Gilroy Chamber of Commerce provides lunch time meet and greets,
breakfasts with speakers and awards
Gilroy – A stack of business cards circulates around the back dining room of Mama Mia’s Restaurant as Sherry Boyer talks dogs. How to handle them. How not to handle them.
Like the dog whisperer on cable television’s Animal Planet, Boyer helps owners of dangerous dogs manage their pet’s behavior. It’s more about training the owner than the pet, Boyer explains to the 20 or so people gathered for the Networking Cafe, an event organized by the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce.
“You have to make the dog understand it’s not human,” she explains.
For Boyer, who makes house calls in a four-county area, the Gilroy chamber represents a gateway to the local market. As co-owner of Dog Behavior Rehab, she has been a part of the chamber for a year.
“I get a lot out of these events,” she said. “You meet some great people and it eventually turns into business for everybody. It’s a win-win.”
The lunchtime meet and greet is one of three social events the chamber offers its 700-plus members. The local business association also provides chamber breakfasts with keynote speakers and awards presentations, as well as less formal evening mixers.
“Each one has its own flavor,” said Marsha Becht, who manages the events for the chamber.
Jeff Orth, founder of I FIT Financial Services in Gilroy, has been a chamber member for more than seven years. As a vice-chair of the chamber’s board of directors, he makes a point of attending as many chamber functions as possible.
“It’s kind of like going to a grocery store,” Orth said. “You don’t pick every one of the things off the shelf every time, but you pick and choose what you like. You meet a different group of people at the mixers than you do at the networking cafe or the breakfasts. A smart person would try to mix them up.”
Businesses aren’t the only ones who rely on the chamber. On any given weekday, dozens of people call the chamber or wander into its offices at 7471 Monterey St.
“Most of our foot traffic is out-of-towners looking for things to do,” said Pam Goff, who mans the front office along the paseo between Monterey Street and the building’s parking lot. ” ‘Where should we eat? Where do we buy garlic?’ The rest are people considering moving to the area.”
Businesses get referred to the Economic Development Corporation, which shares offices with the chamber. Families interested in learning about local schools and housing can take home a copy of the Gilroy Business Directory, a chamber pamphlet with information on the city’s business, government and living community. It includes phone numbers and addresses, demographic and economic information such as population and the city’s tax revenue sources, such as hotels.
“It’s a great way to tell the community about Gilroy,” said Chamber Executive Director Susan Valenta, who puts the pamphlet together. She also coordinates the publication of Business Focus – a monthly newsletter with announcements, event listings and news affecting business.
“It’s an overall view of what’s happening in the community with businesses,” Valenta said.
Chamber politics
In addition to serving as an information clearinghouse for businesses and visitors, the chamber keeps members informed about the state of the law. Businesses get updates on a monthly basis through the Focus newsletter and by attending meetings of the Government Relations Committee, which holds an early morning meeting every third Friday of the month.
City staff and officials gather in the chamber conference room to discuss policies that could affect business, and guest speakers from state-level business advocacy groups occasionally drop in to provide legislative updates. In some cases, the committee’s endorsement group makes a formal recommendation to the board of directors to officially oppose or support legislation or political candidates. Valenta expected, for instance, that the chamber would oppose state proposition 82, which would finance pre-school for all children in California by imposing a one percent tax on individuals who earn more than $400,000 annually.
“My chamber looks to me and the board to be up on these things,” Valenta said.
Garlic Festival
This time of year the chamber starts its planning process for the Garlic Festival, its main source of revenue. For nearly three decades, the chamber has had a monopoly on beer sales at the event, bringing in between $150,000 and $180,000 a year. In addition to its various charity programs, the revenues provide more than 50 percent of the chamber’s roughly $200,000 in annual operating expenses. Membership dues make up the difference.
In addition to planning for its traditional role at the festival, the chamber is looking into how it can complement a changing downtown.
In recent months, the chamber announced it will buy the offices across the walkway from its long-time neighbor, the Garlic Festival Association.
The GFA is moving two blocks north to a new building and the chamber has started a task force to pinpoint the best use of its new space. The office could become the future home of the Gilroy Visitor’s Bureau, another group the chamber works with closely, or a public garden or square. Valenta said the chamber would take its time deciding on a use that complements other downtown renewal efforts.
Meanwhile, it will continue to expand the networking opportunities members have come to expect. Becht, who uses surveys and personal visits to gauge the needs of local businesses, said a top request has been a chamber women’s event. The business group may also revive speed networking – a take-off on speed dating.
Such events are central to the chamber role in member’s lives.
“People do business with people they know,” Becht said. “It’s a great way to build relationships.”
