individu-als. They make it happen.“Same for county government. Our

friend, L.A. County Supervisor DonKnabe, was instrumental in bringing theNational Association of Counties conven-tion to Long Beach in 2016.”And then came along the innovative

TED conferences – “the platform for ideasworth spreading” – which brought togetherhigh powered, original thinkers and doersfrom around the world. From 2009-2013,TED held its convention in Long Beach.Goodling speaks about the transformativeimpact TED had on him and the CVB withexcitement and humility.“I learned so much from TED about

ways in which conferences should be run,”Goodling said. “It was a privilege to havethem. I’d watch and dissect how assets aredeployed or repositioned so we could takeus ahead of where other facilities are today. “TED was the catalyst for the $10 mil-

lion renovation of the Arena and creationof the Pacific Room, the only one itskind in the country that allows us to re-configure our meeting space exactly inways our customers want. TED gave us atremendous opportunity to learn whatmeetings should be: a terrific, engaging,social environment. TED was hyper-en-gaged with their convention attendees. Itwas the first time we learned to use ourfacilities in different and creative ways.“This generation embraces authentic-

ity. Integrity in everything we say anddo. They want unique spaces to congre-gate, not just meet. We are totally in-vested in their success.”What’s next for Steve Goodling? He

rattles it right off: “Continue activatingunique spaces around the conventioncenter. Keep our concepts fresh. Up-grade the Terrace Theater plaza and makeit available as a turn-key facility for ourclients. Make the convention center aone-stop experience where clients dealwith one person, not several. Make LongBeach a destination for conventions andpleasure events. “With POW! WOW! LONG BEACH

art and music street fair this weekend,we’re now hooked into a global networkof artists and organized gallery shows. Itis just another of the cutting-edge,trendy, forward and fun events we wantto bring to Long Beach.“I love this city and want to continue to

market its uniqueness.” �

June 23-July 6, 2015 Long Beach Business Journal 35SPECIAL REPORT – HOSPITALITY & TOURISM 2015

Steve Goodling: Maestro Behind The Ballroom Curtain


Men, Make Your Years Count

Each June, a congressional health education program is promotedto raise awareness of preventable health problems and encourage

early detection and treatment of health conditions in men.Despite having higher rates of death and lower life expectancy than

women, men are less likely to visit a doctor for an annual physical.According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Amer-ican men are 24 percent less likely to visit a doctor than their femalecounterparts. The reluctance to see medical professionals is problematic, since men

are more likely than women to smoke, drink, make unhealthy or risky lifestyle choicesand put off regular checkups and medical care. The tendency to make these “more risky”lifestyle choices is exactly why men need to see a physician regularly. In addition, there are some health conditions that only affect men, such as low testos-

terone and prostate cancer. Many of the major health risks that men face – like coloncancer or heart disease – can be prevented or treated with early diagnosis. Screeningtests can find diseases early, when they are easier to treat. Preventing disease or illnessis a much easier step to take than going through the actual treatment process.The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality states that men are 28 percent more

likely than women to be hospitalized for congestive heart failure and 32 percent morelikely to be hospitalized for long-term complications of diabetes. Routine checkups andregular preventive screenings are vital to maintain optimal health.Important health screenings for men: • Men should get their blood pressure checked at least once every two years.• Most men should get their cholesterol checked at least once every five years. • If a man is 50 or older, he should be tested for colorectal cancer. Some men may

even need to be tested earlier if there is a family history. • If a man is 65 to 75, and has ever smoked, he should consider an abdominal aortic

aneurysm (AAA) screening test.• If there are feelings of stress, anxiety or depression for more than two weeks, men

may want to consider a screening for depression. • Get vaccinations recommended by a primary care physician. Men are 24 percent

more likely than women to be hospitalized for pneumonia that could have been preventedby getting an immunization, per the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Along with regular doctor visits, and taking proactive health screening measures, there

are many other things men can do on their own to prevent disease and stay healthy. Regularexercise and healthy eating play a key role in developing and maintaining good health.Being overstressed from work or home life also can lead to health problems. Eating

right, exercising and getting adequate sleep are proven to help reduce stress. Smokingalso can cause health complications. Smoking cessation classes should be consideredfor any current smoker. In 1920, women only outlived men by an average of one year, whereas today there’s a

five-year difference, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Turn these numbersaround. Make prevention a priority. (Jeffrey Luther, M.D., is the program director for the Long Beach Memorial Family

Medicine Residency Program.)

