Member Referrals

We would like to recognize and acknowledge member referrals for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce. Every month we publish any new members who have joined and were referred by an existing member. When a member has referred a total of three new members, they will receive a $100.00 advertising credit (good for newsletter inserts, newsletter advertising or eblast advertising). Want to see your name in the next newsletter? Be sure to refer any potential new members to one of our Chamber staff and we will do the rest!

The following new members were referred by an existing member of the Chamber, and we would like to recognize and thank them for their support!

Sylvia Oliverez with Be Well Insurance Solutions referred Arlyne Diamond with Diamond Associates. If you need consulting services or would like to do a seminar, contact Arlyne at (408) 554-0110 to discuss how she can help your business prosper. For the latest updates on health care and to get a quote for health insurance for your business, contact Sylvia at (408) 667-2602.

Rachelle Castaneda with Aramark-Santa Clara Convention Center referred Jessica Chen with WeCare Naturally.  If you want to stay healthy and energetic using natural products, contact Jessica at (408) 586-9988 to find out more. Rachelle also referred Julia Ma with Your Asian Connection, a social club with over 2,000 members. If you are looking for some great social activities and connections, contact Julia at (408) 557-8885 to find out more. If you a looking to book a holiday party or special event, be sure to give Rachelle a call at (408) 748-7030.

A special thank you to one of our many staff members at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Danielle Najmeh, for referring Stephanie Loayza with Open Compute Project Foundation, a non-profit  R&D organization. To find out more, you can contact Stephanie at (650) 485-6320.  Please consider hosting your next event at our beautiful award winning Santa Clara Convention Center. You can contact Danielle at (408) 748-7061 for more details.

Apply Now for 2013 Leadership Santa Clara Program

Applications are now being accepted for Leadership Santa Clara 2013, a course beginning in January that prepares individuals interested in becoming community leaders.
 
Sessions are generally held on the second Thursday of each month from February through June, with two additional sessions in January and an evening graduation ceremony/reception in mid-June.  Classes are held at a variety of Santa Clara business locations, offering students an opportunity to visit a range of local organizations.  Class sessions begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 4:30 p.m.
 
Top-notch speakers cover a wide range of topics including governance, business climate, transportation, media, diversity, arts and culture, environment, volunteerism, health care and human/community services.  Full days are devoted to public safety and education. Skill-building sessions focus on working with the media, public presentation skills, team building, meeting management, and ethics.

Tuition is $750, and students may have up to 90% of their tuition covered by their employer. Scholarships are available.

For more information, call Leadership Santa Clara Program Coordinator Scott Summerfield at 925-249-9320, email him at smmrfld@aol.com, or contact the City Manager’s Office at 408-615-2210.  Application for the 2013 Leadership Santa Clara session is posted at http://santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=1070.

Silicon Valley Power Ranks First in National Customer Satisfaction Survey

We sometimes take for granted the excellent utility rates offered by Silicon Valley Power (SVP).  Here is another reason why SVP makes Santa Clara a great place for business to thrive and grow.
    
SVP has earned the number one ranking for utility customer satisfaction in a national survey by the business marketing firm E Source. The survey of large business customers cited SVP’s reliable electricity service and its efforts to keep prices low as the primary reasons the City of Santa Clara’s municipal electric utility finished with an 8.9 overall customer satisfaction score on a scale of 1 to 10.

“SVP won this recognition based on our attention to reliable, high-quality electricity service at the best price possible,” said Larry Owens, SVP Manager of Customer Services. “SVP operations, from the control room and field technicians to our administration and customer service, are designed to benefit our customers. This survey proves that our customers trust us to meet or exceed their expectations.”

The City of Palo Alto Utilities also tallied an 8.9 score based largely on “steadily improving performance in emergency communications,” said E Source, which interviewed over 1,600 large business customers of 17 utilities for its Gap and Priority Benchmark 2012: A Survey of Utility Large Business Customers. Florida Power & Light and the Snohomish Public Utility District in Washington followed SVP and Palo Alto in the results.

