Member Referrals – June 2013

We would like to recognize and acknowledge member referrals for the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce.  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.

Lidia Blair with Pizza Party referred three new members!

• Cathy Tanner, Tanner Designs, LLC.  Is your kitchen in need of remodeling?  To find out how you can have the kitchen of your dreams, contact Cathy at 408-888-2276 to schedule a consultation.
• Thora Tam, Decorating Den. Need help decorating your new or existing home?  Contact Thora at (408) 223-7300 to create the home that you will love.
• Rhonda Bonecutter, Zero Barriers. If you or someone you know wants to remodel their home to accommodate a senior, contact Rhonda at (650) 206-9241 to learn more.

And for a delicious pizza from Pizza Party, call (408) 248-5680 or stop by at 3581 Homestead Road, Santa Clara.

Ravinder Lal with UPS Store #4636 referred Shilpa Dhir with UPS Store #2762.  Both stores offer great services for mailing, shipping, graphic design, copying and notary services.  Depending on which side of Santa Clara you are closer to, you can visit Shilpa at 5255 Stevens Creek Boulevard, Santa Clara or call (408) 243-1855 and Ravinder at 2784 Homestead Road, Santa Clara, or call (408) 247-4010. Ravinder also referred  Al Vallorz with Tony & Alba’s, so if you are looking for someone to cater your next event or just want to have a great lunch or dinner, visit them at 3137 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara or call (408) 246-4605.

Becky Griffey with BG Specialties referred Bob Griffey with Business Networking of Silicon Valley.  If you are looking for a business networking group or need services of some great businesses, contact Bob at (650) 438-9203 to find out more about the businesses and opportunities in the group.  If you need some creative ideas to promote your business, Becky can be reached at (408) 745-0995 and her minimum order is one!!

Gary Nobile with Gary Nobile – Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate referred Tony Ventura with Better Homes & Gardens/Ventura Barnett Properties.  If you are in looking to buy or sell a property, you can contact Gary at (408) 247-4029 or Tony at (408) 997-9999 to assist you.

Carrie Casillas with Synergy Homecare of the South Bay referred Russell Hayes with Coast Range Technologies.   If you are looking for IT support or networking services for your business, contact Russell at (408) 224-2777 to schedule a consultation.   If you have a relative or friend who needs assistance and wants to remain in their home, contact Carrie at (408) 288-7785.

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.

Levi’s Stadium Continues to be a Game Changer for Santa Clara with Super Bowl 50

The journey to hosting Super Bowl 50 started over seven years ago when Council Member Kevin Moore sent a letter to the NFL Commissioner requesting the NFL consider Santa Clara as the site for a new 49ers stadium.  This request came in the middle of negotiations the 49ers were having with the City of San Francisco that were not progressing.  Kevin’s letter could not have been better timed since it triggered the NFL and the 49ers to shift their focus to Santa Clara.

After much public discussion, the City Council approved Measure J which asked the citizens of Santa Clara to decide on whether or not the 49ers stadium should be built in Santa Clara.  During the debate that ensued over the passage of Measure J, the Chamber of Commerce and many other proponents envisioned a huge positive economic impact to Santa Clara and the region with higher hotel occupancy, filled restaurants, new development around the stadium site and the hosting of large events like a Super Bowl.  Of course, the opponents contended none of this would happen and the stadium would do nothing positive for Santa Clara and the region.

Fast forward to the present where we recently received approval to host Super Bowl 50, Related California is considering our city for a 230 acre mixed development across the street from the Levi’s Stadium, new hotels are being considered for development and an existing hotel is considering expansion to name just a few projects under consideration.

We are just beginning to see how the Levi’s Stadium will continue transforming Santa Clara and the region in positive ways.  The Chamber of Commerce is proud to have been a strong supporter of this transformational project and looks forward to continuing our support for continued economic growth around the stadium that Council Member Kevin Moore started over seven years ago.

Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara to Host Super Bowl 50

The NFL announced it has selected the San Francisco 49ers new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara as the host site for historic Super Bowl 50. The game scheduled for February, 2016 marks the return of one of the world’s iconic sporting events to the San Francisco Bay Area for the first time since Stanford Stadium hosted Super Bowl 19 in 1985 when the 49ers defeated the Miami Dolphins. The new Silicon Valley Stadium was selected over Miami’s Sun Life Stadium.

Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce and Convention-Visitors Bureau President & CEO Steve Van Dorn says “There is no better place than this brand new stadium to host the NFL’s historic Super Bowl 50. Attendees are really going to enjoy the California sunshine and beautiful San Francisco Bay Area region.” Van Dorn added “We expect a huge surge in hotel occupancy for the entire region for the week the Super Bowl is here. Overall, the economic impact will be in the millions.”

Located an hour south of San Francisco in the center of Silicon Valley, the 1.2 billion dollar 68,500 seat Santa Clara Stadium has the ability to expand its number of seats for the Super Bowl. The stadium features 100,000 sq. ft. of event space, wide plazas, and 165 luxury suites with stadium-wide WiFi capability, mobile connectivity, IPTV, and colossal HD video boards measuring over 13,000 square feet.  For more information, visit www.SantaClara.org/SuperBowl, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter  @SCSuperBowl.

 

Steve Van Dorn, Santa Clara Chamber President & CEO is pictured (back center) with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall (to Steve’s left), San Francisco Travel President Joe D’Alessandro (on Steve’s right), and other key members of the bid presentation in Boston at the NFL’s Super Bowl Selection event.

 

 

2013 Membership Survey Results Are In!

Hopefully you received our membership survey in your in-box last March and responded.  Every 2-3 years we reach out to you so we can measure how we are doing in meeting your needs.  Even though the survey only took 10 minutes to complete, we unfortunately only received a 12% response rate or 107 out of 913 surveys sent.  We compared our results with over 6,523 other members of local chambers in the west that have taken the survey since January 2012.