overloaded, overwhelmed

And Underperforming

Do you remember what you did the firsthour of every school day? You went

to your Homeroom. In doing so you wouldenter your day slowly. You would catch upwith friends and get a couple of things doneso you could focus on the day before you.Those days are long gone. Most people

I talk to do not have a homeroom moment.They tend to jump out of bed with an im-

mediate on-call awareness. They check never-endinge-mails, get distracted by multiple headlines and topics,hear their phones ping for their attention, diffuse any focusthat would make them feel good or be productive.In order to have a peak performance, you need a peak

purpose. Using the first moments of your day to gainclarity is a great strategy. The following are some tipson what and what not to do during those first moments.Then we’ll look at a deeper, surprising reason to elimi-

nate being overloaded and overwhelmed as you beginyour day.For starters, never check your e-mail first thing in the

morning. Checking it diffuses your focus. Use that time tostrategically think about the day before you. Start with thebig picture of what you want your life to be. What’s impor-tant? What things could be considered bunny trails? Gain awareness of your “bigger” life, then marinate it with

gratitude. One of the most productive habits to develop istaking time to peruse your “gratitude grid.” One result ofdoing this is that you will acquire an elevated confidence.You gain certainty about the tasks before you. This enhancesboth your insight and courage to sidestep the distractionsthat urgently scream for your attention. Focus and gratitudein your beginning moments creates winning moments. It’s easy to focus on the wolves at the door and ignore the

termites in the floor. The greatest threat to our well-beingare not the external wolves growling and howling. Thegreatest threat are those internal termites as they silently eataway at the infrastructure of our soul. Distractibility and frenetic behavior are symptoms of a

trait that is unique to modern society. It has to do withoverloaded circuits in the brain. It leads to what is calledAttention Deficit Trait (ADT). It’s different than AttentionDeficit Disorder (ADD).1

ADD is a neurological disorder that has a strong geneticcomponent. It inflicts about 5 percent of adults. Those with

it have a propensity to procrastinate and miss deadlines.Disorganization, tardiness, drifting and forgetfulness arecommon symptoms. Those with ADD tend to achieve in-consistent results in life. Some of our most brilliant peoplehave ADD. They surprise us when they come off unsatis-factorily. They often possess rare talents and gifts that atan early age are in danger of going unnoticed.ADT (Attention Deficit Trait), is caused entirely from the

environment. It is a phenomenon of modern life. As wehave throttled up our lives with increased acceleration overthese past three decades, the demands on our time have ex-ponentially increased.Overtime the brain loses its ability to fully and thor-

oughly take care of business. It can become immobilizedin part, and it’s not genetic. ADT takes on the negative traitsof ADD, but with none of the positive traits.So rather than focusing on the wolves at the door, pay at-

tention to the termites in the floor. Spend those first few moments getting a clear view of

your life and clarity about where you are going. Strategicthinking starts at the floor, not at the door.

1“Overloaded Circuits: Why Smart People Underperform;Hallowell, Edward, Harvard Business Review, Jan 2005.(Mick Ukleja keynotes on topics related to leadership

and personal productivity. He’s president of Leadership-Traq, and author of several books. Check his weekly blogat www.leadershiptraq.com.)

HealthWise

By jeffrey

luther, M.d.

By MiCk

UklejA

Create a Successful Family owned

Business Succession Plan

Family-owned businesses account for more than 28% of U.S.firms. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach for family-owned

businesses and many have unique or complex arrangements when itcomes to ownership, roles and responsibilities. However, one com-monality that many family-owned businesses share is that they wanttheir business to stay in the family for years to come.According to a recent Wells Fargo survey, 40% of small business owners

said they were motivated to open their business to family members in thefuture, and 34% plan to transition their business to a family member at re-

tirement. It’s never too early to think about what your succession plan should be. Consider:Define family members’ roles – Identifying roles and responsibilities for family mem-

bers who are active in the business will help you articulate how the transition will impacteach stakeholder, and what type of support the successor can expect. If you’re hopingto hand the business down to a son or daughter, now is a good time to check in to un-derstand if he or she wants to be involved in the business long-term, and in what ca-pacity. It is also a good time to take a fresh look at your company’s staffing structure,analyze performance, and assess who is most equipped to lead when you step down. Explore financing options –Identify how to properly transition the business to the

