The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce is launching its Retail Walks program this fall in an effort to connect elected leaders directly with local retail owners across the Santa Clarita Valley.
The Retail Walks program will be driven by the chamber’s Small Business Council, so local retailers can speak on the important issues facing retailers and learn about the support services and opportunities offered by the SCV Chamber, city of Santa Clarita and Los Angeles County
“The SCV Chamber has been working to formulate our new Retail Walks program, which will allow chamber members and elected officials to walk local retail areas throughout the Santa Clarita Valley and meet with shop owners and managers,” Nancy Starczyk, chair of the SCV Chamber board of directors, said in a news release.
The Retail Walks program is scheduled to begin in October, according to chamber officials, and will focus on retail areas in each of the various local communities including Canyon Country, Castaic, Newhall, Saugus, Stevenson Ranch and Valencia.
“We’re looking to do it with the elected officials to get them more connected to the business community,” said Peter Warda, vice president of The Mussella Group. “It’s to bring them closer to business owners, because small business does make up a good portion of the Santa Clarita Valley.”
The idea is that each member of the Small Business Council is matched to an area so they can get a sense of what the business community is thinking and what can be improved.
“We want to keep businesses out here and we want to keep them going so if there’s something that needs to be worked out to make the area more business-friendly, then we want to hear,” Warda added Monday.
Specific businesses have not been chosen for visits, but the Retail Walks program will likely focus on retail centers like Main Street in Newhall, according to Warda. Residents should