Times up. Put your pencils down and pass your papers forward, results will be posted ASAP online. Remember those days? They’re here again. Get out and vote!

A lot of critical decisions to be made and it’s up to you to do your part.” If you pray for rain don’t complain about a little mud” is the quote I was reminded of the other day by Daniel Garcia of Resicom and seemed appropriate at this election time.

While we’re talking elections, I must say, no matter what I admire the grit and guts candidates show by merely running. It’s no business for the faint of heart. Politics is a brutal business and thankfully there are people who are willing to step forward to take on the challenge. It doesn’t matter what party or who you represent; when you put yourself out there and become a candidate, your life is forever changed. Thank you goes out to all candidates.

Congratulations to two local businesses recently featured on KUSI’s Good Morning San Diego show last week. Bob and Kate at Sunny Side Kitchen got some more well-deserved screen time when Casey McKinnon field reporter at KUSI stopped by and went live there. Next stop for the roving KUSI crew was at Stone and Glass where James Stone stole the show and left viewers wanting more. Well done James. And, while the local kudos are going out, a thank you and welcome goes out to Sydnee’s pet grooming as the Chamber was invited to help them with a ribbon cutting celebrating their grand opening.

Thank you to all who have stepped forward and are supporting our 22^nd annual Chamber Challenge Golf outing next Monday at Woods Valley Country Club. Proceeds from this event go to support the Chamber’s Rising Stars scholarship program which kicked off its 4^th year last week under the guidance of our own Mona Durney. It’s a great program and worth all of our support. And, last but not least a huge thank you goes out to Suzanne Nicolaisen for all of her work in organizing and helping to beautify the barricades on Grand Avenue. What a difference it has made to our restaurants using their outside seating. But, my biggest thank you goes to Suzanne for her gift to the Chamber of the montage picture of Escondido used on our current issue of the Escondido Magazine. On Friday I stopped by to say hello to Suzanne at the Escondido ART Association digs on Grand and received a beautiful copy of the montage from Suzanne. It’s hanging in our offices at the Chamber.

Next week we kick off the Escondido Eats “Fill your Plate, Fill Your Heart” promotion. This program is a combined effort of the Escondido Chamber, The Downtown Business Association and the City of Escondido and is set to help all participating restaurants who are still hindered by the pandemic. A portion of the proceeds will also support the North County Food Bank. More information can be found here.

The Chamber is on a roll. New and innovative ideas are becoming real and plans are taking shape for some big changes. The Chamber’s Board Chair Don Romo put out the challenge “Would anyone miss the Chamber if we were gone?” and we’re stepping up with a firm “Hell yes!”. This Chamber is not going to let 110 years of hard work and impact go by the wayside. We’re building for an even bigger and better business community, one we can all be proud of.