Oceanside Chamber 2014 Annual Report and 2015 Business Plan

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

2014 Annual Report & 2015 Business Plan

OCEANSIDE OCEANSIDE

2 | Oceanside Chamber of Commerce | www.oceansidechamber.com

2014 Oceanside Chamber Annual Report

2014 ANNUAL REPORT

This report presents the highlights of what the Oceanside Chamber accomplished in 2014 in several key focus areas. Each year, the Chamber seeks to offer a high level of value to the businesses that support it through membership, advertising and sponsorship.

CREATING A STRONG LOCAL ECONOMY

One of the Chamber’s key areas of focus is to strengthen the economy of North County San Diego. We do this primarily by helping our local businesses grow.

Chamber CEO David Nydegger continued to join the City’s economic development team on visitations to reach out to Oceanside businesses for purposes of retaining business in our community.

The Chamber sponsored a wide variety of marketing seminars, primarily focused on social media outlets such as Google+, Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Instagram. Several “Google Hangouts on Air,” were hosted at the Chamber, allowing outside speakers to address our attendees via web video.

To help educate business owners and managers on workplace safety, the Chamber partnered with WorkPartners on a series of Workers Comp related seminars.

The Chamber’s Latino Business Committee developed their mission statement: “To assist, support and empower the Hispanic Business Community through educational programs, leadership training and networking opportunities.” The Committee proposed a budget for 2015 which includes the hiring of a bi-lingual employee and the translation of marketing materials into Spanish. Two Spanish language business seminars were taught at the Chamber offi ce, with many more to come.

Chamber member businesses were promoted 24/7 through the Chamber’s strong web and social media presence. Chamber website had over 316,000 page views during 2014, a 7.5% increase over 2013. Chamber staff continued to reach out to members to assist them in enhancing their business listings on the Chamber website.

Photo by Lauren Milner

www.oceansidechamber.com | Oceanside Chamber of Commerce | 3


The local community continued to show a strong interest in connecting online with the Chamber, as we exceeded 10,000 Facebook likes and 5,000 Twitter followers. The Chamber began efforts to host the majority of our social media related content on the Chamber’s Blog and website. This has a secondary benefi t of driving more traffi c to our website.

Chamber leadership met with the new Commanding General of Marine Corps Installation West/Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton to focus on maintaining a strong relationship between the Base and the Oceanside Business Community. Marine Corps Community Services also presented at the Military Affairs Committee to discuss business opportunities on base.

Chamber staff began to place more time and energy into the Google+ platform as this promises to be a very important business tool for the Chamber and its members.

The Chamber turned more online focus to content creation including the publishing of member news and inviting members to be guest bloggers. The Chamber Blog now has approximately 10 active contributors, several of whom are Chamber member guest bloggers.

The Chamber partnered with Genentech on their annual “Genentech Goes to Town” program, bringing Genentech employees to Ocean Ranch and Downtown Oceanside to spend thousands of dollars with local restaurants and retail shops.

REPRESENTING INTEREST OF BUSINESS WITH GOVERNMENT

The Oceanside Chamber continues to be the primary voice for the Oceanside Business Community. Through the efforts of the Chamber’s board of directors, staff, and Emerging Issues Committee, the Chamber kept businesses involved in important local business issues.

To offer the business community an opportunity to connect with City leadership, the Chamber hosted the Annual “Meet the City Council” event.

Meet the City Council EventPhoto by David Zumaya



To better represent the Oceanside business community, the Board of Directors decided to have the Public Policy Committee devote more of its time to Oceanside issues rather than state-wide issues. The name of the committee was changed to the Emerging Issues Committee.

Chamber CEO and Emerging Issue Committee Chairman met with developer for Park Villa, a work/live development in El Corazon.

The Chamber sent letters to City Council and City Manager requesting an update of 10 year old El Corazon Specifi c Plan. We are awaiting response from the City.

The Chamber entered into a “University-Community Partnership Agreement” with California State University San Marcos. The University provided a “Senior Experience Team” that interviewed Oceanside businesses to evaluate the business climate.