next owner from both financial and legal standpoints. Is your business a sole propri-etorship or is it co-owned? Will your successor outright purchase the business, or willit be gifted to them? Does your business carry any debts? What are the tax implications?These are important questions to ask as you map out your departure from the business.Make sure you have a team of trusted professionals in place, including a banker, CPAand attorney, to help you answer these questions. Schedule time to meet with these pro-fessionals to learn more about how you can best fulfill your financial needs, and to de-sign an agreement that’s fair for all family members involved in the business. Set up a smooth transition – After you establish the financial and legal aspects of

the succession plan, you’ll need to make sure your business is as organized as possiblewhen you hand over the reins. One way you can do this is by creating an up-to-date,streamlined business plan. To help make it easier for more business owners to prepareplans, Wells Fargo recently introduced the Business Plan Center that provides step-by-step instruction to create or update written business plans.Establish a timeframe – As you finalize your succession plan you’ll want to make

sure you have a timeline. Build any remaining training into the plan so you can becertain that you’re leaving the business in capable hands. As you communicate yoursuccession plan to family and staff, make your exit strategy clear so everyone knowsyour role in the business following the transition. There are many emotions involved in selling or handing down a family business,

and a well-organized succession plan will help save you time and money. It also willgive your successor the best chance of long-term financial success.(Ben Alvarado, a 23-year veteran of Wells Fargo, is the president of the bank’s

Southern California Region, which stretches from Long Beach to Orange, Imperialand San Diego counties.)

Small Business Dollars & SensePERSPECTIVE

Effective Leadership

By Ben

AlvArAdo

36 Long Beach Business Journal June 23-July 6, 2015 June 2


Underwater Homeowners

Still Have A long Way To Go

Even though equity is returning to the Amer-ican homeowner in many cases, a new re-

port indicates that a vast number of U.S. homesremain under water – what is owed on the mort-gage is more than the value of the home – andthat this situation is not going to change dra-matically any time soon.A newly released report by the real estate val-

uation site Zillow – based on first quarter statistics – notes thatthe number of homes with negative equity is slowly decreasing– but that the rate of decrease is slowing, and over half of thosewho face this situation are at least 20 percent under water.Another troubling statistic in the Zillow Negative Equity Re-

port is that, on the whole, homes will rise in value at a slowerpace than over the past several years and it could take as longas a decade or longer to regain the lost equity. And remember,we are at least seven to eight years into this down cycle.According to the study, the U.S. rate of negative equity among

mortgaged homeowners was 15.4 percent (almost eight million)in the first quarter of 2015, down from 16.9 percent in the fourthquarter of last year. Four million nationally are in the categoryof 20 percent or greater of negative equity. A year ago the rateof negative equity was 18.8 percent and has improved in all ofthe 35 largest U.S. housing markets, which is a good sign.“It’s great news that the level of negative equity is falling, but

what really worries me is the depth of negative equity,” said Zil-low Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “Millions of Ameri-cans are so far underwater, it’s likely they may not regain equityfor up to a decade or more at these rates. And because negativeequity is concentrated so heavily at the lower end, it throws areal wrench in the traditional housing market conveyor belt. Po-tential first-time buyers have difficulty finding affordablehomes for sale because those homes are stuck in negative equity.And owners of those homes can’t move up the chain becausethey’re stuck underwater in the entry-level home they boughtyears ago. The logjam at the bottom is having ripple effectsthroughout the market and, as home value growth slows, it will

be years before it gets cleared up. In the meantime, we’ll be leftwith volatile prices, limited inventory, tepid demand, elevatedforeclosures and a whole lot of frustration.”At the peak of the real estate crisis, more than 15 million

homeowners owed more on their mortgages than their homeswere worth. Foreclosures, short sales and rapidly rising homevalues freed nearly half of those homeowners, leaving 7.9 millionhomeowners upside down at the end of this year’s first quarter.The rate of underwater homeowners was much higher among

the homes with the least value. More than 25 percent of thosewho owned the least valuable third of homes were upsidedown, compared to about 8 percent of the most valuable thirdof homes.Spring and summer are the busiest buying and selling sea-

sons, and this year there is high demand for homes in the bottomthird of the market. However, a disproportionate number ofthose homeowners are simply stuck in their homes and can’t af-ford to sell to buyers looking for homes in their price range.Markets vary widely throughout the country and even region-

ally. In Atlanta, for example, 46 percent of low-end homeownerswere under water, compared with 10 percent of high-end home-owners. In Baltimore, 32 percent of low-end homeowners werein negative equity, compared to 9 percent of those who own thehighest-value homes.Among the 35 largest housing markets, Las Vegas (at 25 per-

