Our Platinum Sponsors Our Gold Sponsors 400 Kern Street—Taft, CA, 93268

Phone: (661) 765-2165 Fax: (661) 765-6639

www.taftchamber.com

TaftChamber@gmail.com

November 2013 Newsletter

Taft Postcard Contest

CLASSES

Child (up to 11 years)

Youth (12-18 years)

Adult Amateur

Adult Professional

Historical (Photographer Unknown)

CATEGORIES

Oil/Oilfield Equipment

Taft Oilworker Monument

Scenery/Nature

Taft Landmarks/Businesses

People

Oildorado

Photos by Doug Keeler

The Taft District Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau is seeking photographs

which may be suitable for use as postcards for sale in the Chamber Gift Shop. Each per-

son may submit up to 5 photos. The contest runs October 29 through November 12.

Winners will be announced at the Taft City Council meeting on November 19.

One grand prize winner will receive $100 and a ride in the Taft Christmas Parade.

Get your cameras out and get to snapping!

Kathy Herm and Shawna Crane at State Farm on Kern Street orga-nized a fun Halloween Spooktakular Event that was held on Thursday, October 31. The event featured sur-rounding businesses who set up booths and handed out candy to kids dressed in costumes. This event was a different way to high-light the businesses in the main ar-ea of Taft. We look forward to this new event next year. Thanks for all your hard work!

What’s New at the Chamber?

October 23 Comprehensive Care Systems

Jeff George from Comprehensive Care Systems spoke to us about the services they provide. They offer in home services including personal care assis-tance, life care planning, nurse case management, transportation services, shopping and running er-rands, meal preparation, and more. They can be reached at 661-335-7700. Mission Statement: “Comprehensive Care Systems is dedicated to providing in home care that is above and beyond the standards of the industry.”

Adopt a Senior for Christmas

This program is for low income, homebound and/or isolated seniors in our community.

Selected seniors provide a list of items they would like to have; such as a robe, slippers, sweatshirt, towels, etc. and their names are placed on ornaments in Taft.

How can you help?

Pick up an ornament at Fastrip on Kern Street, Cooper’s True Value, or Rite Aid. Shop for your senior and return the items selected in a gift bag to that location. The Taft Midway-Sunset Lions Club “elves” will be delivering the presents to the seniors in our community in December.

For more information, call Carol at 765-5541.

New Creations Nail Salon 212 6th Street, Taft

(661) 623-4470

October 16 Mid America Solar

Mid America Solar is a privately funded solar farm that is in the process of installing solar panels on 3,500 acres of out of use farm land. They purchased the land from local, dry farmers and are creating power that is being sold to PG&E and SoCal Edison. While this project is still under construction and slat-ed to be completed by 2015, they are about halfway through and are able to sell power that goes back into the grid.

By Dr. Kathy Orrin, Executive Director

Most folks in Taft are aware that we have five very active service clubs operating in our community (we have their welcoming signs at two entrances to our fair city), but I doubt most people are aware of how hard these club members work to make sure things get done in Taft. It is my privilege to meet with the leaders of our service clubs once a month to find out what great activities they are planning and to make sure we are not overbooking our community calendar, but rather, planning events that are accessible to all who want to participate.

For the Chamber, service clubs provide a great cross-section of our community, helping us to decide what kinds of events are enticing to people. Service clubs also are a source of great ideas, organizational skill, and good ol’ fashioned labor. I cannot imagine putting on a Christmas parade without the assistance of the two Lions Clubs to organize the staging (lining up) of the participants, the Rotary Club to secure the cars for the Vanguard Division, the Soroptimists to act as judg-es for the parade, and the Kiwanis Club to arrange the trophies. And, by the way, Santa’s parade candy is pro-vided by the Chamber and the service clubs in town.

This month the Midway Sunset Lions, the Taft Lions, the Soroptimist, the Rotary, and the Kiwanis Clubs will meet at the Fort on November 20, to enjoy their tradi-tional annual luncheon. They will bring with them money and items which will be used by the West Side Community Resource Center (Together We Can) to fill Thanksgiving Baskets for those in our community who are less fortunate. Although this is only one of the many activities done during the holidays, the service clubs especially look forward to this luncheon because there is a competition involved. You can donate or col-lect non-perishable food items or donate funds also.

Although the service clubs work together on the Thanksgiving Baskets and the Christmas Parade, they still work hard as individual clubs to provide such im-portant events as the Holiday Home Tour (Soroptimists), the Adopt-a-Senior Christmas (Midway Sunset Lions), Toys for Taft (Taft Lions), and the NEEDS Center Christmas Party (Key Club and Kiwanis).

