There’s a new Mayor in town! Honorary Mayor, that is. On Wednesday, September 9^th, Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce announced that our 42^nd Honorary Mayor is Penny Howard! Penny is a re-peat, having been HM in 2006, when she was a bit younger than her current 98 years of age. I know it’s not polite to speak of a woman’s age; however, Penny had a pennies theme as a 1922 collectable, as in her birth year, so the secret is out. Penny’s daughter Mary Howard and son in-law John Oldham were instrumental in organizing fundraising events in the year of sheltering in-place. Penny’s campaign raised $8753.13, half of which goes to the Visual and Performing Arts Program at Del Campo High School in Fair Oaks. Penny is an artist and Mary and her siblings are DC alumni. Go Cougars!

Thanks to Chrysti Tovani’s campaign, Fair Oaks Theatre Festival, aka our beloved “theatre under the stars” will be the beneficiary of half of that fundraising effort at a time when FOTF can really use that extra support. Chrysti, a Realtor with eXp Realty, along with the help of her campaign manager Anastasia Nichole of Embodied Arts raised $4094.30, which tops many a candidate in previous years.

In a program going back to 1979 which has relied heavily on in-person events throughout Fair Oaks, it is remarkable to have two fabulous candidates who stepped up and never gave up, to make a difference in our community! We are very proud of them both, and so grateful for all of the local businesses and residents who supported their endeavors. Two chamber members, Del’s Pizza and Smokey Oaks Tavern went above and beyond. The total raised this year was $12,847.43 and added to all of the previous campaigns brings us to about $473,000! There are no losers, just winners in our book! This concludes the reign of our 41^st Honorary Mayor, Jacob Giorgi. Thank you, Jacob!

In other news, FOCC has gone virtual. What does that mean? Well, since for the time being, our major events are postponed or cancelled, there was really no reason to keep an office going right now. FOCC hosts/co-hosts fifty-five events each year, many of which help fund the chamber budget along with memberships. Reducing overhead is a smart business move. The plan is that in 2021, our Executive Director Kim Pitillo will hold “office hours” at various chamber member businesses throughout town. We have some exciting things happening with our partner Chamber Nation, to help every member business enhance their presence in this virtual world we’re in now. We encourage you to join FOCC as a business or resident member. Reach out to us at [email protected], at www.fairoakschamber.com, or a 916-967-2903. Follow us on Facebook at Fair Oaks Chamber of Commerce Ambassador and on Instagram at myfairoaks.

See you in Fair Oaks, virtual or otherwise!