Last Friday, the Woodland Chamber of Commerce celebrated our 91^st Annual Installation and Member Recognition Dinner at the Silos at Velocity Island Resort. We could not be happier with the turnout, and we hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

We recognized our outgoing President Mark Ullrich for his outstanding service to our organization. Serving two consecutive terms as our President, Mark has been invaluable to our mission, and we are fortunate to still have him as an active member of the Chamber and our Board of Directors. Mark has passed the gavel to Kayla Rodriguez from Waste Management who will serve as our President for 2023, and we are excited to see where her leadership takes us.

We wished a fond farewell to retiring Board members Denise Costa and Kelley Jacobsen. Their service to the Chamber has been extraordinary and we look forward to working with them in the future.

We were also joined by local dignitaries Jesse Salinas, the Yolo County Assessor/Clerk-Recorder/Registrar of Voters, Superintendent Garth Lewis from the Yolo County Office of Education, Woodland City Council Members Mayra Vega, Tania Garcia-Cadena, and Tom Stallard, Woodland City Manager Ken Hiatt, Winters City Council Member Jesse Loren, and Moises Diaz from Congressman Mike Thompson’s office. Thank you to everyone who came to the dinner, to Charles Vincent McDonald Photography for providing his amazing photography skills, and to the Silos at Velocity Island Resort for hosting us and catering the event. The venue was beautiful, the food was excellent, and we are incredibly grateful to Velocity Island for all the work that they put into making the dinner a success.

We want to thank our amazing sponsors for their support. Thank you to our Title Sponsor Waste Management, our Diamond Sponsors Van Beurden Insurance Services, the Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites and the Holiday Inn Express, Dignity Health, and Yolo Federal Credit Union, and our Silver Sponsor LedgerPro Bookkeeping. These sponsors make our work possible, and we are truly grateful for their partnership.

We also presented our annual awards for Business of the Year, Small Business of the Year, and two Members of the Year. Our first Member of the Year Award went to Rachel Medina with Placer Title Co. for her tireless efforts and amazing contributions to the Chamber of Commerce. Rachel will also assume the Presidency for the Chamber in 2024, expanding on her role and commitment to our organization and the larger business community. The second Member of the Year Award went to Vinod Patel with Marriott Fairfield Inn & Suites and the Holiday Inn Express for his generous support. Whether its event space, items for raffles and auctions, or financial contributions, Vinod is an amazing supporter of the Chamber and the Woodland community.

The HIVE Tasting Room and Kitchen earned our Small Business of the Year Award. A family-owned business, Nectar Director Josh Zeldner and his mother, the Queen Bee Amina Harris, invested in a new facility that provides the Woodland community with a much-needed outdoor venue space and tasting room. They also worked with local contractors and committed to a net-zero emissions facility while planting 2 acres of native pollinator habitat, which shows their commitment to investing in the Woodland community. Finally, our Business of the Year Award went to Van Beurden Insurance Services. They have been a leading partner for well over a decade, contributing annually to nearly all our fundraising and networking events, attending socials, leadership meetings, forums, and virtual programs, all to remain a local business that supports its community. Aniek Pflager, Vice President of Van Beurden Insurance Services, has contributed to the Chamber by serving on our Board of Directors and as President in 2020, prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic, serving two full terms for a total of 6 years of service.

We also celebrated many notable milestone anniversaries for our members, from 5 years all the way to 65 years of Chamber membership. We are beyond grateful to all our members, and we encourage everyone to check out the complete list of milestone anniversaries on our other post. 2022 was an incredible year and we look forward to everything 2023 has to offer!