Comedian Scott Shimamoto will make you laugh as he provides tips on public speaking at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Networking Breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 16.

Scott Shimamoto

Shimamoto, who has performed stand-up comedy at many venues in the region, such as The Ice House in Pasadena, and who produces numerous comedy show benefit fundraisers (see video below), is also a home mortgage consultant at Franklin Loan Center.
He will discuss how to overcome your fears, and techniques for using a microphone and working a crowd.

Networking Breakfasts, sponsored by Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary, are held on the third Thursday of each month at the Santa Anita Golf Course club house on Santa Anita Avenue. A distinguished business leader of the community is featured each month, and attendees are invited at the beginning of each program to introduce themselves and say a few words about their business or organization.

<Story continues below following video of Shimamoto hosting and performing at an event he produced last March in Arcadia to raise money for the victims of the tsunami in March.>

Upcoming speakers include the new President and CEO of Methodist Hospital, Dan Ausman, and a presentation on the Gold Line railway and station being built through Arcadia, as well as the annual Chamber Business Awards program on June 21.

Tickets are $15 for members who RSVP in advance and $20 for non-members. To make a reservation, contact the Chamber office: 626-447-2159 or by e-mail: info@ArcadiaCaChamber.org.

Another option for payment is the new Chamber All Access Pass exclusive to Chamber members and which offers year-round admission to all Chamber events, including all Networking Breakfasts, as well as tickets to the Pasadena Pops, CalPhil, Renaissance Pleasure Faire, and many others for only $250 per year, 10% of which is donated to local non-profit member groups who sell the tickets as a fundraiser.

Membership in the Chamber is $115 for residents and non-profit organizations; $185 for home-based businesses; and starts at $260 for traditional businesses.

The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 90th Anniversary of Creating Community Pride Through Business since 1921.

– By Scott Hettrick
(Hettrick is Executive Director of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce.)

The long unused train bridge over Colorado Blvd west of Santa Anita Avenue will be demolished and removed sometime in March or April, according to Gold Line Foothill Extension officials.

That will be just a few months before the new “iconic” bridge over the 210 freeway is completed this summer, Foothill Extension Authority public affairs director Lisa Levy Buch told the group of community leaders gathered Thursday, Feb. 2, at the monthly Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Government Affairs Forum.
Since that bridge will once again bring train tracks over the freeway and into Arcadia, that means that a new bridge will need to be built to carry the Gold Line train over Colorado Blvd again when the line opens in 2015.
The County was originally prepared to retrofit the Colorado bridge to make it earthquake-safe until Gold Line officials alerted the County that their money would be wasted on a bridge that was about to be torn down.

A third bridge in Arcadia must then be built to carry the tracks over Santa Anita Avenue near Fasching’s Car Wash.

Buch also revealed for the first time that a decision was recently made to build the 11.5-mile extension in reverse order from the end of the route in Asuza west to the current end of the line at the Sierra Villa station in Pasadena just west of Arcadia.

Work on the iconic bridge over the 210 will begin a series of as many as 20 consecutive late-night full closures of all eastbound lanes between Baldwin and Santa Anita Avenues weekdays from midnight to 5 a.m. that will continue through February and possibly into March. A lengthy temporary support structure, known as falsework, will be erected to create a secure work space over the lanes of the freeway for the entire span of the future 584-foot bridge crossing the freeway at a skewed angle. The falsework structure will create a temporary tunnel-like effect temporarily, as shown in the artist rendering at right.
On nights of full closures, eastbound on-ramps at Rosemead Blvd., Michillinda Ave. and Baldwin Ave. will close at approximately 9:00 p.m., lane closures will begin at approximately 10 p.m. and all lanes will re-open by 6 a.m. the following day.

Meanwhile, legislative groundwork is being laid to extend the Gold Line from Azusa beyond the L.A. County border to Montclair, with an eventual target destination of the L.A. Ontario Airport.

Further details about all the planned construction through Arcadia will be presented by the Foothill Extension Authority and Arcadia City officials at the Chamber’s annual Planning Conference from 8 a.m. – 12 noon on Thursday, Feb. 23 in the Director’s Room of the Santa Anita Park race track.

The Planning Conference, featuring a breakfast buffet, is open to all Chamber members and costs $25 per person. RSVP is required; call the Chamber at 626-447-2159.
Retiring City manager Don Penman will present his final State of the City address at the conference, among several other planned presentations.

