American Perspective Bank (APB) has expanded to Paso Robles, opening a Loan Production Office (LPO) at 720 10th St. with plans to expand to a full service branch in the next 12 to 18 months.

The bank hosted a grand opening event on May 18 at the new office that included a ribbon cutting with the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce. 

“We have many banking and lending clients in North County and it was time we established a location there,” said President and CEO Mark Crawford.

Verdin Marketing Ink (VMI) has recently received three prestigious industry awards from the Public Relations Society of America for its creative work in brand development, social media and web design.

In May, the Central California Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Image Awards presented three Awards of Excellence to VMI for its re-branding campaign for American Perspective Bank, social media campaign for the City of San Luis Obispo’s Shop SLO/Dine SLO program and for the website www.WineCoastCountry.com for the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Business Improvement District (CBID).

Rabobank, N.A. recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund (HTF). 

“Rabobank is proud of its affiliation with the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund,” said Steven L. Harding, Rabobank’s Regional President.  "We are one of their community lending partners and have provided the agency with a 10-year commitment of $1.1 million in low-cost capital that they in turn lend to facilitate the production of affordable rental and homeownership housing. Rabobank supports nonprofit organizations that make a sustainable difference in the community.”

The HTF is a nonprofit corporation that was formed in 2003 to increase the supply of affordable housing throughout San Luis Obispo County. 

San Luis Obispo-based integrated branding company, Barnett Cox & Associates (BCA), was recognized with two honors at the 17th Annual Communicator Awards. BCA was named a Distinction Winner in two categories, interactive and print, for work on the Performing Arts Center website and the Cal Poly Sustainability Report.

The Communicator Awards come on the heels of BCA’s recent wins in the ADDY Awards competition. The Sustainability Report won gold in the Central Coast competition of the ADDY Awards and silver at the district level of the competition; and the redesigned Performing Arts Center website also won gold in the Central Coast competition of the ADDYs.

The Communicator Awards are an international competition that fielded 6,000 entries in the most recent competition. Entrants submit work in various categories including print, video, interactive, integrated campaigns, marketing effectiveness and audio.

As the school year is ending, so is the book drive, sponsored by Rizzoli’s Automotive over the past seven months.

The automotive repair shop launched the drive in October 2010 to benefit the Raising A Reader program, supporting literacy in the San Luis Obispo community through the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation. More than 600 books were donated at Rizzoli’s locations in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, greatly surpassing Rizzoli’s initial goal of 100 books, which extended the drive past the original ending date of December 31, 2010.

The book drive was kicked off on October 20, 2010 at the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Mixer, hosted at the SLO location of Rizzoli’s.

Hathway, an interactive marketing agency based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., recently reinvented Straight Down Clothing’s online presence and e-commerce website.  

The San Luis Obispo-based clothing company relied on Hathway as its lead digital agency and tasked it with redesigning a sophisticated look, amplifying the brand brand and providing full e-commerce functionality.

Hathway redesigned the site from the ground up, with both Hathway and Straight Down creative teams focused on translating the Straight Down lifestyle and brand across the entire user interface. Original imagery, product photography, site layout and placement of e-commerce navigation items give straightdown.com a seamless and branded user experience. 

The South Street Road Diet project in San Luis Obispo, Calif. was recently received the California State Department of Transportation award recognizing excellence in transportation design, construction, traffic operations, maintenance, planning and improvements throughout the state of California.

The local road project was selected to receive this award for context sensitive solutions.

“This was a collaborative design project involving residents along South Street, city staff, and CalTrans staff," said Jake Hudson, the city's Traffic Operations Manager. "CalTrans then provided the engineering and construction prior to relinquishment to the city."

Hospice of SLO County (HSLO) recently announced that Sonnie Brown has accepted the position of volunteer director, following long-time Director Steve Willey and receiving a unanimous approval from a seven-person interview panel consisting of staff, volunteers, and board members.

Brown has been a volunteer with HSLO since the mid-1990s, putting her talents into the music therapy program, as an in-home volunteer, followed by training in the Sacred Art of Living and Dying.

The Pacific Coast Business Times and the Los Angeles District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration are calling for nominations for the 8th annual Spirit of Small Business Awards. They are seeking nominations from companies based in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties for nine awards.

The winners are judged based on each nominee's ability to demonstrate a record of accomplishment and staying power, the ability to overcome adversity, community outreach/support and green business practices. For-profit companies with 100 or fewer employees are eligible to compete.