Help support Grover Beach businesses by participating in the Shop & Dine In Grover Beach program. The City is offering residents and businesses oppor-tunities to take advantage of special programs designed to save you money and increase revenues for local businesses.

Earn chances to win valuable gift certificates. The City recently launched the Shop & Dine in Grover Beach program, where people can earn chances to win $50 to $100 gift certificates re-deemable at participating busi-nesses for retail, restaurants, and professional services. The intent of this program is to assist our businesses during these difficult

economic times. Please remem-ber that healthy local businesses equate to a healthy community.

Pick up your "Shop & Dine Thank You Card" today at partici-pating businesses or at the cash-ier’s window at Grover Beach City Hall. Winners will be announced at the first City Council meeting of each month. Meetings are broad-cast live on the City's Government Cable Access Channel 20 and o v e r t h e I n t e r n e t a t www.grover.org. The Shop & Dine in Grover Beach campaign will run from September 1, 2009 to May 29, 2010.

Visit participating businesses and earn your chances to win

Did you know there are over 200 members in the Grover Beach Chamber of Commerce? Each of us trying to build our businesses, increase our profit, and ultimately be successful. That is what we have in common. We are all focused on our own bottom line.

But when we take a break from it, where do we go? Do you have a favorite lunch place? Shopping at some great little boutique?

Where do you go for entertain-ment, for news, for life’s little necessities? Like me, I’m sure you shop right here in your own community.

I’ll confess, when I was a busi-ness-owner here on the Central Coast, I was guilty of tirelessly talking about my business to anyone who would listen. But I never told people about my favor-ite hardware store that always seemed to have what I desper-

today! The following local eco-nomic stimulus programs are currently being developed. More information on each program will be announced in the coming months…

Business Tax Certificate Am-nesty Program – A month-long grace period, beginning October 1, 2009, in which businesses can apply for or renew their 2009 Business Tax Certificate (BTC) with the assessed penalties waived. The City mandates that businesses in Grover Beach oper-ate with a current BTC, renewed January 1st of each year. Busi-nesses operating without a cur-

(Continued on page 6)

ately needed. I didn’t talk about what a great time I had unwind-ing at my local watering hole. You wouldn’t catch me saying, “Have you tried this restaurant, its fantastic”.

Not too long ago, I paused for a moment and reflected on what a great part of the world we live in. Sure it is beautiful place to live but that’s not what I mean. I’m

(Continued on page 3)

Economic Stimulus Opportunities In Grover Beach

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Economic Stimulus Opportunities In Grover Beach

1

Pay It Forward 1

Board of Directors 2

Presidents Message 2

Just the FAQ’s—Habitat for Humanity

2

President’s Circle 2

A Special Christmas From The Christmas Program

3

Ambassadors 4

Swing Fling, Richard “Dick” Ragain Memorial Golf Tournament Recap

4/5

Schedule of Events 7

New & Renewing Mem-bers—Ribbon Cutting

8

Pay It Forward

O C T O B E R ~ 2 0 0 9 V O L U M E 4 8 I S S U E 1 0

Chamber Insider The

Since 1961

“the mission of the Grover

Beach Chamber of Commerce is

to enhance the well-being of its

residents and visitors by being

the catalyst for professional

leadership in the development

and promotion of the local

business community”

Torture

P A G E 2

Chamber Insider The

“For as children tremble and fear

everything in the blind darkness, so we

in the light sometimes fear what is no

more to be feared than the things

children in the dark hold in

terror and imagine will come true.”

- Titus Lucretius Carus

Houses (or parts of houses) can be sponsored by groups, individu-als, churches, or businesses, which undertake to raise money and supply labor.

(Continued on page 3)

Does Habitat for Humanity (HFH) give homes to poor people? No. Habitat works with needy people to build simple, decent, afford-able houses. Once the house is completed, the house is sold to the partner family at or below cost. The partner family makes monthly mortgage payments to Habitat, and that money is used to help build more houses.

