The Board of The Chamber of Commerce

"Business is great in Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara is great for business"

The Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce is a California non-profit corporation. The organization was founded in 1878 and incorporated in 1899. The Chamber is a business association representing some 2,000 local businesses. Governed by a 20 person volunteer board of directors and managed by a professional staff, the chamber operates a visitor center and a resource center. The Chamber's mission is to foster a vibrant economy and improve the quality of life for all who live and work in the region. Through it’s programs the Chamber generates more than $80 million in annual local business referrals. The chamber visitor center hosts 300,000 annual customers. The chamber website generates 14,000 hits per day. The Santa Barbara Chamber is the oldest and largest business organization in the Tri-County Region.

Message from the Chair

Message from the Chairman

of the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce

 

The past few years have been challenging ones, but as I write this message, we are beginning to see real signs of economic improvement in Santa Barbara. The Chamber Business Leader's luncheon held in December gave members the opportunity to share their outlook for 2012 and what they needed from their Chamber to support continued growth and economic vitality.


Their business outlook was optimistic!  And, overwhelmingly, when asked what the Chamber could do to support its members, here's what they said they valued most:



* Keep giving members opportunities for networking, referrals, and building lasting business relationships.


* Ask Business Leaders to find ways to encourage use of local services and businesses.


* Bring elected officials to "listen" to business needs, and help find solutions  


* Develop Santa Barbara as a destination known for its hospitality; a friendly, clean, safe and welcoming place to come, stay, explore, eat, and shop.


* Tell us how members can be an asset to the Chamber.



What's new? To meet the demands of an ever changing economic environment and our growing business community, your Chamber is changing too. One of the primary goals of the Chamber's 5-year strategic plan, collaboratively developed by the Chamber's Business Leaders Council, is to increase member participation in responding to business issues. To accomplish this, we have reduced the size of the governing board of the Chamber - from 25 to 16 - and developed working committees to address the most important needs of our business community. Each Chamber Board member will actively lead and/or serve on one or more committees.



To expand the voice of the business community in the Chamber, any active member of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce can now become a member of any working committee. You don't need to be on the Board to have a voice or be part of the solution!  


You can make a difference!  To insure that the Chamber is advocating for you and your business needs, we invite you to join a committee that is important to the success of your business.  Working together, we will create a sustainable future for local businesses and continue to advance the mission the founders of the Santa Barbara Chamber envisioned 113 years ago: to "foster a vibrant economy and improve the quality of life for all who live and work in the region."



As the 2012 Chair of the Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce Board, I invite you to be a part of the change and to make the Chamber your most valued business partner.


Contact me at jgarufis@montecito.com or 805-564-0235