Sonoma County Tourism Trims Costs, Looks Forward to Reviving Travel

Progress continues in shaking off the pandemic’s economic cold shower effect on tourism, but keeping it going will require the ability to “constantly, flex and engage,” said a top Sonoma County tourism executive.

All of the work, however, requires the ability to “constantly monitor, flex and engage,” Claudia Vecchio, president and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism, said during the agency’s annual meeting, held virtually on Sept. 29.

“As the landscape in which we operate becomes more complex, it also provides us with opportunities to connect with the people in organizations who we haven’t collaborated with in the past,” said Claudia Vecchio, president and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism. “For example, we’re thrilled to be part of the North Bay Leadership Council and the Sonoma County Transportation Authority Citizen Advisory Committee … helping ensure that SCT is at the table for conversations that impact this destination as a place to live, do business and invite travelers, which is more important than ever.”

During a virtual presentation of the agency’s annual report, Vecchio and her staff recapped its performance for fiscal 2020-2021 and addressed its budget breakdown for 2021-2022. The agency’s fiscal year ends June 30.

Sonoma County Tourism closed out fiscal 2020-2021 having made a number of changes to trim costs from its $5.3 million budget, including cutting staff, stopping advertising and promotions, and canceling contracts with its domestic public relations agency and with international tourism agencies that promote the region, as Vecchio told the Business Journal.

During the meeting, Lori Angstadt, Sonoma County Tourism’s vice president of finance and operations, reviewed expenses for last fiscal year.

The agency saved $110,000 by downsizing the amount of space it leases at its existing location on Airport Boulevard,  Angstadt said,  and working remotely helped cut costs on office needs and equipment.

Administrative expenses decreased 20% below what was budgeted. Business development, which is focused on corporate meetings and retreats, as well as weddings, saw the biggest budget decrease, at 25.9%, because of the delay in travel and businesses reopening, Angstadt said.

As the lockdown began to lift, the agency restarted its marketing and public relations work, resulting in a 7.8% increase in spending.

“New ads, videos and photo shoots were developed in the spring to build both our current recovery campaign and give us a better library of images for future campaigns,” Angstadt said.

Community engagement expenses increased by 12.6%, with spending going toward efforts to promote safe and responsible travel for those still choosing to visit. In April, Sonoma County Toursim  entered into a partnership with Sonoma County Regional Parks and its national organization,  Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics. The partnership elevates further the agency’s commitment to destination stewardship, or the promotion of sustainable travel, Vecchio said.

For the current fiscal year, Sonoma County Tourism has an estimated budget of $6.8 million. The budget, while higher than the $5.3 million last year, is starting to climb upwards toward its pre-pandemic budget of $8 million in fiscal 2019-2020.

The majority of the agency’s funding comes from a 2% assessment on applicable lodging rooms within the Sonoma County Tourism Business Improvement Area.

The breakdown for fiscal 2021-2022 is as follows: 19.6% for administrative expenses, 49.8% for marketing and public relations, 21.5% for business development and 9.1% for community engagement.

“We will continue to re-forecast our revenue expenses throughout the year as things change and more information becomes available,” Angstadt said.

During the annual meeting, the agency gave out its first-ever Stars of the Industry awards, honoring the region’s hospitality workforce in four categories: Front of the House, Heart of the House, Customer Engagement and Environmental Stewardship and Sustainability. The winners, respectively, were Bianca Nicastro from Aperture Cellars, Tiffany Rodriguez from Costeaux French Bakery,  Safari West, and Benziger Family Winery.

“After enduring such a tough year, it was our way of saying thank you to these stellar industry professionals,” Vecchio said.

Bank of America Exceeds Five-Year Goal to Hire 10,000 Individuals From Low and Moderate-Income Communities

Bank of America today announced it has exceeded its five-year goal two years ahead of schedule to hire 10,000 teammates from low- and moderate-income (LMI) neighborhoods through its Pathways program. The bank also announced Pathways is expanding across the company due to its success, and has committed to making an additional 10,000 LMI hires by 2025 through expanded partnerships with community colleges and local organizations like Year Up, UnidosUS and the National Urban League.

“Since 2018, Pathways has fueled our talent pipeline by providing long-term career opportunities for people from LMI communities who often face barriers to employment,” said Sheri Bronstein, chief human resources officer at Bank of America. “This work furthers the bank’s longstanding commitment to creating equal employment opportunities for all by building a strong, diverse talent pipeline through hiring and recruiting, including from LMI neighborhoods, continuing our ability to mirror the clients and communities we serve.”