What are the qualifications to become a Habitat homeowner? Habitat homeowners (partner families) are chosen based on these criteria: A need for better or larger housing, An income between 25% - 50% of median county income, A willingness to

‘partner’ or work with Habitat by giving 500 hours of labor, An inability to obtain a home loan through other means, Residency in San Luis Obispo County, and

Satisfactory credit refer-ences and ability to make

house payments

Where does the money come from to build a Habitat house? Habitat homes are built with donations of money and materi-als, and with both professional and volunteer labor. We are not a government agency, but we do use some government funds designated for very low-income families. We do depend on the generosity of the community to raise the money needed to build.

Board of Directors

President

Michael Boyer

ELEMENTS

Vice President

Linda McClure

American Property Services

Secretary

Lois Hughes

Keller Williams Realty

Treasurer

Jennifer Fonteneau

Rabobank

Past President

Glenn Martin

glenn martin company

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Rita Canclini

Higher Groundz

Greg Nishi

The Lighting Company

Steve Tullius

Tullius Chiropractic

Cori B. Jones

J. Johnson law Office, Inc.

Ben Naeini

Ben’s Computers

Brad Evans

Stacked Sandwiches

Mark Veiga

DeBlauw Construction

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

City Liaison

Kathy Petker

Parks & Recreation Director

By Michael Boyer

Summer is over and Fall is here ... As I write this note to you, Harvest Festival is in full swing in the village of Arroyo Grande, my son Jack loves the parade! The Chamber is busy, busy this fall ... Our city map is in the final stages of development, the city Shop & Dine program is in full swing and the our Annual Dinner is coming up fast!

The city map is almost com-plete it will be displayed in hun-dreds of locations across the county. If you would like to have advertise in our city map please call the chamber office.

Presidents Message

As you might have heard the city is in full swing with the new Shop & Dine program, which assists both residents and busi-nesses during these difficult economic times. You can find complete details on the new chamber website at http://www.groverbeachchamber.com

Our annual dinner is right around the corner ... In prepara-tion for that big event we will be sending out a request for board seat nominations to fill 4 vacat-ing seats and we'll be developing our 2010 chamber budget and operating plan. This strategic planning work will enable us to move into 2010 with defined goals and budgets to support the achievement of those goals. Please contact the chamber office if you are interested in

being involved in our planning process.

Thank you for all of your help and support with the Richard "Dick" Ragain Memorial Swing Fling Golf Tournament. This turned out to be more successful than anticipated due to great member and volunteer participa-tion.

Thank you for your continued support as we move forward to drive the needs of our business community and membership to achieve mutual success in these uncertain economic times. ■

City of Grover Beach

~

Peter & Carol Keith

~

Rabobank ~

Wells Fargo Bank

Just The FAQ’s, Ma’am

P A G E 3

Volume 48 Issue 10

Volunteer At Your Grover Beach Chamber Of Commerce Be an active part of your com-

munity

Support local businesses

Help as little or as much as you want

Volunteer your skills today!

A Special Christmas Happy Holidays from The

Christmas Program! Every year, our program helps hundreds of children receive gifts during the holiday season when there would be little hope otherwise. Last year, approximately 300 children benefited from the community’s help, but times are tough for everyone and we need to ask for your help once again.

This year, we antici-pate 500 children will need our generosity . Brand new, unwrapped gifts or monetary dona-tions are greatly appreciated. No donation can be too big or too small. Every little bit helps. These gifts can be for any child between the ages of 1- 17. We ask that no toys that can be construed as violent ( I.e. guns, knives, etc.) be donated. Donations can be made at the Rabobank in Grover Beach or Pismo Beach.

It would be greatly appreciated if all donations could be turned in by 12/18/09. If you or someone

you know is in need of a gift for a child, please have them come to our holiday giveaway. The gifts will be handed out on 12/23/09 at American Properties Services between 1:30p.m.- 4:30 pm.

Please remember, ONLY ADULTS should attend the giveaway! The idea is for the child to have a gift to open on the holiday, therefore no children should attend the giveaway event - it would spoil their sur-prise.

On a Final note, this program would not be possible if it were not for the caring of this community. We thank you for your support and hope that this year will be a great success. For questions, or if you need your donations picked up, please call (805) 474-9220 and ask for Marianne or Nikki.

