On July 12th, the Oceanside Chamber held its annual Awards & Recognition Luncheon to honor over 100 local businesses for their support of the Chamber and community. Dozens of members were recognized for their Chamber membership anniversaries of 5, 10, 15... all the way up to 65 years of membership, celebrated by Orco Block & Hardscape. The Chamber also recognized the excellence of our local business community with the following awards: Small Business of the Year, Education Partner of the Year, Non-Profit of the Year, Green Business of the Year, Citizen of the Year and Elected Official of the Year. 

On Wednesday, June 12th, nearly 200 community leaders came together for the Oceanside Chamber's Annual Oceanside Heroes Reception, presented by Tri-City Medical Center. The community recognized members of the Oceanside Police Department, Fire Department, Lifeguards and Oceanside Unified School district for their outstanding contributions to the well-being of the City of Oceanside.

In early May, the Oceanside City Council voted to transition from at-large council elections to district elections in order to avoid a potential lawsuit threatened under the California Voting Rights Act.  
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Numerous community meetings and public hearing took place during May and June in order to provide for community input into the districting process. The Chamber was represented at each of the meetings and has been a strong voice for the business community in the process.

With the Race Across America (RAAM) about to begin, the Oceanside Chamber wants to take a minute to offer our best wishes to Team Oceanside! To follow Team Oceanside's progress over the coming days and support their efforts to raise funds for Rady Children's Hospital, please take a minute to visit their website and Facebook pages...
https://oceansideraam.com/
https://www.facebook.com/TeamOceansideRAAM/
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On May 20, 2017, the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce held its 16th Annual Operation Appreciation. An estimated crowd of 4,000 - 5,000 active duty military family members were treated to a day of food, entertainment and family activities. 

Opening ceremonies were attended by Congressman Darrell Issa, Col. John Polidoro, SgtMaj Ernie Rose, Oceanside Deputy Mayor Chuck Lowery, Oceanside City Councilmember Jerry Kern and San Marcos Mayor Jim Desmond.

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With all the exciting new development taking place in downtown Oceanside, you may be surprised that are still many great parking options available within walking distance of most of the key downtown attractions.

Thank you to our friends at MainStreet Oceanside for sharing this video with us!

The Oceanside Chamber recently sent a letter of support to the Oceanside Planning Commission encouraging the opportunity for residents and business owners in the South Morro Hills area of Oceanside to put together a community vision plan centered on the concept of agritourism.

According to Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton, “the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce recognizes that the 3500 acres of South Morro Hills agricultural land is a unique and valuable asset for Oceanside. The possibility of creating agritourism opportunities in this community is exciting and compelling and the Chamber wants to do whatever possible to give this vision a chance to develop.” Some of the possibilities discussed for the farmland have included bed & breakfasts and boutique hotels.
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Along those lines, the Chamber’s Board of Directors voted last month to support a window of time of 24 months for a community vision plan to be developed for this area.  During this period of time, the Chamber’s intention is to not support individual projects proposed for this area.
Chamber staff and volunteer leadership will continue to remain engaged with the property owners and city leaders during this time period.

By Glen Newhart, MBA, CFRE (Certified Fundraising Executive)

It’s tax season, and while you’re thinking of it, it’s the perfect time to create an action plan for charitable giving in 2017. While you have until the end of the year to make donations, if you start researching and planning your donations now, you’ll have time to make thoughtful contributions that benefit both you and your community all year-long.
 
Here are three charitable giving tips that will warm your heart and your wallet:
1. Look local
While there are many highly visible national societies focused on specific diseases and international disaster relief, don’t overlook opportunities to give close to home. When you give close to home, your dollars stay in the community and you can see your dollars in action. Donating to a community hospital foundation, local wildlife habitat restoration or youth development group will make a positive impact on your community that you’ll benefit from for years to come.
 
Local organizations don’t always have the same advertising budgets as national nonprofits to reach you, so you may have to do a bit of research to find them. The IRS provides an online tool to identify organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions and you can narrow it by the community you live in. Search for “Exempt Organizations Select Check” online or visit: https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/.