The Emerging Issues Committee invited the City of Oceanside Traffi c Engineer to provide an update on the Coast Highway Corridor Project. A number of local businesses attended the meeting to receive the updates and express their views.

Chamber CEO participated in an informational presentation on proposed changes to the I-5/Hwy 78 Interchange and will help keep the business community informed on issues related to this project.

PROMOTING THE COMMUNITY With nearly 120 years of experience in promoting the best that Oceanside has to offer, the Chamber is uniquely positioned to market Oceanside as a great place to live, work and visit.

The Chamber created a new annual publication called Oceanside Living Magazine. The magazine’s fi rst issue, published in July, focused on Arts, Culture, Food and Drink. The majority of the work including production, photography, writing and printing was done by Chamber staff and members. There were 10,000 copies



printed and most of them were distributed within the 30 days of publication. The Chamber received tremendously positive feedback on this publication.

Chamber Staff began development of a new website that will feature expanded content and a stronger emphasis on promoting the quality of life in Oceanside. The main purpose of the website will remain to drive traffi c to our business directory in order to support member businesses.

Chamber members and advertisers were able to reach the business, consumer and military markets through their listings and advertisements in the Chamber’s annual directory. There were 15,000 copies distributed through a wide variety of venues in Oceanside and on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

The Chamber coordinated Oceanside Harbor Days, one of the City’s longest running events, featuring over 200 vendors, food, entertainment and family activities. Thousand of Southern California residents enjoyed a great time at one of Oceanside’s best venues.

We partnered with the City of Oceanside and other local organizations for a coastal street banner program. Numerous local businesses participated in the program by sponsoring banners.

Through the Chamber’s Latino Business Committee, plans were discussed for the creation of a new Spanish language magazine in 2015.

Photo by Ron OwensOceanside Harbor Days



Distribution continued on the remainder of the Chamber’s special publications from 2013 including Oceanside’s 125th Anniversary Magazine, MiraCosta College’s 80th Anniversary Magazine and the Oceanside Street Map.

Members who have made outstanding contributions of their time and energy regularly received recognition at Oceanside City Council meetings through the Chamber’s “Member of the Month” program.

To continue its strong relationship with Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the Chamber held the 13th Annual Armed Forces Day Operation Appreciation event, attended by an estimated 5,000 military family members who were treated to a day of free food, fun and entertainment. Chamber members were given the opportunity to purchase listings on the “Chamber Members Support our Troops” pages of the event magazine.

During the fi res in May, the Chamber actively reached out to the community by providing information by phone, web and social media. The Chamber offi ce also served as a temporary evacuation center during a local hotel fi re, hosting numerous military families.

Chamber staff and board supported a variety of local non-profi ts through participation in events, committee meetings and providing marketing support.

Chamber CEO, David Nydegger, was named the Grand Marshal of the Oceanside Independence Day Parade. Chamber Events Coordinator, Kristi Hawthorne, served as M.C. for the parade.

Operation Appreciation Photo by Lauren Milner



The Chamber sponsored Tri-City Medical Center’s Men’s Health Symposium.

The Chamber continued to highlight the successes of member businesses in the “Business Success Stories,” segment of its blog.

Local businesses were provided the opportunity to connect with Oceanside’s senior community through the Chamber’s Annual Senior Expo. Exhibitors provided valuable information on their services to hundred of attendees.

Many of our top Marines and Sailors, along with the “Military Spouse of the Year” were recognized at the annual Enlisted Recognition Dinner attended by approximately 140 military and civilian guests. Maj General Toolan, Commanding Offi cer of the First Marine Expeditionary Force and Brigadier General Bullard, Commanding offi cer of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton were guest speakers. Plans were put in place to hold the 2015 event at the new Veteran’s Center of North County.

The Chamber promoted education excellence by recognizing Oceanside Unifi ed School District’s Teacher of the Year, Employee of the Year and Administrator of the Year, while raising funds to provide scholarships for local high school seniors.

To bring attention to new businesses in our community, Chamber staff and Ambassadors attended dozens of ribbon cutting ceremonies for local businesses.

