Merced Chamber of Commerce New Businesses in Merced Area

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."
Jonae Pistoresi	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.
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.
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.	Castle Family Health Centers
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
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
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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