Ventura, Calif. (June 18, 20130.–State Assemblyman Jeff Gorell, who established the Gold Team California initiative to retain and attract employers to Ventura County and the state, earned this year’s Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Champion for Prosperity Award. Gorell will be among five 2013 WIB Award recipients who will be recognized at the WIB’s annual meeting on June 20 at the Ventura County Office of Education. The annual awards in four categories, are given to individuals, employers and organizations in the community who have played an important role in building a strong workforce in Ventura County. 

WIB Champion for Prosperity Award

Calif. Assemblyman Jeff Gorell

The WIB Champion for Prosperity Award is presented to an individual or organization for supporting workforce development in Ventura County through job creation, job retention and business expansion or attraction. In addition to creating the Gold Team, Gorell has advocated for approval of a federal permit to test unmanned aerial vehicles at Navy Base Ventura County (NBVC). If the permit process is successful, it will result in thousands of jobs to the region. 

            “California has advantages that most states can only dream about, including our highly educated workforce, a gateway to Asian markets through our West Coast ports, abundant natural resources and a healthy infrastructure,” says Gorell.” However, we continue to lose jobs to less appealing states because we are not fighting hard enough to keep those jobs in California. The California Gold Team brings elected officials together with business and labor leaders, working to find common sense solutions to our regulatory burdens and to highlight our state’s competitive advantages.”

WIB Leadership Award 

Captain David Sasek

             For his work on behalf of Ventura County’s youth and overall workforce development, Captain David Sasek at Naval Base Ventura County received the WIB Leadership Award. The award recognizes someone who embodies the spirit and purpose of workforce development in Ventura County–a role model who takes on and solves workforce challenges.

Sasek helped form and is currently chairperson of the NBVC Education Outreach Working Group of 80 tenant Commands on the Base. The group’s goals are to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines by minority students in local schools. Under Sasek’s leadership, the Base offers six-to-nine-week internships and has established programs and partnerships  with local elementary, middle and high schools. 

            “I believe STEM education outreach is critical to the future of our nation’s economy,” says Sasek. “Encouraging our children to pursue higher education studies in these rapidly-growing, currently underserved areas will help us reduce or eliminate our nation’s deficit in STEM related fields. Equally important, doing so will create career opportunities for these youth in growing fields for life-long productive employment.”

WIB Youth Opportunity Award 

            The WIB Youth Opportunity Award is presented to an organization for providing internships or employment opportunities that help grow and strengthen Ventura County’s future workforce. This year, there were two winners.

Kristin Decas

            The Port of Hueneme is one of the award recipients. In April 2012, The port proposed a Global Trade and Logistics class for junior and senior students in the Oxnard Union High School District. The class just completed its second semester with an enrollment of 16 students. The program provides an overview of global trade and logistics supply chains and a relevant curriculum so students understand the job skills necessary for the industry. 

            “Most people don’t consider the economics of international trade or the numerous job and career opportunities created by shipping fresh produce or cars from overseas,” says Kristin Decas, Port of Hueneme CEO and port director. “The Global Trade & Logistics class combines real-world Port of Hueneme situations with content from the Oxnard Union High School District curriculum. The result is an engaging and interactive experience that promises to get students excited about our county’s global seaport and the career opportunities represented through global trade.”

Debbie Hill

            The second award winner is the Ventura County Medical Center and Santa Paula Hospital’s Auxiliary. Under the direction of Debbie Hill, the director of volunteer services for both hospitals, more than 80 youths participate in internships at the hospitals. 

            “Our student volunteers develop a sense of confidence while working in our healthcare setting,” says Hill. “They bring with them enthusiasm and an eagerness to expand their knowledge. We all take pride in the fact that we have made a difference in the lives of these young people.”  

WIB Collaborative Action Award

The WIB Collaborative Action Award goes to Tavi Udrea, global training and development director for Haas Automation, Inc. in Oxnard. The award is for partnerships that help meet employer needs, improve the relevance and capacity of education and workforce training or supports business expansion in Ventura County.

Tavi Udrea

Udrea has played a key role in organizing the Manufacturing Roundtable of Ventura County, created by the WIB in 2012 to strengthen the manufacturing base in Ventura County. He also works with the K-12 school system and community colleges to host student visits to Haas Automation and actively encourages other businesses to help raise the visibility of manufacturing careers in the county. 

             “Ventura County is fortunate to have workforce visionaries like Mr. Udrea who, behind the scenes,  are actively growing our workforce and strengthening our local economy through training, educational opportunities and business retention efforts,” said Alex Rivera, director of human resources at Clean Diesel Industries, Inc. and WIB Chair. “They are making a real difference in the lives of thousands of current and future workers.”

