Welcome to the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce

MEMBERS IN THE NEWS
We would like help get the good word out about your business. Please send us a press release or a paragraph about company milestones, important events or other good news for posting. Please send all information to john@vallejochamber.com.

Solano County, California – The Solano College Small Business Development Center is offering the following workshops for the last week of June:

“Doing Business with Solano County” on July 7, 9 am-12:00 pm will be held at the Solano County Government Center, 675 West Texas Street, Fairfield. This is your opportunity to learn about what the County buys, how to sell to the County, how to register as a vendor, bidding information, bonding requirements, insurance requirements, how to get paid by the county, local vendor preference policy. Cost is Free.

“How to Start Your Own Business” on July 9, 9-11:30 am will be held at the Vacaville Chamber of Commerce, 300 Main St., Vacaville. Find out about legal structures, licenses and permits you will need, how to file a fictitious name statement, insurance, financing options, taxes, business planning and more! Cost is $30.

“How to use Facebook” on July 13, 9 am-11:30 am will be held at the Solano College SBDC, 360 Campus Lane, Suite 102 , Fairfield. In this workshop you will learn the benefits of having a FaceBook page and the power of FaceBook events, how to build a profile for your brand, how to customize your page to suit your needs, how to tap into a fan base, and more. Cost is $30.

“Understanding Your Financials” on July 15, 1 - 3 pm will be held at the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce, 1111 Webster St., Fairfield. Discover how to decipher what your Income, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statements reveal about your company’s financial health. Learn how to increase your net profit by using your financials to determine how and whether you should make changes to how you run your business. Cost is $25.

“Business Killers” on July 15, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm will be held at the Solano College SBDC, 360 Campus Lane, Suite 102 , Fairfield. Business Killers is an educational workshop for business owners identifying six risks that can potentially ruin their business and everything they’ve been working so hard to establish. Cost is Free.

“Marketing on the Web” on July 22, 6 pm – 8:30 pm will be held at the Solano College SBDC, 360 Campus Lane, Suite 102 , Fairfield. This workshop brings you all the tips, tricks and best techniques for marketing your business online. Lear about the best ways to drive traffic to your website and use email marketing. Cost is $30.

Reserve a seat by calling the SBDC at 864-3382 or registering online at www.SolanoSBDC.org.

Local Skin Cancer Screening Event Saved Lives

VALLEJO, Calif., June 8, 2010 – Today, Solano Dermatology Associates announced the success of its two free skin cancer screening events held during May, Skin Cancer Awareness Month. During the course of the two events, Solano Dermatology’s doctors screened over 100 Solano County residents. Two cases of Melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer were found.

“I am pleased to report our team was able to arrange same-day referrals for these patients in order to get the Melanoma treated immediately. Both patients are now doing well,” explained Solano Dermatology Senior Partner, Dr. John Geisse. “One of the cases was life-threatening, we are so glad to have found it and enabled treatment before it was too late.”

With rising rates of skin cancer, dermatologists stress the importance of prevention education, early detection and prompt treatment of skin cancer. One American dies of Melanoma almost every hour with nearly 9,000 deaths from it last year alone. Early detection of Melanomas has up to a 99 percent survival rate.

With five locations, Solano Dermatology Associates provides quality dermatological care to Solano County and the surrounding areas. Solano Dermatology has offered complete dermatology and dermatologic surgery services for all conditions of the skin, nails and hair for six decades. Our physicians provide state-of-the-art dermatologic care with special expertise in Mohs Micrographic Surgery, dermatopathology, treatment of varicose veins, pediatric dermatology, allergic contact dermatitis, advanced treatment of psoriasis, phototherapy and cosmetic dermatology. For more information, please visit www.solanodermatology.com.

Starting Gate School Grand Opening
579 Couch Street, Vallejo California 94590
707-643-GATE (4283)

Starting Gate School is storied with many accomplishments, and has begun changing the course of History again, by trailblazing an Amer-Asian Culture Program. This school is designed to prepare students for a global future, enrollment calls have been placed as far away as Columbia and India.

Celebrating performances by The Vallejo Ballet Company, headed by Diane Shaver, The Quintessential Arts, program East and West, and Dr. John Zhang, educator, were present to underscore the paramount role music, rhythm and art play in developing a student’s growth, and character. Founded on the principles of fundamental education nearly four decades ago, Starting Gate School strives to see that each student achieves social transition, and civic presence. For more on this school visit their website at www.StartingGateSchool.com

Below are two interactive tools that can be very helpful to your members about the health care reform bill.

Explains how the health care reform law improves care and lowers costs for individual Americans.

Small Business Calculator
Highlights how health care reform benefits small businesses. http://go.usa.gov/335

Health Care Reform and You
Explains how the health care reform law improves care and lowers costs for individual Americans.
http://go.usa.gov/33N

Kaiser Permenete - An effective workforce health program
can provide a competitive edge

Workplace health programs aren’t just a feel-good proposition. They can have a positive effect on a company’s bottom line. At a time when businesses are trying to do more with less, fostering a total-health culture that improves employee health, job performance and morale can give you a competitive edge.

Studies have shown that unscheduled absences can cost employers $3,600 a year per hourly employee. Additionally, “presenteeism”—when employees are at work but not fully productive due to chronic conditions such as diabetes—can potentially cost employers another two or three dollars for every dollar they spend on direct medical costs.

Employees are a company’s most important asset, and since they spend about 2,000 hours a year at work, it makes good business sense to help them live healthier and more active lives—which can translate into happier and more productive employees.