“Bank of America’s partnership with Year Up allows us to provide internships to hundreds of talented, motivated young people from under-represented populations each year,” said Gerald Chertavian, Year Up Founder and CEO. “The Pathways program helps ensure that these young adults have the resources and support to not only launch their careers at Bank of America, but continue advancing over the long-term.”

Pathways participants are trained through The Academy at Bank of America, a best-in-class learning approach that is designed to set them up for success throughout their careers. The bank provides a full range of ongoing professional development programs using industry-leading innovation including client engagement simulators, virtual reality, interactive labs, boot-camps and instructor-led coursework.

Since the inception of Pathways, Bank of America has focused its efforts in major markets with a large concentration of hiring needs, including:

  • Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas
  • Los Angeles, Calif.
  • New York City, N.Y.
  • Orange County, Calif.
  • Phoenix, Ariz.

Pathways is just one of the ways that Bank of America is helping to create a stronger hiring pipeline in communities across the nation. In December, the bank joined a coalition of business leaders to up-skill, hire and promote 1 million Black Americans through OneTen. And in March, Bank of America expanded its $1 billion commitment to advance racial equality and economic opportunity to $1.25 billion over five years$25 million is allocated to enhance up-skilling and reskilling for Black and Hispanic-Latino students. Through initial partnerships with 21 higher education institutions including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Bank of America is giving $1 million to each of the 21 institutions selected across the U.S. to help students of color successfully complete the education and training necessary to be successful in today’s workforce.

Bank of America

At Bank of America, we’re guided by a common purpose to help make financial lives better, through the power of every connection. We’re delivering on this through responsible growth with a focus on our environmental, social and governance (ESG) leadership. ESG is embedded across our eight lines of business and reflects how we help fuel the global economy, build trust and credibility, and represent a company that people want to work for, invest in and do business with. It’s demonstrated in the inclusive and supportive workplace we create for our employees, the responsible products and services we offer our clients, and the impact we make around the world in helping local economies thrive. An important part of this work is forming strong partnerships with nonprofits and advocacy groups, such as community, consumer and environmental organizations, to bring together our collective networks and expertise to achieve greater impact. Connect with us on Twitter (@BofA_News).

https://newsroom.bankofamerica.com/content/newsroom/press-releases/2021/09/bank-of-america-exceeds-five-year-goal-to-hire-10-000-individual.html

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging’s Scientists Get $14M for Alzheimer’s Study

Two professors at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato have been awarded a $14.3 million grant to look for connections between aging cells and age-related dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease.

The National Institutes of Health awarded the funds to Judith Campisi, a specialist in cellular senescence, and Lisa Ellerby, an expert on cell death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Huntington’s disease.

Senescence refers to a process by which aging cells stop dividing but do not die.

“We are extremely excited to bring our expertise in cellular senescence to efforts to study brain aging in the context of dementia,” Campisi said. “Our objective is to uncover new mechanisms that can be developed into interventions to treat patients.”

Much of the Buck center’s research over the years has sought to better understand and find treatments for Alzheimer’s. The institute’s mission is to study the mechanisms of aging and to identify therapeutics that will allow people to live longer while remaining healthy. It’s estimated that some 6.2 million people ages 65 and older in the United States are living with dementia.

In 2018, Campisi was elected to the National Academy of Sciences for her pioneering work on cellular senescence. Initially, Campisi’s studies at Boston University Medical School had nothing to do with aging. She pursued it as a novel avenue for cancer research, because cancers are suppressed when cells can no longer divide.

Many researchers tried to establish a link between aging and the fact that senescent cells stop dividing. They suspected that secretions from the senescent cells stopped the cells from dividing.

Campisi’s insight was that secretions on surrounding tissue was the link to aging. In papers published in Cell and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society in 1996 and 1997, Campisi presented research showing that senescent cells broadcast a panoply of inflammatory molecules that can have profound effects on surrounding tissue by promoting chronic, low-level inflammation.

The research projects funded by the new grant will seek to establish links between the secretions from senescent cells and dementias.

“This is a new concept,” Campisi said. “We’re not going to focus on the amyloid beta plaques and tau tangles. We’re going to be looking at cellular states.”