About the Workforce Investment Board

            The Workforce Investment Board administers federal funds that help to support Job & Career Centers (JCCs) and other adult, youth, and employer programs and services in Ventura County. With additional resources from the County of Ventura Human Services Agency, the JCCs provide employment assistance, career training and education services to job seekers, and employee recruitment, customized training and employer consulting to local businesses. JCC services are provided at no cost to job seekers and employers. For more information, call 800-500-7705 or visit www.wib.ventura.org.

 Oxnard, Calif. (May 27, 2013)–Oxnard, California-based Agromin, the organics recycler for over 50 California cities, was selected as the 2013 Small Business of the Year for California Senate District 19. The district encompasses a majority of Ventura County and all of Santa Barbara County. 

The district’s State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson chose Agromin for the award. There are 3.3 million small businesses in California.Every year since 2000, a winner is selected from each of the California Senate Districts.  

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and absolutely vital to our economy,” said Jackson. “Agromin is a fine example of a small business that not only contributes significantly to the economic vitality of our area and our agricultural industry, but is also doing so in an environmentally sustainable way.”

“It’s an honor to be recognized,” says Bill Camarillo, Agromin’s CEO. “It’s important to understand how critical small businesses are to our economy. Small businesses represent 99 percent of all California businesses and employ 52 percent of the state’s workforce. Most of the companies in the sustainable solutions sector, such as Agromin, are small but growing. This bodes well for California’s future.” 

Agromin and the other award recipients will be honored at California Small Business Day, June 10, in Sacramento. The event is sponsored by 25 California small business organizations and chambers.

About Agromin:

Agromin manufactures earth-friendly soil products for growers, landscapers and gardeners. Agromin is also the composter for over 50 California cities. Each month, Agromin receives more than 30,000 tons of organic material and then uses a safe, natural and sustainable process to transform the material into premium soil products. The results are more vigorous and healthier plants and gardens, and on the conservation side, the opportunity to close the recycling circle, allow more room in landfills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. For more information, go to www.agromin.com.

Fed Economist Gary Zimmerman

Ventura, Calif. (May 23, 2013)–Gary Zimmerman, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco senior economist, will provide his outlook for the national economy at a Wednesday, June 26 luncheon at the Tower Club in Oxnard (300 E. Esplanade Dr.). The event is sponsored by the Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA) and the Central Coast Chapter of the World Affairs Council of America (WACA).

At the Federal Reserve, Zimmerman’s research focuses on economic and banking topics. He has written articles and published research on the western regional economy, the high tech sector, cyclical behavior of industries and banking industry performance and competition.

 “Business owners and executives need economic information that will help them make the critical decisions necessary for their companies to stay competitive,” says Bill Buratto, VCEDA president and CEO. “Gary Zimmerman’s talk should provide valuable insight that will benefit all those attending.”

The event is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The cost for the luncheon is $40 for VCEDA and WACA members and $50 for nonmembers. For more information or to make a reservation, call VCEDA at 805-676-1332 or the WACA at 805-340-0220.

Sacramento, CA

– Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) stated today that he was very bullish on

the job and commerce opportunities for Ventura County and California as related to the massive

aerospace job growth expected in non-military use of unmanned aerial vehicles. The chairman of

the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace, Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Los Angeles),

called for a public hearing on the matter for Tuesday, March 19

th where legislators will hear

testimony on the Federal

Aviation Administration’s recent release of a request for proposal allowing

regions to compete for selection as one of six future national UAV testing and integration sites.

“

As a state, we must unify and marshal all resources to compete and ensure that California is a

successful applicant or we will lose an opportunity to create jobs and spur innovation

,” stated

Assemblyman Gorell. “

Other competitive states have been setting the resources and groundwork

for their FAA UAV applications for months, and we are going to have to work hard to catch up

.”

The select committee’s hearing is

entitled “Manufacturing for Global Aviation: California’s strategy

to win a federal designation as an unmanned aerial vehicle test site.

”

Last month the FAA released a Request for Proposal (RFP) to begin the process of identifying six

sites for UAV research and testing. FAA Administrator Michael Huerta stated that this new

industry could “generate nearly $90 billion in worldwide economic activity in the next decade.”

The County of Ventura and the Ventura County Economic Development Association have been

leading efforts for the UAV test site

. VCEDA President/CEO Bill Buratto stated “This opportunity

would be a perfect fit for Ventura County. We have a high-tech educated workforce, a great

relationship with our Navy bases, and an

established local connection to the aerospace industry.”

Assemblyman Jeff Gorell has been active on this issue, proposing legislation that will protect

privacy rights of Californians, while also working to attract the manufacturing industry to the state.

Gorell is also co-hosting a symposium to be held in Thousand Oaks from March 26-28 which will

focus on the civilian use of UAVs. The symposium is hosted by the American Institute of

Aeronautics and Astronautics and is being sponsored by numerous industry leaders.

