Jake Chamber Discussion_mixdown.mp3
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Jake Chamber Discussion_mixdown.mp3: this mp3 audio file was automatically transcribed by Sonix with the best speech-to-text algorithms. This transcript may contain errors.
Steve:
Welcome back to the City of Redding podcast. Today we connect with Jake Mangas, president of the Redding Chamber of Commerce, to find out what the future of business in Redding looks like from his perspective.
Katie:
We'll talk about why someone would want to start a business in Redding and how the tourism marketing efforts are going for visit Redding. We'll cover these topics and more as we get to know Jake and learn about his passion for local businesses.
Steve:
Jake works with all different business sectors as well as other non-profit organizations to help local businesses thrive. He's excited about Redding being a premier destination for business growth and has a lot of opinions about what makes this area great.
Katie:
If you don't already know Jake, he's a force of positivity, humor and professionalism. And we hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Well, I'm Jake Mangus. I'm the president and CEO of the Redding Chamber of Commerce, also our forward Redding Foundation. And then most recently, we are now responsible for visit Redding, the tourism bureau for the city of Redding. And I am just really glad to be with you today and proud to represent the business community and the community at large during this time in its history. There's only one Chamber of Commerce president, and I feel a great sense of gratitude and also responsibility to be in this role.
Katie:
Thanks so much, Jake. It's really great for you to be here with us today. I think that you are a very well known presence in the Redding community. So this question might be redundant for many, but just for those who don't know you and don't know the chamber, what is the Redding Chamber of Commerce and what does it do?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Okay, this is a good one. All right. So the Redding Chamber of Commerce is an association of businesses that are organized to improve the economic health of the region, basically. So we say the Greater Redding Chamber of Commerce is our official name. So I really think of our territory as Shasta County based primarily, though we do kind of trickle into neighboring counties since many times you'll see those smaller communities drive into Redding as our population swells during the week, during the day for the services that we have to offer here. The Chamber really is a convener of leaders and influencers, a catalyst for business growth and a champion for a stronger community. We call that the three C's of the Chamber, and I also think there should be a fourth C, and that would be courage, because we dive into issues and try to make a difference. And not not everyone always agrees with the decisions we make. And I mean that internally within our own membership of roughly 900 businesses. So we have to have the courage to represent business interests in the community. And a lot of what we do, and especially what I do is work with the public sector, with the cities and with the county in trying to help our businesses be successful.
Steve:
Prior to the inception of the chamber, what did the business landscape of Redding and I guess the greater Shasta County look like? And then how does the chamber help those businesses? I'm assuming there's networking opportunities, promotional things of that nature. Obviously, being part of the chamber lends some credence to that business, I guess. How has that changed?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Sure. Well, there have been the Chamber of Commerce in Redding has been around since nearly the turn of the 19th end of the 20th century. So there have been many chamber videos over the years. And I would say that kind of the way I look at it is we have to evolve as our community's needs evolve. Back in the day, I guess when we first started, it was around probably the the time when the railroad had decided that they were going to plow through Redding instead of old Shasta to our West. And as a result, a lot of the industry and commerce found its way to the Redding area and the Chamber of Commerce was founded right there around, what was it, 1908, 1909, 1910, right in that time period. Jeremy Tuggle from the Historical Society is going to be super disappointed that I don't know that off the top of my head, but he just did a really great write up on the history of the chamber, and we were there to support those businesses that popped up around the railroad tracks. Generally speaking, the farther you get away from the railroad tracks and Redding, the newer the construction is and the newer the community is. So that's kind of been our roots is around industry and then there's the industrialization of the country and that's certainly found its way to Shasta County, even beyond the railroad with automobiles and Highway 99 going right through town.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
And and then we really grew with natural resource based economy, whether it was timber or minerals and mining and those types of things. And then we found our way kind of to the present day where we're much more of a modern city. And we've we've grown to be roughly 100,000 people, let's say, in the greater Redding area, probably more than that, if you include Anderson and the city of Shasta Lake and some of the other outlying communities. And so we also know that with that. Growth. There's lots of opportunities and then there are also challenges that come with that as well. So it takes the private sector to be successful as kind of a basis for overall community health. We really look to that as a chamber. As business goes, so goes the community. And we also know that we have a symbiotic relationship with the public sector because if we are successful in growing tax base, that's going to help to pay for those essential services that are provided by our local governments, like police and fire and streets and water and wastewater and everything else. So we have a solid relationship with the incorporated cities as well as the county, because they want to support our business community success by and large. And that's been really positive from me as a person, someone who's grown up in reading.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
It's it means a lot to me to be in this role because I get to have an impact on the present and the future of where my family has been and where I hope it will be. I've got two kids here in Redding, one's in Okinawa in the Air Force, but we hope that Joe will find his way back here, too. He's actually an Air Force plumber, he says, tongue in cheek. So we know that when he gets out of the service, he will have an opportunity to go to work in that industry. And we want him to be here in Shasta County. So anyway, I want them to see Redding as a great quality of life and a place that they want to be. And along with quality of life, when I think of like the the river trail system and the walkability and reliability of the city, the affordability of the city, it also is is it a place where I can hang my shingle and start a business? Is it a place where I can make a living and be able to buy a home and support a family and all of that kind of stuff? So the chamber is at the table for all of these different discussions to do our best to make that a reality.