The research will be conducted using tissue from mice and humans. Some of the human tissue will be generated using stem cells and some will come from cadavers.

Campisi said the research will also involve the growing of brain organoids, “which is close as we can come to building a human brain.”

“We can take several cell types that are present in the brain,” she said, “and build three-dimensional structures that mimic how these cells talk to each other inside the brain.”

Much of this work will call on the expertise of Ellerby, a neuroscientist.

“It will also allow us to ‘seed’ these organoids with senescent cells to see what happens in real time,” Ellerby said. “The advances in technology make this a really exciting time to embark on this project.”

Campisi said the use of human tissue is crucial for making discoveries that will lead to therapeutics.

“In the end a mouse is a mouse and a human is a human,” she said.

Redwood Credit Union Gives $120,000 in Grants to Nine Napa County Nonprofits

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) is distributing $120,000 in grants to support the lifesaving and life-changing services of nine nonprofit organizations in Napa and American Canyon.

The grants will help address the most pressing needs of vulnerable populations throughout the region, including food, housing, health, financial wellness, and workforce development.

“Redwood Credit Union is changing the lives of Napa Valley’s children by supporting school-based wellness programs,” says Jennifer Stewart, executive director, Napa Valley Education Foundation (NVEF). “Now, more than ever, our young community members need extra support to engage in school, and this year’s grant will help continue transforming young lives and allow students to thrive at school. We are so grateful for RCU’s years of impactful partnership and community investment in Napa Valley youth.”

RCU invests in its communities by contributing time, energy, money, and leadership to support nonprofit organizations and groups offering meaningful assistance to improve their communities.

“Providing community support is what RCU is all about and the pandemic’s impact has underscored the need to assist even more,” said Brett Martinez, president and CEO of Redwood Credit Union. “We’re pleased to be able to support our nonprofit partners so they can keep providing vital services to help our communities succeed.”

About Redwood Credit Union
Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $6.8 billion in assets and serves more than 385,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for news and updates.

Kaiser Permanente Appoints Wall New Marin-Sonoma Public Affairs Director

Kaiser Permanente recently appointed Alena Wall, MA, CHES, as the new Public Affairs Director for the Marin-Sonoma Service Area. In the role, Alena will be leading the department responsible for internal and external communications, community and government relations, and community benefit functions for the hospitals located in San Rafael and Santa Rosa and the medical offices throughout Marin and Sonoma counties. Alena has served as the Community Health Leader for Marin-Sonoma since 2018, as well as interim Public Affairs Director since April 2021.

“Alena has been instrumental in advancing our mission to improve the health of the communities we serve across Marin-Sonoma. She has built lasting, deep relationships between local KP leadership, elected officials, and community partners as well as the business sector,” said Tarek Salaway, Senior VP, Area Manager, Marin-Sonoma Service Area.

Since May 2020, Alena has also been on assignment to Kaiser Permanente’s National Social Health team to help lead an enterprise-wide strategy to address loneliness and social isolation, resulting in the launch of Life Experienced, a national community-facing social marketing campaign with a goal of reaching 10 million people.

Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente in 2018, Alena served as Executive Director for the Center for Well Being, where she and her team led efforts to address root causes of health outcomes and partnered with major nonprofit hospital and health systems to ensure high-quality, patient-centered services.

Alena’s 15-year track record in healthcare leadership serving mission-driven organizations has been a strong foundation for Kaiser Permanente Marin-Sonoma’s groundbreaking work in the community health space with a wide range of partners.

In addition to her years of experience, Alena holds a bachelor’s degree in Health Science from California State University, Chico, and a master’s degree in Holistic Health Education from JFK University. In 2017, Alena was named Woman of the Year, California State Assembly District 2, presented by Assembly Member Jim Wood, for her meaningful contributions in addressing health equity.

“It is an incredible honor to be appointed to the role of Public Affairs Director for such a mission-driven organization that consistently leans in to meet the needs of our most vulnerable community members,” Alena says. “In fire recovery alone, we have given nearly $24 million in Kaiser Permanente grant funding to support our local nonprofits to improve housing and homelessness, mental health, community infrastructure and language access, and mitigating financial insecurity for vulnerable community members.”

North Bay Business Journal Names Best Places to Work in 2021

The North Bay Business Journal has announced this year’s winners of its annual Best Places to Work awards.

Selected based surveys of employees, the winners represent a cross section of the industries, services and nonprofits through the North Bay.

