New SLO Chamber member Colonial Life was recently announced the winner of El Dorado Broadcasters' big Mixer Showcase giveaway – $1,500 of free summer advertising at any of El Dorado's San Luis Obispo radio stations.

"Having the ability to communicate through something as powerful as local radio is so important," said Scott Beer, Colonial Life's district general agent. "Since 1939 Colonial has been providing work site communications of benefits and my job as the area manager in this area is to grow the business and introduce our company to local decision makers."

The Union Bank of California Foundation has awarded $5,000 to the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund. 

"Union Bank has been a generous and consistent supporter of the Housing Trust Fund," said Jerry Rioux, the Housing Trust Fund's executive director. "The Bank’s foundation has provided five grants to us totaling $45,000 since 2005."

The bank's grant will help the Housing Trust Fund provide financing and technical assistance for affordable housing throughout San Luis Obispo County. 

A printed copy of Cuesta College’s schedules will cost a nominal fee due to the ongoing budget crisis, starting with the fall 2010 schedule available on June 1.

Printed copies will be available for purchase for $2 at bookstores and cashier’s offices on both the North County and San Luis Obispo campuses. Orders can also be placed through the Cuesta College Bookstore website at http://bookstore.cuesta.org.

Richardson Properties announced recently a new member of its San Luis Obispo sales team, well-respected and established local Realtor John Attiya.

With more than 30 years of real estate experience in San Luis Obispo, Attiya brings his high level of professionalism and expertise to the Richardson Properties team.

Attiya is a 1975 Cal Poly graduate with a BS in Business Administration and has been working full time in real estate since 1978. Attiya was a founding partner of Vista Associates and is an active member of the real estate community; having served on a HOA Board of Directors for over 12 years, and as a business and property owner.

This extensive experience has established John as one of the most distinguished Realtors in San Luis Obispo.

SLO Vespa, a boutique that sells a full line of Vespa and Piaggio scooters and accessories, has moved into its new location, 1330 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

"The move was unplanned, but our former building is in the process of being sold and we were forced to find a new location," said SLO Vespa's Jules DuRocher. "Although uplanned, we are extremely excited about our new uptown location just blocks from downtown. We love being a part of a neighborhood which Monterey Street offers."

The SLO Vespa Boutique is located in the heart of scenic California’s Central Coast.

Two Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center employees were recognized for their outstanding leadership while three others were honored for 40 years of service as Sierra Vista recently recognized 116 long-term employees at its annual Employee Service Awards Dinner.

The 2009 Sierra Vista Leadership Awards went to Judy Taylor, a physical therapist and Christina Newsom, unit secretary on the Critical Care Unit. Both were cited for: exemplifying leadership qualities and behavior work that motivates others; demonstrating self-confidence; finding creative solutions; demonstrating good communication skills, the ability to inspire others; a desire to lead; ability to make decisions; and, for having a positive influence on others.

"These employees exemplified the ability to identify a problem and find a solution while motivating and inspiring others around them," said Candy Markwith, Sierra Vistas’s Chief Executive Officer.

Cuesta College will graduate 691 students at the 45th commencement ceremony on Friday.

The Cuesta College 2010 graduating class, which includes students that have completed degree requirements in the fall 2009, spring 2010 and summer 2010 semesters, earned a total 801 degrees.

Students from four international countries, including Belgium, Honduras, Japan and the United Kingdom, and seven states, including Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon and Texas are among the graduates.

The graduates range in age from 16 to 65, and include three sets of siblings, one husband and wife pair, and two sets of mothers and daughters. Of the graduates, 115 students earned honors or high honors by achieving a grade point average of 3.5 or higher, including six who earned a perfect 4.0.

Meathead Mini Storage, the new storage facility developed in part by the founders of Meathead Movers, opened on Saturday.

The facility offers a range of unit sizes for personal and commercial use, covered vehicle and boat storage. The 114,000-square-feet self-storage facility is housed adjacent to the company's 5,200-square-feet headquarters and operation center.

"We are thrilled to have grown our business in our hometown and we are so thankful to have the support of the community," says Evan Steed, Vice President, Meathead Mini Storage. "After firmly establishing ourselves in the moving business, adding a self-storage component was a natural step. In this new venture, our customers will still experience Meathead Movers famous customer service, while using the latest self-storage technology."

In a special Q & A series, Heritage Oaks Bank President Larry Ward discusses how the proposed financial regulation changes may impact how a community bank does business, interest rates, inflation, and unemployment. He also shares his insights on how having a strong capital base benefits our local economy.

Question: Will the proposed financial regulation changes being discussed on Capitol Hill stifle or stimulate a community bank’s ability to do business?
Answer: It is too soon to predict how the new tidal wave of regulations will impact community banking. It is safe to say local banks’ compliance costs will go up as we must comply with all new regulations. I do hope that our representatives in Washington put the interests of the nation and the small banks which serve their communities before any political interests.

We do not need new regulation based on popular movements, but rather based on what is best for the financial well being of the country. If Congress moves too aggressively with new regulations, its actions could have the negative impact of stifling innovation. This is not good for either the industry or the consumer.