For information about the upcoming UAV symposium, please visit

https://www.aiaa.org/CAuav/

# #

At the 2013 Coastal California ADDY Awards Wednesday night, Mustang Marketing came away a big winner!

The Mustang team journeyed north to the Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara to enjoy the event and peruse the entries. Attending such an exciting ceremony already made for a fun evening, and that was before they announced any winners.

When all was said and done, Mustang returned to Thousand Oaks with seven awards! We’re very happy that not only our clients appreciate our hard work, but our peers in the advertising industry, as well.

Mustang’s ADDY Awards:

Client: Workrite Uniform Company
Project: NSC 2012
Category: Collateral Material, Campaign
Place: Silver

Client: Workrite Uniform Company
Project: Website
Category: Digital Advertising, Products
Place: Silver

Client: Santa Barbara Zoo
Project: 50th Anniversary Logo
Category: Elements of Advertising, Logo
Place: Bronze

Client: Community Bank
Project: Rescue Mission Video
Category: Digital Advertising, Branded Content, More Than 60 Seconds
Place: Bronze

Client: New West Symphony
Project: Logo
Category: Elements of Advertising, Logo
Place: Bronze

Client: Workrite Uniform Company
Project: Fabric to Fire Service
Category: Integrated Campaigns, Consumer, Local
Place: Bronze

Client: Los Robles Hospital
Project: We’re Here Ad
Category: Elements of Advertising, Four-Color
Place: Bronze

To see what the Mustang team can do for your marketing, contact Scott Harris at (805) 498-8718 x 105 or scott@mustangmktg.com.

Ventura County, CA, March 15^th, 2013 – Express Employment Professionals of Ventura County earned top honors at the staffing firm’s 30^th annual International Leadership Conference in Salt Lake City, according to Neil & Janet McMillan, Ventura County Express owners.

                The Ventura County Express office received the Innovation Award, for recognition of an idea that significantly contributed to the overall development and success of the company, and the Helping Hand Award, for demonstrating the Express spirit by extending a “helping hand”, encouragement, and direction to another office.

In addition, the Ventura County Express office was awarded the Gold Circle of Excellence, which recognizes top performing offices in the Express system.

                “It is truly an honor to be recognized for these achievements,” said McMillan. “We would like to express our gratitude for the support of our community and the efforts of our staff that made these awards possible.”

                Nearly 1,400 Express franchise owners and their staff attended the company’s annual international leadership conference Feb. 27 to March 2. The conference featured three days of workshops, networking and training on staffing and workplace issues such as leadership, customer service, retention and team building.

The Ventura County Express Employment Professionals office began operation in 2006 and serves the Ventura County areas with contract and direct hire employees in a variety of fields, including professional, commercial and administrative.

Express is on a mission to put a million people to work annually, and worldwide, put more than 367,000 people to work in 2012 with more than 600 offices in the U.S., Canada and South Africa. Express provides expertise in evaluation hire, temporary staffing, professional search and human resources and works across a wide variety of industries. Temporary staffing sales for the international staffing corporation totaled more than $2.3 billion in 2012, a 101% increase since 2009.

The Ventura County offices, located in Oxnard and Westlake Village are currently accepting applications. For more information, call 805.973.1870 or visit www.expresspros.com.

Camarillo, Calif., March 14, 2013 – The Martin V. Smith School of Business & Economics at CSU Channel Islands (CI) is pleased to present Jim Molinets, Vice President of Mobile Games for Disney Interactive Studios, Friday, April 5, at noon in Malibu Hall 100.  The event is free, open to the public, and includes lunch and complimentary parking.  Registration is required at http://business.csuci.edu/events.htm.

Molinets is part of the MVS 2013 Spring Speaker Series, focusing on pioneers in the entertainment and interactive media world.  He has helped produce the smartphone hits “Temple Run: Brave,” “Where’s My Water?” and “Where’s My Perry?” He previously spent four years as Vice President of Franchise Production for Disney Interactive, working on all major gaming consoles and delivering successful products around core Disney franchises like Toy Story, Cars 2, Club Penguin, Phineas and Ferb, and many others.  A key figure in the interactive entertainment industry for more than 20 years with Disney, Sony, Electronic Arts, and Rogue Entertainment, Molinets has developed more than 30 games generating over $500 million in revenue.

The Speaker Series is sponsored and presented by the Business Advisory Council of the MVS School of Business & Economics. 

Complimentary campus parking will be available.  Once on campus, follow signs to the designated lot.  Once parked, visitors may walk or use the free shuttle service from the lot to the event location.

For more information, visit http://business.csuci.edu/events.htm or contact Merissa Stith, Events Coordinator, at 805-437-8548 or merissa.stith@csuci.edu.