Winners of the award will be recognized at an in-person event Sept. 15 from 4–6:30 p.m. at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa. Register for the event at nbbj.news/bptw21.

The event is co-hosted by Exchange Bank and the award sponsors include Kaiser Permanente and the Troupe Group. Winners will also be profiled in the Sept. 20 issue of the North Bay Business Journal

2021 Best Places to Work

Abbey, Weitzenberg, Warren & Emery, law firm, Santa Rosa

Adobe Associates, Inc., civil engineering firm, Santa Rosa

Akili Interactive, digital medicine company, Larkspur

All Weather Architectural Aluminum, Inc., window and door manufacturer, Vacaville

Allen Construction Group LLP, construction company, Santa Rosa

Anova, Inc., educational services, Santa Rosa

Arrow Benefits Group, benefits management company , Petaluma

AUL Corp. automotive warranty company, Napa

Becoming Independent, nonprofit aiding the disabled community, Santa Rosa

Best Collateral, pawn shops, Santa Rosa, San Rafael

Beyers Costin Simon PC, real estate and business law firm, Santa Rosa

BPM LLP, accounting, Fairfield, Santa Rosa and St. Helena

Bridges Restoration LLC DBA West Coast Fire and Water, damage restoration firm, San Rafael, Santa Rosa

Carlile Macy, design firm, Santa Rosa

Central Valley, building supplies, Napa

Centric General Contractors, construction, St. Helena

Child Parent Institute, family services nonprofit, Santa Rosa

Coldwell Banker Brokers of the Valley, real estate, Napa

Community First Credit Union, banking, Santa Rosa

Community Support Network, homeless services, Santa Rosa

Corcoran Global Living, real estate, North Bay

Cork Supply USA, Inc., cork stoppage supplier, Napa

Cornerstone, real estate, Santa Rosa

Dal Poggetto & Company LLP, accounting, Santa Rosa

DH Wine Compliance, wine regular consultant, Santa Rosa

Dickenson, Peatman & Fogarty, law firm, Napa

Dillwood Burkel & Millar LLP, accounting, Santa Rosa

Don Sebastiani & Sons, winery, Sonoma

Earthtone Construction, construction firm, Sebastopol

Eckhoff and Company, accounting and business advisory, San Rafael

Eleven Engineering Inc., general engineering construction, Petaluma

Exchange Bank, banking and financial services, North Bay

Friedemann Goldberg Wargo Hess, law firm, Santa Rosa

GC Micro Corporation, manufacturing, Petaluma

George Petersen Insurance Agency, insurance services, San Rafael, Santa Rosa

Ghilotti Bros. Inc., construction, San Rafael

Ghirardo CPA, accounting, Novato

Goodwill Industries of the Redwood Empire, nonprofit, Santa Rosa

Healdsburg Lumber Company, building supplies, Healdsburg

Hennessy Advisors, wealth management firm, Novato

Henry’s Original, cannabis company, Mendocino County

Hilton Garden Inn Sonoma County Airport, hotel, Santa Rosa

IDEX Health & Science, manufacturing, Rohnert Park

Intelisys, a ScanSource Company, technology services company, Petaluma

Intervine, Inc., wine management company, Napa

InterWest Insurance Services LLC, insurance, Petaluma

Jackson Family Wine, wine company, Santa Rosa

Keysight Technologies, technology, Santa Rosa

Kiosk, marketing, advertising, Novato

KLH Consulting, Inc., information security, Santa Rosa

Ledson Winery & Vineyards, winery, Kenwood

Legal Aid of Sonoma County, nonprofit legal services, Santa Rosa

M.A. Silva Corks USA LLC, wine cork supplier, Santa Rosa

Marin Humane, nonprofit animal services, Novato

Mengali Accountancy, accounting services, Healdsburg

Meritage Medical Network, medical group, Novato

Mike’s Bikes, bicycle retailer, Petaluma, San Rafael

MKM & Associates Structural Engineering, engineering services, Rohnert Park

Napa Valley Fumé LLC, cannabis supplier, Napa

North Coast Title Company, real estate services, Santa Rosa

North Marin Community Services, nonprofit community services provider, Novato

Nova Group Inc., construction company, Napa

O’Brien Watters & Davis LLP, law firm, Santa Rosa

Parkpoint Health Clubs, – Santa Rosa, Sonoma and Healdsburg

Peju Winery, Rutherford

Peterson Mechanical Inc., mechanical contractor, Sonoma

Pisenti & Brinker LLP, accounting, Santa Rosa

Poppy Bank, banking and financial services, North Bay

Private Ocean Wealth Management, financial services, San Rafael

PsychStrategies, Inc., mental health services, Petaluma, Sebastopol

Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, Santa Rosa

Redwood Credit Union, banking and financial services, North Bay

Russian River Brewing Company, Windsor

SCHURTER Inc., electrical and electronic goods, Santa Rosa

Scott Laboratories, wine industry equipment and services, Petaluma

Sequoia Senior Solutions, in home care for seniors, Petaluma, Santa Rosa, San Rafael

Siyan Clinical, mental health services, Santa Rosa

Smith Dollar PC, law firm, Santa Rosa

Sonoma Clean Power, electric utility company, Santa Rosa

Sonoma Technology, Inc., environmental consultant, Petaluma

Spaulding McCullough & Tansil, law firm, Santa Rosa

St. Francis Winery & Vineyards, Santa Rosa

Star Staffing, staffing firm, Santa Rosa

Summit Engineering Inc., consulting, Santa Rosa

Summit State Bank, banking and financial services, North Bay

Summit Technology Group, technology, electrical, renewable energy, Santa Rosa

Sutter Instrument Corp., precision mechanical components, Novato

The Beale Group, small business services, Sebastopol

The Bundschu Company, wine company, Sonoma

The Scott Technology Group Inc., office equipment, Rohnert Park

TLCD Architecture, architectural consulting, Santa Rosa

Traditional Medicinals, tea producer, Rohnert Park

TricorBraun WinePak, beverage packaging, Fairfield

W. Bradley Electric Inc., electrical contracting, Novato

Willow Creek Wealth Management, financial services, Sebastopol

Woodruff Sawyer, insurance services, Novato

WRA Inc., environmental consulting, San Rafael

WX Brands, wine producer, Novato

YWCA Sonoma County, nonprofit community services provider, Santa Rosa

Redwood Credit Union Helps Protect More than 3,150 People by Securely Shredding Documents

This summer, more than 3,150 residents in Marin, Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino counties took action to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft by bringing old financial records and other paperwork to Redwood Credit Union’s (RCU’s) free Shred-a-Thons.

Shred-IT trucks were onsite at each event to help communities safely dispose of and recycle 170,750 lbs. of documents. In addition, Conservation Corps of the North Bay collected more than 28,522 lbs. of e-waste at the Marin, Sonoma, and Mendocino events—including old TVs, printers, monitors, computers, and other personal electronics for secure recycling.

“We missed seeing our communities at Shred-a-Thons last year due to the pandemic, and we were excited to welcome people back this year,” said Matt Martin, senior vice president of community and government relations at RCU. “It’s gratifying to look at the numbers and realize we were able to help thousands of people safeguard themselves from identity theft.”

At each Shred-a-Thon location, attendees had an opportunity to donate to a local nonprofit. In total, the events raised more than $9,450 to support SchoolsRule Marin, Puertas Abiertas Community Resource Center in Napa, and Redwood Empire Food Bank in Sonoma and Mendocino counties.

#             #             #

About Redwood Credit Union

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $6.8 billion in assets and serves more than 385,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn for news and updates.

 

Basin Street Properties Welcomes Every Man Jack Headquarters at Shoreline Office Center

Basin Street Properties, a prominent northern Nevada and northern California real estate investment, development, and management firm, is excited to welcome Every Man Jack to Shoreline Office Center. Every Man Jack signed a lease for 11,934 square feet at the Mill Valley location.  The new offices facilitate the rapid growth for the men’s personal care brand that uses naturally derived ingredients to create effective and accessible men’s personal care and grooming products.

“It’s an ideal location for the Every Man Jack team to grow and thrive,” said Gerry Chesser, Chief Executive Officer of Every Man Jack.  “Our offices are right on the water and having immediate access to the Mill Valley – Sausalito Bike Path and Club Evexia Fitness and Wellness Center aligns with the company’s active focus and our core brand ethos.  Plus, the building is just off Highway 101, providing easy commuting access and high visibility for our growing brand.”