At the February 15th Oceanside City Council Meeting, during the Mayor's Business Spotlight, the Oceanside Chamber was pleased to recognize Lori Boody of the American Cancer Society - Relay for Life as Chamber Member of the Month.

Lori has been a very active member of the chamber, rallying many of our local business community members to participate in Relay for Life Oceanside. In addition to her service to the Chamber and American Cancer Society, Lori has been a business owner for 26 years and a volunteer for numerous community organizations including Oceanside Unified School District, Oceanside Bond Oversight Committee, Oceanside Senior Center and the Oceanside Museum of Art.

Chamber CEO, Scott Ashton and Membership Director David Zumaya joined Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood in recognizing Lori. 

​The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce debuted its newest magazine "Camp Pendleton Celebrating 75 Years" at a launch party on January 19. A partnership of the Oceanside Chamber and Camp Pendleton Historical Society, the commemorative military publication was developed over a period of several months last year.
 
Hosted by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce and Pacific Marine Credit Union, the event objective was to recognize and honor the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base for its significant historical and ongoing contributions to the community over the past 75 years.  Invitees included the Oceanside Chamber's Board of Directors, military partners, press, Chamber staff, the Oceanside Chamber's military committee members and advisors, and those supporting local and national military efforts and armed forces including, Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps, all those stationed at the base including Navy, Sailors, and Reservists.

Remarks by local VIPs, military dignitaries, and elected officials including CA Assemblymember Rocky Chavez, Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood, Oceanside Councilmember Jerry Kern, Colonel John Polidoro, Camp Pendleton Historical Society President Dick Rothwell and Oceanside Chamber of Commerce CEO, Scott Ashton, were recorded in a series of video snippets viewable in the Oceanside Chamber's YouTube Channel.

Packed with historical timelines, photos from the Oceanside Historical Society photo collection, and feature stories composed by local historians, and those knowledgeable in area history, including Paul Durrance, Cal Frantz, Bo Hellman, Faye Jonason, Lauren Kelly-Hill, and Bill Parsons. A preview of the "Table of Contents" denotes time frames covered include pre-Marine Corps base history from 1769 to 1942, through today. 

The stories detail the original land survey and acquisition, Major Generals, base statistics, natural resources, base housing, the arrival of Women Marines Aboard Camp Pendleton, the fascinating Navajo Code Talkers, Presidents who visited the base, Hollywood and Camp Pendleton, the Camp Pendleton rodeo, plus the celebratory dedication ceremony, complete with a visit by sitting president Franklin Delano Roosevelt "FDR" himself.

This is a true historical commemorative and keepsake publication that you and your family are sure to enjoy for years to come. Following is a partial list of the Oceanside Chamber's publication viewing channels: Oceanside Chamber publications, Chamber's ISSUU publishing channel, Chamber's Facebook publication channel (displays last twelve Chamber publications).

Oceanside Chamber of Commerce
(760) 722-1534
928 N Coast Hwy
Oceanside, CA 92054
​[email protected]

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The Oceanside Chamber of Commerce recently presented a check to WRC in Oceanside.  Proceeds were raised from their annual Holiday Mixer in December.  The funds were used to purchase gifts for mothers, and to cover holiday dinner expenses for the families in WRC’s domestic violence shelter. 
 
In addition to a monetary donation, the Chamber also collected dozens of new toys for WRC to pass out to the children that are in their program.  Chambers members were encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the Holiday Mixer and it was one of the largest toy drives in recent years.

Each Wednesday the Marine and Family Services office on Camp Pendleton holds a “Welcome Aboard Briefing” for service members who are newly stationed on the military base.
 
In August, the Chamber started participating in the briefings in order to provide the service members with information about Oceanside and to invite them to visit our community. Each member is given a tote bag with copies of Chamber publications and discount offers from dozens of local businesses.
 
One of the participating businesses is Hello Betty Fish House. “Hello Betty is extremely appreciative of the Chamber’s help in welcoming new recruits and their families to Camp Pendleton and raising awareness about our support for our military”, said Chris Wyman, Sales & Marketing Manager at Hello Betty.