The Chamber helped facilitate the FM/94.9 Indie Jam Concert and the KSON Country Fest North at the Oceanside Pier Amphitheater. Over 4,000 people attended each concert.

The Chamber held its 9th Annual North County Health Fair, with an estimated attendance of 1000+ people. Attendees were treated to valuable health related information, giveaways and screenings.

Photo by David ZumayaEnlisted Recognition Dinner



The Chamber helped Sponsor the second annual “Honor Bowl.” Ten High Schools from Washington and California competed in football to honor and support our active duty and veterans of the Armed Services.

NETWORKING AND BUILDING BUSINESS RELATIONSHIPS

As networking is one of the major reasons that businesses join the Oceanside Chamber, the Chamber continued to pursue opportunities to help members create new contacts.

The annual Awards and Recognition Luncheon was held to recognize member anniversaries, install the new Board of Directors and to present the following business awards: Arts & Culture Award - MiraCosta College Innovator of the Year - Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce Philanthropic Business of the Year - Genentech Large Business of the Year - WalMart Small Business of the Year - MainStreet Oceanside Community Service Partner - Women’s Resource Center Healthcare Partner - Tri-City Medical Center Green Business of the Year - Agri Service Patriotic Business of the Year - Wounded Warrior Homes

“First Tuesday Coffee” continued with record attendance. Food and coffee is now being sponsored by members.

The annual Oceanside Business Expo was one of the City’s largest business networking events of the year. Event featured a new “table-top” format creating a better networking venue. Several successful technology seminars were held during the expo.

Ten Sunset Mixers, including a joint mixer with Vista Chamber were held. The Chamber coordinated with Tri-City Medical Center and the Vista and San Marcos Chambers to organize a regional chamber mixer at the Moonlight Amphitheater.

To educate new and long-time members on how to make the most of their Chamber investments, nine “Maximize Your Membership” luncheons were held.

To promote our local businesses and the value of Chamber membership, Photo by David Zumaya

Women’s Resource Center at the Awards Lunch



the Chamber was actively represented at outside networking events including meetings of Net 10 Networkers, North County Professional Networking Group, Comerciantes Latinos Associados, Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce and others.

Numerous “Plates for 8” networking lunches provided members with exclusive, low cost networking opportunities, offered by the Chamber. Local restaurants benefi ted by valuable exposure and an estimated $4,000+ of income from the luncheons.

To maintain a strong connection with members, Chamber staff reached out to hundreds of businesses through personal visits and phone calls.

POLITICAL ACTION

The Chamber is a respected, effective advocate on behalf of the business community and regularly interfaces with local, state and federal government offi cials. We continue to make it a priority to educate our business community on the views of local and regional political candidates.

Chamber and Business and Community Political Action Committee (BACPAC) held candidate forums during the year for the following races: County Board of Supervisors Oceanside City Council Oceanside Unifi ed School District Board MiraCosta College Board of Trustees Tri-City Healthcare District. Videos of each session were produced and promoted through social media outlets.

Photo by Lauren MilnerOceanside Business Expo



The Emerging Issues Committee completed the Chamber’s Policy Guidelines. The document outlines the Chamber’s position on a variety of public policy issues such as economic development, taxation, education, housing, regulatory reform and others. These guidelines allow the Chamber to be more proactive and timely in taking positions on issues important to our business community.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND RECOGNITION

Members continued to receive a high level of support and value because Chamber staff, Board and committee members actively participated in training programs to learn about and discuss new programs and technologies to benefi t businesses.

Manager of Communications, Kierstin Hill, attended the Western Association of Chamber Executive’s “Chamber Academy” program in August. Kierstin was awarded a scholarship to attend this conference.

Membership Director, Elizabeth Harwood, attended the Ambassador Rally in Fullerton, CA along with a team of Chamber Ambassadors. Topics of discussion included Networking Across The Ages, Personal Branding, Retention Best Practices and Value Without Participation.

Chamber CEO and staff attended webinars hosted by the Western Association of Chamber Executives on a variety of topics focused on creating more value in Chamber membership.

The Chamber hired intern, Laci O’Brien, as a part time staff member with duties including data entry, assisting with content organization of new website and assisting with event logistics.

