2022 Business Awards & Recognition Dinner
Congratulations to our Chino Valley Business Awardees
Over the past few years, the businesses in the Chino Valley have continued to grow and have aided in economic growth for our community at large. Congratulations to our businesses for continuing to thrive and for making an impact in the Chino Valley.
2022 Chino Business of the Year: Let’s Party Entertainment
The Chino Business of the Year for 2022 is Let’s Party Entertainment. They are a full scale event coordination business, whose motto is to not only meet your expectations but to beat your expectations!
Vola Rossi, the owner or Let’s Party Entertainment, is also a Chamber Ambassador and is involved in various event planning committees.
They have been helping upscale Chamber events for the past year and their creative touch has brought a fresh new look.
2022 Chino Hills Business of the Year: The Shoppes at Chino Hills
The Chino Hills Business of the Year is The Shoppes at Chino Hills. The Shoppes has provided a venue space to many members of our business community by hosting a weekly farmer’s market and is a Chino Hills staple.
If you attended the Taste of Chino Valley this year, then you would know how this business completely modernized and upscaled this event.
2022 Chairman’s Award – Supervisor Curt Hagman
Our Chairman’s Award goes to County Supervisor Curt Hagman. Supervisor Hagman was one of the first to support our Upskill Chino Valley initiative.
He granted CVCC with $100,000 to help start the program and we are so grateful for his support so early on.
2022 Ambassador of the Year – Travis Lafond
The Ambassador of the Year for 2022 is Travis Lafond. He became a member of the Chino Valley Chamber in 2021 and has fully immersed himself in all things Chamber by attending meetings, joining committees, and of course becoming an Ambassador.
Travis is a huge Chamber advocate both in person and online. He consistently highlights the work our Chamber has done in the community through social media posts and is the embodiment of a model Ambassador.
2022 Above & Beyond Award – Jeff Vaka
Our Above & Beyond Awardee for 2022 is Jeff Vaka. Jeff is a huge advocate for the Chamber and business community at large.
He has contributed time and effort through various sponsorships, joining several committees, and being a guiding voice in several Chamber programs, like the Legislative Action Committee.
He has truly gone Above & Beyond and the Chamber office would not be looking its best without his handyman skills.
2022 Non – Profit of the Year Award – Paws 4 Success
The Non – Profit of the Year Award for 2022 goes to Paws 4 Success.
They are great partners that meet, connect, and build relationships for the betterment of the community.
Their mission is to help enhance the lives of people with disabilities by enlisting the help of four- legged friends. They train service dogs and offer various programs which promote mental health wellness.
They are proactive and involved. They have made a difference in our community and will continue to do so.
2022 Best Supporting Organization of the Year – San Bernardino County Workforce Development Board
In October, the Chino Valley Chamber was awarded an opportunity to support workforce initiatives on behalf of this organization.
Since then, our team has worked closely with this organization and they have been great partners in helping us connect job seekers with job opportunities in the Chino Valley though the Chino Valley Chamber job board and job fairs and providing on-the-job grants to our small businesses in the community.
2022 Workforce Innovator Award – Senator Connie Leyva and Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez
In 2021, it was a goal for CVCC to realize the vision of Upskill Chino Valley. A four – pronged approach which involves workforce, economic, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.
In order to make Upskill Chino Valley a reality, we needed support from our local and state officials. Senator Connie Leyva and Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez found it in their budget to provide CVCC with a grant of $1 million dollars each to help start up this program.
This funding will go towards Business Roundtables – addressing issues within our community, leadership programs, career/ talent pathways for students, and workforce development efforts.
Honoring Outgoing Chair of the Board – Christina Gagnier
During her time on the Board, Christina has given such great guidance that has enhanced our organization beyond what many of us thought was possible.
When she became our Board Chair in July, 2021 we spoke about what we wanted to see accomplished during the year. I remember in that discussion that I shared I felt like I had a good understanding of how I could continue to grow the Chamber incrementally over time and I told her that I felt she could help us grow the Chamber exponentially.
Thanks to Christina’s guidance we executed on our Upskill Chino Valley program and later this evening you’re going to learn about many of the organizations that came together to support our mission to help our businesses find quality employees to grow our local economy through workforce development, leadership development, economic development and entrepreneurship development.
Installation of the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors 2022-2023
The 2022 – 2023 Chino Valley Chamber Board of Directors was installed on August 17, 2022 at 7:30 PM.
The current Board of Directors are: Josh Sun, Deanna Margaritha, Christina Gagnier, Terry Fitch, Heather Parsons, Sandra Ayala, Art Bennett, Rhonda Brogdon, Jeffrey Cox, Melissa Demirci, Will Fleet, James Gallagher, Brandon Jemison, Walt Pocock, Dr. Reggie Thomas, Jeff Vaka, and Kariann Voorhees.
Thank you all for your continued support and dedication to the Chamber.
Honoring Outgoing Board Member, Glenda Chavez, for 6 Years of Service
CVCC would like to honor Glenda Chavez of Waste Management for 6 years of service on the Chamber Board of Directors.
Glenda Chavez has been a Chairman’s Circle Sponsor and supporter of the Chamber since before she joined the Board in 2016.
Glenda helped make strategic decisions to help us grow as a Chamber and has graciously supported our Chamber at all of our major events. At most of our events, you can see the Waste Management trash cans she donated to help make our community and events run smoothly and cleanly. Waste Management is now serving both Chino and Chino Hills (a new development this year).
Honoring Outgoing Board Member, Gustavo Miranda, for 6 Years of Service
CVCC thanks Gustavo Miranda for his 6 years of service as a member of the Chamber Board of Directors.
Gustavo Miranda joined our Board of Directors with Sam’s Club in 2016. Throughout his time on the Board, Gustavo gave great guidance and support to the initiatives the Chamber sought to pursue. Despite personal challenges, Gustavo continued to be a committed Board Member to the Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Student Business of the Year – Sadie Lee
Our Student Business of the Year Awardee, Sadie Lee, has helped organize the Chino Valley Chamber’s first Career Expo. She spoke at City of Chino and Chino Hills council meetings, and helped advocate for students to help them find career pathways.
She expressed her desire to find a job in the hospitality industry as a result, the Chino Valley Chamber was able to help secure a job shadowing opportunity for her at Towneplace Suites by Marriott of Ontario/ Chino Hills.
Young Professional of the Year – Destiny Collins
Our Young Professional of the Year, Destiny Collins, joined the Chamber in 2021 and quickly became an excited and involved member.
She not only joined the Young Professionals group but also joined our Ambassador team.
She has helped organize numerous events and was even the Chair of last year’s Holiday Luncheon.
She is a Chino Hills High School graduate and we are so excited about her bright future and all the amazing contributions she will make to the Chino Valley community.
Top Choice Award – Silverlake Ramen
The Top Choice Award this year is Silverlake Ramen. We have hosted a few meet ups and mixers at this business and they are always fantastic to work with.
They participated in this year’s Taste of Chino Valley, at which they were voted Top Choice!
To view all photos from the Business Awards & Recognition Dinner, please click here.