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ATWATER
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
( 209) 358-4251
1181 Third Street
Atwater, CA 95301
"Building a
Business Community through Networking"
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our website
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ATWATER CHAMBER OF
COMMERCE
Quarterly
Luncheons
presented
by The Atwater Chamber of Commerce
January 28, 2009
Atwater Chamber
of Commerce held its Quarterly Luncheon Wednesday,
January 28th. Guest Speaker was Jonae Pistoresi, instructor
at Merced College.
"The Atwater Chamber of Commerce
is organized to promote economic opportunities and
strengthen the business community in the greater Atwater
area."
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Jonae Pistoresi
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Guest
Speaker
Jonae Pistoresi is an instructor at Merced College.
She is the founder of the Customer Service Academy,
which is a series of professional development workshops
delivered through local chambers of commerce, including
the Atwater Chamber, as well as businesses and organizations
throughout Merced County. Jonae launched the Customer
Service Academy statewide, and it is now being offered
at over 75 community colleges throughout California.
The program has received numerous awards, including
a national award as an economic development best practice
as well as Jonae receiving Faculty of the Year by the
California Community College Economic and Workforce
Development program. Jonae recently developed a new
training workshop on Generational Diversity and that
is what she will be speaking about today.
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| Volunteer
of the Quarter Our
Volunteer of the Quarter donates more hours per week
than most of us put into our own jobs.
Born and raised on a Merced ranch, she learned to love
animals as a child. After seeing unwanted kittens and
stray dogs dropped off on country roads, she found homes
for all of them.
As an adult her compassion translated into a career
establishing child care facilities, which brought her
to southern California, including Walt Disney Studios.
Decades later, she moved back to Merced to care for
her aging parents, and saw an ad for a nonprofit organization
dedicated to getting shelter animals adopted or into
rescue groups. She thought she would volunteer a few
hours per week. |
Sharon Lohman of Trails of Happy Tails. |
Our
Volunteer of the Quarter now spends about 60 hours per
week coordinating with rescue groups on the West Coast
and has made trips to Washington, Utah, Colorado and
other states with a van packed full of extremely fortunate
cats and dogs.
The extra hustle of this volunteer and others in the
rescue group have resulted in helping drop the Merced
County animal shelter's euthanasia rate from 82 percent
to about 35 percent.Please join me in honoring our Volunteer
of the Quarter…
Sharon Lohman of Trails of Happy Tails.
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| Business
of the Quarter Our
Business of the Quarter was established more than seven
decades ago, but has achieved major strides within the
past 10 years. This non-profit organization was set
up with trust funds from a pair of early Atwater residents
for the purpose of providing care for disabled and underprivileged
children.
Facing the ups and downs businesses do, our Business
of the Quarter expanded through the 1960s, faced closure
in 1998, then reopened that same year at a site that
would prove conducive to its goals of serving the communities
of Atwater, Winton, Merced and beyond.
It has since grown to three locations equipped to meet
all primary health care and special needs of the community.
This includes the first Ambulatory Dental Surgery program
in Central California, a residency collaboration with
the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, an Adult Day Care
Center, a Women’s Health Care facility and a Behavioral
Health Center.
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Castle Family Health Centers
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Recent
undertakings at the main facility include recruitment
of specialists in dozens of areas ranging from Nephrology
to Orthopedics to be on hand several times per month
to serve local patients. Furthermore, advances in telemedicine
allow patients and doctors to be connected with specialists
long distances away, providing a level of care that
would not otherwise be accessible in rural areas.
The spirit of our Business of the Quarter is such that
several times per year staff members volunteer their
time and expertise during weekend health fairs that
offer screenings and education to needy and uninsured
members of the community. The Atwater Chamber of Commerce
would like to commend our Business of the Quarter…….
Castle Family Health Centers
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Entrepreneur of the Quarter
Our Entrepreneur of the Quarter has
only been in his current field for two years but conducts
himself with such confidence and professionalism it’s
as if he’s owned his business his entire career.
A lifelong resident of Merced County, this person is
a great supporter of the Chamber and can always be seen
with a contagious smile at all the Chamber Coffees.
