Chamber welcomes new leader, Hill recognized




JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers HONORED FOR SERVICE—Calabasas resident Bob Hill, right, receives the Chamber of Commerce Bill Van Gielson Award from presenter Larry Negrin for his 20 years of service to the city. Hill was a Calabasas founding father and a two-time mayor.

JANN HENDRY/Acorn Newspapers HONORED FOR SERVICE—Calabasas resident Bob Hill, right, receives the Chamber of Commerce Bill Van Gielson Award from presenter Larry Negrin for his 20 years of service to the city. Hill was a Calabasas founding father and a two-time mayor.


The Calabasas Chamber of Commerce paid tribute to the past and outlined a vision for the future during its annual board of directors luncheon last week at the Calabasas Inn

Among the honorees, Bob Hill, a longtime city council member and founding father of the city, received the Chamber’s Bill Van Gieson award for his service to the community.

Tony Yamin stepped down as the Chamber’s chairman of the board and was replaced by local realtor Stephanie Warren.

Last year, Yamin’s Chamber joined forces with the city and welcomed the return of the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival, which had taken a brief hiatus.

Yamin also held the reins as the city and the Chamber hosted the Method Fest Film Festival for the first time.

Among other accomplishments, the Calabasas Chamber celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005 and added 110 new businesses to its roster, Yamin said.

Warren promised to strengthen and grow the Chamber in 2006 and to help give the membership true value for its dollar.

On Feb. 22, the Chamber and the city will jointly present Mayor Barry Groveman’s State of the City address.

In June, Warren will help organize the Chamber’s 11th annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction at Fins Creekside in Calabasas.

Warren has more than 25 years of sales experience and is currently an estate agent with Ewing and Associates Sotheby’s International Realty in Calabasas.

Hill, a resident of Calabasas for more than 25 years and twice the city’s mayor, paid tribute to the past winners of the Bill Van Gieson Award. Former recipients include notables such as Ray Phillips, Flo Klein, Mac and Alice Stelle, and Frank and Betty-Jeanne Farmer.

Van Gieson was a community pioneer, long-time city volunteer and former owner of the Calabasas Saddlery.

“I’m very appreciative of the award because I’m in great company here,” said Hill, a 17-year member of the Chamber of Commerce and a Calabasas pioneer in his own right.

In the 1980s, Hill helped lead the city’s drive to incorporate. Following an unsuccessful first attempt, Calabasas finally gained cityhood in 1991. It’s the last community to leave Los Angeles County and become its own city.

Hill served as mayor in 1992 and again in 1996 and helped to establish the Tennis and Swim Center and other popular facilities and parks in the city.

“While working toward the future of Calabasas, Bob has not forgotten the past,” said Larry Negrin, Chamber member.

Hill is a member of the Leonis Adobe Association and the Calabasas Historical Society. He’s also the recipient of the Historical Society’s Living History Award.

In his speech, Hill told Chamber members that he fought to prevent the imposition of a city business tax.

“We’re held out as the standard by which other cities aspire to be,” Hill said.

“Bob has been an inspiration not only to the city council and city staff, but to everyone,” said Dennis Washburn, city council member and former Van Gieson Award winner.

Insurance agent Tina Klaas won the Chamber’s 2006 Chairman of the Board award. Klaas is a seven-year Chamber of Commerce member.

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