It is a pleasure to recognize the hard work of the men and women in our Taft service clubs.

Halloween is over and my kids are happy as can be with

all of the goodies they received Trick or Treating in the

neighborhood. Now comes the fun part of rationing the

candy so they don’t have a sugar overload. As we enter

into November, I have the realization that it is almost

2014 and have no idea where the entire year has gone.

We have had successful events beginning with the

Chamber Installation Dinner, Cinco de Mayo, Car, Truck,

and Motorcycle Show, Fourth of July Fireworks and Pic-

nic, Farmers Market, First Friday Car Cruises, and last

weekend we had a Hole in One at the Chamber Golf

Tournament! But we still have lots more to do in the last

two months of the year. Our annual Trout Derby is com-

ing up on Saturday, November 16, Taft Christmas Pa-

rade on December 2, and Photos with Santa December

9. Entries for all of these events are available at the

Chamber and in the newsletter for November.

As we look forward to these fun events, we must also

remember the reason for the season. This is the time of

year for giving to those less fortunate than us. There are

several ways to help families in our community.

West Side Community Resource Center is collecting

food for Thanksgiving baskets, the TUHS Key Club is

collecting new or gently used jackets for all ages to be

distributed to those in need, and Toys for Taft is holding

a motorcycle run on November 16 with a donation of toys

for children so that they may have a Christmas to re-

member. Midway Sunset Lions is sponsoring the “Adopt

a Senior” Program and the local churches always partici-

pate with their own special events benefitting our com-

munity.

The City of Taft and the County of Kern are working to-

gether to clean up areas of our town and it is a process

that continues to grow. One organization assisting with

this effort if the Westside Christian Ministers Association

with Project Restore. On Monday, November 11, the

WCMA returns with Project Restore. Projects in the

community have been submitted and volunteers are

needed to fulfill these one day projects. Call for infor-

mation about how you can help.

If you need additional information about any of these

events, donation opportunities, or how you can help,

please call me at 661-765-2165. I hope you have a won-

derful holiday and let’s be thankful to live in Taft, a com-

munity that cares about the families in it.

By Shannon Jones, Event Coordinator

Closest to the Hole Winners Hole 2: Marty Maxwell 3’5”

Hole 6: Tony Denesha 6’ Hole 13: Jazziah Ewing Hole in One

Hole 17: Scott Burrell 3’4”

Long Drive Winners Ladies: Andrea Marquez

Men: Alan Torrigiani

4th Place Teams: (2-way tie) Vance Manning, Alan Manning, Nick

Vallejo, John Rowe Not pictured: Brock Bivens, Craig

Taylor, Matt Machado, Trace Moreno

12th Annual

Taft Chamber

Golf Tournament

1st Place Teams: (3-way tie) Derek Holland, Tim Ewing, Jazziah Ewing, Brian Blalock Tony Denesha, Brady Baguio, Rufie Sessler, Mike Yates Nick Enriquez, Eric Knight, Jason Boyd, Mike Hardwick

$20,000 Hole in One Winner Jazziah Ewing

Saturday,

October 26, 2013

Buena Vista Golf

Course

6th Place Team: Eddie Martin, Alan Miller,

Scott Burrell, Sean Yaws Food Sponsor: Salty’s BBQ & Catering

Jeff, Justin, Robert & Scott Salters

Putting Contest Winner Bo Van Sickel

Long Drive Sponsors Hole Sponsors

Albertsons, Taft

Asian Experience, Taft

Banks Pest Control, Bakersfield

Campos Tires, Taft

Direct Safety Solutions,

Bakersfield

Edward J Herrera Insurance, Taft

ExxonMobil

Fastrip Food Store #929, Taft

Hall Ambulance, Bakersfield

Helt Engineering, Bakersfield

Midway Laboratory, Taft

NACS/NAES, Taft

Pneumatic Control, Bakersfield

Rotary Club of Taft

Snow Well Service, Taft

Taft Midway Driller, Taft

Tumbleweed Café, Derby Acres

United Security Bank, Taft

Volvo Rents, Bakersfield

Watkins Construction/JVT, Taft

Willow Ranch Restaurant,

Buttonwillow

Artz Liquor & Deli, Taft

Dave’s Glass Shop, Taft

Precision Bodyworks, Taft

Taft Chevrolet, Buick,

Grand Prize donated by:

407 9th Street, Taft

Putting Prize donated by:

Star Struck Entertainment

Advance Beverage

Edward J Herrera Insurance

The Taft Chamber Golf Tournament would not be possible without the support our sponsors.