“SVP has consistently been a leading utility in large business customer satisfaction,” explained Chad Garrett, manager of E Source Business Market Services. “The utility’s efforts at keeping electric prices down while delivering exceptional service are strongly reflected in the results of this study.”

Every year, E Source conducts an online survey of utilities’ largest business customers to assess their most important needs and how well their energy providers are meeting those needs.

Students Experience a Day in the Life of Business

More than 20 students spent the morning of October 26th with local business and organization representatives learning the ins and outs of what it takes to run a successful business.  Experiences ranged from learning about the hotel business to running your own coaching business.  Students and business representatives then came together at KeyPoint Credit Union for a luncheon provided by Entrees Unlimited.  The luncheon speaker was Larry Kubo, Managing Partner of 1st Wave Marketing Group. His talk, “Starting Up Your Career(s)/Lessons from New Ventures,” highlighted the changes he’s seen in his career. He shared with the group that the average person will have an average of 11 jobs over their lifetime (based on statistics for Baby Boomers).  He also shared four lessons from start-up businesses that apply to anyone in their career:

1. The road to success is seldom straight – it’s full of all kinds of turns.  He explained that if you don’t fall down, you won’t understand failure and ultimately won’t be able to succeed.  As an example, he talked about the up and down successes/failures that Paul Orfalea had when starting and running Kinko’s over more than 30 years in business.  He encouraged the attendees to stay open to new opportunities and be ready to adapt.

2. Ordinary people and ideas can achieve remarkable success.  Larry shared with the group some statistics from the Inc. 500 list:  63% of the founders on the list come from middle class backgrounds, 48% have a 4-year college degree, and 71% of their ideas were derived from previous employment, in other words, unmet needs.

3. Trust Yourself.  He talked about the founder of Ubiquiti Networks, Robert Pera.  Starting in 2005, Mr. Pera created WiFi Internet broadcast systems for developing countries.  By funding his venture first through his stock options and credit cards, he was able to create the prototype and then find a manufacturer in Taiwan to bring it to market.  In 2010 he received venture capitalist funding, and in 2011 he took his company public.

4. Know your stuff – value people.  Larry told the group the story of Chobani Yogurt and how they went from their first shipment of yogurt on one milk truck a day, with 200 cases a week of their yogurt to 75 trucks/day and 1.5 million cases per week.  He shared their philosophy:  Know what you do better than anybody else; be real-you can’t fool customers; and set an example-respect your workers (Hamdi Ulukaya, owner of Chobani, worked every part of his business, so he understands what his employees are doing).  Larry reminded the group that your success (no matter what business) depends on people.

Larry advised the attendees to be ready for change and to trust their instincts.  He wrapped up his talk with a quote from Bruce Bochy, Manager of the San Francisco Giants, after his team won the 2010 World Series:  “It’s not what happens; it’s what you do about it.”

We would like to thank the following companies and organizations for their support of Business Experience Day 2012:  ActionCOACH of Santa Clara, American Airlines, Biltmore Hotel & Suites Silicon Valley, City of Santa Clara/City Manager’s Office, City of Santa Clara/Fire Department, City of Santa Clara/Police Dept., Entrees Unlimited, Hilton Santa Clara, Intel, Kaiser Permanente, KeyPoint Credit Union, Marvell Semiconductor, New Valley High School, Pizza Party, Pomeroy Elementary, San Francisco 49ers, Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce & Convention-Visitors Bureau, Santa Clara High School, Santa Clara Unified School District, Santa Clara Unified School District/Information Technology Group, Santa Clara Valley Water District, Swinerton Builders, The Mlnarik Law Group, Inc., The UPS Store #4636, UCSC Extension in Silicon Valley, Wilcox High School, Wilson High School, and XCEO, Inc.

