David Kantar sworn in as president of Downey Chamber of Commerce
From left: Mayor Hector Sosa; incoming chamber president David Kantar; Ari Ruiz, district director of Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco; outgoing chamber president Rain Neelam; chamber past president Carmen Gonzalez; and Mayor Pro Tem Dorothy Pemberton. (Photo courtesy office of Blanca Pacheco)
DOWNEY — David Kantar was sworn in as president of the Downey Chamber of Commerce during a lively installation ceremony Wednesday evening at the Columbia Memorial Space Center.
The event, held outdoors on the museum’s back patio, embraced a western theme complete with country music and a barbecue chicken buffet. Among the dignitaries in attendance were State Sen. Bob Archuleta, Downey Mayor Hector Sosa, Mayor Pro Tem Dorothy Pemberton, and Downey Police Captain Maria Villegas, currently serving as acting chief while chief Scott Loughner is on vacation.
Kantar, who serves as director of government affairs at Financial Partners Credit Union, was installed by Mayor Sosa. In his remarks, Kantar emphasized modernization and outreach as top priorities for the chamber.
“We’re excited to take the chamber to the next level,” said Kantar, announcing plans to revamp the organization’s bylaws and debut a new website. “If anybody has seen our website, it hasn't been touched in the last few years. It’s a little bit old, but we are creating a killer new website. So that's really exciting.”
Outgoing president Rain Neelam recapped a successful year for the chamber, highlighting three sold-out signature events — the State of the City luncheon with then-Mayor Mario Trujillo, the State of the District luncheon with Assemblymember Blanca Pacheco, and the Women’s Empowerment Conference. Neelam also touted the chamber’s inaugural Firecracker Festival held last year.
“Be visible and vocal,” she urged members. “Let people know about your business.”
Pemberton installed the chamber’s new board of directors: president-elect Jennifer DeKay, vice president Evelin Mendez Garay, treasurer Cindy Kovach, and recording secretary Nicole Garces-Machado.
Kantar laid out several initiatives for the upcoming year, including the formation of a publicity committee led by Vito Bello, general manager of Stonewood Center, with support from Diana Padilla of Primerica Wealth Management.
“There’s so many things that are happening — you’re posting here, posting there. How do you keep up?” Kantar said. “One of the things that we want to do is make sure our publicity is kicking tail.”
He also announced a return of evening mixers, which will be organized by Garces-Machado, and said the chamber will begin creating an annual calendar in advance to help members better plan for events.
Finally, Kantar encouraged chamber members to help strengthen engagement by reaching out to businesses that may not be fully utilizing their membership benefits.
“If you know of a business that isn’t finding value [with the chamber], I need to know,” he said.