cent), Chicago (23.7 percent) and Atlanta (23.2 percent) had thehighest rates of homeowners in negative equity. A smaller shareof homeowners were upside down in Miami and Detroit, buthomeowners there were more deeply under water. In bothplaces, over 60 percent of homeowners in negative equity weremore than 20 percent under water.Here in Southern California, we have done better than most

but there are wide variances. The Los Angeles area is at an 8.1percent negative equity rate, but 53.3 percent of those are atleast 20 percent under water. San Diego is at 8.6 percent nega-tive equity, with 49.1 percent at least 20 percent under water.For Riverside, the numbers are 16.4 percent in negative territorywith 56.8 percent who are 20 percent or more under water.As past studies have indicated, in our region the coastal mar-

kets have rebounded stronger and sooner than inland markets,and California as a whole is doing better than many other states.Depending on the economic factors that influence housing, eachregion of the country will be unique in its own circumstances.(Terry Ross, the broker-owner of TR Properties, will answer any

questions about today’s real estate market. E-mail questions to Re-alty Views at [email protected] or call 949/457-4922.)

By TerrY roSS

Realty Views

Last August, Egypt an-nounced an $8.4 bil-

lion upgrade to the SuezCanal. The planned expan-sion called the Suez CanalAxis, was ambitious. The101-mile long Canal cur-rently has a daily capacity

of approximately 50 vessels but is limitedto traffic in a single direction. The planscalled for the creation of a two-way channelalong a 43-mile stretch of the Canal, allow-ing it to accommodate close to 100 shipsper day. The impact on the global supplychain of a project of this nature is dramatic.Planners predict that creating a second par-allel lane for traffic will reduce waitingtime from 11 hours to something closer to3 hours. Shippers realize not only time sav-ings but, in eliminating a significant bottle-neck, get a much more reliable andpredictable supply chain. And yet, the August 2014 announce-

ment did not seem to get much press here.There might be any number of explana-

tions. Last summer the local trade com-munity was consumed by a number ofchallenges, including an expired long-shore labor agreement and significantequipment shortages resulting in conges-tion at the docks and across the entire sup-ply chain. Local observers have alsoseemingly been much more interested inthe expansion of the Panama Canal givenits proximity and the potential it has to di-vert cargo to the east coast.There was also great skepticism about

Egypt’s plans. This would be the SuezCanal’s largest expansion since it was con-structed in the 1860s. And it would be un-dertaken by a government still somewhat inturmoil in the wake of the many changesbrought about by the Arab spring. Many,both inside and outside of the country,viewed the project as more political grand-standing than anything else.Then there was the financing plan and the

development timeline. While the originalCanal was constructed over a 10-year pe-riod, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah AlSisi called for completion of the expansionwithin a one-year time frame. This de-pended upon mobilizing 41,000 workers

around the clock and financing that was 100percent Egyptian, i.e. no lining up externalsupport from organizations like the WorldBank. According to CNN, this would re-quire moving 8.8 billion cubic feet of earthwhile using more than half of the dredgerscurrently in operation around the globe. Not many questioned the need. Despite

security concerns in the region, the SuezCanal handles approximately 10 percent ofthe world’s trade. And it is in position tocapture more. With the cost of doing busi-ness in China increasing, the center of grav-ity for global manufacturing is increasinglymoving west in Asia to lower cost locationslike Vietnam and Thailand. This makes anAsia-to-Europe-to East Coast of NorthAmerica route more competitive with trans-Pacific trade lanes or ones involving a tran-sit of the Panama Canal. Furthermore,rapidly increasing vessel size is alreadyproving problematic for an even expandedPanama Canal. Almost 55 percent of theworld’s container capacity is now carried byvessels that are deemed post-Panamax andfor which that route is not an alternative.Suez, which is not constrained by locks, canaccommodate more of the largest vessels.Fast forward to 2015. Dredging work is

scheduled to be completed in mid-July andEgypt will hold an inauguration ceremonyin early August before the first ships movethrough the Axis. Some work still remains

to be completed but it appears that Sisi’shopes for a one-year turnaround time maylargely be realized. Yet major questions remain unanswered.