Every Man Jack is a leader men’s grooming company with a full range of body, hair, deodorant, beard, shave, and skincare products. Founded by Marin resident, Ritch Viola, Every Man Jack was formed in 2007 in San Francisco.  Since its founding, the men’s grooming company has secured partnerships with Target, Whole Foods, CVS and other major distributors. Every Man Jack has appeared in Oprah Magazine for their ‘Every Man Jack’ shave kit, and for the companies popular ‘Favorite Things’ gift guide.

Every Man Jack’s mission from the beginning was to institute as many naturally derived and plant-based ingredients as possible, without compromising their product. The grooming company’s products contain clean ingredients such as activated charcoal and shea butter, as well as aloe vera, arrowroot powder, coconut oil, eucalyptus oil, jojoba beads and more.

“We are thrilled to have Every Man Jack’s join us at Shoreline Office Center,” said Scott Stranzl, Chief Portfolio Officer at Basin Street Properties. “The high visibility location is a great spot for Every Man Jack to grow, and their naturally derived products align well with the other health and wellness tenants coming to Shoreline.”

Shoreline Office Center is a Class A, two-building office complex with 98,861 square feet located in the prominent bayside location of Mill Valley, CA in southern Marin County. The two-story and three-story buildings were built in 1985 and feature distinctive wood and steel framed construction with extensive interior and exterior improvements. Tenant spaces have been designed to provide a wide range of sizes, accommodating a variety of types of businesses. Nearly all spaces have impressive water or mountain views.

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ABOUT EVERY MAN JACK

Every Man Jack is a leader in the men’s grooming market with a full range of body, hair, deodorant, beard, shave, and skincare products. Using as many naturally derived, plant-based ingredients as possible, Every Man Jack’s formulations deliver exceptional performance without the use of harsh chemicals.  The mission is to offer clean grooming alternatives that are easily accessible on-line and at major retailers including Target, Walmart, Walgreens, Kroger, Whole Foods Market, and many more regional retail partners across the US and Canada. For additional information, please visit www.everymanjack.com. Follow Every Man Jack on Instagram @everymanjack.

ABOUT BASIN STREE PROPERTIES

Basin Street Properties, established in Petaluma in 1974, is one of Northern California’s and Northern Nevada’s most prominent developers, investors and managers of commercial properties. The company owns and manages over 5 million square feet of Class A office space. Basin Street is widely recognized for its office, retail, hospitality, multi-family and mixed-use developments. The company offers a broad range of real estate services, including development, property management, construction management, financial and asset management, and property acquisition and disposition. For more information, visit www.basin-street.com or contact Mike Williams, 775-954-2821, mwilliams@basin-street.com.

CannaCraft and Other Cannabis Brands Ramp Up for Hall of Flowers Cannabis Conference

The innovative cannabis industry conference Hall of Flowers prepares for its Santa Rosa, California, event on September 22 and 23, 2021. It’s the first large-scale, in-person conference for the industry since the pandemic began in 2020. With it, cannabis industry insider attendees can expect outdoor activations, close to 300 exhibitors, and plenty of California cannabis worth showing off.

How many people is Hall of Flowers expecting for its redemption song? “3,500 – 4,000 attendees,” says Hall of Flowers Marketing lead Chris Gonzalez. “I feel like the energy is high and the industry is excited to all gather together again. Although we had very successful virtual events, I am eager to get that feeling of walking through the consumption lounge and seeing the community enjoying the event.”

Hall of Flowers first launched its B2B conference series in Santa Rosa in 2018. What attendees can expect in 2021 at the Sonoma County fairgrounds, Gonzalez says, are some engaging firsts for the conference. “Outdoor activations will be mind blowing this year,” says Gonzalez. “Not only will we have the most outdoor activations we have had, but Lincoln has been working closely with each activation to create an incredible experience.”

“It’s time for our essential industry to come together again, bigger and better than ever,” says Lincoln Barnett III, Partnerships lead for Hall of Flowers. “Brands are going above and beyond this year to create consumption friendly environments.”

One piece of this B2B conference that makes it stand out is its on-site, outdoor consumption element. It’s one actionable step for buyers and sellers to get a feel for the product they’re purchasing. “Cannabis is a multisensory experience, you need to activate all 5 senses in order to know what you’re getting yourself into—and taste is a vital component of this,” says Aengus Cawley, Marketing Lead for Hall of Flowers.

