This week I had the pleasure of teaming up with 6 others committee members to award more than $2.5 million dollars in grants to 350 businesses throughout Shasta County as part of the $3.1 million dollars in funding allocated by the Board of Supervisors and City of Shasta Lake City Council a few weeks ago.
As we went through the process, the stories each business owner told jumped off the page and hit me right between the eyes. It is important that we remember that each time a business is forced to close its doors, it is not an “it”. These businesses are run by courageous people who at one point made a decision with hope and optimism to hang a shingle and carve out an honest living by providing goods or services to the community and providing opportunity for others to work with them as their employees.I think it is a fair estimate that at least a couple thousand people in Shasta County will have a fighting chance to make ends meet for the next few months as a result of these grants. I’d like to thank the following grant committee members with whom I’ve had the pleasure to serve: Brad Williams, Chairperson, Forward Redding Foundation; Kerry Caranci, CEO, Community Foundation of the North State; Joe Rodola, Small Business Development Center; Wendy Zanotelli, CEO, SMART Business Resource Center; Todd Jones, President, Shasta EDC; and Jessaca Lugo, Assistant City Manager, City of Shasta Lake.
Jake Mangas, President & CEO
Redding Chamber of Commerce