There are a variety of ways to create an effective workforce health program, but the most successful programs share several important elements. First, you need leadership endorsement. A program has a much better chance of success if your company’s owner or CEO is on board.

To maximize employee participation, involve your employees in designing the program. You might want to conduct a short survey to find out your employees’ interests. They’ll tell you what’s important to them.

You also want to build a program that works on many levels. For example, your program should support individual employees in achieving their personal goals, and your company policies should encourage physical activity in the workplace and healthy food choices in your cafeteria and vending machines.

Your program doesn’t need to be expensive. Setting up a workplace gym can be prohibitive. A walking program is cheap and easy to do—and it can do wonders for employee camaraderie and teamwork. Just remember to offer something for every fitness level—for employees who are fit and healthy and want to stay that way, to those who want to change their lifestyle. And if your health plan offers e-mail contact with physicians and effective, evidence-based online tools that help further engage your employees in their health, that’s a bonus.

Communication and motivation are also critical. If you want your employees to participate, you need to get the word out—consider increasing visibility by creating a name and a logo for the program, and celebrate successes with your employees through a variety of channels, including e-mails and newsletters.

Finally, make sure you understand what you want your program to accomplish, and then set appropriate goals, such as the number of participants or behavior improvements. It may take time to start your workforce health program, but it’s an investment that will pay dividends, for your organization and for your employees.

(Fairfield, CA) – Garson Design Services (GDS) a local graphic & web design studio, based in Fairfield, CA since 1992, has won a national design awards for 3 years in a row. GDS recently won three American Graphic Design Awards from Graphic Design USA, a national graphic design trade publication. GDS’s designs were among the few pieces honored out of over 10,000 entries.

"In these trying economic times we strive to maintain a high level of quality at a lesser cost to our clients - our hope is that they’ll remember our commitment when times get better and come back to us for more work” says Steve Garson, owner of GDS.

The awards were given for Santa Cruz Pizza Company that a logo for their new restaurant in Scotts Valley that picked up on the local surfer culture in a surprisingly more sophisticated approach. GDS also maintains the website of the same winning company. Fit-Tech, requested a "showcase" presentation folder to promote their new location, showroom in Fairfield, CA and present their hi-end fitness equipment product line. GDS also provided an on-site photoshoot. For the first time Garson Design Services entered in a piece of their own. “Each year we spend the time to create a unique holiday greeting card as a thank you for our clients. This one seemed to hit the right tone with the judges” said Steve Garson.

The American Graphic Designs Awards program is sponsored by New Page a manufacturer of hi-end paperstock. It honors new works in print, advertising, packaging, internet, broadcast and motion graphics, among other categories.

GDS received a Certificate of Excellence for each of its winning designs and presented a framed award and the winning piece to their clients. For more information on GDS and to view the award-winning artwork, please visit awards.garsondesign.com or call Steve Garson at 707-428-1743; you may also email him at mail@garsondesign.com

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Community collaboration makes opportunities possible for Vallejo High School students in Apache Green Engineering Academy

VALLEJO – Vallejo High School students will soon have an opportunity to learn real-world lessons in green engineering that will help them prepare for job opportunities or higher education right here in Solano County. The new four-year Apache Green Engineering Academy, a collaboration between the Vallejo City Unified School District and the Solano County Office of Education, has received grant funding to support the innovative program from the California Department of Education’s California Partnership Academies.

Jack Gillespie, the Academy’s lead teacher, is excited about the possibilities for Vallejo High School. “Students need the opportunity to see, meet and work with adults in real world situations,” said Gillespie. “The Apache Engineering Academy will give students the opportunity to learn and work collaboratively with each other and with adult professionals in engineering, construction, and energy fields.”

The Apache Green Engineering Academy incorporates high school graduation requirements such as English, algebra, science and history classes with classes in engineering, waste stream management, building/site design, green energy systems. Seniors will also participate in engineering internships at local businesses and complete a senior project. Students will be selected for the Academy based on input from student interviews, parents, and middle and high school counselors.

The goal of the Academy is to improve student achievement through alternative pathways that are less traditional and more hands-on. “If students have an interest and can make the connection to their real lives,” said Gillespie, “they are much more likely to be engaged in their classes and do better in all areas of their education.”

Many of Solano Counties largest employers, including Jelly Belly, Genentech and Anheuser-Busch, have already installed cogeneration plants and are looking for ways to further improve their energy efficiency. Residential construction jobs, both new and retrofit, using solar, grey water and other technologies are expected to grow as the economy turns around.

The California Maritime Academy, Solano Community College and Napa Valley College all have programs related to engineering and green technology. The following schools within our region have strong engineering programs: UC Davis, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University and University of Santa Clara.

Many community partners have expressed their support in the development of the curriculum, providing mentors, guest speakers, job shadowing and internship opportunities. The Academy’s advisory council includes Monarch Engineering, XKT Engineering, Keiwit Pacific Co., Cooper Crane, and the California Maritime Academy. In addition, the Academy has received additional funding from Anheuser-Busch, NASA, Skyview Memorial Mortuary and XKT Engineering.

According to its web site, “The California Partnership Academies represent a high school reform movement that is focused on smaller learning communities with a career theme. Academy components include rigorous academics and career technical education, with a career focus, a committed team of teachers, and active business and post-secondary partnerships.”

For more information on Vallejo High School’s Apache Green Engineering Academy, contact Jack Gillespie, CTE engineering teacher, at 707-556-1700.

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