Egypt is predicting that the canal will morethan double its revenue due to increasedtraffic. But as the Panama Canal haslearned, paying for the costs of a major in-frastructure project like this one requiresincreasing tolls but not so much that theshipper takes an alternative route. It’s a del-icate balancing act. Others have questioned whether the rapid

pace of development has come at the ex-pense of safeguards, like those put in placein Panama, to mitigate environmental im-pacts including preventing invasive speciesmoving from one body of water to another.And then there’s the toll on the workforcewhich may yet come under more scrutinyonce the project is completed. Still, for an industry that often talks

about game changers, this one is actually apretty big event. And with the PanamaCanal expansion set to open by April ofnext year, the next round in the battle forcargo is well underway.(Dr. Thomas O’Brien is the executive

director of the Center for InternationalTrade and Transportation at CSULB andan associate director for the METRANSTransportation Center, a partnership ofUSC and CSULB.)

EDITOR & PUBLISHERGeorge Economides

SALES & MARKETING EXECUTIVEHeather DannSTAFF ASSISTANTLarry Duncan

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

SENIOR WRITER

Samantha Mehlinger STAFF WRITER

Sean BelkCONTRIBUTING WRITER

Brian O’Leary Bennett, Michael Gougis, Gerrie Schipske

PHOTOJOURNALISTEvan Patrick KellyCOPY EDITORPat Flynn

The Long Beach Business Journal is a publication ofSouth Coast Publishing, Inc., incorporated in the Stateof California in July 1985. It is published every otherTuesday (except between Christmas and mid-January)– 25 copies annually. The Business Journal premieredMarch 1987 as the Long Beach Airport Business Jour-nal. Reproduction in whole or in part without writtenpermission is strictly prohibited unless otherwisestated. Opinions expressed by perspective writers andguest columnists are their views and not necessarilythose of the Business Journal. Press releases shouldbe sent to the address shown below.

OfficeSouth Coast Publishing, Inc.2599 E. 28th Street, Suite 212

Signal Hill, CA 90755Ph: 562/988-1222 • Fx: 562/988-1239

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Wednesday prior to publication date. Note: Press re-leases should be faxed or mailed. No follow up calls,please. For a copy of the 2015 advertising and editorialcalendar, please fax request to 562/988-1239. Includeyour name, company and address and a copy will besent to you. Distribution: Minimum 22,000.

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Vol. XXVIII No. 12June 23-July 6, 2015

PERSPECTIVE

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ART MATTERSBrought To You By The Arts Council For Long Beach • www.artslb.org

Long Beach Business Journal 38June 23-July 6, 2015

Gallery Corner The University Art Museum has two thought-provoking exhibitions currently on view, Joel Tauber: The Sharing

Project and Lost in Time: Selections From the Peckenpaugh Collection. Joel Tauber, the artist behind The Sharing

Project, was inspired by his struggles teaching his young son Zeke about sharing. Part video and part sculpture,

the project encourages the public to donate their toys to share as part of the exhibition. The exhibition closes

on Sunday, July 19 with a reception featuring family-friendly

activities. Guests are invited to take toys from the gallery

and share them with others. Lost in Time is a permanent

collection exhibition featuring photographs from the Peck-

enpaugh collection donated by Tom and Barbara Pecken-

paugh. This exhibition explores themes of the sublime and

our relation to the natural landscape. It closes Saturday, De-

cember 12. For more information, including directions and

parking, visit csulb.edu/uam or call 562-985-5761. (Image

Credit: Joel Tauber, Attempting To Restore Happyville,

2013, from The Sharing Project.)

� By SARAH BENNETT

Arts Council for Long Beach Con-tributor

She started painting her

sassy, curvy cartoonish

characters on the walls

of abandoned buildings in

Paris, but street artist Fafi has

gained international recogni-

tion for taking her so-called

‘Fafinettes’ global, using their

hearted cheeks and knee-high socks as a jumping

off point for discussions of feminism, art and public

space.

From June 22–28, Fafi will bring her work to Long

Beach, where she will install a piece on the fence

of Lyon Art Supply in the East Village Arts District.

Fafi is just one of 15 globally significant artists

who will converge on the city as part of the week-

long PowWow Long Beach, a local version of the

Hawaiian-born street art festival of the same

name. Brought to Long Beach by PowWow founder

Jasper Wong with the help of downtown-based ad-

vertising agency InterTrend Communications, the

festival invited 10 of the artists to paint murals

over the course of the week on designated walls

in the city with the intention of leaving them there

until the next year’s festival invites 10 more artists

to paint over those.

“I saw [PowWow events] in Taiwan and Hawaii

and was so touched by the interaction between

the artists and the viewers,” InterTrend CEO Julia

Hwang said. PowWow is unique in that the public

can walk by anytime and observe the muralists at

different stages in their

process. “When they’re rest-

ing, they’re chatting and talking

about their art with whoever is

there. It’s not like a docent

showing you around and telling

you the history of the piece –

this is the artist talking casually

while drinking coffee on their

break.”

