P a r a m o u n t
pulse Beat
March 2016
www.paramountchamber.com
Serving the Community Since 1990
Paramount Chamber of Commerce Hosts 2016 State of the City Address The 2016 State of the City Address hosted by the Paramount Chamber of Commerce, and sponsored by Paramount Petroleum and AltAir Paramount sold out. Featured speakers included Mayor Tom Hansen, City Manager John Moreno, PUSD Superintendent Dr. Ruth Perez, and Paramount Chamber President Leonard Crespo. President Leonard Crespo kicked off the event with some Chamber trivia; sharing with attendees the Chamber of Commerce began in 1924 as the Hynes/Clearwater Chamber of Commerce. The first Chamber President was H.W. McKelver; in 1947 the Chamber incorporated and became the Paramount Chamber of Commerce. Crespo went on to say, “before there was a city planning department there was a Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber raised money for beautification projects, and courted new businesses. Over the years the Chamber’s focus has changed to meet the needs of the community, but their mission has been and always will be promoting economic growth.” Mr. Crespo also talked about Paramount business success stories: Weber Metals; is in the process of installing the largest press in the Western Hemisphere. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being invested in the project, and hundreds of new jobs will be created. Marukan Vinegar; is opening a new plant in Griffin Georgia to meet the demand for its gourmet rice vinegars, and better serve the Eastern United States and exports across the Atlantic. Wavefront Technology; is experiencing one of their best years ever with an eight week backlog for their holographic materials. Paramount Petroleum; has partnered with AltAir Paramount to go green with the manufacturing of jet
Leonard Crespo Total-Western, Inc. Paramount Chamber President
15357 Paramount Boulevard, Paramount, CA 90723
Tom Hansen Mayor City of Paramount
John Moreno City Manager City of Paramount
State of the City sponsor Paramount Petroleum - AltAir Paramount; from left; Ed Becker, Frank Mitchell, Annina Brown, Bill Winters, and Jamie Abrego.
and diesel fuel made from cow tallow. Alondra Hot Wings; which opened their first location in Paramount, just opened their fifth restaurant in the City of Pasadena. Bianchi Theatres; opened its multi- screen indoor theatre in 1998 and recently opened a two screen 400 car capacity drive-in. CalMet Services; is building a 25 million dollar state of the art Materials Recovery Facility to serve Paramount and surrounding communities. The facility will create 150 new jobs and the City will receive a host fee of approximately one million dollars a year. Northgate Gon-
Paramount Chamber of Commerce
pulse beat
Dr. Ruth Perez Superintendent - Paramount Unified School District
zalez; is remodeling their shopping center and attracting new businesses to the downtown. Crespo closed by saying, “As you can see there are a lot of good things happening in Paramount and the Chamber is proud to be an active partner in the City’s growth.” Next to speak was the new Paramount Unified School District Superintendent, Dr. Ruth Perez, “let me begin by saying that Paramount is indeed fortunate to have a Chamber and business community that recognizes the central role of schools in economic development. In business terms, public schools
are a community’s most critical investment. As all of you in this room realize public education has always been the best way to level the playing field so that every child in America has the opportunity to succeed. Placing educational opportunities within the reach of every child has long been in the vision of this governing board of education.” She then shared the following; attendance is up, more students are taking and passing AP courses, the dropout rate continues to decline, the district continues to invest in technology with more computers and tablets for the class-
room, the Career and Technical Education programs are doing well and growing. The District is also promoting a College and Careers culture. Each school has a plan to promote awareness. Paramount High School is providing free SAT prep courses for students on Saturdays and increasing the advanced level courses not only at the senior campus, but also the 9th grade center campus. Dr. Perez ended her presentation by saying, “the wealth of the City of Paramount is reflective of the progress, achieve-
Cityscape..................................15 Mayors Corner.......................... 3 Members Only...........................14 New Members...........................10 - 11
On Patrol...................................... 4 PEP.................................................9 Service Clubs..................................13
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What’s inside Ask The Expert..........................10 Business Card Directory.............12 Business Corner.........................11