​FedEx Ground held its official ribbon cutting at their Oceanside Facility today. Congressman Darrell Issa, along with State Senator Patricia Bates, Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood and Oceanside City Councilmembers, Jack Feller and Jerry Kern, were on hand to celebrate with numerous FedEx officials, including District Managing Director, Tim Weber and the facility's Senior Manager, Steve Hillman.

With more than 25 years of experience in the Chamber of Commerce industry, Scott Ashton has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer of the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce, effective November 15. Ashton has worked at the Oceanside Chamber in a variety of capacities for the past 20 years, most recently serving as the Vice President of Business Development.

Ashton will replace David Nydegger who is retiring after nearly 19 years as CEO of the Oceanside Chamber. He will oversee the day-to-day operations of the Chamber including staffing, financial management and implementation of board policy and priorities.

At a candidates forum on September 27th sponsored by the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce’s Business and Community Political Action Committee (BACPAC), the candidates for Oceanside City Council were asked a series of 7 questions requiring a “yes” or “no” answers.  This yes/no format was used to ensure that each candidate’s response was clear and could be impartially scored.  These questions specifically related to business issues and were designed to evaluate a candidate’s “business friendliness”.  The questions included issues related to commercial development, zoning, replenishing sand on our beaches and the downtown area.  To assure there was no bias in favor of any one candidate, the “business friendly” response was determined prior to the forum.

by Scott Ashton

Nestled in the quaint Cape Cod style village of the Oceanside Harbor is one of the community’s treasured establishments, Harbor Fish and Chips. Terry Cross, owner, will tell you that
there is no one in Oceanside more passionate about fish than he is.

Cross was born at Oceanside General Hospital and raised in the same Oceanside home his entire childhood. His dad taught him deer hunting and fishing; and his father-in-law,
Doug McWha taught him how to run a commercial fishing boat when Cross was 20 years old.

by Kristi Hawthorne, Oceanside Living Magazine

During the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established a works program in 1935 to help millions of unemployed Americans by creating building projects to provide jobs. The Works Progress Administration (or Works Projects Administration) was commonly known as the WPA. Throughout the U.S. these jobs put over 8 million people to work by building 650,000 miles of roads, thousands of parks and bridges, hundreds of airports, and over 100,000 public buildings. In addition, The Federal Arts Project employed artists to create public art.

In Oceanside the WPA was responsible for building Oceanside’s first permanent Post Office building in 1935. This historic building also contains two projects commissioned by the Treasury
Section of Fine Arts, which like the Federal Arts Project, provided murals and other art forms to decorate public buildings. A beautiful 16' x 6' mural of the San Luis Rey Valley and its Mission,
entitled “Air Mail” by Elise Seeds hangs in the lobby. A carved wooden eagle and grille over the front entrance was done by Stuart Holmes.

Last Thursday marked the Oceanside Chamber’s 11th Annual North County Health Fair at the Oceanside Civic Center Plaza. Hundreds of residents, along with visitors and members of the local business community came together to enjoy a beautiful day in the sun.

The event, presented by Tri-City Medical Center, offered community members an opportunity to get connected to the wide variety of health care resources that are available in Oceanside and surrounding communities. Dozens of exhibitors were on hand to provide information about the services offered by their businesses. Event sponsors included Scripps, Kaiser Permanente and Primary Care Associates/Cassidy Medical Group, Part of OptumCare.

On October 13th, the Chamber’s Oceanside Senior Expo event will take place at the same venue. For more information on the Chamber’s upcoming events, visit our Special Events page.

​Oceanside’s restaurants and craft breweries are more than just a place to get a hot meal and a cold beer. They’re where we celebrate special occasions with friends and loved ones, experience new taste sensations, and where we satisfy our cravings by exploring San Diego County’s diverse cultures.  Restaurants and craft breweries are also where many of us work to support our families, and they are a key driver of our region’s thriving economy. San Diego County is home to more than 2,500 restaurants from fine dining to fast casual, and 126 craft breweries from nano to internationally distributed brands.  And there is one thing they all have in common – natural gas is essential to their current and future success. 
 
