People from all walks of Gardena business life attended Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce’s “State of Business Address” Luncheon on Friday, May 6th at the Normandie Casino. Yvonne Mallory and Mitchell Landsdell from the City of Gardena were spotted talking to John Ferrelli of Memorial Hospital of Gardena and Tom Kawamoto of Union Bank. Gardena Police’s District Police Officers were seen mingling with Los Angeles County Fire Officials. Alma Marquez from Senator Wright’s office and Darryn Harris from Assemblyman Bradford’s office, were seen speaking to Don Dear, West Basin Municipal Water District and Sam and Art Kaskanian of Sam’s Autoland.

After having a wonderful lunch by the chefs of the Normandie Casino, Shad Rezai, Golden State Water, served as Master of Ceremonies. Shad spoke about each Sponsor: DCH Gardena Honda, Golden State Water, Memorial Hospital of Gardena, South Bay Health Care, and Southern California Edison. The Gardena Chamber of Commerce is because of the commitment of its members and sponsors.

Shad called Chief Jerry Vrooman of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Chief Vrooman stressed the safety of each business’s employees. One can replace a building; but the lost of a life can’t be replaced. He stressed that each business needs a fire evacuation and disaster plan. Find out who your neighbors are so you know the type of hazards that surrounding your business. Make sure that your employees and your business have everything necessary to ensure survival during a catastrophe. Know the thing that you need to take with you in case you are evacuated, i.e. client and computer files, back up files, anything that you will need to ensure that your business can continue tomorrow. You need to be able to grab these things within minutes during an evacuation. Chief Vrooman used his time to make sure that everyone in the room thought about the continuation plan for their continuity plan in the event of a disaster.

Next to speak was Chief Ed Medrano of the Gardena Police Department. He encouraged each person present to take part Gardena’s safety. Chief Medrano introduced the Lieutenants over each District: Lt. Mike Safell of District 1 which encompasses the area between El Segundo and Rosecrans; Lt. Mark Rickerl of District 2 which covers Rosecrans to Redondo Beach Boulevard; and Lt. Uikilifi Niko of District 3 which includes the area between Redondo Beach to 190th. If you are concerned about anything in your District, call one of these Lieutenants today. They are there to ensure your District is safe and friendly to the public. Chief Medrano covered the Adopt a Block program and the new camera system throughout Gardena. He urged businesses to partner with the Gardena Police Department to ensure a safe city.

Shad Rezai introduced Tony Lawson, President of HITCO Carbon Composites. Lawson relived the history of HITCO and explained how great SGL is to its subsidiaries. Many years ago, HITCO did a self evaluation in the midst a downturn in its revenue. They presented a plan to SGL to build upon a new area of business. SGL made the financial investment into HITCO to ensure its success today. HITCO is planning to expand its base in Gardena including increasing its employees count from 500 to nearly 900 staff in Gardena. HITCO is focused on its providers and being a good neighbor in Gardena. Lawson pronounced to the audience that HITCO enjoys being a part of Gardena and will be doing business here for a long time.

Blanca Jimenez represented Congresswoman Maxine Waters who was the Keynote Speaker. Congresswoman Waters was unable to attend due to missing her flight because of an emergency, but she sent her prepared remarks for Jimenez to read to the audience. Congresswoman Waters wanted to ensure that the Gardena Valley area knew that House Democrats unveiled a new campaign called “Make It In America.” This Agenda is based on the conviction that when more products are made in America, more families will be able to make it in America. The agenda is intended to create the conditions to help American businesses produce goods here, innovate here, and creates jobs here; it includes many of the wise investments necessary for America to out-educate, out-innovate, and out-build its international competitors. President Obama has already signed six “Make It In America” bills into law, many of which won bipartisan support. Business and labor leaders alike support this agenda- because “Making It In America” is central to the future of our competiveness, our jobs, and our place in the world.

At the end of the “State of Business Address” Luncheon, the attendees knew that the prosperity of their business is supported in the Gardena Valley area. Our Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce works with Federal, State, and local officials to ensure business success. And, that makes coming to the “State of Business Address” time and money well spent. For more information about the Gardena Valley Chamber of Commerce the “State of Business Address,” call (310) 53-9905, email info@gardenachamber.or, or visit its website at gardenachamber.org.