The survey included over 30 questions asking why you belong to our organization to how we are doing in meeting your needs.  The first few questions asked why you belong, the value received compared to the dues you pay and how relevant our organization is to your business.  The results were very consistent with the other members surveyed throughout the west.

When asked what services and programs you have participated in recently, monthly mixers and joint mixers ranked at the top with convention center calendar, monthly mailer inserts, connection clubs, Pyramid Awards Dinner and Annual Directory/Destination Guide ranked about the same.

A majority of the questions asked you what the chamber should be focused on doing and compared that to our performance in accomplishing these important focus areas.  Overall, we ranked higher in performance compare to the other 6,523 chamber members in the west.  The biggest area for improvement is that many of you that responded to the survey didn’t know whether or not we were accomplishing the key focus areas.  We plan to increase and target our communications to you on our important accomplishments so you are better informed on what we are doing to assist your business.

Finally, we asked the ultimate question:  Would you recommend chamber membership to a friend?  The final percentage is called a net promoter score (NPS).  This is determined by eliminating the “neutral” (7-8 scores) and subtracting the percentage of promoters (9-10 scores) from the percentage of detractors (1-5 scores).  We scored a 37% NPS.  This is 7% above the average of the 200 chambers that have completed this survey since 2012.

Overall, we are performing better than the majority of the other chambers in the west.  However, we have room for improvement and will be making these changes as we move into our next fiscal year.  If you were unable to participate in our recent survey and would like to share your thoughts on what we can do better to support your business, please email me at steve.vandorn@santaclara.org.  Thank you for your continued support of our organization!

$10 Million Plus Coaster to Debut at California’s Great America

California’s Great America theme park debuts its more than $10 million dollar “Gold Striker” coaster this month.  High-speed twists, turns, drops, a station fly-by and the Old West are features of Gold Striker which stands 108 feet at its highest point with a first drop of 103 feet.  The new ride is the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in Northern California.  Riders will careen along 3,197 feet of track at speeds close to 54 miles per hour for more than two minutes.

The ride’s name was chosen to recognize the pioneering and adventurous spirit of the California gold-seekers who rushed to Northern California. Gold Striker is located in the Celebration Plaza area of California’s Great America and will be the park’s eighth roller coaster.  For more information about California’s Great America operating days and hours, visit www.CAGreatAmerica.com.

Chamber to Honor Members, Install Board of Directors

On June 13th, Chamber members and community representatives gather to celebrate the past year’s accomplishments and honor Chamber members whose contributions have made a significant impact on the Chamber’s success. This year’s Pyramid Award honorees are Gary Nobile as Individual Member of the Year, The UPS Store #4636 as Business Member of the Year, and Lidia Blair as our Distinguished Community Leader.  Gary is an active member of our Chamber and the Santa Clara community. He participates in our Power Partners Connection Club, as well as serving on the Board as the current Treasurer.  He refers a great deal of business to other members of the Chamber and The Power Partners, in addition to running his real estate business.  He is always willing to help fellow Chamber members with tips on networking and helping them to grow their business.

The UPS Store #4636 is being honored as our Business Member of the Year for the many partnerships they’ve developed with the Chamber and various businesses and organizations in Santa Clara. In addition to what people expect of a UPS Store (packing and shipping), Ravinder and his staff provide quality customer service on a variety of products such as printed posters and business cards.  They support the business community by providing competitively priced products, local delivery service with a smile and knowledgeable staff to get their customers the product they want when they need it.  Additionally, Ravinder Lal, store owner, serves as an active Ambassador mentoring new members through their first year of membership.

New this year, we will be presenting Lidia Blair as our Distinguished Business Leader honoree.  The award was created to recognize an outstanding Chamber member/organization that has made a positive contribution to the community.  Lidia is constantly looking to create new avenues for businesses to connect in the community, through the many events and programs that she holds at her restaurant, Pizza Party.  As part of her outreach to the community of Santa Clara and Silicon Valley, she has participated as a business host for Business Experience Day and each winter she holds a warm clothing drive that provides gloves, hats and coats and other gifts for children at the EMQ Families First Orphanage. She hosts them at a special holiday party where each child receives their winter supplies as well as a gift bag of goodies.

In addition to the above awards, honorees will include the Ambassador of the Year as well as our scholarship recipients for Business Experience Day 2012.  Outgoing board members will be recognized for their contributions and the incoming Board of Directors and Officers will be installed.  The evening will conclude with an address by Ro Khanna, attorney and author. Ro is an intellectual property attorney and author of the book “Entrepreneurial Nation: Why Manufacturing is Still Key to America’s Future”.  He recently served two years as the Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce under President Obama and is now a candidate for U.S. Congress.  He will be discussing his strategies for keeping the best companies, jobs, and opportunities in America.  Invitations will be mailed in May; however, sponsorships are available-please see the sponsorship form included in this mailing. We look forward to seeing you on June 13th!

 

Past honorees are:

Individual Member of the Year

2004-Gary Mathews

2005-Maria Edmonds Zediker

2006-David D. Tobkin, CPA

2007-Anna Fok

2008-Andy Ratermann

2009-Dick Johnston

2010-Wil Lacro

2011-Paul Dines

2012-Lidia Blair

Business Member of the Year

2004-Hilton Santa Clara

2005-Intel Corporation

2006-Paramount’s Great America

2007-Silicon Valley Power

2008-KeyPoint Credit Union

2009-Owens Corning Corporation

2010-The Plaza Suites

2011-Kaiser Permanente

2012-Mission College