President’s Message

When was the last time you put the Chamber staff to work for you? We often tell the folks at our New Member Power Hours that they should consider Chamber employees an extension of their own staff. When you joined the Chamber, you hired all of us to work for you and your business.

Who should you talk to? General membership questions should be directed to Dan O’Brien. (If you’re not a Chamber member, contact Dan or Cheryl Cohen, our Director of Sales.) Members of the Chamber who are interested in partnering with the Chamber on sponsorships of any kind should contact Karen Sawyer, our Manager of Community Partnerships. Dee Reberholt, our Director of Member Relations, is the person to talk to if you have any concerns or questions about how the Chamber can serve you better, or if you’re confused about what you should be receiving as a member. If you have a concern about legislation that may be affecting your business or would like to learn more about government issues, grants or loans, contact Carol Smith, Vice President of Government Initiatives and Special Projects. Questions about health insurance should be directed to Edna Harrison at Orange Benefits Partners, which is the newly-formed group that handles all our members’ health insurance needs.

If you want to promote your business in the Chamber’s monthly publication, The Business Viewpoint, contact Vice President for Communications Ellen Daley. Wendy Melick, our Information Technology Specialist, is the one to contact if you have questions about our website. Roseann Bouzakis is our Director of Events and handles all the reservations for these events. The Chamber has many different sponsor opportunities and Dan O’Brien can explain all of these sponsorships and how they can benefit your business.

Have a question about an invoice? Contact Rudy Hoke, our Vice President for Finance and Facilities. Patricia Mugnano assists Dan in the Membership Department and also is bi-lingual (for our Spanish-speaking friends). She is also the person to contact if you need to make changes in your contact information for the Chamber database.

As part of a program with the Orange County Employment and Training Administration, Job Mentors Annette Salas and Isabel Torres provide direct supervision and support to qualified workers to ensure that they are productive employees.

And, of course, you can call me anytime with any thoughts, ideas, concerns or suggestions. As we always say, this is YOUR Chamber of Commerce.

John A. D’Ambrosio, Ed.D.
President