Dear CSA… Event was WONDERFUL!
Dear CSA,
On May 8, 2024, I had the privilege of spending the day at our state capital, engaging with our CSA members, legislators and policymakers. My group consisted of Michael Schmidt, CSA Vice President and Jeff Aran, CSA Legal Counsel. We had the opportunity to meet with several ASM staff to discuss our positions on AB-2622, SB-1116 and Skilled and Trained Workforce.
Call it luck or coincidence but ASM Juan Alanis walked the lobby where we were waiting and thanks to Jeff waving him down, we had the opportunity to chat and discuss a few bullet points on why we are against AB-2622. Being a native of Modesto CA myself, I recognized ASM Juan Alanis as a native from Modesto as well. I invited him to tour our facility so he could experience firsthand the sign industries and he accepted. My day at the capital was filled with insightful discussions, networking opportunities, and a deeper understanding of the legislative process that shapes our community and business environment.
I emailed his staff as per his direction immediately that same day for ASM Juan’s availability and was able to set a date of July 9, 2024 at 10:00am. On the day of his visit, we started off with a discussion session. With only an hour to discuss and tour the facility we could only bring up a couple of issues. We talked about our STEPS program in which he was very interested and let us know he would be giving us his contact at MJC. He is of the mindset that not everyone is meant for college and desk jobs. He mentioned that he has a couple of Career and Technical Education bills in the work. We truly believe that we could get his, and his staff support on the STEPS program. We talked briefly about AB-2622, and why the exempted trades should be put back in there. I was surprised to find out that he is for it. The final topic was the propane forklift ruling. A topic he is aware of and is looking into it with his staff. He mentioned that hydrogen would be the way to go instead of electrical. Following the discussion we provided a comprehensive tour of our facilities, demonstrating our day-to-day operations. ASM Juan was impressed with the intricate process involved in making an electrical sign.
Best Regards,
Jenny Salgado
Vice President\Sign Designs Inc.
Teresa M. Young has been a consultant to entrepreneurs since 1986, in both retail and B2B sectors. In 1991, she became President of Sign Biz, Inc., a full-service business development company. Young sits on multiple boards, including as Past Chairwoman of both the International Sign Association (ISA) and California Sign Association. She is an accomplished code writer, web developer and contributor to the Git Repository. Young is also an in-demand speaker, engaging business owners with topical and powerful business insights and strategies in support of best business practices and modern marketing strategies under her MintyWorks and Coffee with T brands. 200 click-and-mortar enterprises were established under the Sign Biz business model with more than $19,000,000 worth of SBA-backed funding for these businesses.