Welcome From the President/CEO,
Colin Diaz
I’d like to welcome you to our 2020 The Guide Culver City. This magazine will serve as a way finder, connector and guide for you as you navigate the city. Whether you are new to the city or a long-time resident, I trust that the editorial in this magazine will give you a better insight to both the past, present and ever-evolving future of our community.
As it relates to the Chamber, I am honored to be in my 3rd Year as the President/CEO of an organization that is its 99th year of business leadership. Last year was an amazing year of growth and change. We hosted our largest Women in Business Leadership Luncheon – with over 300 in attendance, launched our brand-new Economic Outlook that hosted a TedTalk format with Dr. Chris Thornberg (Beacon Economics), Dr. John Jenrette (Cedar-Sinai), Tammy Brandt (Dreamscape Immersive), Albert Chang (Amazon) & Sol Blumenfeld (City of Culver City) speaking on the Country, State, Local and Industry trajectories ahead. Additionally, we welcomed many new businesses to our membership and saw great growth in our local community with a few development projects, like the Culver Steps, coming online.
2020, however, has been a year that has challenged all of us. From the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which were felt far and wide, to the civil unrest surrounding equality, there is much work left for all of us to do in the future. We will continue delivering on our mission commitment of being “A CATALYST for business growth and expansion; A CONNECTOR or people, ideas and resources.; and, A CHAMPION of strong community.”
We have and will continue to launch a few events, programming and resources, this year, that will help us continue to serve our diverse membership, as well as intrigue more of our business population to get engaged with us. Among those will be an a series of industry-specific roundtables (Real Estate/Landlords, Insurance, Retail, Restaurant, Non-Profit, Health & Wellness), an expansion of our HR Forum series that will keep business owners and leaders ahead of the compliance curve post COVID-19, multi-chamber , a Connection Leads group which helps members form power referral teams within the Chamber, an infusion of new 2020 Chamber University courses (Social Media, Marketing, Business Management, Branding Post-COVID-19), and a brand new incubator membership level/program for our “solo-preneurs” and entrepreneurs (where resources will be aligned to the specific needs of a startup company). Additionally, we have rolled out our “Convo with the Mayor” series, which is a weekly call and intimate conversation with our Mayor and a chance for attendees to have a very real-time Q & A.
It is truly an honor to be able to represent this fine organization in this wonderful city – especially as we navigate through these incredibly challenging times in Culver City’s history. I wish that for those of you that have never worked with the Chamber before, that you will do so this year. And, for those of you that have always been loyal to the Chamber, I want to thank you and ask that you connect with us on a deeper level moving forward. As always, I am available to connect with each and everyone one of you. Please don’t hesitate to call or email. Onward and upward to our great city and our vibrant business community. We will thrive again, together.
Sincerely,
Colin Diaz
Welcome From the Chair of the Board,
K Cavanaugh
It’s my pleasure to invite you to review this edition of The Guide, your one-stop resource for connecting with Culver City’s dynamic and diverse business community. The Guide exemplifies all the Chamber of Commerce stands for as a Catalyst, a Connector and a Champion of a vibrant community with robust economic opportunity.
As Chair of the Chamber Board for 2020, I’m honored to serve the Chamber and the City in this capacity during a time of significant and important revitalization. At the same time, the world is in a different place than it was six months ago when I wrote the first draft of this welcome message, with all of us facing unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing over-due societal inequities. As a long-time employee of Sony Pictures and a Culver City resident with kids in Culver City’s school district, my desire to ensure Culver City remains a strong and equitable community runs deep. As a global entertainment company marking 30 years in Culver City and being housed in one of the most famous movie studios of all time, Sony Pictures strives to embrace its legacy in Culver City, stand on the leading edge of innovation, and hold itself to the highest standards by following the guiding principles of inclusion and collaboration. In the same vein, I’d like to think we mirror the renaissance, growth and principles of Culver City as well.
On behalf of the Chamber, we welcome new creative economy, technology, bioscience and other unique companies and services to the City while pledging our ongoing support to the numerous businesses that have called Culver City home for years and serve our community so well. I look forward to the future of the Chamber and the City because we can only move ahead working together, supporting each other in this community that we all value.
Sincerely,
K Cavanaugh