Mike Hauser, president of the Santa Rosa Chamber of Commerce, acknowledges there are many great chambers in Northern California—and the North Bay, in particular. That’s why he’s especially proud of the Best Chamber award. “It feels really good to be singled out,” he says. He attributes the win to the fact that “customer satisfaction is a really high priority for us.”
How does the Santa Rosa Chamber satisfy its customers—the business owners, key community players and residents it represents? “We’re trying really hard to focus on key issues that will make a huge difference in the lives of the business community,” answers Hauser.
Consistent with its goal to represent and promote the interests of local businesses, the Santa Rosa Chamber considers itself “the voice of Santa Rosa business.” It works to strengthen the local economy, improve the community and facilitate the success of small and large businesses alike. But the chamber is much more than a networking hub for businesses; it’s also responsible for a number of innovative community outreach programs. One of those programs is the English Language Learners (ELL) program, designed to improve the English skills of children and adults.
“I’m very proud of our efforts in English language learning,” Hauser says. He explains that school-aged English language learners, predominantly coming from the Latino community, have lower test scores than traditional students. “So in that arena, we’re trying to work with school systems to provide them mentors, summer programs or whatever will, over a period of time, improve the English language skills of those students and then, hopefully, improve their test scores as well.”
The reason the chamber gets involved in school programs is simple. According to Hauser, “Our future labor force isn’t some sort of nondescript thing, it’s sitting in our classrooms right now. We can go take a look at it; it’s right there!” He says the chamber also plans to work with the adult Latino community to improve English skills where needed, so those residents can be better equipped to participate in the community and help grow the local economy.
Other important community initiatives include the greenhouse gas reduction campaign, in which the chamber is taking a leadership role, as well as a summer algebra academy for Latino eighth graders, “so they can get a head start in algebra in ninth grade.” (The chamber has teamed up with Agilent, Medtronic and JDS Uniphase to launch the algebra program.) “The list just goes on and on,” enthuses Hauser. “I think we have great programs.”
In its 102nd year, the Santa Rosa Chamber currently has a $1.9 million budget and 16 staff members at two locations. This year, the chamber will focus on solidifying and promoting its community outreach programs. In a time of economic uncertainty, the chamber will also make continued efforts to bolster the local economy by supporting local businesses and encouraging consumer patronage. It will participate in the ongoing citywide discussions and campaigns regarding responsible growth as well as two other big issues facing Santa Rosa: the Courthouse Square reunification project and the potential expansion of the Charles M. Schulz airport.
As community projects such as these are explored and initiated, the chamber will play a key role, just as it has for more than a century. Hauser concludes, “While the mechanics obviously change over time, our goals to have a strong economy and great quality of life stays the same.”