Sacramento,CA– California State Assemblyman Jeff Gorell (R-Camarillo) and Assemblyman Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) announced today they have joint-authored two bills on the growing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or “drone” industry. Assembly Bill 1326 will attract manufacturing jobs in this rapidly growing industry toCaliforniaby providing state tax incentives, while Assembly Bill 1327 intends to protect the privacy rights of Californians.

“The defense industry has been a huge incubator of jobs inCalifornia, especially SouthernCalifornia, ” stated Assemblyman Bradford. “We want these well-paying, high-tech manufacturing jobs to continue to grow here inCalifornia.”

Assemblyman Gorell added, “UAV manufacturing will experience 700% growth in the next 6 years, a great opportunity forCalifornia’s economy. But the privacy concerns must be addressed before the public will feel comfortable with all of the benefits that come from the use of this technology. Our legislation clarifies how law enforcement and other public agencies will be allowed to use UAVs, and protects the public from unwarranted intrusions.”

More specifically, AB 1326 provides a tax exemption for the purchase of machinery used to manufacture the airframes and avionics of UAVs, as well as construction of new manufacturing facilities inCalifornia. The bill also provides hiring credits for creating new jobs in the industry.  AB 1327 provides common sense privacy protections against unwarranted governmental use of UAVs, and also penalizes surreptitious spying by private entities.

The myriad of economic and privacy issues surrounding the expanding UAV industry will be explored at a 3-day symposium inThousand Oaksfrom March 26 to 28. The conference, co-hosted by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), Assemblymembers Gorell andBradford, and other policymakers, will explore topics including the growing job opportunities forCalifornia; use of UAVs for public safety; use of UAVs in agriculture and other commercial endeavors such as communications and filmmaking.

Additional information about the symposium can be found at: https://www.aiaa.org/CAuav/

Additional information about the legislation can be found at: http://goo.gl/CTbFg

Camarillo, Calif.., Feb. 25, 2013 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) will host the 2013 Mediation Conference, “Conflict Resolution in the 21^st Century,” on Saturday, March 9, from 8:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the John Spoor Broome Library on the CI campus.

The conference, co-sponsored by CI’s Communication Program and the Ventura Center for Dispute Settlement (VCDS), brings together expert mediators, practitioners, students and community members for a day of sharing knowledge and skills on how to better solve conflict, engage divergent voices, and promote healing.

 The program features keynote speaker Douglas Noll, a prominent trial lawyer for more than two decades who found a new calling as a peacemaker and mediator, specializing in difficult, complex and intractable conflicts.  In his presentation “Brains, Biases, and Decision-Making,” Noll shares his personal journey, encourages people to follow their hearts and dreams to make a difference in the world, and offers tips on negotiation, peacemaking and conflict transformation.  Noll runs a mediation and arbitration business, Noll & Associates, and is an author, radio talk show host, and adjunct professor of law.  He holds a J.D. from University of the Pacific and M.A. in Peacemaking and Conflict Studies from Fresno Pacific University.  He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Mediators, a Fellow of the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, and on the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators.

 Conference participants may elect to participate in three of the six offered break-out sessions, led by some of Southern California’s leading conflict resolution experts.

 Advance registration for community members is $99 and includes continental breakfast, lunch, materials, parking, and the opportunity to engage in critical discussions.  Community members may pre-register before March 6 at www.vcds.bz.  After March 6, registration is $125.

 Students may register for $10, and faculty and staff may register for $15 by emailing Lindsay Scott at lscott@vcds.bz. 

For more information, please contact Dr. Tracylee Clarke, Assistant Professor of Communication, at 805-437-3305 or tracylee.clarke@csuci.edu.

Ventura County entrepreneurs can attend a host of free workshops presented by the Economic Development Collaborative-Ventura County’s Small Business Development Center of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. All workshops are held at EDC-VC, 1601 Carmen Dr., Ste. 215, Camarillo.

Starting a Small Business Workshop is a monthly workshop presented by SBDC advisor Mary Anne Rooney and is an overview of the steps needed to establish a business. The workshop will be 3-5 p.m., Mar. 12.

Consultant Professional Development Group is presented by SBDC advisor Joe Huggins and is an ongoing group for established consultants and those who are interested in entering the field. The workshop will be 11:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Mar. 15 and meets the third Friday of each month.

Topics will include the most important skills and talents required for consulting.

Entrepreneurial Academy*, also presented by Huggins, is an introduction to the entrepreneurial mindset, the planning stages, products and pricing, marketing practices, managing sales, operations and HR, legal considerations, financing and funding sources. The workshop will be 1-3 p.m., Mar. 15 and meets the third Friday of each month. *Pre-approval required for participation.

Topics will include the importance of creative thinking and how to develop original ideas for your business, as well as networking opportunities with other business owners. 

To register or for more information, contact EDC-VC at 805-384-1800 x21 or kelly.noble@edc-vc.com.