A NEW FOCUS ON PARTNERSHIPS
‘We’ve become very adept at working with one another’
Listening to Katrina Kessen talk about her work creates similar feelings as to when one is watching the bubbles on a justpoured flute of very good champagne, say, a Dom Perignon or a Veuve Clicquot—that of joy, excitement and, of course, effervescence.
Kessen, the executive director of the Greater Ukiah Business and Tourism Alliance since March, when COVID hit, is dedicated to creating countywide partnerships, working together to move through the pandemic, projecting positivity the whole way.
Among their many new projects is Food Runners from Fort Bragg, a well-established delivery business that has been up and running for a number of years, ready to expand over the hill into Ukiah to help restaurants in lowering their delivery costs.
Created through a partnership with Sharon Davis at The Mendocino Coast Chamber of Commerce and Shannon Riley from the City of Ukiah, it is structured like Doordash or Grubhub—with lower costs to restaurant owners.
“With indoor eating restrictions in place, every penny means so much,” says Kessen. “The owner has people in place and is ready to go when the restaurants are onboard and online.”
Isaac at Food Runners can be reached at 707-357-7742 or support@foodrunners.net.
“We’ve become very adept at working with one another—cities, chambers and private busi
nesses—a positive that has come from the pandemic, something that will carry us and serve us well into the future.”
Partnering with Kelly Price who represents the equity firm that owns the Pear Tree Shopping Center; Lauren Sinnott, the art goddess who is painting the Ukiah Convention Center mural Ukiah Valley — Past, Present, Future; Alyssum Wier, executive director, The Arts Council of Mendocino County; and Mo Mulheren, county supervisor, the Alliance has been replacing the banners at Pear Tree with depictions of 30 of Sinnott’s panels and the Shop Local, Love Mendo, Heart in Hand logo.
With a new billboard on the freeway with similar messaging, the goal is to create a feeling of connection with downtown businesses and those at Pear Tree.
“From freeway to Pear Tree to downtown—we’re working to continue to creatively make this synergy happen.”
The Alliance has partnered countywide with other chambers and launched a community gift card project that includes more than 50 businesses and individuals and has so far garnered $12,000 in sales.
Businesses that are honoring the gift cards, primarily located in Ukiah and Fort Bragg right now with the hopes to expand into other towns, will be identified with window clings.
In partnership with other county chambers and business leaders, mobile COVID testing units are available for business owners who want to have their employees tested on the job site.
The flat rate charge— subject to change—is $500 plus $15 per employee that is paid to Healthyspace employing local nurses and EMTS to do the testing.
Results are supplied directly to the employer and to Public Health and the object is to get in front of the cases instead of waiting for an outbreak to happen.
“Instead of relying on the state and federal testing, this is an independent method that businesses can use.”
For more information, go to maskupmendo.com.
Speaking of which, Maskupmendo distributed more than 100,000 masks to businesses and has supported over 600 businesses.
“We have a lot of projects going on and I work hip to hip with our board president, Kerry Randall, every day, in building this new organization still yet in its infancy.
“The most important piece is how we work together to make the organization strong and vibrant. Although COVID has been all consuming, it has also helped to create some amazing partnerships and opportunities that, had we not been forced by circumstances to get so creative, would not have allowed us to now be facing such an exciting horizon.
“We’re so much stronger now working together; with the vaccine and with all of these great collaborations, I think, in the next year or two, as we emerge, we will see some awesome things happen—and we don’t even know what that’s going to look like.”