News & Updates

Member Spotlight: First ARCO Opens in Mexico

Member Spotlight

October 27, 2017

On October 26, 2017 more than 50 representatives from various organizations gathered to mark the grand opening of the first ARCO station in Mexico. Honorable guests included:

  • Pedro Joaquín Coldwell, Secretario de Energía Gobierno Federal
  • Francisco Vega de Lamadrid, Gobernador del Estado de Baja California
  • Guillermo Zuñiga Martínez, Comisión Reguladora de Energía
  • Dr. Aldo Flores-Quiroga, Deputy Minister of Hydrocarbons
  • Juan Manuel Gastélum Buenrostro, Alcalde de Tijuana
  • Greg Goff, Chairman, President, and CEO of Andeavor

This first station marks the beginning of growth to include an anticipated 200 to 400 ARCO® stations in Baja California and Sonora over the next several years. All ARCO® fueling stations in Mexico will offer consumers TOP TIER™ gasoline.

San Diego Young Leaders Board Nomination

News

October 26, 2017

Member Spotlight: Next Level Sales Coaching

Member Spotlight

October 18, 2017

The most vital part of any successful business is sales.  It always has been and it always will be.  Whether you’re a brand-new business owner or you’ve been around for 30 years, you’ve got to know how to effectively sell your product or service in order to generate revenue.  Unfortunately, most people have either never learned how to sell effectively or have been using antiquated and old-school techniques since the 80s.

Sales is fun and when you know how to sell with honesty, integrity, and humility, there’s nothing better.

We started Next Level Sales Coaching because we wanted to teach people that relationships and caring about others is still what works today in business.  We specialize in helping our clients create significant sales results through improving your ability to perform through effective mindset coaching and also your ability to increase results through improving your selling skills. We teach you through what we call Selling with Honesty and give you the necessary tools to help you reach your full potential.

Our ultimate calling is to share with thousands of others what we’ve done and how they can achieve their ultimate dreams and goals in business.  Sales isn’t about manipulating your prospects into buying something from you.  It’s not about learning some “system” of questioning or getting them to say “yes” five times in a row.  Professional Selling is about connecting with people, building trust and engaging with your potential customers, and taking great care of them long after you’ve made the sale.  Stop thinking about “closing” people and start thinking about helping people.

Here’s who we help:

  • Independent salespeople(1099 or W-2)
  • Small business owners/Franchise owners
  • Companies with sales teams

We are proud and honored to be part of such an amazing organization like the SD Chamber of Commerce and we’ll continue to teach people that you can be successful in sales and do it all while being honest, staying humble and acting with integrity.

Steve Heroux
President & Co-Founder
Next Level Sales Coaching
www.nextlevelsalescoaching.com
858.822.9893
Steve.Heroux@nextlevelsalescoaching.com
600 B St., 3rd Floor
San Diego, CA 92101

Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of California Pizza Kitchen Fashion Valley

Ribbon Cuttings

October 16, 2017

The newest California Pizza Kitchen located in Fashion Valley at 7007 Friars Road officially opened on September 18th! Unlike the previous Fashion Valley location, the latest is larger with more amenities. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce celebrated the official opening with a ribbon cutting. The staff openly welcomed its first lunch rush with eclectic pizzas, pastas, and salads in its modern San Diego style atmosphere! To learn more, please visit www.cpk/fashionvalley. 

Pictured is the regional management, CPK on site managers, front and back of house staff.

10News LEADership Award Recipient Mary Struble

LEAD

October 11, 2017

Mary Struble is honored with the 10News LEADership Award for her leadership of the Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary, which provides children and adults with interactive programs with parrots and brings education programs into schools.

How to Help the Victims of the Mexico Earthquake

International

October 9, 2017

Mexico’s customs (SAT) has announced flexibility regarding donations from abroad to support the victims of the Earthquake. These donations will be authorized without the need to pay neither taxes nor customs agent, and the authorization will only take one day. To see the requirements and suggested articles for donation, click here.

(https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/sandiego/index.php/avisos/525-how-to-help-the-victims-of-mexico-earthquake-9-19-17)

International donations for Mexico are received through the Mexican Red Cross at: www.cruzrojadonaciones.org

  1. Access the website and follow the instructions to create a new account.
  2. Enter the credit card information or through a PAYPAL account (the amount is in Mexican pesos MXN) and then select the cause: “SISMO 19/19/17”.
  3. Website confirms that the transaction was successful and issues a receipt.

Emergency Collection Centers for delivery to the earthquake victims are implemented only in Mexico, due to logistics.

For specialized international aid, such as humanitarian, medicine, or rescue teams, please contact the General Consulate of Mexico in San Diego to 619-308-9926 or at anoriega@consulmexsd.org

For information regarding US nationals that were in Mexico at the time of the earthquake contact:

202-501-4444

Toll free 1-888-407-4747

www.travel.state.gov  

Leading the Way: A New Approach to American Immigration

International

October 6, 2017

Paola Avila, VP of International Business Affairs and Leadership Development, participated as a panelist at the “Leading the Way: A New Approach to American Immigration Conference” held in Washington D.C. on October 4th. She spoke about how communities from both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are interconnected, and policies related to the border’s most important businesses.

Paola was joined on the panel by

  • Art Acevedo, Chief of the Houston Police Department
  • Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Sarah Goldfeder, Principal, Earnscliffe Strategy Group and Council of the Great Lakes Region
  • Arturo Sarukhan, International Strategic Consultant and Former Mexican Ambassador to the U.S.
  • Alfredo Corchado, Mexico Border Correspondent with the Dallas Morning News, who served as panel moderator

California Latino Economic Institute

International

October 4, 2017

The California Latino Economic Institute hosted its Board of Directors Meeting on October 5th, 2017 at the SEMPRA International headquarters downtown. The Chamber worked closely with CLEI to create their agenda, which included a presentation by members Cross Border Xpress and CIR Law in representation of Latino entrepreneurs succeeding in cross border business. Kenia Zamarripa, Director of International Business Affairs, also addressed the board with a brief discussion on the Chamber’s work on cross-border issues.

Senator Ben Hueso provided remarks as Chairman of the California Latino Legislative Caucus and highlighted the importance of SB 357, sponsored by the Chamber, to open a trade office in Mexico City.

#OneBorder, Laredo TX Meeting Recap

International

October 4, 2017

#OneBorder, a network of private sector stakeholders promoting binational relationships and collaboration held a meeting on September 19th in Laredo, Texas. Attendees provided regional updates and followed up on items discussed at the prior meeting held in Washington D.C. in June. New participants provide an opportunity to expand our advocacy reach and impact. NAFTA, immigration and perception challenges were the main topics discussed. A draft event schedule for the remainder of the year and 2018 was proposed and includes joint advocacy trips to Washington D.C. and Mexico City.

The next meeting will take place in Brownsville, Texas. Please visit www.OneBorder.org for more information.

Major Housing Package Signed by Gov. Brown

Policy

October 4, 2017

Major Housing Package Signed by Gov. Brown

Governor Jerry Brown signed three significant housing bills: SB 2 (Atkins), which is anticipated to provide $250 million in financing for building affordable housing. The bill, which the Chamber supported in this version and its previous iteration in prior sessions, required a two-thirds majority to pass and ultimately received the required number of votes, signaling a promising step in addressing the state’s housing crisis. Additionally, SB 3 (Beall) was passed out of the Assembly and will place a $4 billion bond on the 2018 ballot statewide for low-income home building. It is important to note that these proposals are partially in response to the lack of funding for affordable home that until 2013 was steadily funded by redevelopment agencies.