A long time ago, I once managed to convince myself that I was important enough to accept the role of Chairman of the Simi Valley Street Fair through the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce.  I was pretty nervous about the job at first, not to mention that shortly before the Street Fair was scheduled, I began a divorce of my first marriage, presenting me with a stressful personal challenge to deal with at the same time.  Despite the concern and stresses, it quickly became evident to me that although I had been named the Chair of the event, the majority of the responsibility fell on the shoulders of professionals with years of experience.

The city liaisons were extremely helpful, not to mention instrumental, with the organization of law enforcement, traffic management, and promotional functions such as hanging Street Fair signs on Cochran and Los Angeles Avenue.  Chamber staff members were key to managing placement of vendors on the street and arranging safety features like concrete barriers on either end of the Fair.  Other promotional and coordination functions were handled by willing and eager volunteers.  It was impressive to see it all come together.  As the Chair of the Event, my job was little more than to accept applause when the event was over.  Undoubtedly, the event is successful as a result of the cooperation and collaboration of the entire team.

I’m definitely interested in seeing if the numbers are as impressive this year at the Simi Valley Street Fair.  Consumer and businesses alike are sensitive to spending, but many vendors in and around Simi Valley depend on the Street Fair as one of their primary promotional and revenue generating venues.  I have high hopes that it’ll be just as successful this year.

If you can, swing by the Street Fair this Saturday and check it out.  If you do stop by, come by here again and leave some comments on what you thought of the Street Fair this year.

The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce will once again host the Mayor’s State of the City Address. The Annual State of the City Address will be presented to the Chamber membership on Friday, February 20 at 11:30 a.m. at the Grand Vista Hotel. The Mayor’s address will provide an overview of City Departments and City Projects. “We appreciate and look forward to the opportunity to present the State of the City and to share in detail how our City is doing. We are all facing challenging times and this event will allow the City Council to provide information and to gain input from our businesses and residents to ensure that we are doing our best job to meet the challenges on behalf of the community,” said Mayor Paul Miller.

There are lots of people who are interested in what goes on here and want to witness it for themselves.  These events cater to elite members of the community, business owners and members of the Chamber of Commerce, so the average Simi Valley citizen cannot attend this middle-of-the-day event.  I think it’s important to see and hear these things for yourself, to be present for tone of voice and hear quotes in context.  But most people most directly impacted by the state of city affairs, the citizens, will be hard at work at their day jobs.

Sponsorship opportunities are available at the following levels: Table Sponsors – $600 for a table of eight or $350 for a table of four. Sponsors will receive preferred seating, table placard, acknowledgement in the Chamber’s Mid Month Mailer and the event program. Tickets are $40 for members and $55 for non-members.

As a business owner and member of the Chamber of Commerce, I’ll invest the $40 to learn more about where things stand with the City of Simi Valley.  However, I’ve tried to bring my camera and microphone to Chamber sponsored events, and it’s a no-go, so unfortunately, most of the rest of us will have to read about it in the newspaper.  If you plan on being there as well, please let me know and perhaps we can meet up afterward to discuss.

That’s not to say the people the Chamber selects each year aren’t deserving.  They definitely are.  These business people are well known in the community because of their honorable contributions.  However, there are so many more business people and businesses that are members of the Chamber who contribute to the community significantly.  Unfortunately, if they’re not the type to be comfortable in a setting where there’s a lot of handshaking and passing of business cards, their contributions can easily go unnoticed.

For more than 25 years, there was a Simi Valley business owner who contributed significantly to the youth of our city.  His business taught kids physical, athletic skills regardless of whether or not they were naturally gifted athletes.  Many of these student athletes became employees, teaching the next generation what they learned as kids.  Simi Valley kids were taught they could achieve what they thought was impossible, in a nurturing, family-oriented environment.  This business taught without discrimination, including even kids with disabilities, proving to everyone that even kids with special needs could thrive.  This business was a member of the Chamber of Commerce since its opening day, but was never recognized.

This is the story I tell people when they ask me what I’m trying to accomplish with my various websites and online videos.  There’s a lot going on in Simi Valley and the more we all know, the tighter a community we will be.