– By Scott Hettrick

The Arcadia Chamber of Commerce and the Arcadia Association of Realtors® are once again partnering to present a forum on March 7 for the public to meet and hear from all five candidates running for two City Council seats up for election in March/April.

The free Meet the Candidates Forum will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, in the auditorium of the Arcadia Public Library. Seating for 175 attendees will be on a first-come, first-served basis, so please arrive early to ensure a seat. Light refreshments will be provided by the AAR.

Although election day is technically April 10, for the first time there will be no polls open on that date or any other. Mail-in ballots will be mailed to voters March 12 and must be returned and received no later than April 10. With voters having the option of completing and returning their ballots in mid-March, AAR and the Chamber feel it is very important to hold the forum early in the process.
AAR and the Chamber teamed up for a similar forum in 2010 that was standing-room only at the Woman’s Club of Arcadia, and for several elections over the past years.

All five candidates have already agreed to attend to the forum: former Mayor John Wuo, Sho Tay, Henry Nunez, incumbent current Mayor Gary Kovacic, and Mary Dougherty.

Chamber Executive Director Scott Hettrick and AAR Board of Director member Andy Bencosme will co-moderate the forum, with each asking questions of the candidates after initial self-introductions by each candidate. Written questions will be accepted from the audience, with as many as possible being asked of the candidates.

– by Scott Hettrick and Andrew Cooper

Arcadia Police Chief Robert Guthrie will discuss home security alarms and other home safety and general police information at the quarterly Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch Connection produced by the Chamber Ambassadors and sponsored this month by Sylvia Ramos of Coldwell Banker.

Everyone is welcome to the lunch that begins at 11:30 a.m.  in the Chamber conference room, 388 W. Huntington Drive. Centerpiece decorations are provided by Ralph’s Florist.
The $15 fee includes lunch.
Call the Chamber to rsvp at 626-447-2159 or e-mail to info@ArcadiaCaChamber.org.

The Ambassadors’ Business Lunch Connection is held on the third Wednesday every third month – the next will be April 19, featuring new Methodist Hospital CEO Dan Ausman as the guest speaker.

Media contact: Scott Hettrick, Chamber Executive Director
Phone: 626-447-2159 / e-mail: Scott@ArcadiaCaChamber.org

Congresswoman Dr. Judy Chu flew from Washington D.C. to Los Angeles late Thursday and drove herself directly to the Asian Business Night event in Arcadia and announced that she introduced a bill this week called the Entrepreneur Startup Growth Act that will create a grant program to offer affordable business tax assistance and critical business development services entrepreneurs need to grow.

Congresswoman Dr. Judy Chu delivers keynote speech at Asian Business Night Dec. 8. Photo courtesy of Ricky Lau.

She also said she was pleased to have recently won the commitment of the Chairman of the House Small Business Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee to bring a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) back to the San Gabriel Valley. She paused to introduce and thank Todor Trenkov for his work as an SBDC business advisor in the area who works out of his home and holds monthly “Mastermind” seminars at the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce.

Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic (c), presents certificate to Congresswoman Judy Chu on behalf of Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Scott Hettrick (l), Arcadia Chinese Association President Josephine Louie (2nd from left), and Asian Business Night committee chairman Edward Wong (r). Photo courtesy of Ricky Lau.

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Congresswoman Chu, the ranking member of the Small Business Committee’s Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee and California’s leading advocate for small businesses in Washington delivered a rousing keynote speech suited perfectly for the more than 250 attendees at the fourth Asian Business Night sponsored by the Arcadia Chinese Association and the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce and hosted by the Arcadia Masonic Center.
Before she arrived, Arcadia Mayor Gary Kovacic welcomed attendees and thanked the Asian Business Night committee, headed by ACA and Chamber board director Edward Wong.

The event, made possible by Platinum sponsor HSBC Bank, Arcadia Branch, Silver sponsor Southern California Edison Business Solutions, and more than a dozen other booth sponsors with exhibits, featured three experts providing short seminars to help Asian business owners in the San Gabriel Valley to better understand and comply with government regulations and legal issues and create more effective marketing in order to spend less and make more profit.
John Zhong, CPA, spoke about how to ensure you do not pay more taxes than necessary;  Attorney Lynn Chao provided guidance on how to save money on trademark registration; and business broker Steve Wang discussed how to create the most value for your business in order to sell at top dollar.

Presentations were made throughout the evening by Arcadia Chinese Association President and Arcadia Chamber board member Josephine Louie, Arcadia Chamber Executive Director Scott Hettrick, and Arcadia Masonic Center representative Sho Tay.

Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Vice President Arlynn Robinson (l) and Chamber Ambassador Vicky Knight

Congresswoman Chu, whose 32nd Congressional District will be realigned next year to encompass Arcadia just as Chu is expected to be running for re-election, described how her grandfather came to the United States with nothing and in search of a better life. He immediately faced the Chinese Exclusion Act, which prevented further immigration and prevented him from becoming a naturalized citizen or being able to vote. And he faced California laws that prevented Asian Americans from owning land or being hired in any corporation. But he persevered and opened up a small Chinese restaurant in Watts and eventually achieved his dreams and has seen his granddaughter, Dr. Chu, become a member of Congress.

Chu said that immigrants have always formed the backbone of this country’s economy. Among the statistics she highlighted to prove her point:

Rose Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary sales director Francine Chiu

* 29% of all U.S. firms are owned by immigrants, a figure that has doubled in the last 14 years.

* Immigrants are 30% more likely go into business for themselves than non-immigrants.

* 25% of all business income in California is generated by immigrant businesses.

“Immigrants are part and parcel of California’s success,” she said. “Without immigrants, nearly half of all of California’s tech start-up companies would not have been created. Without immigrants, California’s great wine and agriculture industry would not exist. Without immigrants, there would not be a Google or Yahoo. Just think about Yahoo founder Jerry Yang, whose mother decided to move him from Taiwan to San Jose when he was a child.”

Chu said that anti-immigrant measures will only “stifle the creativity and energy that has made California what it is.”

Businesses run by immigrants and minorities usually fall into the category of a small business.
She believes that her proposed Entrepreneur Startup Growth Act targets a key area of need to new small business owners. “Providing business tax preparation services to low-income, self-employed individuals builds their businesses and promotes asset-building for low-income households. This program will help them save money and ensure that they access all the tax credits for which they are eligible.

She cited several key data points about small business:

* Small business represent 99% of all American companies.

* Small businesses receive fewer than 25% of federal contracts.

*  100,000 new jobs created for each 1% increase in the share of contracts going to small businesses.

* Minorities hire minorities and they start businesses in economically distressed areas.

“My focus is to ensure small business receives the economic benefits of federal contacts and creates jobs in communities across the nation,” Chu said. ”With unemployment above 9%, it is my number one priority to bring more entrepreneurs into the federal procurement marketplace. Our committee has had several hearings on small business contracting and is working on drafting legislation to be introduced next year.”

L.A. County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich representative Brian Mejia (l) presents a certificate to Asian Business Night event producers Scott Hettrick of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, Sho Tay of the Arcadia Masonic Center, and Josephine Louie of the Arcadia Chinese Association.

Chu is also working to ensure that resources are available to all types of small businesses in the San Gabriel Valley.
“I am holding workshops for small businesses on how to get financing and how to increase economic opportunities through exporting, and how to secure federal contracting and procurement. And that’s why I held a hearing in Pasadena a couple of weeks ago to make sure that the Small Business Administration hears from our local businesses about how the SBA is or is not helping them.”

The SBA is the governmental agency that establishes Small Business Development Centers to provide educational services and classes for small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs, usually in partnership with local colleges and universities.
In 2009, Mt. SAC closed its SBDC in Irwindale, leaving the closest center in Long Beach.
“Our small businesses here are being left out in the cold unable to get the business help they need and want,” she said. That is why Democrat Chu brought South Carolina-based Republican Chairman of the House Small Business Contracting Subcommittee Chairman Mick Mulvaney to the San Gabriel Valley in October. She wanted him to see the wealth and diversity of small businesses in this area that represents almost 20% of all of L.A. County businesses and employs more than 600,000 workers, and yet the closest Small Business Development Center is 30 miles away in Long Beach.
“I look forward to working with him and the community to re-establish this vital network so you can reap the benefits of these federal resources,” she told the gathering Thursday night.

“Let’s make sure that every American gets the opportunity to succeed and to feel that they can have faith in their future. We must reignite the dream of the immigrant, the student, the small business owner, and the innovator.”

Chu’s speech received strong applause, after which she received a certificate from event organizers and Arcadia Mayor Kovacic and posed for many photos.

To see album of 40 photos from event, click here on Arcadia Chamber of Commerce Facebook page. Be sure to click “Like” at top of page to see all Chamber postings on Facebook.

– By Scott Hettrick