California Chambers converge on Lodi
For two days, The Lodi Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors Committee hosted representatives from chambers throughout Central and Northern California for the 2018 All Chamber Ambassador Rally.
People from as far south as Clovis and as far north as Red Bluff gathered at The Merlot Banquet Hall to network and exchange ideas on Thursday and Friday, according to Jon Rader of State Farm Insurance, chairman of the Lodi Chamber’s Ambassadors Committee.
“Every chamber has an ambassadors committee, and they host this at a new location every year. Lodi won the opportunity to host it this year, it’s our first time ever,” Rader said.
Rader hosted a special ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday afternoon to both honor the rally’s three sponsors and to show the guests how the Lodi Chamber welcomes new businesses to the community.
Leslie Sanchez of MHA Building Systems LLC said that the company began making prefabricated wooden walls in Japan in 1974. After becoming one of the largest construction companies in Japan, MHA moved to Lodi in December 2017, Sanchez said, where they are currently looking for new employees.
“We want to streamline the construction process and reduce labor costs for builders, and we look forward to continuing to do that here in Lodi. Let’s save more money, let’s make it more innovative, let’s make it as easy as possible for our clients,” Leslie said.
Erika Quinones, an ambassador from Akire Endless Images in Lodi, gave a brief explanation of what the ambassadors do as she presented Sanchez with MHA’s ceremonial first dollar in a wooden frame.
“We are your sales team. We will go out into the community to promote and sell your product. With sales come money, so I would like to present you with your first dollar,” Quinones said.
Rader then introduced sales manager Chet Somera of C&H Financial Services Inc., who said that the firm, which specializes in electronic payment and merchant services, was founded in Chicago 20 years ago before joining the Lodi Chamber of Commerce in 2013.
Since opening a branch in Lodi, C&H has expanded throughout the U.S. and Canada, and was ranked the 21st fastest-growing financial company in 2017 by Inc. 5000 magazine.
“Although we love being members of the Lodi Chamber of Commerce, we would like to expand to become members of other chambers in other areas,” Somera said.
Joy Freeman, an ambassador from Clark Pest Control in Lodi, presented Somera with a plaque to commemorate C&H’s recent move to a new building.
“It is my honor to present you with this plaque for your new location. We’re very honored that you’re staying in the community and hanging out with us. Congratulations,” Freeman said.
Finally, area manager Janelle Lopez of Blue Ribbon Personnel Services said that although the company was celebrating 21 years with the Lodi Chamber, it had actually been matching employees to jobs since 1981.
“We really take the time to meet with our clients to understand their personality and staff them with someone who’s going to be there long-term,” Janelle said.
Rosa Lopez, an ambassador from Steele Insurance in Lodi, then presented Janelle with a memento from when Blue Ribbon first joined the Lodi Chamber over two decades ago.
“Today, I have the honor of presenting you with your original first dollar, that was presented to you when you first joined our community in 1997,” Rosa said.
Pamela Caraballo, an ambassador from Essential Plumbing in Lodi, also applauded Blue Ribbon on its 21st anniversary in Lodi as she presented Janelle with a commemorative plaque.
“I have the great pleasure of congratulating Blue Ribbon Personnel on their 21st anniversary with the Lodi Chamber of Commerce. We thank you for placing the perfect person in the perfect job with the perfect company, and we wish you many more successful years to come,” Caraballo said.
Before Janelle cut a ceremonial ribbon, pulled taught by the other sponsors, Pat Patrick, president and chief executive officer of the Lodi Chamber, offered his own congratulations to the three companies. “Congratulations to you all and welcome to Lodi. You’re joining 750 businesses, what I think are some of the best businesses in Lodi. We believe you make a great chamber of commerce, and a great chamber of commerce makes for a great community,” Patrick said.
Once the ribbon was cut, Marina Narvarte, the Lodi Chamber’s membership coordinator, took a moment to recognize the 20-year anniversary of somebody she called “one of our hardest-working ambassadors.”
“Happy anniversary, Joy Freeman, thank you for the years of commitment you dedicated to our community. We appreciate you, we love you, and we thank you for everything you do for us,” Narvarte said.
Freeman, who first joined in 1998, expressed her own gratitude to the Lodi Chamber as well as all of the visiting chambers in the audience as she accepted a certificate from Narvarte.
“I’ve always been pulled to do things with the chamber, not only to help local businesses, but to learn about the community. I raised three kids here in Lodi, I have nine grandkids now and I know they’re safe here because I know this community. Thank you all for coming, I’m very honored to received this,” Freeman said.
After delivering a speech about the history of chambers of commerce, Patrick took a moment to watch approximately 130 guests from 22 chambers, including Lodi, mingle over wine and hors d’oeuvres as he reflected on the two-day rally.
“It gives us an opportunity to show what we learned and some of the things the Lodi chamber is doing in our community, and to showcase our community. Many of the guests stayed in hotels, ate at downtown restaurants and put some fuel into our local economy,” Patrick said.
Aaron Wedra, an ambassador from the Davis Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed learning about chambers of commerce throughout the years, particularly a piece about his own chamber’s history.
“It’s cool to know that the Davis Chamber was formed specifically to bring UC Berkeley to Davis, and that became UC Davis,” Wedra said.
Russell Hogue, an ambassador from the Marysville Chamber of Commerce, enjoyed the opportunity to meet people from other chambers and exchange ideas, he said, as well as Lodi’s hospitality.
“There were so many great ideas on how to help our chamber promote businesses better and grow in the community. Lodi is great, it’s a really nice town. It’s been really nice being here the past couple of days,”
Some of Hogue’s favorite destinations in Lodi included Five Window Beer Company, The Dancing Fox and The Six Shooter Saloon.
It was at one of those businesses that Patty Arriago, an ambassador from the Woodland Chamber of Commerce, befriended Hogue through a happy accident, she said.
“We were taking pictures with Davis, because we’re neighbors. We took a lot of great pictures, but we found we had someone in the background. It was Mr. Hogue. He totally photobombed us, which was really funny. He introduced himself, and we became friends,” Arriago said.