Please return their generosity by supporting them.

2013 Chamber Golf Sponsors

Goodie Bag Sponsors

Cart Sponsor

$20,000 Hole In One Sponsors

Putting Contest Sponsor

Insurance Agency, Taft

Beer Sponsor

Advance Beverage, Bakersfield

Silver Sponsors

Food Sponsor

Closest to the Hole Sponsor

Watkins Construction/JVT

Taft, CA, (661)763-5395

November 2013 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

6:00pm-10:00pm First Friday Cruising Center Car Cruise

2

Lions Club BBQ @ 601 Kern Street

Maricopa Vets Breakfast

11am-2pm, Firestoppers @ WSRPD

3 4 5

10-11am, Blood Pressure Clinic

6pm, City Council meeting @ City Hall

6

9am, Sit ‘n Sip, @ Taft Chamber

5pm, Service Club Summit @ Chamber

6pm, Industry Night @ Petroleum Club

6pm, Planning Com-mission meeting @ City Hall

7

5pm, Country Hoe-down featuring Jerry Hall & Trick Shot, The Fort, $25 at the door

5pm, Downtown Business Commit-tee meeting

8 9

10

8AM Taft Lions Board Meeting

11 VETERAN’S DAY

Project Restore

12

7pm, Taft Lions Club Meeting @ Paik’s

Postcard Contest Ends

13

9am, Sit ‘n Sip @ Taft Chamber

Kern County Ener-gy Summit, Vets Building

14

7pm, Guys and Dolls at WSRPD

15

5-8:30pm, Craft Fair at West Side Recreation

7pm, Guys and Dolls at WSRPD

16 6am-2pm, Trout Fishing Derby, Buena Vista Lake

8:30am-3:00pm, Craft Fair, West Side Rec-reation

1-3:30pm, 80th Anni-versary, Taft Camera Club, Oil Museum

Pheasant Hunt BBQ

7pm, Guys and Dolls

17

3pm, Guys and Dolls @ WSRPD

18

6-8pm, 4-H meeting

19

6pm, City Council meeting @ City Hall

Postcard Winners Announced at Meeting

20

9am, Sit ‘n Sip @ Taft Chamber—30th Anniversary for Midway Labora-tory

4pm, Together we can meeting @ CVCU

4pm, Taft Chamber Board Meeting

21

22

23

24 25

Christmas Parade Applications Due!

6-9pm, Senior Night at Vets Build-ing

26

7pm, Taft Lions Club Meeting @ Paik’s

27

9am, Sit ‘n Sip @ Taft Chamber

CHAMBER CLOSED AT NOON

28 Thanksgiving

CHAMBER CLOSED

29

CHAMBER CLOSED

30

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

6pm, Center Street Taft Christmas Parade

3

6pm, City Council Meeting, City Hall

4 9am, Sit ‘n Sip, @ Taft Chamber

5pm, Service Club Summit @ Chamber 6pm, Industry Night @ Petroleum Club

6pm, Planning Com-mission meeting

5

5pm, The Fort Gift Show and Dinner

6

6:00pm-10:00pm First Friday Cruising Center Car Cruise

7

Breakfast with San-ta at West Side Recreation

Soroptomist Home Tour

8 9

6pm, Photos with Santa @ Westside Furniture

10

12-6pm, Houchin Blood Mobile, Taft Chamber

3-7pm, Taft College Bookstore Open House

11

9am, Sit n Sip @ Taft Chamber

12 13 14

15

16

17

6pm, City Council Meeting, City Hall

18

9am, Sit n Sip @ Taft Chamber

4pm, Taft Chamber Board Meeting

19

20 21

December 2013

January 2014

December cont.

December 20-January 5: Schools out for Holiday Break

Upcoming Events!

American Red Cross

and Occidental of

Elk Hills host Free

Fire Safety Fair

Saturday, November 2 from 11am-2pm

West Side Recreation Community Center—500

Cascade Place

Free smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors,

fire extinguishers, surge protectors, disaster pre-

paredness kits, and FREE Lunch

Check it Out!

Right outside of Valley Acres, look for the

newly installed sign directing you to Taft!

