The Visalia Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the Best of Visalia at our 56th Annual Awards Celebration to be held Thursday, June 18, at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center.  “Best of Visalia” is the theme of this year’s event as we highlight the best our community has to offer in terms of businesses and individuals, along with elegant entertainment, food and fun!

Later this month, at the Annual Awards Celebration, your Chamber will select a Man and Woman of the Year and four Businesses of the Year (Small, Medium, Large, and Agri-Business).   The good news is that the pool from which we are able to select a winner in each of these categories is deep and impressive.   The down side is that only one business and individual will win in each category.

Our Annual Meeting held May 15th highlighted achievements of the past year and recognized our amazing force of volunteers who make the Chamber successful.  “We have experienced changes in our staff and worked hard to continue offering value and benefits in the face of the same difficult economic conditions that have impacted our members,” explained President/CEO Glenn Morris.

More small businesses will be eligible for U.S. Small Business Administration-backed loans, meaning greater access to much-needed capital in this tough economy, as a result of a temporary alternate size standard for the agency's largest lending program.

With beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada foothills, luxurious hotel rooms and suites, and casual and fine dining, the Chukchansi Gold Resort and Casino is much more than a casino. And, you don’t have to just take our word for it.

University of California, Merced said its Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC) in Central California had gotten a recommendation for accreditation from the Association of Small Business Development Centers in March.

From an academic perspective, curricula targeting specifically family business with its own specific characteristics and competitive advantages and disadvantages include a wide array of academic disciplines with a variety of backgrounds, such as business, family economics, family sociology, and psychology.

On April 17, 2009 Sequoia Regional Leadership held a joint day session with Leadership North Tulare County on the Future of the Valley.

Each year the Dell Foundation (Dell Computers) doles out prestigious scholarships to deserving high school seniors to help them launch a successful college career.  The Dell Program is primarily a need-based scholarship program, not merit based.  Eligible seniors must maintain a minimum 2.4 grade point average as part of the foundation’s mission to reach underserved students.  However, students must be academically prepared by participating in programs that gear them up for college such as AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination) or advanced placement courses.

Computer backups are one of those things it is easy to overlook until you need it.