Steve:
That's great. Thanks, Jake. I had a question. You mentioned that you are born and raised here and read it and obviously have a fervor and a passion for the betterment of Redding. How do you ensure in your role with the chamber that you both value what Redding has to offer, but also also bringing an outside perspective to maybe things that are working in other communities and other places as well that you can then utilize in the Redding Chamber.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Well, I would say that a couple of things come to mind. One is we have to strike a balance in terms of growing as a community, growing responsibly. The planning that we see that happens at the city is simply growth for growth sake and urban sprawl, or we also taking advantage of infill projects and things that make more environmental sustainable sense. So I think those are questions that I ask and that we look at and I know the Planning Commission considers as well and the state of California certainly does because that quality of life is something we're trying to cling to. But I've often said to friends and family that if we're successful in doing what we want to do at the chamber, you know, things are going to change. Your commute time might get a little longer and that type of thing. And that comes with, quote, progress and prosperity. So it is a balancing act, that's for sure, in in growing, but growing strategically as a community. And I would say in terms of outside perspective, I really sought out the opportunity to serve on the board of the Western Association of Chamber Executives. That association represents nearly 900 chambers across the Western United States. The association president basically says if it is a chamber that identifies itself as being a Western chamber, then they are welcome to be a part of our organization. So we have people from, gosh, from Kansas, Colorado and Texas and up in Alaska and definitely all of the West Coast and also Hawaii that are a part of this board and this association. So you get to hear the best and brightest ideas from across the association of what they are doing to effect positive change in their communities and how the chamber is doing that. So it's certainly been a help to me to be able to draw upon those with varied experience and all to the betterment of Redding. So I think it's true having an outside perspective is really important. And to not be afraid of the unknown and not be afraid of diversity, of thought and certainly around developing a community.
