Message from the Chairman of the Board

JOHN HEFFERNAN, AT&T

On behalf of the Board of Directors for the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce, it is my distinct honor to represent AT&T and lead the South Bay’s premier business organization as the 2018-2019 Chairman of the Board.

I’m excited about the plans in place to continue to grow the chamber and deliver on our goals, strategic plan for economic development, and other stated objectives.

The purposes of the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce are to foster, protect, promote and advocate on behalf of the commercial, financial, industrial, manufacturing and professional business, civic and public interests of the City of Torrance and its surrounding territory.

Here is a list of our goals where we’ll focus our efforts this year:

1. To make the Torrance area a better place to work, to conduct business and to enjoy leisure.
2. To further every enterprise and undertaking which contributes to that end.
3. To correct the shortcomings that may impede growth and sustainability as an organization and as a business community.
4. To tell the members, the local community, and the South Bay region the continuing story of Torrance’s advantages, its growth and its progress.
5. To attract and encourage new businesses, new cultural and educational activities, while encouraging and promoting existing ones.
6. To widen the membership of the Chamber to include individual and organizational members representing broad areas of community leadership.
7. To interpret the Chamber’s goals and activities to its members, and diligently represent and advance the legitimate interests of every member which is in consonance with these objectives.
8. To make every citizen of the Torrance area more familiar with the Chamber’s goals and programs through impactful community events and partnerships, effective communications and various forms of media.
9. To recognize that, in the broadest sense, every proper function of the Chamber is a public relations activity, and therefore, determining the public relations functions and executing them properly shall be a most important function.
10. To express the Chamber’s overall guiding purpose as a continuing search for a constantly improving quality of life in our environment, education, recreation, government and public affairs. This includes full equality in employment, housing and the personal pursuit of happiness.

We have several Chamber committees plus a variety of dynamic programs and task forces in place to engage our membership in a deep and meaningful way this coming year.

Leadership is hard at work within the Chamber to encourage the enthusiastic participation of its membership, so our work in developing and advocating for a healthy business climate is a success. Everyone is needed, invited, and welcome to join and be a part of the solution in keeping our region moving forward.

John Heffernan

External Affairs, AT&T

Message from the President & CEO

DONNA DUPERRON

The Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce is your voice for issues and actions affecting business and industry. We are working to preserve the free and competitive enterprise system, promoting growth and development, and making the Torrance area a better place to live, work, learn and conduct business. I would urge you to support the businesses listed within these pages as they too are supporting our goals to make our community a better place.

Membership in the Chamber provides unparalleled opportunities to connect with peers, current and prospective clients, and partners up and down our supply chains. The Torrance Area Chamber stands out as our area’s premier business-enabling and business-advocacy organization.

Regular meetings, conferences and other activities provide extraordinary opportunities to grow your networks and gain new insights for addressing the common challenges facing all of us in business today. By working together as Chamber members, we have a much stronger voice with our elected leaders as they contemplate policy revisions and new rules and regulations that create greater certainty and an improved environment for business in Torrance.

Although it may sound cliché, there really is strength in numbers. I think that’s especially true with the Chamber. This Chamber and your business community need you! Renew, join anew, and reach out and encourage the companies you do business with regularly to join as well.

A major goal this year is to increase the value of your Chamber membership to you and your business. The Chamber staff and Board of Directors want to increase your awareness of what your Chamber does for the business community and therefore create avenues which stimulate more two-way communication.

I hope you will use the online Chamber tools as your go-to source for information about the many businesses providing goods and services in and around Torrance. I challenge each resident, business, and even visitor to become an active part of our community heritage of involvement and to spread the word that Torrance is a great community in which to do business.