Published in the Oct. 28 – Nov. 10, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By John Horner
John Horner
Many aspects of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce were all packed into one 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. mini-marathon Oct. 22. The day began with our monthly Economic Development and Government Relations Committee meeting where we spent an hour interacting with Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman. It was particularly heartening to hear that efforts to improve the customer service level of the county’s planning and permitting department continue to bear fruit.
Clearly, there is always farther to go, but real progress has been made thanks in large part to Wasserman’s efforts. Interacting with our elected representatives to improve government on behalf of the people and businesses they represent, regulate and serve is one of the critical roles of your local Chamber of Commerce.
After that meeting many of the participants were off to Central High School to take part in the Morgan Hill Kiwanis Club’s annual tradition of cooking and serving barbecue-grilled hamburgers and hot dogs to the students, staff, parents and volunteer supporters of the continuation school.
This year’s BBQ event followed the school’s student academic accomplishments awards ceremony. About one-third of the school’s students qualified for the honor role, and two of them have maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
Central operates on an accelerated six-week long class schedule, so this was already the end point for certain courses. Finding ways to further support each and every student in our region is all of our collective jobs. During the past several years your Chamber of Commerce has been deeply involved in bringing resources and opportunities to local students. The more academically and emotionally developed our young people are, the better life is for everyone.
Finally, the evening of Oct. 22, the Chamber staff put on our annual dinner for our volunteers and sponsors to thank them for their time, talent and treasure in putting on our community’s various events.
Everything we do requires a small army of volunteers and financial sponsors to put into action. This year we had the chance to thank many of the people who make our regular monthly events, our high school interview training program (Rock the Mock), the annual All Morgan Hill Science Fair, two middle school career days, the annual Celebrate Morgan Hill community leaders awards dinner, the Friday Night Music Series and the Taste of Morgan Hill possible.
Our paid staff exists primarily to coordinate and support the volunteers who do much of the work. Morgan Hill is filled with people who contribute to making this an ever more vibrant and supportive community. Whether you contribute your time through the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce or in some other way, we appreciate what you do.
John Horner is the president and CEO of the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.