Photo by Jeff KassebaumOceanside Chamber Staff



In order to produce higher quality graphic design work in-house, Manager of Communications, Kierstin Hill, completed online classes on Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop through MiraCosta College.

Chamber CEO, David Nydegger, and Manager of Communications, Kierstin Hill, attended the Western Association of Chamber Executives Annual Conference to learn about new programs and services to benefi t our business community.

Chamber Sales and Marketing Director, Scott Ashton, attended Google+ and other digital marketing seminars to learn about driving more traffi c to our website and member businesses. He also attended the annual summit hosted by our CRM software company.

Chamber Board members, along with CEO, David Nydegger, and Sales and Marketing Director, Scott Ashton, held a planning meeting to set priorities for Chamber for the upcoming year.

Chamber CEO, David Nydegger, was chosen to serve on MiraCosta College’s Executive Search Committee for the selection of a new College Superintendent/President.

Chamber Membership Director, Elizabeth Harwood, began attending a series of seminars, focusing on organizational skills.

Several staff members attended the Southern California Association of Chamber Executives Conference with topics ranging from customer service to communications.

2014 FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

EXPENSES

4% Reserve

22% Special Events

20%Advertising

20%General

Overhead

19% Membership

15% Misc.

INCOME

33% Membership

27% Special Events

24% Advertising

13% Misc.

3% Grants


2015 Oceanside Chamber Business Plan

2015 BUSINESS PLAN

INTRODUCTION

The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce goes through a strategic planning process each year. As part of this planning, strategies and goals are established for the upcoming year. To ensure maximum membership input into these strategies and goals, a membership survey was conducted in May 2014. To help us measure the success of our work this year, the same survey will be conducted in May 2015 and the results will be compared to the May 2014 survey.

This Business Plan details the current strategies and the goals for 2015. These strategies and goals support the Vision and Mission of the Oceanside Chamber and show the short term emphasis.

SUMMARY

In the annual Planning Session of July 2014 the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce (re)established four Strategies, as follows:

Reduce membership turnover.

Represent business interest to local government.

Explain and promote the activities of the Chamber sponsored Business and Community Political Action Committee (BACPAC).

CREATE A STRONGER LOCAL ECONOMY

Each strategy has a number of goals that will be accomplished in 2015. The goals show the specifi cs, the deliverables and the time frame. The goals for each of the strategies are described in the main body of this business plan.

In order to maintain a strong voice for business and to create dynamic networking opportunities for members, the Chamber will continue to focus on reducing member turnover.

Member retention

One key strategy for reducing member turnover is membership retention. To increase our membership retention, the Chamber will ensure that members receive far more benefi ts than they are investing and make the members aware of this. We will also strengthen the Chamber’s key areas of service.

These efforts will help to ensure that “member retention” is at 82% or better by May 2015. This is measured monthly as a moving average, reaching back 12 months.

Recommend the Chamber

Membership turnover is also reduced when members feel positive about the Chamber and recommend it to others. By strengthening the Chamber’s programs of service and focusing on: Creating a Strong Local Economy, Representing Interest of Business with Government, Promoting the Community and Networking and Building Business Relationships, our intent is to increase the level at which members recommend the Chamber to others.

Goal 1

Goal 2



When the membership survey is repeated in May 2015 the score on the ultimate question, “On a scale of 1-10, would you recommend Chamber membership to someone else?” should increase to at least +45, a growth of eleven points over 2014.

STRENGTHEN THE REPRESENTATION OF BUSINESS INTERESTS TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Decisions and actions of local government can have a signifi cant infl uence on the success of local businesses. These goals cover the whole spectrum from simple administrative procedures to policy and political decisions. An important role of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce is to ensure that the interest of business is protected and taken to heart by their local government.

Increase the perception that the Chamber successfully represents business

Since “perception” and “fact” are not always the same, the Chamber initiated a study, designed and performed by business students at California State University San Marcos to collect actual experiences of local businesses working with the Oceanside City government and the Chamber of Commerce. These results will help us create ways to increase the perception of the Chamber’s role in representing business with local government.