PowWow Long Beach is the

first full-scale PowWow to happen on the main-

land U.S. and is making the most of the arts re-

sources in the city. The PowWow School of Music

invites local and young musicians to participate in

roundtable discussions and performances

throughout the week. The Art Theatre will host

several related screenings and discussions (includ-

ing one between Fafi and lifestyle mogul Jeff Sta-

ple); and the Long Beach Museum of Art – itself

once home to an internationally recognized video

art program – allowed the muralists to paint the

walls of the museum for the cur-

rent exhibition Vitality and Verve:

Transforming the Urban Land-

scape (opening June 26 and run-

ning through September 27).

“[It’s] temporal art that can’t be

sold, can’t be collected and isn’t

part of the public ownership,” said

Long Beach Museum of Art’s exec-

utive director Ron Nelson. “Rather,

it is to be appreciated for the lim-

ited time it can be viewed and

documented in photos and minds

of all our visitors.”

PowWow Long Beach is an im-

portant opportunity for the public to engage with

art, and also for local artists to engage with their

counterparts from around the world. But the

weeklong festival is also a chance to increase the

visibility of the city to businesses and other large-

scale events looking for a place to set down roots.

“Events like this and Agenda and TED – these are

the kinds o f things that will bring people into the city,

and the economic value is great,” Hwang said. “A lot

of us that love Long Beach are tired of [the city]

being a best kept secret. It’s been a best kept secret

for a long time and it’s time the secret gets out.” �

Where Art, Tech andPlace Intersect� By DW FERRELL

Executive Director, Localism

You [almost] missed it. On June 20th several blocks of downtown

buildings were covered with expansive murals from local artists,

including the entire façade of the historic Lafayette building in

the East Village Arts District. However, this sky-scraping mural showcase

can only be experienced at the intersection of art and technology. Just

one day before international PowWow muralists set their brushes to

brick, local virtual curators covered vacant walls with art from Linden

to Pine Ave. with pixels rather than paint.

Thankfully you didn’t miss this virtual art experience, aptly titled

"WALLS: an ARt Walk". These augmented reality (AR) murals are still

on view through an app that allows you to “look through your phone”

as a lens to see hidden canvases. Download the ARLB app (Augmented

Reality Long Beach), then point your phone’s camera at the Lafayette

at 140 Linden Ave. and you will see an eight-story mural of psychedelic

rainbow eyes.

Meander down Linden and west on 1st St. to experience many more

virtu-rals (virtual murals). Along the way aim your phone at blank walls

that seem forgotten, and they will be illuminated. Head to Long Beach

Blvd. and explore down to Broadway. Don’t miss the weathered wall

opposite the Pacific Towers building. Then follow the Promenade to 3rd

St west, and finally land at 236 Pine Ave.

So what’s the backstory on this experience? Two years ago Bryan Am-

burgey was experimenting at the WE Labs co-working space with tech-

nology that only major brands were able to implement: virtual ads

embedded on existing locations using AR. This is when I first met Am-

burgey, as he was exploring ways to flip this technology around to make

it community centric. He also saw a business model in it, where users

of the app could get tickets to unique events or exclusive pricing for

products by ‘unlocking’ virtual places.

Exactly a year ago Amburgey demonstrated this by handing me an

active print edition of a local newspaper. I viewed it through an AR

app and it came alive with video content by viewing printed pages

through a special app. It was rough, but I caught a glimpse of Am-

burgey’s vision.

Fast forward to 2015. Amburgey showed a version of ARLB to an-

other WE Labs member, Brandon Halvorson of Assignment Creative.

Amburgey’s passion for artists was matched by Halvorson’s passion

for musicians; Assignment Creative is building something like a bit-

coin to help fund up-and-coming music artists. The two gentlemen

hit it off and conceived to kick off this ‘virtual placemaking’ event

that combined historic locations, art, tech and live music along the

way. A couple beers later and "WALLS: An ARtwalk" was born.

Most of the original artwork by local artists is available for sale

through wallslb.com or in nearby spaces and galleries. If you fall in love

with a piece displayed on the civic scale, you can tap it within the app

to find out how to own the original, and hang it on your own wall. �

PowWow Long Beach BringsGlobal Street Art to City Walls

Elisa Ang is among several local artists featured in Long Beach WALLS: An ARt Walk, using the new ARLB app

Fafi


According to GuideStar, there are164,315 nonprofit organizations in Cal-ifornia. 1,839 nonprofits are registeredin Long Beach and 999 of those have anincome under $100K. Every week,someone is thinking about starting anonprofit organization. There is a lot toconsider before making the decision tostart your own nonprofit: from assess-ing community need to having the abil-ity to invest the time and resourcesnecessary to be successful.

