ARTICLE
Last week, the Santa Cruz County Chamber hosted our 2023 Community Leadership Visit (CLV) — a 2 day all-Santa Cruz County tour of businesses, organizations, programs and projects throughout the county. Each venue stop demonstrated the diversity that makes Santa Cruz County a gem on the California Central Coast. From the ag centers in the south county to a water purification plant in mid-county and a mixed use affordable housing site visit were the highlights of our first day. And what better way to end the day than with happy hour at Jack O'Neill Restaurant and Lounge located at Dream Inn where participants enjoyed the views of the bay and chatted about the day. Of course, no Chamber CLV is complete without a networking dinner to enjoy each other’s company. The learning experience was a tribute to the hard work of the Chamber staff, our consultant firm, BTF Enterprises, and the step-in CLV leadership team of Board Chair Dan Smart, Chamber staffer Amy Sousa and long-time Chamber board member, Duf Fischer. I was conspicuously absent last week dealing with a strain of the flu virus. Now fully recovered and able to report back on another successful CLV. Since its creation in 2010, the CLV has proven to be an educational networking experience that brings all sectors of our county (public, private and non-profit) together in a collaborative spirit. Over the years, each CLV has been a different blend of participants and venue site visits with the primary takeaway to better understand how each of us, no matter what sector you work in, is interconnected. Nathan Kieu, Business Services Manager, County of Santa Cruz Workforce Development Board captured the significance of CLV collaborative spirit by stating, “It was a delight to participate in the event, connecting with individuals who contribute to making Santa Cruz a wonderful place to work and live. Exploring various sites and understanding the interconnected Santa Cruz ecosystems was a highlight, allowing me to discover new opportunities for future collaborative initiatives to enhance our community." Dan Smart, the director of sales and marketing from the Dream Inn, and the Chamber board chair, summarized the CLV this way: “The value of the annual CLV trip is worth the weight of an electric city bus (which we traveled in). Thank you to METRO for providing us with excellent transportation service during our two-day county tour. Getting together with community colleagues from County, City, and Private sector businesses tightens our understanding of the community we visit. From hard hat tours, non-profit density & tech design, to the largest organic farm in the country (Lakeside Organic is the largest organic vegetable grower in the U.S. CEO Dick Piexoto has been a trailblazer in seeing organic farming as a viable business model. Its cold storage facility in Watsonville produces 120 tons of ice daily). The knowledge we gain is priceless. No matter your place of business, you will find something to bring back, and make new relationships at the same time.” Years ago, as the business community worked to gain positive traction about policy issues that were streaming out from public sector meetings (city and county) on a regular basis in an attempt to offer a business perspective to the public process. While the public forums are designed to produce worthy policies and give the public a ‘say in the discussion,’ there always seemed to be a disconnect that the policies — well intended to address a specific community need: new revenue streams (taxes and fees) for community programs; zoning and land use decisions, etc. — all left to the final review of a city or county staff report by the decision makers behind the Dias. The formal two or three minute comment given by a community resident at a city council or county board of supervisor meeting was ‘the public chance to make an impact on the final decision.” In some instances, the business or other community interest would offer cogent suggestions, but oftentimes the decision is already a done deal. That public vetting continues to this very day, as it should. We agree the public process is a necessary exercise and a valuable tool for decision makers. However, the Chamber board thought that there might be another way to find common ground and collaboration as a sidebar to the public process. The CLV provides this resource to our community. When a public sector leader is able to ‘break bread’ with a small business owner or a non-profit executive in a non-confrontational dialogue (RE: A CLV conversation, a bus ride to a venue site) this informal discussion forms a lasting collaborative bond. As one CLV participant, Ron Duncan, General Manager for Soquel Creek Water District noted, “Yes, it (the CLV) was another great learning experience. However, as we all know the tours are just part of the value – meeting and getting to know each other better is such an important component.” Day Two of the CLV was a time to see a small part of south San Lorenzo Valley with a visit to Mount Hermon Adventure. The site visit was only a short glimpse of the program's services and human interaction that the facility has to offer to visitors. Think zip lining, hiking in the redwoods and rest and relaxation to rekindle the spirit and mind. The stop was a suggestion to ‘bring light to a mountain oasis’ just at our doorstep and entice our CLV participants to think about doing a longer visit for your business or organization. The remainder of the day was a fast paced experience to learn about a Scotts Valley based company, Ambient Photonics. The company broke ground at its facility in November 2022 and its fully automated factory makes 40 million solar cells a year. These solar panels work in small electronics such as remote controls and e-readers and have little carbon footprint and green chemistry. Ambient Photonics is expanding its business footprint beyond the county, but is committed to calling Scotts Valley (and Santa Cruz County) its home. The CLV participants ended the day learning about the significant contributions that UCSC’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute leveraged UC’s strengths to create IT solutions for society’s most pressing challenges. UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive introduced the CITRIS to the participants. The CLV ended our county tour by visiting two mixed-use housing projects in Santa Cruz’s Downtown that are in different stages of construction. These two projects will bring new energy south of Laurel Street with a new facility for Santa Cruz Health Center and a Dientes Dental clinic as well as a modernized METRO station. The Chamber’s Community Leadership Visit has once again provided an educational and innovative experience for our community leaders and we look forward to another CLV in 2024.
