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Staging a wide
variety of community events.
Being involved in scores of community activities.
Promoting the business community with a broad and
extensive brush of initiatives.
Doing many other things that dwarf the agenda of
any other business organization in the county.
The Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce has compiled
its enviable record of
community and business service with a membership of
only 500, about half that of the Monterey Peninsula
Chamber of Commerce. Just the annual special events
that the Chamber sponsors are staggering. For
example, the Chamber
Stages the Good Old Days celebration that draws
thousands of
Pacific Grove residents and visitors to the downtown
and benefits 28 non-profit groups.
Created Stillwell Snow in the Park, which attracts
1,500 children every
December to Caledonia Park for a fun-filled day of
snow, entertainment and games.
Re-Introduced Pacific Grove's Fourth of July
Celebration, put on by the Pacific Grove Residents
Association and the city Recreation Department.
Sponsors Christmas at the Inns, in cooperation
with the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove.
Sponsors the Historic Home Tour, in cooperation
with the
Pacific Grove Art
Center.
Sponsors and actively supports the Triathlon at
Pacific Grove.
Introduced Fashion at the Grove, a fashion show
that promotes Pacific Grove's clothing stores.
Sponsors the city's Christmas tree lighting party
at Chautauqua Hall, providing
decorations, refreshments and entertainment.
Provided fund-raising and marketing assistance to
the Business Improvement
District for the BID'S first Parade of Lights, which
will become an annual event.
Hosted a reception to welcome new members to the
City Council.
In addition to annual and regular special events,
the Chamber also has sponsored
one-time events for noteworthy occurrences, such as
a Sept. 11th Remembrance
at Civic Plaza, in cooperation with Paul Mortuary
and the Pacific Grove Fire
Department; and a special parade to honor the
Pacific Grove High School
football team, for winning the Central Coast Section
Division IV championship.
Also, the Chamber has hosted town hall meetings on
business and civic
issues and regularly conducts Candidate Forums prior
to municipal elections.
As impressive as this list of events is, it
represents only a fraction of what the
Chamber does not only for the business community but
also for the residents of
Pacific Grove. The Chamber has raised money for many
worthy causes, among them:
$25,000 for the new Tommy Stillwell basketball
court at Caledonia Park.
$15,000 to buy the city's official Christmas tree
in Jewell Park.
$16,000 to help the victim of a stabbing on the
Recreational Trail.
$2,750 for a memorial fund for a student at
Pacific Grove Middle School.
In addition, the Chamber helped the city's General
Employees Association
raise $13,000 for a memorial fund for a public works
employee. The Chamber generated another $10,000 in
donations from the Monterey Del Oro 50th Anniversary
Celebration of the Corvette by convincing sponsors
to hold the event at Pacific Grove High School. The
high school's Breakers Club and the Chamber shared
the money.Several annual awards ceremonies have been
either arranged or co-sponsored by the Chamber.
These include the James R. Hughes Citizen of the
Year Award, to honor
civic leaders for their commitments to the
community; City Employee of the Year
Award, to recognize performance above and beyond the
call of duty;
Public Works and Mechanical City Employees
Recognition Luncheon,
to honor hard work and dedication; and Monterey
County's Public Safety
Appreciation Night honoring public safety officials,
as a co-sponsor.
Also, the Chamber hosted a reception to honor
Asilomar State Park Superintendent Dennis Hanson as
Public Official of the Year, and sponsored a
luncheon honoring the Pacific Grove Red Mustang
All-Star Team for its achievement.
The Chamber has paid special attention to the
schools in Pacific Grove and has
provided a variety of assistance and special
on-going programs for the students.
Among these is the Young Entrepreneur program that
initiates high school
and middle school students into the world of
business and challenges them
to think creatively and to come up with ideas for
starting a business and
developing a business plan.
The Chamber also sponsors an annual Career Day at
the Pacific Grove Middle
School and the annual Taste of PG fund-raising event
by PG Pride that provides
money for the schools; and helps Robert H. Down
Elementary School market the
annual Butterfly Parade, as well as donating Monarch
signs to teachers.
Most, if not all, community activities in Pacific
Grove receive some kind of
support from the Chamber, even those that the
Chamber does not directly sponsor
or cosponsor. Take the Feast of Lanterns, for
example. The Chamber sponsored
the Feast of Lantern Princess Trading Card and
promoted the event.
Other ways the Chamber supports the community take a
wide variety of forms,
from designing and purchasing new city street
banners to lobbying state officials
on behalf of the city government and school
district. From staffing the Grease
Trap Committee that led to installing grease traps
in every food service
establishment in the city to dedicating benches
downtown to civic leaders,
among them former City Council members Steve
Honegger and Erma Dinkel.
To promote historic preservation, the Chamber
created the city's Walking Tour.
On the business front, the Chamber has initiated or
participated in scores of
projects to enhance the economic viability of
Pacific Grove. Its success is measured
in business growth and development, a thriving
restaurant industry and a lodging
industry that has survived the worst of the tourism
decline that followed the
September 11th terrorism attacks and a downturn in
the economy.