There’s been a lot of talk about natural gas lately, but what hasn’t been discussed is how important it is for San Diego County. After all, it’s a clean energy source that is responsible for generating more than half of all the electricity used in our region. But it’s especially critical for the local restaurant and brewing industries. That’s because natural gas not only keeps the lights on, it also fires the brew kettles, cooks the food properly, keeps beer and food cold and the breweries and kitchens sanitary – all of which are crucial to highly functioning brewing and food service operations. 

by Kristi Hawthorne, Oceanside Living Magazine

The “Antoinette W” is a familiar site in the Oceanside Harbor and its iconic turquoise and blue colors set it apart from the other boats. Built in 1978, in San Pedro, it was named after the original owner’s grandmother. Asked about changing the name of the “Antoinette W”, owner James Gardner said he only briefly contemplated it but never did because it’s considered bad luck.

Gardner, a commercial fisherman, bought the boat, built as an albacore trawler, in 1985. He soon after converted it to haul live bait. In 1990 Gardner signed on as the lessee of the Oceanside Bait Company at the Harbor and brought the Antoinette to Oceanside. Along with a crew of three, he fishes up and down the coast between La Jolla and Dana Point. He supplies the bait to the bait company, which in turns provides live bait to Helgren’s Sportfishing and the general public.

by Kristi Hawthorne, Oceanside Living Magazine 2016

Trees are an important part of any city, enhancing it with beauty and adding color, providing needed shade, as well as providing a habitat for wildlife. In 1884, Oceanside’s Founder Andrew Jackson Myers, began planting “wattle and blue gum trees on the avenues in Oceanside”. These trees are more commonly known as acacia and eucalyptus. Other early popular tree varieties included cypress and pine, which after a few years became “a nuisance, damaging sewers, sidewalks and the streets.”

Palm trees lined Hill Street (now Coast Highway) as early as the 1890s and as Oceanside developed, its citizens continued to plant trees along its streets and avenues. In 1896 the newspaper reported that 155 palms were planted along with 200 pepper trees, 175 cypress, 275 pines and 420 sugar gums.

by Kristi Hawthorne, from Oceanside Living Magazine

Oceanside has its own share of myths or urban legends that get passed around and soon become truth in the minds of many. Some of these are funny, minute details of Oceanside that never happened or in fact happened but are exaggerated. We take a look at just a few of those, along with some that might have happened.

The Oceanside Pier was once a mile long. Exaggerated. None of Oceanside’s six piers have ever been a mile long. Many locals will recall that the “old pier” (the previous pier) was either “a mile long” or “longer than the present pier”. A mile is 5,280 feet long. The old pier was 1,941 feet long and today’s pier (built in 1987) is 1,942 feet long.

by Kristi Hawthorne, from Oceanside Living Magazine

As Oceanside has developed over the years, we have acquired an eclectic array of structures which have been built over different time periods and that represent a variety of architecture styles. However, with time and neglect, once impressive buildings can lose their luster or when left vacant turn to eyesores. The general consensus may lean toward demolition but when a building can be repurposed, our downtown can maintain its history and character.

Last Wednesday, the Oceanside Chamber held its Annual Awards and Recognition Luncheon at the El Camino Country Club. The Chamber, which is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year, recognized dozens of local businesses for their longtime support of the Chamber, including 75 year member, Weseloh Chevrolet.

Several businesses and community partners were also recognized with awards in ten different categories of excellence. Here's a quick look at our award winners:

Small Business of the Year: Ashley's Party Rental
Philanthropic Business of the Year: North County Lifeline
Green Partner of the Year: Green Oceanside
Patriotic Business of the Year: Pioneer Services
Arts & Culture Partner of the Year: KOCT
Innovator of the Year: Tri-City Medical Center
Community Partner of the Year: Genentech
Large Business of the Year: Gilead
Oceanside Chamber Citizen of the Year: Chuck Atkinson
Community Event of the Year: Kinane Events-Turkey Trot