Katie:
And then that kind of segues into a question that I have more than one question, many questions I would say, on just the health of businesses in Redding and what makes Redding a great place to do business, and what makes Redding maybe a more challenging place than others to do business. So if you could base your your insight off of what you hear from your members and from what you hear from a larger board, what makes business in Redding easier? And what what's maybe more challenging about doing business in Redding?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Sure. That's a that's a great question. I think that. Right, in a way, what makes Redding a great place to do business? Is the relationships that we have. And I think certainly the chamber's relationships with people within City Hall that help to make decisions regarding permitting and helping projects to be successful. Knowing your city council members, knowing your mayor, being able to pass the hallway test is what we say. If you walk down the hallway, would your mayor know your name and recognize you? And I would say absolutely. That's the case here. If we're in a larger metropolitan area where there's an elected mayor and they've got this posse of security guards around, he or she, it just is harder to get access to those decision makers in Redding. You can absolutely get that access and the chamber helps to facilitate that. So I think that's number one on my list would be just the relationships that we have with one another. I've heard it said that we are a small enough community where you can see people that you know at the grocery store and that type of thing. But we're also large enough where we can move the needle and make a difference and make something, some kind of positive change. I also think that so cool to lay claim to being a business community that really embraces the startup community, that the EDC does a great job in that, that's for sure.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
And I think when I well, maybe just to keep going on this one is that relationships that we have, like Todd Jones, the EDC president, and I are great friends and we're visiting all the time. We're talking about personal stuff, we're talking about professional work. How can we complement the work of one another? He's working on acquiring, attracting business and talent and celebrating the quality of life and affordability metrics and all of that. And then we are helping those businesses that are established here to remain here and to grow, and we work together on that. I would say the challenge piece with Redding is it seems like we can be quick to cool and slow to warm during economic cycles. We have to look to like Sacramento in the Bay Area generally, you know, these larger metro areas to see what does the future hold for us. So when housing prices start to dip in Sacramento and the Bay Area in pretty good bet is that that's going to be the case here in the not too distant future. And you also look at those things around the the recession that we faced in 2008 and nine and ten.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
I'm sort of a child of the Great Recession, is what I say. Right. So we we tend to be a little bit more conservative and maybe a little bit more frugal because of that. But thinking we can be a boom or bust economy when times are good, they're really good. And that would be mostly around like the construction industry rocking and rolling like it is right now. Our hotel rooms are full and doing great and people are are doing a lot of more drivable destinations for their vacations and that's been a real positive. But we also know that we could do a better job in growing our primary industry, more manufacturers and technology companies. And then again, that's that's the EDC, that's Stillwater Business Park. Those are the efforts of the city and and the EDC to bring bring those jobs to town that are valued at a greater value per job than than service in retail. But service and retail benefits from those primary industries being successful and having a presence here, sort of a food chain, if you will. So I'd like to see us continue to diversify. I think that being in Redding and having access to the Internet, if we have a place that people want to be, they can be working for tech companies.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
They can be working like I know someone in town that she grew up in Redding. Her husband did not. He works for Facebook and she works for another company out of the area. They've relocated back to Redding, Boomerang, back to our community, and each of them works remotely and draws a paycheck from out of the area, bringing that wealth from outside of the area into the community. And to me, that's the definition of economic development. Bring outside wealth in. So I think I could see the telecommuting opportunities for for our area continuing. I think technology is just evolving so quickly that it does present opportunity for a region like ours. I often will say Redding, California, Shasta County, the last bastion of affordability in the state. And you don't have to be in the middle of nowhere to find that affordable home. You could actually see that here in Redding, which we've got a macy's and we have a Costco, and we've got we've got all of those amenities that people will want to see to have a well rounded city experience. And then, of course, all of. That natural beauty that that sets us apart.
Steve:
Jake, isn't it deemed the smallest Macy's in California as well?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
That's one of those amazing facts. You are correct. I think we might even be the world's smallest. And as far as I know, it's still home to Redding's only escalator. You know, if you say, meet me at the escalator, you know, it's got to be the Macy's because it's the only one around. And my kids insist on riding up and down that thing over and over again. Awesome. Awesome.
