Poway Chamber celebrates 60 years

The Poway Chamber of Commerce is turning 60, a milestone that indicates the organization is here to stay, said CEO/President Luanne Hulsizer.

Since 1950 the chamber has continued to keep pace with the changing face of business and the economy, she added.

A good chamber changes with the times, yet continues to stay connected with local businesses and does not give up on them during trying economic times, said Hulsizer, who has been CEO and president of the 500-member organization for the past three years.

During her term, she has initiated the “Shop Poway” campaign, which started a few years ago in collaboration with the city.

That campaign, “Poway, Your First Choice,” continues today to encourage residents to shop locally to keep revenues that benefit the community — right here in Poway, Hulsizer said.

Recently, technology has played a key role in helping the chamber update its membership database and website to include login, member website display and online coupons covered by membership fees.

“The chamber remains a relevant local business resource by maintaining strong communication with the local business community, Poway officials, as well as state, county and federal legislators who represent the community as part of their districts,” said Brendan Ruff, chamber board member and general manager of Pomerado Newspapers.

Ruff added that with effective use of time, technology and connections, the chamber is poised to provide local businesses with the resources and support they need during trying times.

Hulsizer and other former chamber leaders agree that technology might not have been a thought in everyone’s mind in the 1950s, but networking — how members can learn from one another about business practices — has been a vital chamber element no matter what the decade.

When Toni Kraft was elected as CEO and president in 2004, not only was she interviewed for the post, but she interviewed the board of directors and others to see if she would be a good fit for the chamber.

“One of the biggest questions was ‘should we merge with the Rancho Bernardo Chamber,’?” she said. “Did we have a compelling reason to do so, the board wanted to know.”

“The answer was loud and clear — ‘no,’?” she added.

Kraft said that the chamber’s relationship with the city, the City Council and the Poway Business Park Association was “very good.”

It helped that the chamber and the other groups had an established working relationship with one another, she said.

During her term, the chamber and its directors focused on building up reserves.

“The economy was changing — we saw things on the horizon,” Kraft said.

John McIver, who served as the chamber’s chairman from 2005-06, serving when Kraft did, reiterated that during those years a sound financial base for the chamber was established “to help during lean times,” he said.
McIver said that he focused on beefing up membership, which became a universal effort within the chamber.
“We grew to 850 people,” he said. “And, we were at the point of being very successful financially.”

“We got involved in the 2006 elections and presented forums,” McIver said.

It was time for businesses of all sizes — small, medium and large — to rub elbows with each other,” McIver said. “We helped provide networking opportunities for them.”

His thoughts then, were “what’s good for the city, is good for the chamber.”

Looking back to the chamber’s earliest days, it was an idea from a men’s group, which had the express purpose of accomplishing set goals for the community, that the chamber got its start.

“Helping businesses thrive was always important,” said former board chairman Vern Marston.

Poway Chamber of Commerce started 60 years ago with its first major project — publishing the telephone directory as a community service.

That chamber-generated phone book continues to be published.

For years the chamber helped organize Pow Wow Days, which are now called Poway Days, to celebrate the community’s heritage.

That bond between community and chamber has been strong since the initial days when chamber founders decided they wanted goals then and in the decades ahead.

Gone is the Indian brave logo, which in today’s society would be politically incorrect, replaced with the current design, a sun rising over Poway’s Twin Peaks.

Instead of lining up entries for the Poway Heritage Parade, the chamber is now hosting the Poway Festival, a blend of commercial and community activities, which this year will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 19 along Midland Road.