How was your weekend? As always, I’m happy to be with you again this Monday.
I know we’ve been on a bit of a marketing kick lately but, I’d like to switch gears this week and discuss a very special event happening later this month – the West Contra Costa Economic Summit.
For those who’ve not heard of the WCCES or perhaps not had the opportunity to attend in the past, the WCCES is gathering of the business community throughout West Contra Costa County. It is our “check up” to discuss the economic health of our community and is, from my perspective, a critical event for both the City of Richmond as well as the surrounding areas.
This year, the WCCES has the pleasure of featuring one of the founders of Blue Apron as our Keynote Speaker. Ilia Papas, Founder & Chief Technology Officer, Blue Apron will discuss with us the journey of taking a small idea and molding it into what is now a publicly traded business on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, we’ll have a historic moment where all the mayors of West Contra Costa County will gather together to discuss their cities and the growth occurring there – these are two moments you don’t want to miss out on.
This year’s WCCES will take place on October 24th at 1414 Harbour Way South in the Craneway Pavilion here in Richmond. Tickets are on sale now.
Again, this is an event I strongly encourage everyone to attend. Whether you are a business owner, a nurse, a mother or father, if you have a vested interest in the economic development of Richmond and Contra Costa County this opportunity is one I would not let slip by.
I certainly hope to see you there and here again next Monday,
I form strategic alliances between communities, corporations, and governmental entities to enact meaningful change for the residents of Richmond, CA and beyond. I’m equipped with 25+ years of executive experience in the fields of nonprofit and for-profit management, organizational leadership, and computer science.
I believe that success is communal: ensuring the health, well being, and comfort of our families, friends, neighbors. I believe that success is best shared: bridging ties between corporations, local leaders, and constituents to create a city that will serve a snapshot into the best aspects of the American spirit: diversity, equity, and a drive to innovate.
New Chamber Member
Welcome to new Chamber Member Concourse Education!
Concourse Education is a nonprofit college program that helps working adults flexibly earn a job-relevant and affordable bachelor’s degree in as little as 2-3 years. Each Concourse student gets a personal coach, access to comfortable co-working space, career advising and professional training, and a community of peers.
Welcome to new Chamber Member Allegro Ballroom & Club Dancing, the largest Ballroom in the Bay Area with 20 years of excellence!
A Non-Profit Organization
A member-based club, Allegro Ballroom is organized as a non-profit, public-benefit educational corporation [501(c)3] registered as Allegro Dancers, Inc. Their successful operation since 1994 is largely due to the dedication and support of approximately 100 “regular” Allegro members who staff the front desk, volunteer as DJs for our parties, pitch in to organize special events, and serve on an elected Board of Directors. Allegro thrives on the creative energy that comes from our members’ shared interest in dance and the spirit of volunteerism.
Ballrooms & Facilities
Allegro has four ballrooms that provide 20,000 sq ft of dance areas and practice space. Each ballroom is equipped with a quality sound system. Allegro ballrooms have ceiling-mounted speakers which project music to all parts of the floor and equipped with colorful party ceiling lights.
Our DJs have access to the centralized Music Library, which is a computerized selection of literally thousands of ballroom dance tunes of every kind. We also have TVs and projectors to view videos.
Parking & Transportation
Extensive parking is free, convenient, and well lighted. EMERY GO-ROUND, a free shuttle service around Emeryville, stops at the MacArthur BART station and at FedEx Office Print & Ship Center (Emeryville), which is a short walk to Allegro. Check schedule for details.
Do you currently drive alone? Are you tired of sitting in traffic? Try out a different commute & get rewarded with the Contra Costa Text-Your-Commute Challenge!
The Challenge is a fun and exciting opportunity to explore alternative modes of transportation to get to/from work.
Qualifying modes; carpooling/vanpooling, public transportation (bus, train, ferry), walking or bicycling. You can even use ride share apps such as Lyft Line, Uber Pool, or Scoop (just not single passenger rides).
