Downtown
The Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce will hold its annual State of the City on Monday, Feb. 6, from 4:30 – 7 p.m. Over five hundred people are expected to attend the event, which will take place at SGI Auditorium in downtown Santa Monica (525 Wilshire Blvd.) Highlights of this year’s event include remarks by Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer and City Manager Rick Cole, presentation of the Economic Excellence Award to Hulu, a keynote address by former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros, and a discussion between Secretary Cisneros and Mr. Cole moderated by KCRW’s Frances Anderton. This year's theme, “Creating Solutions Together,” encourages Santa Monicans to come together to explore opportunities for partnership and dialogue as a united community in which all can thrive.
“We have a stellar program planned for State of the City 2017—one that celebrates innovation, unity and solution-oriented discussion,” said Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Chair Yesenia Monsour of Kaiser Permanente. “As our community comes together following a passionate election season locally and nationally, the Chamber looks forward to serving an essential civic role by facilitating the open exchange of ideas, as we have for 91 years.”
In addition to remarks by Mayor Winterer, City Manager Cole, Secretary Cisneros (himself a former Chamber of Commerce Chair in San Antonio, TX) and Chamber of Commerce leadership, the event will feature an update on the highly successful Hack the Beach series the Chamber launched last year in partnership with the City to encourage the technology community’s participation in civic life. The program will be followed by a networking reception in the SGI Auditorium.
The State of the City doors will open at 4:30 p.m. The program begins at 5 p.m. with a reception immediately following. Tickets are $10 for students and seniors, $40 for Chamber members and Santa Monica residents, and $50 for non-residents. More information can be found at http://www.smchamber.com/SOTC or by calling (310) 393-9825.
- Submitted by Jamarah Hayner, JKH Consulting