Last week, the Santa Cruz County Chamber hosted our 2023 Community Leadership Visit (CLV) — a 2 day all-Santa Cruz County tour of businesses, organizations, programs and projects throughout the county. Each venue stop demonstrated the diversity that makes Santa Cruz County a gem on the California Central Coast. From the ag centers in the south county to a water purification plant in mid-county and a mixed use affordable housing site visit were the highlights of our first day. And what better way to end the day than with happy hour at Jack O'Neill Restaurant and Lounge located at Dream Inn where participants enjoyed the views of the bay and chatted about the day. Of course, no Chamber CLV is complete without a networking dinner to enjoy each other’s company.
The learning experience was a tribute to the hard work of the Chamber staff, our consultant firm, BTF Enterprises, and the step-in CLV leadership team of Board Chair Dan Smart, Chamber staffer Amy Sousa and long-time Chamber board member, Duf Fischer. I was conspicuously absent last week dealing with a strain of the flu virus. Now fully recovered and able to report back on another successful CLV.
Since its creation in 2010, the CLV has proven to be an educational networking experience that brings all sectors of our county (public, private and non-profit) together in a collaborative spirit. Over the years, each CLV has been a different blend of participants and venue site visits with the primary takeaway to better understand how each of us, no matter what sector you work in, is interconnected. Nathan Kieu, Business Services Manager, County of Santa Cruz Workforce Development Board captured the significance of CLV collaborative spirit by stating, “It was a delight to participate in the event, connecting with individuals who contribute to making Santa Cruz a wonderful place to work and live. Exploring various sites and understanding the interconnected Santa Cruz ecosystems was a highlight, allowing me to discover new opportunities for future collaborative initiatives to enhance our community."
Dan Smart, the director of sales and marketing from the Dream Inn, and the Chamber board chair, summarized the CLV this way: “The value of the annual CLV trip is worth the weight of an electric city bus (which we traveled in). Thank you to METRO for providing us with excellent transportation service during our two-day county tour. Getting together with community colleagues from County, City, and Private sector businesses tightens our understanding of the community we visit. From hard hat tours, non-profit density & tech design, to the largest organic farm in the country (Lakeside Organic is the largest organic vegetable grower in the U.S. CEO Dick Piexoto has been a trailblazer in seeing organic farming as a viable business model. Its cold storage facility in Watsonville produces 120 tons of ice daily). The knowledge we gain is priceless. No matter your place of business, you will find something to bring back, and make new relationships at the same time.”
Years ago, as the business community worked to gain positive traction about policy issues that were streaming out from public sector meetings (city and county) on a regular basis in an attempt to offer a business perspective to the public process. While the public forums are designed to produce worthy policies and give the public a ‘say in the discussion,’ there always seemed to be a disconnect that the policies — well intended to address a specific community need: new revenue streams (taxes and fees) for community programs; zoning and land use decisions, etc. — all left to the final review of a city or county staff report by the decision makers behind the Dias. The formal two or three minute comment given by a community resident at a city council or county board of supervisor meeting was ‘the public chance to make an impact on the final decision.” In some instances, the business or other community interest would offer cogent suggestions, but oftentimes the decision is already a done deal.
That public vetting continues to this very day, as it should. We agree the public process is a necessary exercise and a valuable tool for decision makers. However, the Chamber board thought that there might be another way to find common ground and collaboration as a sidebar to the public process. The CLV provides this resource to our community.
When a public sector leader is able to ‘break bread’ with a small business owner or a non-profit executive in a non-confrontational dialogue (RE: A CLV conversation, a bus ride to a venue site) this informal discussion forms a lasting collaborative bond. As one CLV participant, Ron Duncan, General Manager for Soquel Creek Water District noted, “Yes, it (the CLV) was another great learning experience. However, as we all know the tours are just part of the value – meeting and getting to know each other better is such an important component.”
Day Two of the CLV was a time to see a small part of south San Lorenzo Valley with a visit to Mount Hermon Adventure. The site visit was only a short glimpse of the program's services and human interaction that the facility has to offer to visitors. Think zip lining, hiking in the redwoods and rest and relaxation to rekindle the spirit and mind. The stop was a suggestion to ‘bring light to a mountain oasis’ just at our doorstep and entice our CLV participants to think about doing a longer visit for your business or organization.
The remainder of the day was a fast paced experience to learn about a Scotts Valley based company, Ambient Photonics. The company broke ground at its facility in November 2022 and its fully automated factory makes 40 million solar cells a year. These solar panels work in small electronics such as remote controls and e-readers and have little carbon footprint and green chemistry. Ambient Photonics is expanding its business footprint beyond the county, but is committed to calling Scotts Valley (and Santa Cruz County) its home.
The CLV participants ended the day learning about the significant contributions that UCSC’s Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) and the Banatao Institute leveraged UC’s strengths to create IT solutions for society’s most pressing challenges. UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive introduced the CITRIS to the participants.
The CLV ended our county tour by visiting two mixed-use housing projects in Santa Cruz’s Downtown that are in different stages of construction. These two projects will bring new energy south of Laurel Street with a new facility for Santa Cruz Health Center and a Dientes Dental clinic as well as a modernized METRO station.
The Chamber’s Community Leadership Visit has once again provided an educational and innovative experience for our community leaders and we look forward to another CLV in 2024.