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Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Is Strong at 90

Carlsbad is a place for business: upstart businesses such as California Pacific Airlines, deep-thinking firms such as Life Technologies Corp. and ViaSat Inc., and vacation resorts.

Business is central to the story of this town.

In fact, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has been an organizing force in this North County community long before it became a city.

The chamber celebrates its 90th anniversary this year.

“Ninety is important to us for a number of reasons,” including all of that history as well as Carlsbad’s current good fortune, said Ted Owen, the chamber’s CEO.

With 1,500 member companies, the Carlsbad chamber is the 10th largest chamber of commerce in California. The organization owns its own building and receives no funding from the city, Owen said — not even transient occupancy tax on hotel accommodations.

It Runs ‘Like a Business’

The organization has 12 employees and it runs itself like a business, Owen said. It has to. If it didn’t, Owen reasoned, “how could we tell people how to run their businesses?”

Carlsbad was once a little burg which, like much of Southern California, enjoyed a post-World War II boom.

The chamber was founded in 1923. In its early days, community leaders such as the postmaster and the railroad station agent were involved in the chamber, said Toni Padron, the chamber’s executive vice president. Owen added that before the city incorporated in 1952, the chamber took the lead on land-use and building issues.

Carlsbad’s population tripled in recent decades, growing from 35,600 people in 1980 to 105,000 in 2010. The San Diego Association of Governments expects the city’s population to grow to 129,000 by 2050.

Today the city is the third wealthiest in San Diego County, behind Del Mar and Solana Beach, with a median household income of $79,300.

The expense of operating in Carlsbad can pose a challenge, Owen acknowledged. But the chamber is there to help people work through the economic hurdles, and correct the mistakes that business people sometimes make, he said.

Broad Economic Base

Carlsbad is home to businesses large and small.

The third largest public company in San Diego County, Life Technologies, makes its home there. Life Technologies reported 2012 revenue just shy of $3.8 billion, up slightly from $3.78 billion in 2011.

Callaway Golf Co., No. 12 on the San Diego Business Journal’s list of Largest Public Companies, reported $832 million in sales during 2012, down 6 percent from $887 million in 2011. TaylorMade-adidas Golf also has a large presence in Carlsbad. Though not publicly traded, the business reported a record $1.3 billion in sales during 2012.

ViaSat, No. 13 on the list, reported $864 million in revenue during fiscal 2012, up from $802 million in 2011. The satellite electronics and services firm has a fiscal year that ends in May.

Then there is the range of small businesses. The city’s economic climate is “amazing,” Padron said, describing the energy going into small businesses making their starts in kitchens or garages.

Ted Vallas also embodies that energy. He is the nonagenarian entrepreneur working to get regulatory clearance to start his own airline, California Pacific. The business plans to fly 72-seat, Brazilian-built Embraer model 170 jets out of McClellan-Palomar Airport.

Vallas has started “20 businesses at least,” Owen said. “He’s a dedicated guy. If anyone can pull this off, he’s the guy.”

The chamber will honor Vallas and other Carlsbad business people when it hosts its annual awards dinner on March 23 at the La Costa Resort and Spa, 2100 Costa Del Mar Road. The full evening event starts at 6 p.m. The gala also serves as the installation dinner for the chamber’s new board.

More information on the evening is available by consulting the chamber website, www.carlsbad.org, or calling the chamber at 760-931-8400.

“The idea is to celebrate successes,” said Owen. “Everything is not as bad as you read in the newspaper.”

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