Steve:
Jake, I'm curious, you mentioned that there's currently right around 900 businesses who are members of the chamber. What what are some reasons? I'm trying to understand how the model works. What are some reasons that businesses would not join the chamber is it is a businesses that are already more well established and don't necessarily need the services and aid of the chamber. Or is it the cost? Why would a business not join the chamber?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Well, I think that we do our best to make sure that cost isn't a major obstacle for a business. I mean, you can be a part of the Chamber of Commerce for $300 a year and we'll work out, you know, quarterly or monthly payment plans for for people to make that work. Hayley, our membership director, does an awesome job in sharing the value of being a part of the chamber in terms of real cost savings through our relationships with like Office Depot and local member to member discounts and things like that. People will see us as an extension of their business. To your point, Steve, particularly the smaller chamber member business. Our typical member is five or fewer employees, so it's really Main Street USA or in this case Market Street, I guess, or Hilltop or Bertelli or Hartnell or whatever you want to say. And they will come to us because they're looking for us to be their marketing department or to offer human resources, help, legal advice and that kind of thing. So why wouldn't a business be a part of the chamber? I think that across the industry, usually it's around between ten and 15% of the total number of businesses in the community join the chamber. And I think that is because it takes a person who sees the value of being a part of something bigger than themselves, someone that sees the greater good of the association with the chamber, that we are working toward a better community and it begins with a better, stronger, healthier business community.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
I think the other part of it, though, is like many of us in nonprofit organizations and the Chamber is a 500 1c6 tax exempt organization, Business Association is we have to continually tell our story. People don't understand that a chamber is a standalone organization. Oftentimes they think that I work with you guys at the city, that we're part of, the city of Redding, we're just a department of the city. Right. And that's not the case. So being able to tell that story and explain to them what a chamber is and why they should care is something we have to constantly do. And we do that in a lot of ways. We do some traditional advertising and marketing, but we also survive on a lot of word of mouth advocates that exist like current members that test and give their testimonies about how the chamber is helped them or are volunteer ambassadors that go out and share what's going on at the chamber. And then we hear from the business community what's going on in the business community, and it helps us to shape our programs and our direction. And it's from everything to like from the trainings that we offer to the positions that we might take on issues facing the community. And then also questions we might ask of candidates when election years occur. And that's something I should probably explain more to, is our our revised approach to politics.
Katie:
Yeah. I mean, I think that's a good segue way into that because previously the Chamber had been endorsing some candidates or part of that. How have you pivoted and what's your current strategy?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
It's important. I mean, I have a communication design degree from Chico State, and I remember one of those first communications classes. They said rule number one is know your audience. So we are constantly asking our audience, our chamber members, what do they think about something we're considering or our approach that we're taking on one thing or another? So enter the political action realm. Some chambers of commerce really dive into this work and do it in a way where they endorse candidates and fund campaigns. And that used to be us. That was the system that I inherited, that was the methodology I inherited. So we saw that the Western Association of Chamber Executives, who I mentioned earlier, did a survey in 2021 that indicated that. Seven out of ten chambers don't have political action committees and do not endorse or fund candidates. So I thought, that's interesting. I ought to ask our local members what they think. And it was nearly exactly the same numbers. The vast majority of our members said, we want to know what the candidates think about issues that are of greatest importance to us. But we don't need you as a chamber to tell us who to vote for and to write checks to those candidates. We are in a day and age in our society where there is lack of trust in institutions and any time money exchanges from one hand to another, people say Follow the money. And then when you follow the money, that can often lead to suspicions and distrust. And that's not what we want. I think one of the pillars of a Chamber of Commerce is that it is a trusted source of information for the business community. So to stay or regain some of that pure convening, that trust, I've instituted what's called the city plan, and that is to lead with credibility, integrity, transparency and you the voice of our members. And so our commitment is that when election time happens, you as a chamber member will know where the candidates stand on the issues that you've told us are of greatest importance to you, and that so far has gone really well for us.
Katie:
Yeah, I found that really valuable myself in the last election, you know, preliminaries where I was listening to some of the chambers facilitation of the candidates, actually answering questions from the audience and from just the general community. I found it super helpful. I'm sure other people did as well.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
That's the goal. I'm really glad to hear that.