To this end, our partners at The LegalAid Foundation of Los Angeles have pro-vided the following information fromtheir publication, “Forming a Tax Ex-empt California Nonprofit Organization”.

There are two decisions your organi-zation must initially make. First, do youwant to become a nonprofit corporation?The incorporation process is governedby the California Corporations Code.Therefore, all the forms and processeswill be governed by California law.

Next, does your organization wish toseek tax exempt status? Tax exemptstatus provides many advantages for anorganization. Some of these advantagesinclude no state or federal income tax li-abilities, assisting your organizationwith qualifying for certain grants and/orfunding and, in some instances, provid-ing your donors with a charitable contri-bution tax deduction. Tax-exempt statusis governed by both state and federalregulations. Under state law, the Fran-chise Tax Board establishes filing andreporting requirements; under federallaw, the Internal Revenue Service es-tablishes such requirements.

Consider the following before begin-ning:

Nonprofit versus For-ProfitA nonprofit organization is defined by

the American Bar Association as a cor-poration “no part of the income or profitof which is distributed to its members,directors or officers”. All nonprofit organ-izations have three basic characteristics:

1. They are designed from the outsetto be nonprofit.

2. None of the income or assets maybe divided among members, officers, ordirectors.

3. They may only pursue legally de-fined purposes.

A for-profit corporation, on the otherhand, would allow for income and assetdistribution and serve very differentpurposes.

Types of NonprofitsUnder California Corporations Code,

there are four basic types of legal or-ganizations that can be used for non-profit purposes, outlined below.

An unincorporated association isformed for some purpose other than forprofit and is generally the organizationalstructure selected by small local clubs,labor unions and fraternal organizations.Often the association structure is se-lected if the organization will only oper-ate for a short time period. Advantagesinclude: easy to organize; informal; noincorporation costs; may enter into con-tracts; may sue or be sued; limitedrecord keeping. Disadvantages include:Somewhat vague state regulations; po-tential individual director and memberliability for acts and omissions within thescope of their authority; difficulty indoing business in association’s name;difficulty in raising funds; net incomepotentially taxable.

The corporation is the most commonand probably the best form of organiza-tional structure for most nonprofit or-ganizations. It is a legal entity, organizedaccording to prescribed legal require-ments and having a specific name andspecific powers granted by law. Advan-tages include: recognized legal entity;clear statutory requirements; no individ-ual director or officer liability for goodfaith acts and omissions that are withinthe scope of their duties and in the bestinterest of the corporation and within theexercise of their policy making judg-

ment; prerequisite from some fundingsources to receiving monies. Disadvan-tages include: costs of formation; needto fulfill corporate formalities; formal-ized structure, reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Charitable trusts are generally devel-oped by one person, the trustee, for thepurpose of holding legal title to certainproperty, the trust, for the benefit of an-other, the beneficiary. This organizationalstructure is used for very specific and verylimited purposes, for example, a FamilyFoundation. Advantages include: can beestablished and operated relativelyquickly and inexpensively; does not haveto comply with any statutorily requiredformalities; founder has the authority toname the trustee. Disadvantages include:must register with the Attorney Generaland is subject to the Attorney General’scontinuing supervision.

Limited Liability Companies…are a hy-brid between corporations and partner-ships. Although they offer the limitedliability of corporations, they havegreater flexibility of structure and canbe structured so that the entity is notsubject to corporate income tax. Advan-tages include: members, managers andofficers are not personally liable for ob-ligations or liabilities of the LLC, with thesame narrow exceptions as corporateshareholders; flexible structure allowingmembers to actively participate in man-agement and control of company; canbe structured so that the entity is notsubject to corporate income tax but haspass-through tax status similar to apartnership. Disadvantages include:costs of formation and annual tax; lawis unclear as to whether LLCs can beformed for charitable purposes; verylimited circumstances under which LLCscan obtain 501(c)(3) tax exemption.

An alternative to independent501(c)(3) status may be operating asan informal organization under the legalumbrella of an existing charity.