The list of successful measures taken by the Chamber
is almost overwhelming.
For example, the Chamber:
Created the Downtown Business Improvement District
to better market the downtown.
Initiated the city's Economic Advisory Committee
and staffed the committee for
eight years. The committee is the city's economic
development arm.
Introduced the Monarch Days Celebration promotion
for the lodging industry,
which generates thousands of room reservations
during the slow winter season
for the city's 3? lodging establishments. This was
largely responsible for avoiding
large occupancy rate drops, which occurred
throughout Monterey County's
lodging industry.
Facilitated the expansion of large businesses,
among them Trader Joe's and
Albertson's, helped Country Club Gate owner GMS
Realty attract new tenants
and expand the center, and attracted several
businesses to the various business
districts to ensure a good tenant mix.
Introduced the new professionally designed website
wwwpacificgrove.org.
Developed cooperative advertising campaigns in the
local media, including
Coast Weekly, cable TV and radio.
Initiated annual TV promotional campaigns to
attract shoppers and
restaurant goers to Pacific Grove.
Assisted travel writers prepare articles
publicizing Pacific Grove in a wide
variety of publications, among them VIA Magazine,
Coastal Lighting,
Alaska Airlines, Los Angeles Times and other
regional publications.
Attracted positive publicity for Pacific Grove in
the local media, including
Coast Weekly, Carmel Pine Cone, KSBW-TV and KION-TV.
Hosted the annual Business Excellence Awards
ceremonies to recognize
Pacific Grove's high-quality products and services.
Provided tourist information to an average of
30,000 visitors a vear who stop
by the Chamber's visitors center at Forest and
Central avenues, installed a
ramp for wheelchair accessibility to the building,
and put up a visitor information
booth outside the building that generates thousands
of calls annually to lodging
and hospitality-related businesses.
Collected an impressive library of slides, photos
and digital images of
Pacific Grove and area attractions.
Installed business directories on the street in
the downtown.
Painted a mural at Trader Joe's, directing
shoppers to the city's various business districts.
Distributed brochures and maps to an average of 65
groups and
conferences that meet on the Peninsula each year.
Mailed the Pacific Grove Directory to every
household in Pacific Grove.
Convinced the city to streamline its business
permit application process.
Brought trolley tours to Pacific Grove to attract
potential business customers.
Conducted a direct-mail campaign to a half-million
residents of
Northern California, Fresno and Modesto to attract
visitors to Pacific Grove.
Developed promotional ad campaigns for the Forest
Hill, Central and
Sunset business districts.
Hosted tours of Pacific Grove for travel agents,
concierges and visitor center staff.
Conducted an average of 20 ribbon cuttings/grand
openings per year.
Hosted two TV crews for shows that promoted
Pacific Grove: Home and
Garden TV "Dream Drives" and "Bay Area Back Roads."
Produced a 10-minute video promoting Pacific Grove
that was filmed
and edited by KSBW-TV.
Participated in promotional events with a trade
show booth at the Pebble Beach
Equestrian Classic and Naval Postgraduate School
Armed Forces Day. Sponsored
the Fine Arts Sidewalk Fair in 2002 promoting the
city's art role.
Served on the County Hospitality Recognition Lunch
Advisory Board.
Sponsored the Monterey Bay Small Business Fair at
the Embassy Suites that
promoted business laws, ethics and regulation, in
cooperation with the
State Board of Equalization, and conducted
educational seminars on marketing,
fraud, business development, city budget, and other
topics.
Hosted Good Morning PG, Business After Hours
networking and luncheons.
Delivered food, wine, and other goodies to
businesses on Asilomar Boulevard that suffered
damages during the past winter storms.
Arranged for speakers for various civic and
business organizations.
Provided special recognition for the Top 40 sales
tax revenue producers,
in cooperation with the city government.
If this is not enough, the Chamber also publishes an
array of literature promoting
the city as a visitors destination and as a place to
do business.
Among the literature are: the city's brochure
promoting all of Pacific Grove's
attractions and activities; Pacific Grove Special
Events Resource Guide
for weddings, conferences and other group
activities; and the city's Economic
Profile for new business owners.
Also, 30,000 rack cards, promoting all of Pacific
Grove's shopping districts,
with a value added offer to 220 locations in the
tri-county area; holiday
calendar of events, which was delivered to every
household on the Peninsula;
and award-winning Monterey Peninsula map.
In addition, Pacific Grove Where Locals Dine, which
is distributed through inns,
lodges, hotels and conference centers; annual
calendar of events; the Business
Rap-Up newsletter; and 25,000 brochures and maps for
groups, individual visitors
and relocation packages. But more than lists of what
it has done, the Chamber
is the right fit for a little corner of the world
with a lifestyle and ambiance that
prompts visitors to say to Pacific Grove residents,
"You mean you actually get
to live here."
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