Larry and Marianne Conner, Founders or The Christmas Pro-gram and Friends of Grover Beach. ■

talking about the community spirit. The people here are truly wonderful. It’s that community spirit I love so much about living here. And it’s that community spirit that can help us all succeed in these times where most are struggling.

Pay it forward. Pat someone on the back. Don’t keep that special little restaurant a secret; tell everyone what great food and service they have. When you’re talking to someone, even in your own place of business, let them know about that obscure store that has a fantastic selection of widgets and what-cha-ma-call-its. Because just one person can sing their own praises but to-gether, we are a choir of more than 200 voices in celebration of our brothers and sisters in the Grover Beach Chamber!

We welcome suggestions from all our members on how we can increase our business by sup-porting, not our own companies but each other’s. And here is our first suggestion; write a review.

More and more people are turning to the internet to find businesses. The most popular sites to do this are Google Maps (www.maps.google.com), Super-

(“Pay It Forward” continued from page 1) Pages (www.superpages.com), and AT&T’s Yellow Pages (www.yellowpages.com). All three of these sites are being used by people looking for your business – especially tourist coming in from out of town. All three of these sites allow the user to write a review for the listing (Yellow Pages requires you create an account but it’s free). Take a second, right now and look up your business on these sites. Do you have reviews? Now look up The Grover Beach Chamber of Commerce and write

a little review. You’ll find it’s easier than you think. Go to your favorite Chamber business and give them kudos. Please remem-ber to be nice. We’re trying to help ourselves by helping others so keep the negative comments out. I believe if we all get behind this, it will come back to you! We can do this, together!

Stay tuned for more tips on how to support your business by supporting your fellow Chamber members in coming editions of The Chamber Insider. ■

Is Habitat part of a church? Habitat for Humanity was founded as an ecumenical, Chris-tian housing ministry. Habitat welcomes people of all faiths, or no religious affiliation at all, if they want to help with our goal of providing decent, affordable housing for people in need.

Is the Habitat for Humanity for SLO County part of Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI)? Habitat for Humanity for SLO County was established as an affiliate of HFH International in 1997. Each Habitat Affiliate is independent and run by local people who volunteer their time and money. We try to follow the guidelines that have been set up by HFHI - they have far more experience than we do. We also talk to other affiliates, hoping we can benefit from their experience as well.

What happens to money I donate to Habitat? Habitat is proud that it operates with a very low over-head. Nationally, from 85% to 90% of every donation goes to-ward house construction. Money sent to HFHI in Americus, Geor-gia, and designated for use in this county, will be sent to us.

(“Just The FAQ’s” continued from page 2)

(Continued on page 6)

P A G E 4

Chamber Insider The

Executive Director

Linda Garcia

I would like to thank all of the businesses and individuals for their generosity. With a plethora of volunteers, sponsors and do-nations, over 70 golfers, and with what seemed like an endless amount of raffle prizes to give away. The Richard “Dick” Ragain Memorial Swing Fling Golf Tour-nament proved to be a wonder-fully successful fundraiser again this year.

Congratulations to our scholar-ship recipient Neal Patel and all

Ambassadors

Chair

Rita Canclini Higher Groundz

Lori Casillas

KCOY 12 | FOX 11

Jennifer Fonteneau Rabobank

I. Goure Frankenstein Labs, Inc.

Heather Griczen Heather’s Bookkeeping &

Consulting

Drena Manzano Wells Fargo

Zorina Ricci Tolosa Press

Anthony F. Salas, Jr Aflac

Michael Wambolt Seacrest Resort

of our tournament winners.

I had so much fun I cannot wait until June 2010 for next year’s tournament.

Our 2009 Tournament winners are:

First Place:

Beauty and the Beasts (Manny English, Christian Herber, Scott Bogle, Brian Herber and Casey Stone)

Second Place:

Elements (Michael Boyer, Pete Foster, Al Carlin, Jim English and Ed Morton)

Third Place:

Wells Fargo (Glenn Knight, Leonard Webster, Chuck Marga-roli, John Imel and Gary Schol-lard)

Host-A-Hole sponsors all gave away prizes for “Closest to the Pin” at every hole.

