What would surprise people about your chamber?
“We have both a local and a state-
wide chamber. This means we’re
well-equipped to help our local members,
because we have statewide influence.
And we operate two federal centers: one
that helps small, disadvantaged mi-
nority-owned businesses get access to
contracts in the transportation sector,
and the other is focused on helping mi-
nority-owned businesses export to Asia.”
“For the past five years the Rocklin
Chamber has returned 10 percent of our
event profits to our nonprofit members,
including the Placer SPCA; KidsFirst; the
Matt Redding Foundation; and various
student groups at Sierra College, Whitney
High and Rocklin High.”
— Robin Trimble, Rocklin Area Chamber
of Commerce
“We are one of a few chambers
that have a Water Committee. It
works with the City of Woodland
to seek viable solutions to flood
protection. Our chamber repre-
sentatives worked with regional
agencies, elected officials and
other partners for the success-
— Pat Fong Kushida, Sacramento Asian Pacific
Chamber of Commerce
ful completion of a surface wa-
ter project for Woodland and
Davis.”
— Kristy Wright, Woodland Chamber of
Commerce
What’s the greatest obstacle you’ve had to overcome at the chamber?
“Being taken seriously when you are in-
vited to have a seat at the table. You have
to be that much smarter and work that
much harder, because typically you are
only one of a handful of women and a mi-
nority that is in the room.”
— Pat Fong Kushida, Sacramento Asian Pacific
Chamber of Commerce
“When the 2008 financial crisis began, we
saw that members were making budget
choices. Chamber investments — and
tickets to our fundraising events — were
at the bottom of the list. This crisis was
a huge hit to our local economy and, in
turn, a massive hit to our organization.”
“We have fielded more than our share of
calls and requests for quotes regarding
immigration. The current climate has
brought out some great allies and some
not-so-great social media comments
and voicemails. Fear, bias and racism,
unfortunately, have always been a part
of our world, but have been getting loud-
er and uglier. I am exceptionally proud
to be one of the voices sharing the good
stories — the amazing successes of our
Latino-owned businesses and their
contributions to the betterment of our
community.”
— Cathy Rodriguez, Sacramento Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce
— Kristy Wright, Woodland Chamber of
Commerce
“Having one of the smallest populations
[of the ethnic chambers] in our city
meant that we had to work harder to
show that we were a worthy and viable
organization, and that the entrepreneurs
in the African-American community
deserved all of the attention and support
that other chambers were receiving for
their respective members. We were con-
tributing to the economic welfare of our
city and region just like all of the others.
We were providing technical assistance
and training and networking opportuni-
ties and hiring just like all of the others.
It took years, but we have finally been
acknowledged.”
— Azizza Davis Goines, Sacramento Black
Chamber of Commerce
“The Great Recession of 2008-2011 and the long, slow
and often sad climb to recovery.”
— Denice Seals, West Sacramento Chamber of Commerce
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