Steve:
Jake. I'm curious, funding wise, is the chamber funded strictly member dues or are there other revenue streams as well?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Well, one of the goals that I have as a manager of this organization and CEO is to set ourselves up to be more resilient when you've got downtimes in the economy. And the way that you do that, in my opinion, is you have to diversify where the revenue is coming from. And when I arrived in 2016, the vast majority of our budget came from membership, investment and sponsorship relationships and then little odds and ends events that we would do. Like they weren't major moneymakers, but they brought in some net income to us and that would be like the state of the city or our legends and leaders gala or our golf tournament. But when it comes down to it, I don't want to be known for my golf tournament. I want to be known for the real core work of the chamber, you know, making the business community stronger, putting it in a position to be successful, creating greater opportunities. So growing the size of the pie and then letting the free enterprise economic model decide who gets what slice of that pie. So anyway, we now also have this tourism contract, which is very helpful to us because we are able to hire people that are paid out of that contract with the city of Redding, provide some administrative support too, and that helps create more resiliency for us. Also, we entered into additional government work around the pandemic when we spoke up for the needs of the business community and said, we would like you, Shasta County Board of Supervisors to consider increasing your allocation to the business community for grants at this time to help them survive the COVID 19 pandemic.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
And so we ended up distributing nearly $4 million through the CARES Act in our relationship with the county of Shasta. And then also we're able to charge an administrative fee to do that work. Now, that administrative fee was 4%, but we ended up realizing only 3.2% of that because you're not allowed to make a profit on that work. But we could cover costs and simply covering costs, whether it be staff time or our utility bill or whatever, that's a help to the organization as well. As we move forward. One of the areas, I would say probably the first and foremost primary area of focus for us is in workforce retention. We know from surveying of our members the three biggest issues that they're facing are inflation supply chain and workforce supply chain and inflation are macroeconomic challenges and probably not going to move the needle too much one way or another as the Redding Chamber of Commerce. But on the workforce front, I think the chamber's been missing at the table all these years when it comes to workforce retention. And to me workforce retention means simply ensuring that more of our youth as well as our current workforce, remain in our community or see a future in our local workforce in Shasta County. So that's that's our aim on kind of a basic level. But I can see the Chamber's future and we are going to be involved in this for the long haul.
Katie:
And maybe you can just expand on that. Jake, what are your plans to support the Workforce Initiative? Are you working with people locally to kind of retain and inspire the next generation or what's your plan?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Yeah, well, the Chamber of Commerce has had a long standing scholarship program where if you're connected to a Chamber member business, you're eligible to apply for a scholarship. And I just came from our wrap up meeting from this year, and we were able to award 31 scholarships totaling $18,500 this year to local recipients, whether it's a trade school, Shasta College or four year university or whatever. And those are renewable scholarships to what I think we we need to do a better job of though is connecting juniors and seniors in high school and probably college students as well with careers of interest in our local business community, whether it's in the public sector or private sector alike. In a basic sense, I want more light bulbs to go on for more of our local students to the opportunities that exist within Shasta County. You don't have to leave to pursue your dreams. You can go away to school, but just know that there's a job here in a career of interest. So I want more people to realize that at the very basic level, I don't want to duplicate or reinvent programs that already exist in the workforce realm. There are fewer things. More annoying than that is when somebody says, I've got an idea, I'm going to start a program, and they're already like three of those programs that already are being done. So our our job, I think, as a chamber is to connect the business community with the available resources and workforce that exists today and to help those business people understand the difference between one program and another. How do you access that resource and then hold their hands through the process? We are perfectly positioned to help more of our educational and workforce partners connect with the business community in Shasta County. So that's where I'm at today.
Katie:
Sounds good.
Steve:
It sounds exciting. Jake, I'm curious, you mentioned earlier that recently the chamber was awarded the Visit Redding tourism contract. It's been a year since that contract was blessed. We've obviously had the opportunity to interview tourism director Danny Orloff here on the show and work with him on a regular basis. Overall, how are things going now that you're you're in?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
I am so excited about the progress that's been made in the first year when we had this opportunity, when we were given this opportunity or earn the opportunity a little more than a year ago, I didn't know who we were going to hire. And then to have someone of the ilk of Danny Orloff come forward and be interested in moving back to the North State from the Portland area. As he was working for the Nike corporate store at the time. It was just such a such a win. I can remember not literally but figuratively sort of salivating over that resume. And I reached out to him via text to say, Got your resume and application. Thank you for applying. I look forward to meeting with you in person and the rest is sort of history. When we we hired Danny and he hit the ground running, his heart is 100% in making Redding more attractive from a marketing standpoint. And it kind of goes back to one of my mentors, Bob Wise, who's the head of KBI up in Medford, Oregon. When I was working for Channel seven years ago, he was our general manager and he put it so simply, he just said to potential advertisers of KRCC in Redding, he goes In terms of their commercial production, we're not going to put anything out there on TV that you're not proud of.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
And I just thought, what a great way to really sum up what we want to accomplish is we don't we want to put images and videos that represent our community and the best and brightest things about Redding in our community that we are proud of and people. Of that live here are going to be proud to see. I love how like the cool April Nights video that was done and the rodeo video that was done and some of these other things are really cinematic and they kind of give you a fresh look at something that we've had as part of our community for a long time. You just see it in a different way and I think it just is elevated our game and I'm really, really excited for what the future holds with with respect to visit Redding. So that's been such a fun adventure, a lot of growth for all of us here to learn about this this industry and to work with people that are experts.
