In his last days at the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, David Garth seems more relaxed than ever before. There is a happy pep in his step, even with his left leg bound up in a heavy cast (his foot broke when he slipped on ice at his vacation home in Shaver Lake, Calif. earlier this spring).
 Garth, who will retire as Chamber president/CEO on July 1, recently reflected on his 39-year chamber career, speaking about his favorite memories, the keys to success in the chamber industry, and some of his biggest disappointments.
“I’m very optimistic about the Chamber’s future,” Garth said. “But threats to business are stronger than ever. Businesses need to band together, because the need to be represented is greater than ever. People need to see this time not just as a recession – to some degree, it’s the new normal. We know economic development is critical to our success, and the Chamber will take a bigger role than we’ve taken on that issue.”
In 1991, Garth was instrumental in the establishment of Leadership San Luis Obispo, a program that over the years has trained about 720 people to be more effective leaders, teaching them how to work together and accept other people’s views.
Quotable Quotes from Dave Garth
| Advice for a young, pre-Chamber Dave Garth
“No matter how much you may struggle financially, get professional training sooner. I waited about five years before we could afford any professional chamber training. I would say, 'Don’t wait five years to find out more about professional development opportunities.' The chamber business is more complicated and specialized than most people think.”
On the new president CEO, Ermina Karim
“I think Ermina represents a new generation of community leadership. Her key to success will be to not disregard the things that are successful, but at the same time to embrace a new way of doing things and put her personal stamp on the Chamber. There’s a fine balance. I would tell her, ‘Always be willing to change strategies, never be willing to compromise values. Lean on other Chambers and be a leader in the Chamber movement.’ I am positive that Ermina will take the Chamber to new heights.”
Message to Chamber stakeholders
“People need to remember that the community is as nice as it is partly because of hard work and partly because of good luck. We can’t take economic prosperity for granted; we have to be proactive to make our future bright. It’s important that leaders in the community and local government leaders continue to work together and continue making this the city we want it to be.” |
“I’m proud that San Luis Obispo has become a better community by most people’s standards than it was when I came here,” he said. “Part of it has to do with economic vitality and the quality of life here, good planning on behalf of community leaders, but part of the reason is because of good luck.”
During Garth’s tenure, the Chamber grew from a group of two employees and 225 members to one that now has 15 employees and more than 1,400 members, and it is now recognized as the largest chamber of commerce in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties.
“There are three keys to our success in the chamber industry,” Garth explained. “We had to truly represent members and try to represent all varying political points of view to be really fair. We had be an organization that could attract top-quality board members, to get to a point where people want and vie to serve on the board. And, as the Chamber grew its membership base, it was very important to hire quality staff. Our staff is exceptional, not because we pay the most (we are a nonprofit organization after all), but because the Chamber attracts people that want to make a difference and influence the outcome of issues that affect the community.”
The Chamber has been involved in some notorious political fights in the past 39 years, and some have made remarkably positive impacts on the community that will last for years. One such fight was the Hearst Ranch Conservation Plan, an agreement that preserved miles of California coastline in an area bigger than the city of San Francisco.
“About five years ago, the Hearst family wanted to donate everything west of Highway 1 to California State Parks, and wanted to make sure that all of the land on the property east of the highway could never be developed,” Garth explained. “And they wanted to keep it only for the cattle ranch. The Chamber got involved politically, and it’s fair to say we were a critical part of the Hearst Ranch Conservation Plan’s success.”
A major component of the project is the conservation easement restricting future development on 80,000 acres. The conservation easement ensures that the scenic, open space, agricultural and natural resource values of the ranch are preserved.
But while the Chamber has become more politically effective over the years, it wasn’t always that way, Garth said.
“There were two significant disappointments for me, and both were political fights,” he said. “We lost the fight to bring state water to San Luis Obispo. We said it would be the cheapest and best alternative for a sustainable source of drinking water, but we didn’t do a good job selling it.”
“The fight over binding arbitration in 2000 was a big disappointment,” Garth added. “We predicted exactly what has happened in regards to collective bargaining, and how it would have a negative impact on the city, financially. And we just didn’t do a good job to win people over with our arguments.”
In more than 38 years, Garth has worked with a wide variety of people, both on staff and in volunteer work.
“I think what I’ll miss the most is working with the staff and volunteers and being at the center of the action in San Luis Obispo,” he said. “And many former staff members have gone on to wonderful careers.”
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