Napa Valley wildfire recovery town hall Jan. 12; Sonoma County winegrower seminar Jan. 14; other North Bay business news

NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL

Napa County Farm Bureau will be hosting a virtual wildfire recovery and prevention town hall Jan. 12 and 27 hosted by California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and California Farm Bureau Federation President Jamie Johansson.

The two-part town hall series is focused on business and agricultural recovery funding solutions for Napa Valley businesses affected by the recent wildfires, and wildfire prevention policy and long-term solutions for Napa County to mitigate the impact of future wildfire events. Topics will include insurance coverage, wildfire management practices, fire prevention and resiliency, among other important issues affecting Napa Valley.

Participants will include state and local elected officials, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, the California State Treasurer’s office, United Policyholders, Small Business Majority, CalFire, UC Cooperative Extension among a number of others.

The Napa County Farm Bureau Wildfire Recovery & Prevention series is free and open to the public. Major event partners are Duarte Trees & Vines, Martinez Orchards, MIV Insurance and Ag Health Benefits Alliance. Registration: napafarmbureau.org/events or 707-224-5403.

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Sonoma County Winegrowers’ annual Dollars & Sense Seminar and Trade Show for wine grape growers and vintners is set to be held virtually this year (registration link), on Thursday, Jan. 14, 8 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

This year’s theme is a 2020 recap (“Under Pressure”) and a plans for 2021 (“We Will Rock You”).

Speakers and topics:

  • Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor from Food & Wine magazine
  • Glenn Proctor from Ciatti Co.
  • Marketplace sales and consumer update
  • Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena
  • Grower issues: smoke exposure, crop insurance, contracts
  • Sonoma County Winegrowers and Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation marketing and strategic plan

For questions or to receive information about event sponsorship opportunities, please contact Alisha Basich at 707-522-5867 or alisha@sonomawinegrape.org.

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Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation has raised $20,000 in support of COVID-19 relief for Napa’s farmworker community. Through a Travis Credit Union Foundation matching grant, donations were doubled, and Travis Credit Union has awarded the farmworker foundation an additional donation of $20,000. The grants are intended to help keep vineyard and winery workers safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, funds raised by the agriculture foundation provided daily public service announcements aired on Univision and Azteca, a four-month digital billboard campaign, 25,000 cloth and bandanna masks, safety posters and flyers, health and safety kits for 2,500 vineyard workers, virtual safety workshops, and more.

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Westamerica Bank and Solano Economic Development Corp. recently named the 2020 Spirit of Solano Award recipients.

The award honors members of seven of Solano County’s chambers of commerce found to be outstanding this year:

  • Benicia Chamber of Commerce: Ponder Environmental Services, Jimmy Ponder and Deanne Sandoval-Ponder
  • Dixon Chamber of Commerce: Dixon Financial & Insurance Services, Donny Everhart
  • Filipino-American Chamber of Commerce of Solano County: First Bank, Freda Dill
  • Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Solano County: Construction Concierge, Sal Rodriguez
  • Rio Vista Chamber of Commerce: Rio Vista Beacon, Cindy Green
  • Solano County Black Chamber of Commerce: My Legacy Matters, Inc., Calvin Harrell
  • Vallejo Chamber of Commerce: Grocery Outlet of Vallejo, Scott and Amy Yacullo

In honor of all of the recipients, Westamerica Bank made a donation to Solano Small Business Development Center on their behalf.

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Letitia Hanke-Ryzhkov, founder, CEO and president of ARS Roofing, Gutters & Waterproofing, Santa Rosa
Letitia Hanke-Ryzhkov, founder, CEO and president of ARS Roofing, Gutters & Waterproofing, Santa Rosa

North Bay Leadership Council is pleased to announce its newest member, the LIME Foundation.

The council stated that the mission of the LIME Foundation is to serve the specific needs of the disadvantaged community across all ages and income levels by collaborating with key community leaders to provide new skills to students and adults looking to reskill or upskill.

The LIME Foundation was founded by Letitia Hanke, who is also the CEO of ARS Roofing in Santa Rosa.

Some of the programs offered by the LIME Foundation include the Nextgen Trades Academy, which is a roofing and construction vocational program that trains youth in construction fields like roofing, solar, general contracting and more. The program also offers home repair services, specifically roofing, to the under-served. This allows seniors, veterans, the disabled and low-income families to remain in their own homes, independent and safe.

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Farmers Insurance celebrated the holiday season by donating five newly refurbished vehicles to local residents during special car gifting presentations on Dec. 18 at G&C Auto Body in Santa Rosa.

As part of the National Auto Body Council Recycled Rides program, Farmers worked with G&C Auto Body to restore a 2014 Ford Focus, 2014 Nissan Altima, 2012 Buick Enclave, 2015 Nissan Sentra and 2014 Nissan Maxima to help provide the gift of reliable transportation to the deserving recipients.

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