by Emily Reneau, President & CEO, Atascadero Chamber
Happy holidays from the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce! As this will be our final newsletter for 2019, I would like to share some highlights from the year.
We hired a new President/CEO and 2 new professional staff. We have been the home to over 10 SCORE professional development workshops. The Central Coast Reserve event featuring the Atascadero Lakeside Wine Festival in June was once again a great success. The Chamber’s Talk on the Block series was added this year, bringing the City staff and councilmembers to the community to listen and learn. The State of the North County, in conjunction with the Paso Robles and Templeton Chambers, informed our members and community about workforce development and retaining talent. Our Business Expo transformed into the Atascadero Marketplace, allowing vendors to sell their goods. Our BridgeWorks co-working space has more than doubled in occupancy and we now currently have a waiting list for private offices!
2020 promises to be an even more remarkable year. January 9th we will host a candidates’ forum for 5th district county supervisor candidates from 6:30 – 8 pm at the United Methodist Church in Atascadero. We will continue to host the Talk on the Block series in February. Plans are underway for a business walk where Chamber staff and volunteers will come to your place of business and get your feedback in an effort to better serve OUR business community. Our Art, Wine and Brew events will happen again four times a year. Going forward, they will coincide with the downtown business’ brand new 1st Friday events. Good Morning Atascadero will happen quarterly and mixers will continue monthly hosted by a member business.
In my first year as President/CEO I have enjoyed the warm welcome from our fabulous community. I have also enjoyed building relationships with the other North County Chambers and the Chambers to the South of us. We are building a strong partnership with the Economic Vitality Corporation and the SLO Partners, a SLO County Office of Education Initiative. At any time in 2020, I encourage you to reach out, grab some coffee and chat. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season. My best to you all as we move into the new decade!