Among the nearly 300 companies exhibiting are Raw Garden, Papa & Barkley, Alien Labs, Boveda, CannaCraft, Pax Labs, Ember Valley, Kings Garden, Wyld, The Stanley Brothers, DIXIE, The Cure Company, and many more. The complete list of retailers is even more expansive, including Stiiizy, Wonderbrett, Caliva, Planet 13, Cookies, Emjay/Sherbinskis, The Pottery, and more. There will be a Loyalty Lounge exclusively for retail buyers who supported Hall of Flowers throughout the past year at its virtual event ENGAGE. “It’s our way of saying thank you is by giving them the ultimate lounge,” says Gonzalez.

Hall of Flowers also boasts its two-day speaker series Core Conversations with sessions including Tammy Pettigrew, the Cannabis Cutie, Mary Pryor, founder of Cannaclusive, Elliot LewisCEO of Catalyst, Chris Walsh, CEO of MJBiz, and more. “The gathering of our community and sharing of industry learnings has long been at the core of the Hall of Flowers experience,” says Barnett. “We always aim to add value beyond the Show floor.”

While celebrity sightings do often pop up at Hall of Flowers, it’s not the company’s MO. But it is California, after all, a state whose industry is sprinkled with celebrity endorsements (I recall Seth Rogen making an appearance at the last Santa Rosa event). This year, expect Jim Belushi of Belushi’s Farm, Cody “No Love” Garbrandt, Former UFC world Champion, Chuck Liddell, Former UFC Champion, and actor Chauncey Leopardi, famous for his role as “Squints” from the cult classic film Sandlot.

Jim Belushi tells Forbes he highly anticipates the event, and that it will be his first time attending Hall of Flowers. “Yes, I’ve been hearing about Hall of Flowers for a while now,” says Belushi. “I get excited to attend any cannabis event because the community is enlightened. And if they aren’t enlightened the plant will drag them there, and I want to be there when it happens.”

The actor’s cannabis brand Belushi’s Farm spans 93 acres in Southern Oregon. His cannabis work is well-documented in the Discover Channel’s reality TV show Growing Belushi. “Santa Rosa is the center of California cannabis,” says Belushi. “Bhang and I are putting together an invite-only Blues, Burgers & Brew night at The Whiskey Tip on the 22nd. Bring your sunglasses and dancing shoes… but no bongs allowed.”

Exhibitors harbor the same palpable excitement as they build up to this huge gathering. Raw Garden will be exhibiting at Hall of Flowers Santa Rosa, offering some new experiences for attendees and fans of the brand, as well as giving back to its community.

We’re thrilled to be exhibiting at this year’s Hall of Flowers,” says Raw Garden’s Head of Product Khalid Al-Naser. He says it’s the company’s first major foray back into trade shows since the pandemic began. “We are so excited to be back at Hall of Flowers for next week’s event and can’t wait to reconnect with our colleagues across the industry. HoF will be a great opportunity for us to build upon our commitment to quality and stewardship.”

“At the event, we’ll debut the Raw Garden General Store,” says Al-Naser. “The intent of the exhibit is to create a space for trade and consumers to experience Raw Garden in a deeper and more personal way.”

Raw Garden is well known for its agricultural “farming-first” philosophy. So the company plans to launch Scan a Seed at Hall of Flowers, a campaign aimed at raising awareness around food scarcity. “For each scan of the QR code, printed on upcycled seed paper, Raw Garden will donate $1 to the Food Bank of Santa Barbara County—an organization we’ve been supporting for years,” says Al-Naser. “Studded with seeds of various veggies and herbs, the cards can be planted to grow your own food, furthering Raw Garden’s commitment to sustainability, stewardship, and farming-first ethos.”

To bring this to life, Raw Garden has developed an interactive seed wall where all guests will have the opportunity to “scan a seed” to help minimize food scarcity. The seed wall is a physical, visceral representation of the 26 million seeds in Raw Garden’s seed bank.

2021 marks the first year Hall of Flowers teams up with MJBiz, hosts of MJBizCon in Las Vegas October 19-21, 2021. “We are thrilled to be partnering with the largest cannabis industry show and bringing the retailers and brands into the larger cannabis community offering our base greater nationwide exposure,” Hall of Flowers founder Dani Diamond says of the new B2B event partnership. Expect to see a Hall of Flowers buying experience inside the massive MJBizCon show floor.

https://www-forbes-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.forbes.com/sites/lindseybartlett/2021/09/17/hall-of-flowers-cannabis-conference-returns-with-mind-blowing-outdoor-activations/amp/