Business Briefs
Compiled by Camas Frank ~
The SLO Chamber of Commerce gave a little love to their new member, Along Comes Hope with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Along Comes Hope is a 503(c)3 helping families of children with cancer. They provide support through financial assistance with travel for treatment, creative emotional support programs, and advocacy to promote policy changes, awareness and education. For more information, visit alongcomeshope.com.
Engle & Associates Insurance Brokers donated $1,545 to Big Brothers Big Sisters through their referral rewards program. The insurance company, which offers business, personal, health and life insurance, set aside $5 for the non-profit each time a customer made a referral during 2015. Referral donations will be made to Jacks Helping Hand for 2016. Anna Boyd-Bucy, the organization’s executive director, said “We are grateful to Engle and Associates for helping us fulfill our mission is to provide children facing adversity with strong and enduring, professionally supported one-to-one relationships that change their lives for the better, forever.”
True Myth, a specialty winery producing wines from California’s Central Coast, has announced the national launch of its wines. Billed as an, “expression of Mother Nature at her finest,” True Myth is releasing in markets across the U.S. this month, with a lineup that includes the 2014 Paragon Vineyard Chardonnay from the Niven family’s Edna Valley estate and the 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles. True Myth is the latest project from Niven Family Wine Estates, a three-generation, family-owned wine group who pioneered the Edna Valley more than 40 years ago and have played an integral role in defining San Luis Obispo County’s farming history.
The San Luis Obispo Children’s Museum Board of Directors recently welcomed two new board members, just as the organization saw all-time highs in members and attendance during 2015. Wells Fargo Bank’s Linda Minton and Jessica Chavez of El Dorado Broadcasters have each been elected to three-year terms. Newly elected officers include Lindsey Haring (president), Ellen Drews (vice president), Craig Filipponi (treasurer) and Carla Swift (secretary). Returning directors include Marsha Lifter, Alison Bell, Lisa Rizzo and John Summer. The Children’s Museum just concluded a record-breaking year. Close to 600 families are now members of the Children’s Museum.
More than 50,000 guests visited the museum, many on field trip scholarships or through free-pass partnerships with local nonprofits. In addition, the Children’s Museum welcomes all community members to enter for free during “Moonlight Hours,” offered the third Thursday of every month from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. The Children’s Museum will be rolling out a half dozen new and improved exhibits during 2016 and will host its annual fundraiser in October. Sign up for monthly eFlyers at www.slocm.org
The Central Coast Medical Association awarded Dr. Fred S. Vernacchia as 2015 Physician of the Year for San Luis Obispo County. The honor is reserved for a physician who has worked to improve the quality of health care, contributed to the education of other physicians, and engaged in community service and other activities outside of medicine.
Vernacchia initially planned to study dentistry, but later switched to medicine, and worked as a phlebotomist a pre-med. He is the medical director as the San Luis Diagnostic Center, which he founded in 1994, and four of the five original hires still work with him.
United Way encourages SLO County residents earning $62,000 or less to keep more of their hard-earned money this tax season by using a free, online tax preparation service and accessing valuable tax credits. A new national survey finds 72 percent of working Americans making that amount or less are unaware they qualify for free tax filing and coaching. MyFreeTaxes is a mobile-optimized self-file software program allowing free federal and state tax preparation and filing for anyone earning $62,000 or less. United Way also offers free in-person filing assistance through their Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. On average, filers can save $200 in tax preparation fees by using the free platform. “In addition to the savings derived from using this service, taxpayers can reduce the amount of income tax they pay by claiming valuable credits. We know that tax refunds help many in our community achieve greater financial stability, and we want to help them keep more of what they earn,” said Rick London, CEO of United Way of San Luis Obispo County. More information is available online at www.unitedwayslo.org and www.myfreetaxes.org.
Central Coast Funds for Children, a SLO County non-profit organization, has awarded an $800 grant to Opera San Luis Obispo in support of its two-week summer Children’s Opera Camp. According CCFC’s Grant Review Board Chairman, Christine Poe, CCFC was, “delighted to hear that two children were able to attend Opera Camp last year because of (our) scholarship funding….this opportunity is right in keeping with our mission.” One of many organizations which CCFC supports, OperaSLO’s summer camp program instills life-long skills and benefits in its campers whether or not they pursue long-term interest in the performing arts. For more information about Children’s Opera Camp’s 2016 program, visit their website: operaslo.org or www.centralcoastfundsforchildren.org.
French Hospital Medical Center has received the 2016 Women’s Choice Award as one of America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics. The “evidence-based designation” is the only award that identifies the country’s best healthcare institutions based on criteria that consider female patient satisfaction, clinical excellence, and what women say they want from a hospital. The list of more than 400 award winners, including FHMC and MRMC, represents hospitals that offer exceptional obstetric services which ranked above the national average for patient safety, thereby supporting a woman’s decision when choosing the best for her maternity needs. For more information on the 2016 America’s Best Hospitals for Obstetrics, visit: www.womenschoiceaward.com/awarded/best-hospitals/obstetrics.
For the 3rd time in the last 6 months the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP) will see its daily air service seat capacity grow. Starting Feb. 11 American Airlines operates four daily roundtrips to PHX. This fourth flight is scheduled to arrive at SBP from PHX at 6:38 p.m. and depart SBP for PHX at 7:10 p.m. Although in recent years SBP has seen some seasonality with a fourth SBP-PHX frequency, this time around it has preliminarily been planned to remain through the summer. “Our chances to retain this flight permanently will rise with a strong showing of use, to and from SBP,” said County Airports Director Kevin Bumen. With three and four daily flights to San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, rounding out the lineup, SBP passengers will have 11, non-stop, jet flights to choose from daily. “With this additional flight, our community will see daily seat capacity expand to approximately 600 seats, an increase of about 19.28% over the average count available in February 2015. This new addition will also expand American Airline’s first class service offering up to as many as 18 daily seats” said Bumen. Further flight schedule details can be found by visiting: www.AA.com.
The SLO County bus system, RTA, has formally launched Transit Tracker, a new GPS based, mobile application that will enable transit riders to easily know when buses are due to arrive. The online system and the mobile App are both free to use. Travelers can avoid missing their bus by using Transit Tracker. Transit Tracker is accessible on all text-enabled devices (cell phones and tablets) and is optimized for any internet-connected device, such as smart phones, desktop computers and laptops. It supports routes on RTA system as well as the Paso Express and the South County Transit (SCT) buses. “Our system currently carries over 1 million riders a year” said Geoff Straw, Executive Director of RTA. “Reliable information about when a bus is due to arrive gives our riders more confidence in our system.” To use the system, riders will simply text their bus stop number to our Transit Tracker phone number 541-4782 and within seconds, receive a text back telling them how many minutes away their bus is from that stop. Additional functionality for the system is found on the RTA website Transit Tracker page and from an App available for your smart phone or tablet. For more information about how to use Transit Tracker visit: slorta.org.
SLO County has landed high on the list of America’s best wine destinations, in a recent article by SmartAsset.com. “The Edna Valley has emerged as one of America’s top wine regions for both the quality of its offering and the beauty of its scenery,” reads an article on SmartAsset. “SLO Co. is home to more than 90 wineries, including Tablas Creek Vineyard, which was rated the country’s top winery in 2015 by The Daily Meal.” The Best Of list’s Top 5 wine destinations were: Yamhill County, Ore., Walla Walla County, Wash., Napa County, Calif., Sonoma County, Calif., and King County, Wash., with SLO County sixth.
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