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Chamber Board Member Candidates |
Ron Haas: General Manager/COO Moraga Country Club
Ron and his family moved to the East Bay from Carmel where he spent his last 9 years in July 2017 to take the position as General Manager/COO at Moraga Country Club. He comes to Moraga Country Club with over 30+ years of experience in the hospitality industry spanning both the hotel (Sheraton, Hilton, Hyatt) private club (Desert Mountain, Lake Las Vegas, Santa Lucia Preserve) and Health Club/Spa (Carmel Valley Athletic Club, Refuge) industries. His last 27 years have been in management level positions. Ron’s foundational success has been in establishing relationships and in team building to focus on people, service, presentation and accountability. His unique and successful hands-on training has ensured consistency and high quality standards for spa & fitness, recreation & golf, lodging, food & beverage, maintenance, housekeeping, equestrian, youth programs and many other amenities. Ron’s outgoing personality and professional approach is a welcome addition to the Moraga Country Club and Moraga Community.
STATEMENT:
Prior to moving to Moraga, I have been a Board member of the Carmel Valley Chamber of Commerce for three years. The reason for me joining the local chamber is to become part of the professional community, support local business and stress the importance of shopping local. Moraga is a wonderful community with many great community events and activities but for our local businesses to succeed it is important we all do our part to support them.
Tim Farley: Saint Mary’s College Director of Community & Government Relations
As a third generation Contra Costan I have spent a life time in the service of community. I was born on a military base in Europe during the height of the Cold War. My family returned to Martinez in the mid 1960’s. In 1978 the Martinez Chamber of Commerce honored me as Young Man of the Year for “Outstanding Contribution to the Community” This began my lifetime commitment to community service.
I earned my AA degree from DVC and continued on to UC Davis where I received my BA degree. Upon returning home I worked for the California State Assembly.
In 1990 the people of Martinez elected me to the city council. I was reelected in 1994, doubling my vote from four years earlier. While on the council I balanced eight public budgets. In 2014 I was elected to the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board representing Ward III. I strive to build programs of community outreach and partnerships. My passion and dedication to higher education are primary. I have served on the Board of the Moraga Chamber of Commerce for two previous terms and am currently the Director of Community and Government Relations for Saint Mary’s College. I was recently awarded the 2017 Edwin Crawford national award for service in state government relations.
Karen Lew, New York Life
To be a successful Chamber, our leadership must be an involved leadership!
Karen grew up in Southern California and has lived in the Bay area for 20+ years, in Moraga for 13 years. She has been working for New York Life, a Fortune 500 company for the past 3 years as a Financial Services Professional. Karen specializes in helping individuals, families manage their financial affairs so they can devote time to doing what they do best in their careers, raising kids or running a small business. The type of planning that I help my clients with involves employee benefits, business, college savings, mortgage protection, long term care and retirement planning. Karen and her husband, Brad were involved with the approval of the pedestrian crosswalk warning signal on Moraga Road and Corliss Drive. Karen’s children grew up in the Moraga schools and are currently at Campolindo High. Karen is part of the sandwich generation juggling taking care of kids, working full-time and taking care of parents. She enjoys a good workout class at 24 hour Fitness, hiking, cooking, baking, traveling and most of all being with family and friends.
Nominee Statement: I am very excited about the opportunity to become a Board member for the Moraga Chamber of Commerce to allow me to be actively involved with my small town family friendly community. Prior to working at NY Life; she has 20 years human resources and employee benefits consulting experience at Mercer, PMI, Clorox, American President Lines. My expertise can really help small businesses with tax deductible and tax-free solutions. I am also a financial resource for the Village, a life insurance, annuity and long term care resource for our growing senior population. With my expertise and experience in the financial industry, and knowledge of the needs of business owners, I can make a dfference by being an active Moraga Board of Directors. I can also be a resource for planning activities and events to partner and network with fellow business owners. It would be my pleasure to join the Chamber Board in their mission to help our town grow wisely considering the needs of our families and continuously encourage our community to Shop Moraga First while conserving our beautiful landscape.
Kevin Reneau: Former owner and CEO of Senior Helpers of Contra Costa County
successful in-home care agency, which has helped over 500 families remain safe and independent in their own homes. Senior Helpers generated over $10 million in revenues since the business was opened the in 2007. In 2015 I was named Moraga’s Businessperson of the Year.
• I have been very active in the community, serving for two years as President of the Moraga Chamber of Commerce, and sponsoring innovative programs for Seniors in the community and 2016-17
As Moraga Rotary President, I recently spearheaded a Rotary fundraising drive that raised over $330,000 for a new all-access playground in Moraga.
• Previously I spent over two decades as a Senior Athletic Administrator at the University of California, Berkeley, where I headed the Media and Marketing Departments, and won 28 regional and national
awards for my work, including regional NCAA Basketball, the Final Four, and Olympic Trials in Los Angeles
• I graduated with high honors in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley
Mark Zinman: MZ Financial Group
Mark is a 1991 graduate of University of San Diego with a B.S. in Accounting. He has been a resident of Moraga for 11 plus years and owner of MZ Financial Group, a mortgage brokerage company. Prior to running his own company Mark worked for the Charles Schwab Corporation from 1995 through 2001 as an Investment Consultant.
Mark has been a Board Member of the Moraga Community Foundation for the last 18 months and enjoys the concept of growing Moraga. He feels the best way to grow Moraga is through the continued development of relationships between residents and business owners. The idea of Moraga as a Town with beautiful surroundings is a great draw. Mark feels now is the time to add to that beauty with a thriving business community that serves Moraga residents as well as our neighbors. He looks forward to adding his efforts to this challenge.