Katie:
And how does the chambers work and the tourism contract, how did those overlap in a way that benefits the community? And then how are those kind of different in their own silo?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
I think it's really cool that I mean, when you look at tourism bureaus across the country, oftentimes they're connected with the Chamber of Commerce because we are supposed to be cheerleaders for our community. And even on day one, when I arrived at the chamber and we were down by the Civic Auditorium before moving to downtown, people were coming in to the office all the time, wanting to know what is there to see and do in this community. And they said, Well, you're the Chamber of Commerce. You should know because they're used to going to the chamber and other places, because we're connected to the local businesses that are oftentimes in the hospitality industry or other destination type locations like Shasta Caverns or Turtle Bay Exploration Park, just to name a couple of the popular ones. And we we know the ins and outs of these places and can give them some tips and leads as to how to best experience them so that that's a natural thing. Also, just leveraging relationships that we have in the chamber with other organizations that have pretty sizable marketing budgets, we can create the images, the photos, the video, the logos and so on, and then those marketing departments can amplify that message and the work that they do. And of course, I think of health care and I think of what you guys are doing at the city of Redding and so on as well. And that way we can leverage the resources that that each organization has to amplify the message. I think that's a real positive win.
Steve:
And Jake, on that note, how do you ensure that there's no conflict of interest and instances where maybe businesses are being promoted through the visit writing website or things of that nature?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Yeah. So we I know that Danny does a great job of not even really asking the question, are you a member of the Chamber of Commerce? He's just featuring cool stuff. And whether they're in the chamber or not is not even a question that's asked. It kind of reminds me in this maybe a bad a bad example, but that might make for a good podcast to material. But anyway, when I was working at Northern Valley Catholic Social Service before coming to the chamber, we had to explain to people it's about the need, not the creed. So it doesn't matter if you're a Catholic or not, we're going to serve you. We don't even ask the question on the application Are you of a certain religion or not? It's like that with the chamber too, because the way I look at it is there are two types of businesses, current chamber members and future chamber members. So we want to do the best job that we can to just promote the best and most exciting things that we're proud of here in this community. Regardless of chamber status.
Katie:
Since you're positioned at the chamber and the tourism contract, it feels like in the business community. I personally feel that our overall website presence, like businesses, like the businesses around Redding, their website presence isn't as high quality as it should be, especially when people are looking at our community from outside places like the Bay Area and San Diego and larger cities. You know, our web presence doesn't always look super high quality. Is is the chamber focused in any way on that or is the tourism contract visit Redding focused on that at all? How do you decide, like what is an important metric for this community that the chamber and the tourism is going to focus on?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
So I will tell you that I agree with you. I think that we have opportunity for improvement. One of the first initiatives that I did in 2016 was to partner with Google, and it was that let's get our cities on the map with Google. And it was just simply, do you have a digital presence on that major search engine and is the information accurate? So it's sort of like if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it really make a sound? It's like if you're not on Google, especially the first page of Google, even though you're there, do you really exist? And it's hard for the consumer to find you because that is today's Yellow Pages. You're going there from your smartphone to see if that business carries the product or service that you're looking for. So to get to your Web presence question, if your website isn't easy to navigate, if it doesn't adjust, or is it is it responsive for the screen size of the person that's holding the screen in their hand trying to find you? If it doesn't respond to that size and if it isn't complete with up to date information on the goods and services that you have, you're doing yourself a disservice as a company. We also were talking about how you can expand your customer base so it's no longer people who can drive to your location.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
If you're offering delivery services, all of a sudden. E commerce becomes quite an opportunity for your business as well. So we did that for a few years with with Google and that was helpful. But I think that continued on through at least one memorandum of understanding with the Employment and workforce development arm of Shasta College. And it was about raising our game in that way too. It's been a couple of years and I'll just blame COVID because why not? Everybody else does it. But this is a good time for us to get back to that work because it can just create such cool opportunities for business people and particularly those of a certain age that maybe lack the technical savvy, but are able to get that work done. So as things keep rolling along, you want to see people's front door as they're kind of like window shopping in the days of yesteryear, walking down the street and looking at the window to see what might be there in the storefront. They're doing that by jumping on Google, clicking there and seeing what you have to offer and is it worth another click? So we want to be more clickable as a community.
