Scott named VICA chairman

Robert Scott Robert Scott, director of the Civic Center Group in Calabasas, was elected chairman of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) by a unanimous vote of the membership at the organization’s 56th annual meeting at the Universal City Hilton and Towers Hotel.

At the meeting, Scott announced that his 2006 agenda will offer support for the region’s job-creating businesses and industries.

“The San Fernando Valley has one of the highest percentages of entrepreneurs in the country. However, we also have suffered the loss of many of our corporate headquarters and traditional industries, including aerospace and manufacturing— as a direct or indirect consequence of city, state and federal over-regulation, unchecked fraud, abuse of the legal system and government-sanctioned collectivism,” Scott said.

The reorganization of the Los Angeles Unified School District is also high on Scott’s list of priorities for VICA’s 2006 business advocacy agenda.

“We live in a global community. If we are going to be competitive,” said Scott. “we absolutely must have a world-class educational system. . .(Los Angeles Unified) has had many opportunities for reform, but has failed.”

Scott’s Civic Center Group is a civic support and public policy enterprise providing planning, research, analysis, information and consulting services primarily to nonprofit organizations. Scott also is the founding chair of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and serves as project director for Vision2020: The San Fernando Valley.

He is a past president of the Valley’s United Chambers of Commerce and a key architect in charter reform for the city of Los Angeles, advocating principles of local empowerment.

Scott has been active in city and school board redistricting and reform for more than 30 years and is the 44th annual recipient of the Fernando Award for lifetime achievement and volunteerism in the San Fernando Valley.