The winners are:

#1 Brian Herber

#2 Gary Stone

#3 Rick Hebert

#4 Jon Immel

#5 James McCain

#6 Scott Bogle

#7 John P. Shoals

#8 Scott Bogle

#9 Scott Bogle

Grover Beach Chamber Of Commerce

Find us on Follow us on

P A G E 5

Volume 48 Issue 10

P A G E 6

Chamber Insider The

Donations sent directly to Habitat for SLO County can be desig-nated for “local use only”. If a donation is not so designated, we give 10% (our tithe) to HFHI. This tithe money is used to build homes in Mexico. Money desig-nated for a certain purpose is used only for that purpose.

How many houses have you built in SLO County? HFH for SLO County completed 3 houses in Paso Robles in 2001- 2002 and one house in Cambria in 2006. With help from the City of Atasca-dero, four homes were com-pleted in 2008. In partnership with the City of Grover Beach, four homes are under construc-tion. In 2010 HFHSLOCO will partner with the City of San Luis

(“Just The FAQ’s” continued from page 3) Obispo on two homes.

What is simple, decent housing? Our energy efficient homes are between 900 and 1050 square feet in size. Our design criteria incorporate “green” building practices and materials. Our homes are energy efficient and of high quality materials, ensuring reduced future maintenance and utility costs to our partner fami-lies. To maximize the number of homes built annually, we design small lot, attached two story homes and single family planned developments. A typical home will consist of 3 bedrooms and 1 or 1 1/2 bathrooms.

Has HFH for SLO County done anything else? HFH for SLO County helped the Interfaith Coa-lition for the Homeless build the Prado Road Day Center for the

Homeless SLO in 1997. We operate two ReStore Warehouse & Thrift Stores, one in Templeton and one in San Luis Obispo. Our ReStores accept donations of new and “gently used” building materials. They divert materials from local landfills, and provide building materials at bargain prices. All proceeds from the ReStores are used to build Habi-tat homes. Habitat is a founding member of the SLO County Work-force Housing Coalition. In 2006, we built a “house-in-a-box” that went to a family in Mobile, Ala-bama that lost its home in hurri-cane Katrina.

How can I help? HFH for SLO County is still a small organiza-tion. That means we need help! Volunteers are needed to work on Committees, to help with

fundraisers, to speak before groups to explain what Habitat is all about. We need help with construction and help to provide lunches for construction volun-teers. We need volunteers to work at ReStore. And we need money. We estimate it will cost around $95,000 to build a Habi-tat house in SLO County, and without the money we can’t build. We are also looking for property – donations of property where we can build Habitat homes. We welcome opportunities to talk to groups about Habitat. If your organization or church is inter-ested in hearing about our pro-gram, please call the office (782-0687) and we’ll arrange to have a speaker come to your group. ■

rent BTC are normally subject to penalties.

Local Business Preference for City Purchases – A local purchas-ing preference policy for goods and services in excess of $1,000. The new policy provides for a five percent (5%) advantage (not exceeding $5,000) on all bids, quotes, and estimates sub-mitted by a responding individ-ual, company or other entity that is located in Grover Beach. The City encourages all of its citizens to “buy local” whenever possible.

20% Reduction in Building Permit Fees for a Single Month – Homeowners or Contractors will be able to receive a 20% dis-count on a portion of the Building Permit fees during the month of November 2009 for the following types of permits: 1) New Resi-dential Units, 2) Residential Addi-tions, 3) Re-Roof Permits,

(“Economic Stimulus” cont. from page 1) 4) Water Heater Permits, and 5) Commercial Remodels. The discount will only be given to those who submit applications in the month of November 2009 and whose application is ap-proved and permit is issued within ninety (90) days of the submittal date. The month of November was chosen to allow time for applicants to prepare plans for submittal. Also, building permit activity is slower on aver-age in the months of November and December. The 20% dis-count will only be taken off of the Building, Planning, and Public Works Plan Check fees, as well as the Building, Plumbing, Me-chanical, and Electrical Permit fees, and will not be taken off of other fees such as Administrative or Development Impact fees.