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Dennis Schertz Asian Experience

1st Vice President: Bob Leikam

Domino’s Pizza

2nd Vice President: Ed Herrera Edward J. Herrera Insurance Agency

Treasurer: Adele Ward Taft City School District

Devinder Bains

Taft Chevrolet—Buick

Emmanuel Campos Monarch Fleet Services

Tracy Chitwood Southern Sierra

Les Clark

West Side Recreation and Park District

Bob Hampton Westside Waste Management

Greg Hill

Old’s Cool Antiques and More

Sandy Koenig Westside Community Resource Center

Orchel Krier

Tumbleweed Café

Lorrie Loder Synagro

Michael Long

The Taft Independent

Verlen Love Coldwell Banker

Dr. Dena Maloney

Taft College

Jordan Miller Roger Miller Insurance Agency

John Neumann

Accelerated Environmental

Ron Sousa Albertson’s

Harry Starkey

West Kern Water District

Dan Tosti Aera Energy LLC

Rodney Wikoff

West Hills Church of the Nazarene

400 Kern Street Taft, CA 93268

661-765-2165

www.taftchamber.com

OUR STAFF

Executive Director: Dr. Kathy Orrin kathy.taftchamber@gmail.com

Event Coordinator: Shannon Jones

shannon.taftchamber@gmail.com

Need a good Christmas Gift?

Order a brick for your Oilfield Worker!

The Taft Chamber is still accepting brick

orders for the Taft Oilworkers Monument. With the

holidays fast approaching, we are taking orders for

bricks to be installed before Christmas.

Honor that special someone in your life. Bricks

make great birthday, anniversary, and Christmas

presents. Stop by 400 Kern Street or call 661-765-

2165 for an order form.

Taft Chamber presents:

Trout Fishing Derby Saturday, November 16, 2013

6:00am-2:00pm

Buena Vista Lake Evans

$20 Adults, $10 Kids (13 and under)

$1,000 grand prize!

Prizes in all age groups

SAVE THE DATE!

Sign up today! 765-2165

The Taft Chamber Board of Directors have selected your

2013 Taft Christmas Parade Theme!

Join us on Monday, December 2 and celebrate "A California Christ-

mas" for our annual Christmas Parade on Center Street. Organiza-

tions and individuals can take part in this event. Gather your group

and create your best float, walking group, musical talent, or club

that fits your interpretation of "A California Christmas"

Toys for Taft Motorcycle Run

Saturday, November 16, 2013

Sign ups 8:00-9:30AM

Kick stands up at 10:00AM

$25 Rider/$5 Passengers, $10 Cars

Starts at Taft Petroleum Club and ends at BV Roadhouse

Raffle and 50/50

Food will be available

Benefits the Taft Lions Club “Toys for Taft”

Annual Toy Drive and helps give our local kids a Christmas to

remember!

West Side Community Resource Center

915 N. 10th

Street, Suite 20

Taft, CA 93268

(661) 765-7281 voice

(661) 765-7143 fax

2013 Thanksgiving Food Drive

Dear Community Members,

Due to the hard economic times more families than ever will struggle to provide a Thanksgiving meal this holiday season. The “Together We Can” Collaborative and West Side Community Resource Center is coordinating the annual Thanksgiving Food Basket Drive for local families. Your support, combined with efforts of local business and agency partners will ensure that the maximum number of families will enjoy a holiday meal.

How can you help?.

Collect food at your church, business, or agency.

Bring food to the Westside Community Resource Center.

Donate funds to purchase perishable foods such as turkeys & potatoes

When?

Non-perishable foods—from now through November 22 (Monday through Friday 9-3).

Perishable foods (Frozen turkeys) - on Monday, November 25, Please notify us as soon as pos-sible with the number of turkeys you will be donating.

Monetary Donations– From now-Nov 20

Please make checks payable to: “Together We Can”

Where? Drop donations off at

Westside Community Resource Center at The Fort 915 N. 10th St., Suite 20 93268

Or mail donation to, Attention: TWC 915 N. 10th St., Suite 20, Taft, CA 93268

Should you choose to collect and distribute food within your own organization, we ask that you please contact the Resource Center with the names of the families you plan to serve so that we can avoid duplication of efforts.

If you would like to submit the names of families who are in need of assistance, complete the form below, being sure to include contact information. Please return this form or fax as soon as possible. This information will be kept confidential.

I would like to refer the following family for a basket

Name:__________________________________ Phone #________________________

Thank you for making a difference in our community!

Items needed for

Thanksgiving Food

Yams/Sweet Potatoes

Canned Vegetables

Canned Fruit

Stuffing Mix

Gravy (mixed or canned)

Canned Cranberry Sauce

Potatoes (real or instant)

Canned pie filling

Money for turkeys and hams

Checks payable to “Together We Can”

Frozen turkeys, hams, and perishables can be dropped off on November 25

Non-perishables accepted NOW until, Friday, Nov. 22

Thank you for your generosity!

The “Together We Can” Collaborative

661-765-7281