A Message from Chamber CEO Douglass Wilhoit:

Holidays present time to give thanks

DECEMBER 2008 - From the Board of Directors, staff and myself here at YOUR Greater Stockton Chamber of Commerce may I take this opportunity to wish you and yours the most blessed and joyous Christmas and holiday season. I also hope that your Thanksgiving with family and friends was a wonderful one.

I hope that even in the tough times we are all going through at this present moment in time, that each of you took the time to reflect on all the wonderful things that we must be thankful for in this community, state, nation and world. We all know that we are going through a difficult time in our history but we are Americans and together can overcome any difficulty thrown our way and shall come out on top and a better people for it!

With that in mind you will see on the cover the new, colorful and bright Stockton branding logo and the 2008 and beyond version of our old program, “Shop San Joaquin First.”  It is now our new marching order and ever important slogan of , “Shop Stockton and San Joaquin First!”

The reason is that we have reached back into our history for a program that was very successful is that it was first launched when the economy was depressed, not to the degree of today, but depressed none the less. The program was instituted then, as now, to remind all of use that local businesses and merchants are the fabric of this community and have provided wonderful services and products to us all these years.  It is important that we support them not only during the great times but also during the difficult times for them and us.

Hopefully you will all do your Christmas and future shopping in and around the Metro Stockton area and not drive to other cities or over utilize the internet when there are the same products available to you and your family here in Stockton .

The vast majority of the merchants have been here for many years and are members of this community, members of your friends families and contributors to the economic wellbeing of our community. In time we all will come out of this economic firestorm and it is important that those who have been with us all this time are still here with us providing great, local and friendly service to all of us. Life is not always played out on a smooth meadow of green pastures and colorful wild flowers but high beautiful peaks and deep and dark crevices. Working together with a faith in each other and the God given resilience of Stocktonians and Americans we shall all climb out of the dark economic hole and bask in the sunshine (Chamber of Commerce sunshine) at the mountain top where we will be able to warm ourselves and say we DID IT TOGETHER!

Please support all local merchants and do not forget that membership in the Chamber is more important now than ever. We are here to help all businesses not only in good times but also and most importantly in not so good times. Supporting the Chamber with your membership is an investment in the success of your business and the business community as a whole.

Your President, Dennis Goldstrand, did a great job in his article about the ATHENA 2008. On behalf of the staff and the committee, I want to thank all of those who helped make this year’s award luncheon a huge success and as Dennis has said we are going to make it bigger and better each year.

While I am on the subject of our President, let me, on behalf of the Board, staff and membership, congratulate Dennis of being a “Qualifying member of the 2008 Million Dollar Round Table.” “The Million Dollar Round Table is an independent, international association of top life insurance professionals. Membership reflects a commitment to professional and personal development to better serve the financial security needs of families, individuals and businesses.” So in keeping with what I stated above contact LOCAL business owner Dennis Goldstrand and any of the other professionals, in so many areas, who are chamber members to help you with any needs you may have to make life better for you, your family and/or your business.

On Monday November 10, 2008 I and many other law abiding citizens witnessed the outright denial of our First Amendment Rights in favor of protecting the Eighth Amendment “rights” of convicted felons. I am referring to the joke of a “public meeting” held at the Council of Governments Building by court receiver J. Clark Kelso (who by the way for some reason was not there to face us) to “discuss” the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) of the Men’s Hospital Prison being railroaded on the entire community.

I won’t go into all the frustrating and sickening (no pun intended since this was about a prison hospital) details of the mock “public meeting” but suffice to say that those present, including, District 2 County Supervisor Larry Ruhstaller, San Joaquin County Sheriff Steve Moore, County Administrator Manuel Lopez, Health Care Director Ken Cohen, Human Services Director Joe Chelli, Executive Director of San Joaquin County WorkNet John Solis, Stockton Police Department Deputy Chief Mark Helms, Dr. Hazel Hill, Dean of Vocational Education at San Joaquin Delta College and ATHENA Recipient; Scott Seamons, Regional Vice President of the Hospital Council of Northern and Central California, Chamber President Dennis Goldstrand, Chamber VP Gary Long and several other law abiding citizens were not given an opportunity to PUBLICALLY ask any questions or make any statements.

The benevolent one’s in charge of the “gathering” did have a court reporter there but those present were only allowed to go over in the corner and make a comment to him prior to the uninformative presentation and with little or no time to record anything with him after we were summarily dismissed by those who “lectured” us with placating words and “pie is the sky” speculation of the project.

It was a SHAM and SHAME on the Federal Court, the Receiver and the staff for not caring one single bit about the impact on this community, other communities of this county and surrounding counties.

WE, as a concerned community, have until December 8, 2008 to contact the Court Appointed Receiver Mr. J. Clark Kelso by Mail: POB 4038, Sacramento, 95812 or by PHONE: (916) 323-1923 or by email:cprreceiver@cdcr.ca.gov to share with him our GRAVE concern of the lack of long term community protection or any benefit at all this project so far has not demonstrated.  

Now on that note may I go back to the beginning of my article and wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!