Katie:
Yeah. Agreed.
Steve:
Yep. Makes sense. Jake, maybe just to wrap things up here, what do you think the future of business and reading looks like? Are you are you optimistic about the future of business here?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
In Reading? When I was 2015 and I was kind of keeping this secret that I was going to be taking on this role because I started in 2016. So in 2015, I remember someone asked me a similar question and someone close to me and I said, yes, I am bullish on the future for reading. I just think that we are due for a growth spurt. I think we are seeing that happen now. I think the ingredients are all coming together in this bowl as we're baking the cake, let's say. And part of that is this connect ability with our river trail. It's the world class amenities that we have here in the natural resources. Of course, people always go to the great outdoors as one of our first things to hang our hats on or our bike helmets on, let's say. But beyond that, it's having a vibrant downtown. It's seeing Stillwater Business Park go from. The only thing that was shovel ready at one time were the cow pies out there. And now we are seeing the the need for additional acreage and completing that park and expanding it because there's so much interest there. So the expanded air service at Redding Reading Regional Airport, I almost spoke the old name. Anyway, we are we are poised for a really great stretch, I think. And I think it's going to also be our entire metropolitan statistical area, the MSA of reading. So if you look at it as Anderson and the city of Shasta Lake and Pallas, Pedro and Cottonwood and so on, you're you're going to see growth taking place in those locations as well. And I think that's all very exciting. Let's just put it this way. I'm not getting my resume ready right now because there's so much that I want to accomplish still here, and I'm excited to be a part of it.
Katie:
What do you say to the people who say, You know, Redding's good as it is, we like a small town. We don't really need Redding to grow, you know, we like Redding just the way she is.
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
I guess the idea of the unknown and change creates anxiety and uncertainty can be tough for people. And you don't want. I think the biggest thing for us is we as a community, as we grow, we don't want to lose our identity in the sense of what makes us so special. And I think what makes us so special would be the people. And it's the way that we treat one another. It's the holding the door open for someone. As you enter the restaurant, it's making eye contact and smiling at a passer by on the sidewalk. It's all of those things that give us kind of that southern hospitality in the North State. I really think that there's something to that. And people have commented to us about how friendly everyone is here. So we don't want to lose that and. And as long as we can maintain that peace, I think we'll be okay along with with with change. Of course, we have the challenges. We have a bigger city. We've got more services that need to be provided to, I say preserve public safety and all of these other things. But it also creates great opportunity and I'm excited about it. And it's one of those things where you just want to say to that person, hang on and let's let's see how this actually turns out, because I think you're going to be pleasantly surprised. So that's kind of the way I look at it.
Steve:
Jake, is there anything else that you want to ensure gets covered today or for that matter, how can folks find out more information about the chamber, whether it be joining or just information in general?
Jake Mangas, Redding Chamber of Commerce:
Yeah, it's great for people to reach out to us at Redding Chamber or to find us on Facebook or any one of the social media channels, Instagram and so forth. They can also call us here or stop by at the chamber. And of course, we've got our numbers. 5302254433. We're also located downtown on the corner of Butte and Pine Streets at 1321 Butte Street. We are here to answer your questions, and I'm willing to sit down and visit with anyone about any of the things that we talked about on this podcast or what they'd like to see in writings future. It's just been so wonderful working with the city, having a great relationship with those and leadership on the staff side and also the elected officials. It makes a real difference for us to know that we can text or pick up the phone and call someone they're going to answer and they're going to respond. And that's been the case for us. So as long as I'm here, that's going to be my my goal is to continue a real positive relationship with the public sector locally, because, I mean, ideally, if we're moving together in the same direction, that's going to help accelerate the change we all want to see.
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