This past Monday, CV Chamber Board President Aram Ordubegian played tour guide to a group of editors from The San Fernando Valley Business Journal. They wanted to learn more about our little enclave at the outer edge of their coverage area. Together they toured the entire foothill community including La Crescenta, Montrose, Glendale, Tujunga and La Cañada Flintridge. The magazine journalists were impressed with so many things about our community. Things like lack of congestion, diversity of businesses, proximity of good schools – all the things we residents already know and appreciate about our corner of the city. In Montrose, they were taken by the pedestrian-friendliness and feeling of safety. They noticed the bike paths on Foothill Boulevard, the beautiful mountains and the proximity of outdoor recreation.  They were impressed with St. Luke’s of the Mountains Episcopal Church, JPL and the density of stately oak trees in Crescenta Valley and Hahamongna parks.

Getting an outsider’s perspective can often be enlightening. Ordubegian had this to say about the tour: “It’s striking how the community feels like a cohesive place with similar types of businesses, sharing of schools, fire departments and police forces. Businesses in one place are interacting with residents throughout the valley.  We as a chamber want to encourage that. For instance,” Ordubegian continued, “during the tour, we noticed that Montrose Travel has opened a new storefront on Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada. Connecting businesses and residents like this is good for the whole shared valley.”

With that goal in mind, the CV Chamber is hosting the upcoming Day at the Races in conjunction with the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce and the Crescenta Valley Sheriff Support Group. The upcoming Business Expo, held in September at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, will be a collaborative effort between the Crescenta Valley, Montrose and La Canada chambers. We will continue to explore opportunities that bring all the resources in the Foothill community together from Sunland-Tujunga to La Cañada Flintridge, from the top of the highest La Crescenta canyon to the Glendale valley floor. This won’t be difficult. Cooperating is in our blood here in the Crescenta Valley. As Ordubegian says, “We work together to keep this community great.”

In other news, the CV Chamber helped Mindy Morrison celebrate the grand opening of her new office space with a ribbon cutting last week. Morrison, of Back Office People, helps small business owners and entrepreneurs take back their weekend so they aren’t staring at their QuickBooks, wondering if they are doing it right, why they need to do it at all, or procrastinating. With over 20 years of experience with QuickBooks and payroll, she does set-up, fix-up and catch-up on QuickBooks for local business owners.

“There are over 1,600 businesses in La Crescenta, and the people who run them have kids in the local schools. If we can help local businesses thrive, then the whole community thrives,” says Morrison. She has been doing just that for the Crescenta Valley for over five years.

Mindy Morrison has been a Certified QuckBooks ProAdvisor since 2008. She has programmed in six different computer languages and has an MBA, so she knows hardware, software and business. So if you’re ready to spend more time with your family this weekend than with your computer, give Back Office People a call at (818) 539-4665 or drop by their new office at 2953 Honolulu Ave., Suite #4.

Lisa Dupuy, executive director

CV Chamber of Commerce

3131 Foothill Blvd. ‘D’

La Crescenta, CA 91214

(818) 248-4957

  Lisa DUPUY