Santa Clara Stadium Could Host Super Bowl in 2016 or 2017

It’s official! The San Francisco 49ers are finalists to host Super Bowl 50 in February, 2016 at its new Santa Clara Stadium. The team and region will bid against Miami. Whichever team loses the 2016 bid will have an opportunity along with Houston to host Super Bowl 51. If successful, one of the world’s most watched events will be hosted here in Santa Clara, having a significant positive economic impact on local businesses. “To host a Super Bowl would be a huge boom for business in the months leading up to and following this huge event,” says Steve Van Dorn, President & CEO of the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce & Convention-Visitors Bureau.

Chamber of Commerce and Convention-Visitors Bureau staff plan to give input and participate with the San Francisco Super Bowl bid committee led by San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee. In addition, the Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) hope to use the bid process to garner as much publicity for Santa Clara as possible, including developing an upcoming social media campaign titled “50 Reasons Santa Clara Stadium Should Host Super Bowl 50.”

Santa Clara Hotel Occupancy & ADR Growth Continues

The eight full service hotels near the Santa Clara Convention Center, California’s Great America theme park, and new 49ers Stadium site continue to have a strong year, recording average occupancy and Average Daily Rate (ADR) increases in August, 2012.

Santa Clara hotels averaged 82% occupancy in August, 2012, a 2% increase over the same period last year. The August, 2012 ADR also saw a $9.00 increase rising to an average of $142.00, up from $133.00 the previous year.

Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce and Convention-Visitors Bureau President and CEO Steve Van Dorn says “We’re on pace to have two consecutive quarters averaging over 80% occupancy. Meetings and business travel have rebounded, and we are optimistically cautious moving into the 4th quarter,” said Van Dorn.

The averages compiled by the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau include the Avatar Hotel, Biltmore Hotel & Suites, Embassy Suites, Hilton Santa Clara, Hyatt House, Hyatt Regency Santa Clara, Marriott Santa Clara, and the Plaza Suites.

Member Referrals

We would like to recognize and acknowledge member referrals for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce. Every month we will publish any new members who have joined and were referred by an existing member.   When a member has referred a total of three new members, they will receive a $100.00 advertising credit (good for newsletter inserts, newsletter advertising or eblast advertising). Want to see your name in the next newsletter? Be sure to refer any potential new members to one of our Chamber staff and we will do the rest!
 
The following new member was referred by an existing member of the Chamber and we would like to recognize and thank them for their support:  
 
Lidia Blair, with Pizza Party and an Ambassador for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce, referred Warren Atteberry of Legal Shield. If you need to get your Will done, documents reviewed, or help fighting that traffic ticket, contact Warren at (408) 309-2081 for legal advice at a very affordable price!  Contact Lidia at (408) 248-5680 to get great pizza (including gluten free) delivered, or visit her restaurant at 3581 Homestead Road, Santa Clara.

11 Digit Dialing Begins October 20

Starting October 20, all phone calls made within the 408 area code must include 11 digits – 1+area code+telephone number – even if the call is from one 408 number to another 408 number. The change results from the addition of a second area code, 669, to the region as an overlay to accommodate the demand for new phone numbers. Current 408 numbers will not change to a 669 area code.
    
Starting now you can convert the pre-programmed phone numbers on your cell phones, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, voice mail services, alarm and security systems, etc. to dial all 11 digits. After October 20, calls made without the 1+area code+telephone number will not be completed and a recording will instruct you to hang up and dial again.
    
The 669 area code will serve customers in the same geographic region as the current 408 area code that covers most of Santa Clara County and small portions of Alameda and Santa Cruz Counties. It is expected that new telephone services that start in November 2012 or later will most likely receive the new 669 area code. The price of a call, coverage area, or other rates and services will not change due to the overlay. What is a local call now will remain a local call regardless of the number of digits dialed.

You can still dial just three digits to reach 9-1-1 for emergencies, as well as 2-1-1 for United Way’s Information & Referral helpline, 4-1-1 for directory assistance or 5-1-1 for public transportation information.

