Introducing the Oakland Restaurant Association_

							Introducing the Oakland Restaurant Association!

The Chamber’s 105th Annual Meeting provided an opportunity to update members of the
progress made in Fiscal 2010 and to announce new initiatives of your organization in the
year ahead.
    It has been reported that Oakland has become the Mecca for contemporary restaurants
in the Bay Area, and according to the New York Times, possibly the entire country.
    A critic recently wrote that a local restaurateur opened his restaurant in Oakland not
because he couldn’t have San Francisco. Neither sentiment nor money cinched the deal.
It was the raw ingredients – the access to a vast array of produce, meat, poultry and fish –
a veritable farmers’ market in Oakland four days a week.
    As Oakland’s restaurant community continues to flourish, the need has become
apparent for a new restaurant association organized by local restaurateurs and managed
through the Chamber of Commerce. That new association has become a reality. The new
Oakland Restaurant Association, in collaboration with the Chamber, will provide
members a variety of valuable benefits:
 In Education – The ORA will be partnering with California State University East
    Bay and Laney College to offer classes that will help restaurant owners better operate
    their businesses. Classes will include certification for food handlers, “Selvage”
    classes for food workers, employment classes including employment law basics,
    alcohol server training and e-marketing.
 In Cost-Saving Tools – The combined buying power of the ORA and the Chamber
    membership will enable ORA members the benefit of reducing many of their
    operating costs. Benefits will include credit card processing at reduced rates, workers
    comp and health insurance programs to reduce employer insurance costs,
    procurement discounts for food, fryer oil recycling, and natural gas.
 In Marketing – In collaboration with the Oakland Convention & Visitors Bureau, the
    new restaurant association website – www.oakrest.org – will be an online tool that a
    restaurant can use to integrate marketing efforts, with connections to the OCVB
    restaurant listings with plans to connect to Open Table for online reservations.
 In Advocacy – The relationship between ORA and the Chamber will enable all ORA
    members’ access to the Chamber’s fulltime advocacy staff. This valuable resource
    will enable ORA members’ access to city and county officials in matters involving
    permits and regulations. The advocacy that the Chamber offers will enable restaurant
    owners to have a voice in the system.
    Membership in the Oakland Restaurant Association is open to all restaurants and
affiliates in the food service industry. Membership rates include a discount for current
Chamber of Commerce members, and being a member of both organizations will provide
added benefits.
    Two experienced restaurateurs helped guide us through the association process, the
general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, Mark Everton, and the owner of Pican
Restaurant, Michael LeBlanc. Working with Mark and Michael gave us the ability to
move forward quickly.
    Our special thanks to our many members for their efforts in launching this effort to
strengthen the restaurant community in Oakland. In particular we appreciate the support
of our launch supporters; Recology, Clear Channel Outdoor, and others soon to be
announced.
    If you’re interested in becoming a member, please contact Triche Christmon at (510)
874-4800, ext 321 or email her at tchristmon@oaklandchamber.com.

We celebrate the winners

This year we are particularly proud of the award recipients who were honored at our 105th
Annual Meeting. The winners represent a particularly impressive group and represent the
growth of Oakland as well.
   Consider these Oakland champions –
    Marvin Clark, “Volunteer of the Year” – If Marvin’s face looks familiar it
       might be because he’s a Chamber Ambassador, a member of the Nonprofit
       Roundtable, and a leader in the Chamber’s Toastmasters. He can always be found
       at events such as the Annual Meeting, making sure that members are greeted and
       feeling comfortable, and helping them find their seats.
    Samuel Merritt University, “Community Service” – School administrators,
       faculty and students continue the school’s 101-year-old tradition of assisting the
       low-income and under-insured both in Oakland and around the world. Besides
       their work in Oakland, students and faculty in all academic programs have
       traveled overseas on medical missions to Europe, Africa, South America and
       Southeast Asia.
    Cathedral of Christ the Light, “Oakland on the Map” – The new Cathedral
       opened in September 2008 and was conceived as more than merely a place of
       worship. It also features a community center, a conference center, a seat for the
       ministries, a free health clinic, and a free legal justice clinic. In less than two years
       it’s already garnered international recognition.
    Ken Lowney, Lowney Architecture, “Small Business Innovator” – Ken
       believes in “public service through architecture,” and seeks and selects projects
       that have the potential to improve the quality of life in its neighborhood and
       beyond. Consider the MacArthur BART transit-oriented development. It could be
       just a parking structure, but Ken’s made it special because it has a ground floor of
       retail and will be able to be seen from the freeway. “It’s Oakland” to anyone who
       drives by.
    Michael Colbruno, “Corporate Citizenship” – Michael has his hands in so
       many pies that he has to wake up at 4:30 each morning just to start writing emails.
       His name has become synonymous with politics, fundraising, a love for helping
       children, and a love for life. His greatest passion, he says, is simply giving back to
       the community, providing a helping hand for troubled and underprivileged youth
       who are used to living in a world of guns and violence.
    Dick Spees, “Lifetime Achievement” – Dick says that he’s always had an
       interest in public service and felt that he had something to give. And give he did.
       After spending 31 years at Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation and 24
       years on the Oakland City Council, he’s become known as one of the Bay Area’s
       top fundraisers, working on behalf of countless nonprofits and profit-making
       organizations. Maybe his greatest triumph was the expansion of Chabot Space and
       Science Center, where he has a building named after him.
   A special thanks to the many sponsors who made the Annual Meeting such a splendid
event.