When I moved to Ventura in 2008, I was faced with the challenge of building a business network from scratch. I knew nothing about Chambers of Commerce, but learned the Ventura Chamber of Commerce sponsored a monthly networking breakfast, which was a start. I arrived at the event to find a banquet hall filled with people; the event involves each attendee giving a 20-second commercial for the entire group. I was nervous, and am embarrassed to admit I thought the commercials would be boring. But my commercial went fine, and I heard others that were so entertaining I laughed out loud. The people were very friendly and professional; after the event, another attorney, Rick Nyznyk, introduced himself and invited me to lunch. In the years since, good networking with fun people has been a hallmark of my experience with the Chamber, and I’ve built relationships with people throughout the business community.
The amount of growth both professionally and personally that we have had this year, we owe, in part, to our involvement in the chamber of commerce. We are so blessed by this “little” but MIGHTY community of Ventura and all the good...