Santa Clara Chamber PAC Endorses Candidates for November Election

Behind the scenes, the Santa Clara Chamber PAC (SCCPAC) Committee of volunteers has been very busy over the last few weeks.  This Committee acts as a separate political action arm of the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau.  The PAC Committee has interviewed seven candidates running for the four open seats on the Santa Clara City Council, one candidate running for City Clerk, four candidates running for State Assembly Districts 25 and 28, and six more candidates running for three open seats on the Santa Clara Unified School District Governing Board.

If this isn’t enough, the SCCPAC wanted to provide complete transparency during the City Council interviews so we hired Ding Ding TV (a Chamber member) to stream the interviews live on the Internet and then post on YouTube.  To view the interviews,  go to www.sccpac.org/endorsed-candidates.html

Since we are a relatively new PAC (founded in 2010), we have learned a lot during this process.  But our mission has never changed-to seek out, evaluate qualifications of and endorse those candidates who are running for public office at the local, county and state level, who support the free enterprise system, believe in fiscally responsible government and whose views represent the interests of the business community.

Based on a thorough evaluation of each candidate interviewed, the Santa Clara Chamber PAC is recommending you support the following candidates for the November election:

Santa Clara City Council
Dr. Mohammed Nadeem, Seat 3
Jerry Marsalli, Seat 4
Lisa Gillmor, Seat 6
Teresa O’Neill, Seat 7

City Clerk
Rod Diridon, Jr.

Police Chief
Michael Sellers

Santa Clara Unified School District
Governing Board
Albert Gonzalez, Trustee Area #2
Jim VanPernis, Trustee Area #2
Elise DeYoung, Trustee Area #3

State Assembly District 25
Arlyne Diamond, Ph.D.

State Assembly District 28
Chad Walsh

To learn more about the SCCPAC, please visit our newly launched website at sccpac.org. Don’t forget to vote on November 6th!

Chamber Announces Positions on November Ballot Propositions

Each election cycle there are bills that have both long- and short-term consequences for business.  With the current economic climate in California, it’s important for business and residents to focus on how our state can improve the economy by creating jobs and supporting the industry that is in our state, before businesses are either forced to downsize or leave our state for other business-friendly locations.  With this in mind, the Board of Directors for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce & Convention-Visitors Bureau has reviewed the following measures and propositions for their impact on business, and encourages you to vote on November 6th as follows:

SUPPORT:
Proposition 31 – Puts a stop to the cycle of placing the burden of current budget year expenses into future year’s budgets.
Proposition 32 – Stops the special interest funding of state and local campaigns by restricting both unions and corporations from collecting funds through payroll deductions.
Proposition 33 – Will reward consumers that have continued their auto insurance coverage, which is required by the law.
Proposition 36 – Would decrease state prison expenses in the long-term, allowing those savings to be used in other areas.
Proposition 40 – Will continue to protect the Citizens Redistricting Commission, keeping the district boundary decisions out of the hands of the politicians.
Measure B/Santa Clara County – will continue to fund clean, safe, reliable water at the local level as state and federal funds decrease.

OPPOSE:
Proposition 30 – Redirects funds and does not solve the budgetary issues that our state is facing.
Proposition 37 – It would force additional financial burdens on business to ensure that items are labeled correctly and would hold businesses selling the items (not just manufacturers of the items) liable for the correct labeling.
Proposition 38 – Redirects funds and does not solve the budgetary issues that our state is facing.
Proposition 39 – It would create a larger burden on CA businesses who represent the third largest source of revenue for the state’s General Fund.
Measure A/Santa Clara County – It does not address the budgetary issues that the county and cities need to address to ensure a balanced budget.
Measure D – San Jose Minimum Wage Increase-will make it more difficult to operate a competitive business by increasing their operational costs by up to 25%, resulting in increased prices and less work hours for employees
 
NO POSITION:
Proposition 34 – Death penalty repeal/Initiative Statute.
Proposition 35 – Human trafficking, penalties, sex offender registration/Initiative Statute.
 
The Santa Clara Chamber Political Action Committee has also endorsed a number of candidates in several races.  Please see Steve Van Dorn’s column on the inside back cover for more information on their endorsements.  And above all, remember to vote on November 6th!