Home Repair Program – This program will provide loans to income-qualified homeowners or property owners who are renting

to income-qualified residents. Financial assistance will be made available to correct structural and framing defects, roofs, leak-ing water fixtures, drains, window and door repairs, smoke detec-tors, water heater strapping, etc. The total amount of financial assistance per property will be capped at $20,000.

Water Conservation – This program consists of two compo-nents:

A rebate program to individuals who purchase water- and energy-efficient appliances; and

A rebate program to encourage homeowners to use local land-scapers and materials to convert lawn grass areas to drought-tolerant landscaping. The rebate will be on a sliding scale basis according to the amount of square footage of lawn grass replaced.

These programs are designed

to provide support to both local businesses and residents to assist with stimulating our local economy. We believe these crea-tive ideas will make effective use of our limited resources. Please join us in…

Re-investing in Our Community & Supporting Local Businesses! ■

When: Friday, October 30, 2009,

5:00PM to 7:30PM Where: Ramona Garden Park 993

Ramona Avenue Activities include: Pumpkin Carving Compe-

tition Costume Parade Games Free Turkey Dogs Spooky Maze Carnival Costume Recycling Ballooney the Clown Free Movie Under the

Stars (show starts at 7:30)

P A G E 7

Volume 48 Issue 10

Schedule of Events

1 2 3

4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

25 26 27 28 29 30 31

October 2009 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

City Council Meet-ing

Executive Commit-tee Meets

Traffic Committee Cowboy Poetry

Night

Columbus Day—City offices closed

Board of Directors’ Meet

Planning Commis-sion Meeting

Parks & Rec Beautification Committee

City Council Meet-ing

Ambassadors Meeting & Ribbon Cuttings

Tri Chamber Luncheon

Tri Chamber Mixer Carved Pumpkin Contest & Hallow-een Activities

HALLOWEEN

Hall

10/20: Ambassador’s Meeting & Ribbon Cuttings

10/21: Tri-Chamber Luncheon, Guest Speaker, Connie O’Henley (The Clark Center), 12:00 PM, Rudy & Angie’s Mexican Food, 295 W. Grand Ave, GB

10/28: Tri-Chamber Mixer, Santa Lucia Bank, 1530 E. Grand Ave, AG, 5:30 PM

10/30: Carved Pumpkin Contest & Hallow-een Activities, Ramona Garden Park, 993 Ramona Ave, GB, 5:00—7:30 PM

10/31: Halloween!

10/05: City Council Meeting 6:30 PM, City Hall

10/06: Executive Committee Meeting

10/08: Cowboy Poetry Night, Nan’s Pre-Owned Books, 1328 W. Grand Ave, GB, 5:00—7:30 PM

10/08: Traffic Committee 9:30 AM, City Hall

10/12: Columbus Day—City Offices Closed

10/13: Board of Directors’ Meeting

10/13: Planning Commission Meeting, 6:30 PM, City Hall

10/15: Park & Recreation Beautification Committee 6:30 PM, City Hall

10/19: City Council Meeting 6:30 PM, City

180 Highway 1, Grover Beach, CA 92433

Phone: (805) 489-9091, Fax: (805) 489-4147

E-mail: Info@GroverBeachChamber.com

The Grover Beach

Chamber of Commerce

P A G E 8

Chamber Insider The

New & Renewing Member Recognition

Plus Property Management

Ben’s Computer Sales & Re-

pair

Pacific Plaza Resort

Dandelion Wishes

Abbey Home Loans

glenn martin company

Keith Company Contractors

Lady Family Mortuary

The Metal Shop

Neff & Associates Insurance Services, Inc.

Tyerman’s Alignment &

Brake

Vitamin & Herb Store

Pismo Beach Chamber of Commerce

Rocker Fruit Company, Inc.

Café Vostro

Schimandle & Cantrell

Fidelity Title

Christianson Chevrolet

Splash Café

Charla & Jerald Anderson

Norma Newdoll

Heather’s Bookkeeping & Consulting

RIBBON CUTTING