On the evening of January 27th, the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce held its Annual Meeting at the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, attended by nearly 125 board members, sponsors, ambassadors, local media representatives and other business professionals.

After a cocktail hour where guests mingled over wines from Cellar 205 Oreana Winery and delicious soups and hors d'oeuvres catered by Marmalade Café, the program began with a recognition of the Chamber's new and returning 2010 volunteer Ambassadors (pictured). Honored as Ambassador of the Year for his always enthusiastic involvement was Del Hegland of New York Life.

Chamber president Kristen Amyx then presented an upbeat PowerPoint review of 2009's membership statistics and local business climate. Despite the economic challenges of this past year, the organization remains strong and is well-positioned for a successful year ahead.

Lead sponsor MarBorg Industries was recognized by outgoing 2009 Board Chair Joanne Funari of Business First Bank with the Chairman's Award for its generous ongoing support of the Chamber. Funari then welcomed her successor, Steve Greig, Venoco, Inc. as the 2010 Board Chair.

Terry Bartlett, Reetz, Fox & Bartlett, Jim Knight, Novum, and Karen Ramsdell, Santa Barbara Airport, were recognized as the outgoing members of the Board of Directors.  Kathy Koeper, Marborg Industries, Michael Kramer, Ameravant Web Design, Tracy Lincoln, Santa Barbara Airport, and Tony Vallejo, Palius + O'Kelley Certified Public Accountants were installed as Board Members. 

Other annual meeting sponsors included Allied Waste, Ameravant Web Design, ATK Space Systems, Brownstein | Hyatt | Farber | Schreck, Business First Bank, Cabrillo Business Park, FLIR Commercial Vision Systems, Latitude 34 Technologies, Marmalade Café, Media 27, Noozhawk, Santa Barbara Airport and Venoco.

The Chamber remains grateful as always for the high caliber of directors, board members, sponsors and ambassadors who continue to support our mission in the Goleta Valley and Santa Barbara business community.