SAN MARCOS — From helping local businesses grow to hosting community events and a future move to a new location, the San Marcos Chamber of Commerce has become more progressive and relevant in the community.
As for the move, the chamber now located at 904 San Marcos Boulevard will be relocating to the new development North City at the end of May: “Our lease was up at the end of November, so we began to explore options including staying in our current location.
The space at Union Cowork began to make the most sense when we started adding up all the advantages to the chamber and our members,” said Rick Rungaitis, San Marcos Chamber of Commerce’s CEO.
Rungaitis added North City has been an active member in the chamber and the move lets the San Marcos Chamber be part of the newest development in San Marcos.
The new office will be in the same center as Cal State San Marcos, restaurants and other businesses.
“Union Cowork provides a wonderful opportunity to connect with young professionals,” he continued. “Not only can we provide resources to young members, but we can learn new ways to help members tap into new ways to market and grow their business.”
“We will have access to their meeting rooms, specifically access to a 25- to 30-person capacity Education Center where we will be able to host seminars, workshops and meetings which will provide valuable resources for our members,” he said. “In our current office we had a narrow board room that could fit about a dozen, this new office allows us to be more self-sufficient. This is a new and vibrant area of San Marcos and we’re excited to be part of it.”
Rungaitis, who has been with the San Marcos Chamber since January 2017 and has been instrumental in growing it, said: “The chamber has seen steady growth over the past couple of years. This is due to a strong staff, robust board of directors and active chamber members. Also, the city of San Marcos has been experiencing great growth with many new businesses and projects that have been completed and are planned,” he said.
Always busy working on something, Rungaitis said there’s not a typical day in the chamber world.
“We serve as problem-solvers for our members,” he said. “Anything that we can do to help them grow their business we will do.”
Rungaitis added that the board of directors approved a Strategic Plan in 2018 that consisted of three pillars: Advocacy for Members, Promoting San Marcos and Adding Value for Members.
“We strive to provide valuable resources for our members,” he said. “Serving as an advocate on their behalf and promoting the community through special events are our primary objectives.”
Residents are encouraged to stop by the San Marcos Chamber to pick up a free copy of the 2019 Business Directory and Resource Guide that has listings of all its members, information about the city, the history of San Marcos and much more.
The San Marcos Chamber hosts several major events each year:
- The Chamber Business Recognition Luncheon, featuring the State of the City Address;
- Spring Festival;
- Meet Your Elected Officials;
- Taste of San Marcos;
- Fall Festival; and
- San Marcos Farmers Market, coming soon every Tuesday from 3 to 7 p.m. across from the Decoy Restaurant.
2 comments
Like San Marcos, the Chamber is growing and expanding. I like the current locatio, but not always easy to get in and out of the area. The new location sounds fantastic with many options for the growing number of businesses from the borders with Carlsbad, Vista and Escondido. Being in the same building with the CSUSM students and staff will hopefully bring more collaboration and interests with students.
You mean it’s not like in Carlsbad where the CoC is really just an extension of the local Republican operative committee? Who knew that such a thing was possible?
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