Advantages of fiscal sponsorship:• Can raise grants, contributions, and

other funds based on the sponsor’strack record and experience

• The sponsor has fiscal, accounting,personnel, management and other sys-tems in place

• Can operate informally, no incorpo-ration costs

• The sponsor assumes the risk of li-ability

Disadvantages of fiscal sponsorship:• Loss of control over activities, since

ultimate authority lies with the board ofdirectors of the sponsor

• Community perception that its ac-tivities are those of the sponsor. Thesponsor may receive credit for a suc-

cessful project. A sponsor with a badreputation may tarnish the project

• As a small part of a larger organiza-tion, the project may not receive timelyand adequate support. Also, the sponsormight retain a significant portion of thefunds for its administrative expenses.

• May be difficult to disengage fromthe sponsor and continue the project asa separate corporation.

The Legal Aid Foundation of Los An-geles is the front line law firm for poorand low-income people in greater LosAngeles.

THE NONPROFIT PAGECurated By The Long Beach Nonprofit Partnership

The area’s regional capacity builder, serving local organizations to strengthenand grow through leadership, education and collaboration. Offering:

Professional Development & TrainingNetworking & Collaboration

Custom Training & Consulting ServicesInformation Resources

To learn more, visit us at www.lbnp.org.4900 East Conant St., Building O-2, Suite 225, Long Beach, CA 90808

562.888-6530

To Start or Not to Start a Nonprofit – That is the Question

Long Beach Business Journal 39June 23-July 6, 2015

Capacity Corner: Upcoming Calendar of EventsFrom the Nonprofit PartnershipGiving USA 2015 – The Annual Report on PhilanthropyTuesday, June 30, 2015, 10:00am-NoonJoin us for a special presentation on the findings of the Giving USA 2015. You won'twant to miss out on the most comprehensive report on charitable giving in ourcountry, now in its 59th year. This presentation will examine giving by the source,recipient and sector. A nonprofit leadership panel, moderated by Marc Kellen-berger, Founding Principal of The Phoenix Philanthropy Group, will discuss andcompare the national numbers to what they are seeing in our region.

Essentials of Human Resources CertificateThursdays, July 16 to August 20, 2015, 2:00-5:00pmRapidly changing workplace initiatives, legal landscapes and workplace cultureare an integral part of the human resources function. The program provides theknowledge and practical skills for human resources administration and manage-ment. This 6-session certificate program will focus on real-life situations that arefound in organization’s today.

From our PartnersAsk the Expert: Finding Funding for Technology ProjectsJuly 23, 2015, 11:00am WEBINARIn this interactive webinar, they will examine how to make a data-informed case fortechnology investment and explore funding sources, cost estimates, and needed re-sources. For more info, visit: nten.org.

Save the Date: Stronger Together Nonprofit ConferenceAugust 24, 2015 — Los Angeles, CA Join three strong partners working together on the second annual nonprofit confer-ence for California with leading edge content and exceptional presenters in leader-ship, strategy, advocacy, and risk management. For more info, visit: calnonprofits.org.

Steps to Forming a Nonprofit Organization

in CaliforniaPre-IncorporationIdentify Board Members• Conduct Community Needs Assessment• Identify Goals & Objectives• Develop a Mission Statement• Decide on Structure • Train Board on Responsibilities• Decide on a Name• Reserve a Name ($10 fee good foronly 60 days)• Develop Articles of Incorporation• Develop Bylaws• Develop an Organizational Workplan• File Articles of Incorporation ($30 fee+ $5 certification fee)• File Form SI-100—Statement of Infor-mation (domestic nonprofit corpora-tion—$20 fee due within 90 days afterfiling for incorporation)• Complete Initial Registration with CAAttorney General’s Office—Use form CT-1 or URS v.4.02 and complete within 30days of receiving assets/funding)• File CA Form DE-1NP—Request forEmployer Tax ID Number ( if pay$100+ in wages per quarter)• File Form SS-4—Employer Identifica-tion Number (due even if organizationhas no employees)

Tax Exemption• File IRS Form SS-4—Employer Iden-tification Number• *File IRS Form 1023/1024—FederalTax Exemption ($400 or $850 in feesbased on average annual gross receiptsover 4-year period. 1023 due within 27months of Incorporation)• *If appropriate—File IRS Form5768—Election / Revocation of Electionby and Eligible Section 501 (c)(3) Or-ganization to Make Expenditures to In-fluence Legislation• File CA Form FTB 3500/3500A—State Tax Exemption ($25 or $0 fee)

*File these forms together and attachArticles of Incorporation and Bylaws.



Documents

June 23-July 6, 2015