You can start the Text-Your-Commute Challenge any time between September 24 and October 15.*
*Although the last day to register is October 15, the last day of the Challenge is November 5. All participants will have 3 weeks to log as many clean trips as possible regardless of their start date.
Challenge Rewards Tiers:
Gold: $100 ‘Commute Champs’ with the highest number of clean trips
Silver: $50 Minimum of 30 clean one-way trips
Bronze: $25 Minimum of 15 clean one-way trips
If you have any issues or questions regarding the challenge, email tips@511contracosta.org.
Come Play The Go Game and Raise Money for Pogo Park!
Thursday, October 25th 3PM – 7PM
WHAT IS THIS EVENT?
Richmond Chamber of Commerce, Pogo Park, and The Go Game invite the business community to play The Go Game and raise money to benefit Richmond’s children.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Businesses bring teams of up to 8 people to play The Go Game starting at Pogo Park’s “Harbour-8 Park” on the Richmond Greenway.
The Go Game is an outrageously fun urban scavenger hunt and team-building experience using mobile phones. Your team gets a Go Game phone that spits out clues and sends you on “missions” around Harbour-8 Park and other interesting places in Richmond. When your team completes a mission, you send a photo or a video back to Mission Control.
After exploring Richmond and completing all your missions, you return to Harbour-8 Park to gather underneath a festive party tent, meet and mingle with other business teams, eat good food / drink good wine, and have fun with your team.
Then it’s time for the finale. The Go Game’s “MC” displays the best photos and videos from the day’s missions on the big screen. Teams use their Go Game phones to vote for their favorite missions. After the scores are tallied, the Go Game MC announces the winners and awards prizes. Everyone who has played The Go Game agrees that it’s one of the funnest, most memorable team-building events ever.
WHAT IS POGO PARK?
Pogo Park is a local nonprofit that reclaims broken and abandoned city parks in Richmond’s tough Iron Triangle neighborhood – and transforms them into safe, green, and beautiful public spaces for children to play.
For more information about Pogo Park or to participate in this event, visit pogopark.org.
This exciting and fun event will begin at:
Harbour-8 Park (Pogo Park #2) 909 Ohio Avenue Richmond CA 94804
Community Announcement
Dear Richmond Business Community,
This three question survey will take a minute of your time and is of crucial importance to the Chamber of Commerce as a partner of a unique project initiated by the City of Richmond.
Promoting Adult Continuing Education (PACE) 4 the Workplace is an innovative one-year project consolidating community, businesses, nonprofits, and municipality aspirations to open up the opportunities for Richmond employees who seek to advance their education. Though there are notable examples of how companies encourage employees to study by providing stipends and using other incentives, no city in the US has taken a systematic and synergetic approach when every stakeholder in a society – community members, businesses, nonprofits, and local government – work together finding most effective ways to promote and encourage adults to go back to school.
We are excited to be collaborating with the Richmond Public Library’s adult literacy program, LEAP on the first step to gather data on workplace programs for adult continuing education.
Your participation in this project will truly be a service to the community, take the survey now!
Results of the survey and project results will be broadly disseminated during upcoming months.
Please feel free to contact me and PACE 4 the Workplace Project Coordinator, Rasa Ciceniene at rasa_ciceniene@ci.richmond.ca.us, if you have any questions.
Thank you for your time,
James Lee, President/CEO – Richmond Chamber of Commerce
PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE MEMBERS
EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joshua Mallory(Chair), Tiffany Harris (Vice-Chair), Fadhila Holman (Past-Chair), Brian Hubinger (Chair-Elect), Raul Ramirez (Chair of Operations),
Chuck Carpenter, Micheal Davenport (Former Chair), Joe Fisher, Jerrold Hatchett, David Leighton,
David Schoenthal, Janet Silva, Sharla Sullivan, Vernon Whitmore (Former Chair), John Ziesenhenne (Former Chair)
STAFF
James Lee (President/CEO) , Fatima Fuentes (Administrative Director)