When the membership survey was taken in May 2014 one questions asked, “Does the Chamber show a high performance in representing the interests of business to local government?” The results show 60% of respondents answered yes, but with our efforts this year the goal is to increase this to 70% in May 2015.

Educate local businesses about issues and problems

Businesses can face complex issues as they navigate through local and regional government ordinances and regulations. The Chamber can provide information and advocacy in dealing with these challenges through our diverse trainings and seminars. By reaching out to our members and better acquainting them with what we have to offer, we can keep our members better informed and up-to-date on issues that affect them.

When the membership survey was taken in May 2014, 65% of the members said that the Chamber “showed a high performance on informing and educating local businesses about issues and problems.” As a result of our efforts this year, the goal for May 2015 is to increase this percentage to 75%.

Shift focus of the Public Policy Committee to local Oceanside Issues

To expand the representation of local government issues, the Public Policy Committee shifted its focus and changed its name to the Oceanside Emerging Issues Committee. The Committee is now prioritizing local issues where the Chamber can directly infl uence the outcome and has broadened its scope to include Economic Development. While the Committee will still discuss relevant state-related government topics that affect Oceanside business, the ratio of local to state issues will be 85% to 15%.

Goal 1

Goal 2

Goal 3



POLITICAL ACTION

Through its political action activities, the Oceanside Chamber provides a united voice for local business to address critical issues relating to a strong local economy, a desirable quality of life and a robust business climate. The Chamber is a respected, effective advocate on behalf of the business community and regularly interfaces with local, state and federal government offi cials.

With the formation of the Business and Community Political Action Committee (BACPAC), the Chamber formalized its approach to promoting political and legislative issues that are good for business and the community.

Improve awareness and understanding of the Chamber BACPAC

There is a general lack of awareness as to the role of the Business and Community Political Action Committee (BACPAC) among both Chamber members and the community–at-large. We need to market the fact that, through its candidate forums, BACPAC is able to ask local political candidates key questions to determine their positions on business-related issues. The Chamber then makes this information available to the voters through a number of different mediums. By improving awareness and understanding of what BACPAC is and is not, the Committee can function more effectively in its role as a watchdog and advocate for business interests

When the membership survey was taken in May 2014 one question asked, “Does the Chamber show a high performance in informing and educating businesses about issues and problems?” Results showed 65% responded “yes”. Through our efforts to expand the awareness of BACPAC and its activities, our goal is to increase this to 75% by May 2015.

Goal 1



Become a more Business Friendly City

To grow business in Oceanside we need to be seen as a “business friendly city” with a helpful City staff, a pro-business City Council and reasonable rules and regulations. By questioning candidates for local political offi ce on their positions on business-related issues and making this information available to our membership, we can help create such an environment.

When the membership survey was taken in May 2014 a questions asked, “Is it important to have business friendly candidates elected?” The results showed that 67% of the respondents answered yes. Through the continued efforts of the Chamber’s political action activities, our goal is to increase this to 70% by May 2015.

EXPAND OUTREACH TO THE LATINO BUSINESS COMMUNITY

Provide services for the Spanish-speaking business community

The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce recognizes the growing opportunity for our organization to serve the Latino business community. We plan to commit resources toward creating programs and services to help Latino-business owners succeed and to help create a stronger local economy.

The Latino Business Committee will initiate activities to service the Latino business community in North County San Diego. One of the actions will be the recruitment of a Spanish-speaking staff member at the Oceanside Chamber.

Goal 2

Goal 1

Photo by Kierstin Hill

Thank you for a great year,

Oceanside.For more informa on about the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce:

Visit our website - www.oceansidechamber.comGive us a call - (760) 722-1534

Stop by the offi ce - 928 N. Coast Highway • Oceanside, CA 92054

Like us on Facebook - www.Facebook.com/OceansideChamberFollow us on Instagram - www.Instagram.com/OceansideChamber

Follow us on Twi er - www.Twi er.com/OsideCaChamberFollow us on Pinterest - www.Pinterest.com/OsideCaChamber

Photo by Kierstin Hill

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Oceanside Chamber 2014 Annual Report and 2015 Business Plan

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