A Message from Chamber CEO Douglass Wilhoit:

People Are What Make 

Ag Expo A Success

FEBRUARY 2007 -- Can you believe that we are already in the second month of 2007? I guess when you are busy and having fun, the time can really fly by! But maybe this time it was not that, but we were all busy keeping warm. Whatever it was I, along with all your Chamber officers and staff, hope that you have had a great start to 2007!

The 31^st Ag Expo and REXPO III were held on Jan. 16, 17 & 18 at the San Joaquin Fairgrounds and I want to thank all those who helped to make it a success. The staff, Ag Expo committee chairs Paul Bergson and Bruno Cerri, committee members, exhibitors, volunteers and attendees all joined hands to celebrate our No. 1 industry in San Joaquin County. We also saw what it takes to put food on our tables and the tables of the world. Rexpo III was a hit and everyone was able to learn how we can help protect our environment while making our homes and businesses economically efficient. An event takes a great deal to organize and pull off! During the process leading up to and including the show, I am always amazed to see the very best that comes out of almost all who are involved. I must also give a big thank you to the San Joaquin Fairgrounds Board and staff for a job well done.

Reed Fujii, reporter for The Record, did a wonderful job on the Ag Expo “tab” in the Jan. 14^th Record. He hit the nail on the head in his  second article Wednesday, Jan. 16^th with the headline “Ag Expo changes with times.” What has to be done to always improve Ag Expo is that the staff, committee members and exhibitors need to remember the industry and ag economy is a living/breathing/changing life form that is a very important part of our life’s fabric.

With this, we know that in order to improve something we must all recognize and admit that things are never the same. “How it was done in the past” or “business as usual” will not get the job done now. We live now and into the future and must be flexible to meet whatever challenges are out there that either help or hinder our goal of celebrating agriculture and those who labor in the fields. People like Paul Sanguinetti, Jeff Hackman, Bruno Cerri to name just a few (I could fill the whole article with the many people who work on this but I use these three to represent the others) have dedicated themselves all these years to the Ag Expo and I know will continue to move the show forward.

If you did not come out this year please, join us for the 32^nd show in January 2008.

Our next big event, see they just keep coming, is the annual State of the City/Trade Show to be held at the Arena on Wednesday Feb. 28. There will be more in this issue of Port O Call but I invite you to attend and PLEASE make your reservations early. We have a deadline and it is so helpful to staff and the Arena in planning this huge event.

The improvements in your Chamber office are nearly complete and I invite you to come down to see how we have moved into the 21^st Century to provide you with the most efficient service possible. When it is completed I will be publicly thanking all those who did such a great job in making this happen.

Just prior to this issue of Port O Call hitting your office the new Chamber/Tourism Visitor Guide will have started to be distributed. Wes Rhea, city staff, San Joaquin Magazine, advertisers and contributors should be very proud of the new product promoting our great city and county. If you or someone have questions on Stockton and the surrounding area, let us know and we will provide for you this neat new tool.

Finally, on the issue of public safety, I want to commend the City Council and the Stockton Police Department for the new cameras to be installed for your protection.

They have proven themselves in downtown and will work very well wherever our hard working and dedicated Police Department decides to deploy them!

According to the Wednesday Jan. 17, 2007 front page article in The Record, “the ACLU and privacy advocates have a problem with it.” Well, to them I say DUH. The civil liberties of tax paying, law abiding citizens have been trampled on long enough by the darlings of the ACLU. This includes but by no means a total list, the thieves (auto, business, residences, identity), robbers, “taggers”, purveyors of violence, and those who disrespect the rights and CIVIL LIBERTIES of the vast majority of citizens. Civil liberty means to me that we can move through our daily lives without fear of some irresponsible thugs totally disrespecting the wellbeing of others and the law.

May these cameras, the efforts of law enforcement and the criminal justice system work together to allow us to move freely whenever and wherever we may choose.