Our award recipient supports the Atwater Fall Festival
each year, sponsored a team at the Chamber Golf Tournament
this past October, and was a volunteer judge in the
Downtown Christmas Parade. |
Robert Flores of Farmers Insurance.
Accepting: Kathy Flores
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Our
entrepreneur and his family adopt a family of their
own each Christmas to ensure needy members of the community
have a blessed holiday. He donates to the March of Dimes
through his company’s annual fund-raising campaign
and is a member and immediate past president of the
Merced Founders Chapter of BNI – Business Networking
International.
He has served as a guest speaker inspiring R.O.P. students
to follow their career aspirations and is assistant
coach for his son’s soccer league.
Now, to remind everyone, our Entrepreneur award is reserved
for a person who ventures outside his or her comfort
zone, sacrificing the security of a weekly paycheck
and replacing it with the uncertainty of starting a
new business. Our Entrepreneur of the Quarter award
commends those who have taken the risk, succeeded, and
used the fruits of their labor to generously give back
to the community.
Having worked for UPS for 18 years, this person teamed
up with Farmers to open up his own insurance agency
and was recently named Agent of the Year at the district
level for his professionalism, leadership, profitability
and civic participation.
He resides in Atwater with his wife, Kathy, and their
son, Christian.
Please join me in honoring our Entrepreneur of the Quarter….
Robert Flores of Farmers Insurance.
Student of the Quarter |
Glendalyn Smith |
Bellevue Elementary School
Glendalyn Smith is an eighth grade student at Bellevue
School. She has attended Bellevue since Kindergarten.
Glendalyn typifies the measure of success at Bellevue
School. She is a dedicated and cooperative student always
working to achieve her potential and potential is what
she exudes in all of her endeavors. Glendalyn is an
Honor Roll Student and a member of our girl’s
basketball team. She was selected by her peers to be
the president of our school service club (Youth Act).
She has been instrumental in arranging fund raising
programs, community service opportunities and school
functions. Glendalyn has been described by her teachers
as a fantastic role model that demonstrated responsibility,
resourcefulness and respect for all. Glendalyn Smith
is a wonderful example that actions speak louder than
words. It is a pleasure to have students of Glendalyn’s
caliber here at Bellevue School. |
Peggy
Heller Elementary School
Justin Pearce is a shining star at Peggy Heller School.
Not only does he boast a 3.8 grade point average, but
Justin regularly goes above and beyond to make our school
a great place to be. He’s kind and good hearted.
He helps others on campus and displays good manners.
In this age of abrasiveness and harsh behavior Justin
perseveres and does the right thing, because it’s
the right thing to do. He is gracious and generous with
his time and energies, one teacher remarked that “if
I were picking friends, I would pick Justin”.
Teachers have commented that he works hard in all of
his classes and daily gives his best effort in his endeavors.
Another teacher described Justin as being “a trooper
with a heart of gold”. We are proud of Justin
and are honored to have him be a student at Peggy Heller
School. |
Justin Pearce |
Kayla Marks |
Mitchell
Senior Elementary School
Kayla Marks was chosen as Mitchell senior’s student
of the trimester because, first and foremost, she is
a wonderful person. Kayla is also the ideal student,
and the reward is her straight A status. She completes
her assignments on time, does a good job on her homework,
diligently listens and takes notes during lecture and
willingly participates in any class activities. Kayla
is respectful of other students and doesn’t cause
disruptions. She asks appropriate questions for understanding
and when Kayla completes her assignments early in class
she either works on assignments for other classes or
happily reads a novel. Kayla is great! If you walk down
the hallways of Mitchell Senior you would also notice
Kayla’s patient demeanor and her slight smile
that makes you think she’s got a greater understanding
of the world as compared to her peers. Kayla is a delightful
young woman who we look forward to observing coming
years so as to notice her accomplishments in the future
and for the betterment of our community. |
New
Members
We would also like to announce the
names of the new members and recognize them for their
investment in our community:
Pastor Randy Powell of Evergreen Christian
Center in Winton
Jones Chiropractic in Merced
Sal Walle and Jose Walle of Pizza + Fun in
Winton
Tractor Supply Co. |
1181 Third Street
Atwater, CA 95301
Tel.:209-358-4251
Fax.:209-358-0934
E-mail: chamber@atwaterchamberofcommerce.org |
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