Sandy Pariani is the Branch Manager for Summit State Bank in Petaluma.  Sandy joined Summit State Bank after working for Bank of Petaluma for 3 years and National Bank of the Redwoods for more than 13 years.  Sandy says she really enjoys working for a community bank and Summit State Bank is a great fit for her.  If you are looking for a bank with great customer service and a personal touch, come see Sandy and her staff, located in Parkway Plaza across from G&G shopping center in Petaluma.

Sandy and her late husband, Brian, moved to Sonoma County from Marin more than 25 years ago to raise their family.  Sandy volunteered as a member of the PTA while raising her son and daughter.  Her son is employed with the Department of Fish and Game and her daughter works for a local nursery.

Sandy became involved with the Petaluma Chamber after joining Summit State Bank and became an Ambassador soon after. She has been actively participating in Business After Hours events and attending Chamber Breakfast meetings; as well as volunteering for various fundraising events in the community.  She says volunteering is a great way to meet new people in the community and makes you feel that you’ve contributed to a worthwhile cause.

She enjoys being an Ambassador and looks forward to helping businesses sponsor a Business After Hours Event.

Business Education Committee
Promotes Career Preparation  By Val Richman

Petaluma Valley Hospital provides internships for Casa Grande Health Career Pathway students.

It’s fall, the kids are back in school, and the Chamber’s Business-Education Committee is revving up for a new year of activities because schools can’t do it alone!  The Committee is a vehicle to develop a quality workforce in Petaluma and the surrounding region by helping to improve the quality of education offered to Petaluma area students.  Its goal is to have a meaningful impact on the quality of education in the region, while considering the business sector’s needs and concerns; it serves as a conduit through which PACC and community members can participate in programs and activities that help Petaluma students.  We encourage the business community to open its doors to a students and help them view the future - every student is going somewhere after high school!

Last year the Committee brought together over 150 business people and educators at a special After-Hours. This year there are three programs underway and a list of ideas to be discussed for the future. The three programs, which link the business community with youth, are job shadowing, internships and mentoring.  Job shadowing and internships follow hand in hand with Petaluma City Schools’ Smaller Learning Communities (SLC).  

Casa Grande and Petaluma High Schools are implementing SLC to focus on community and school staff’s identified goals of (1) Family and School Connections, (2) Personalization, and (3) Authentic Curriculum and to increase the number of students who are prepared for success in either work or advanced study after they graduate from high school.  In the 11th and 12th grades, students begin to see the connection between their studies and life beyond school as they choose from several Career Clusters which enable them to select courses tied to their interests and post-secondary goals.  Both high schools are developing career pathways to ensure that more students pursue post-secondary enrollment and meaningful career options.  Adults in the community are encouraged to join this effort by volunteering as a mentor, guest speaker, or by providing learning opportunities for students such as job shadowing, apprenticeships or intern­ships.  Health, shop and drafting career pathways are well established; links to other industries and businesses need to be developed.

Job Shadowing:

• One-time; three-four hours; Juniors and Seniors; ages 16, 17 & 18
• Unpaid
• Students are prepped regarding what to wear, behavior, confidentiality, sexual harassment, etc.
• Students come with a list of questions; shadow business people; may or may not actually do work
• Anticipated need for 08-09 is 600 students.

Internships

• Ongoing; from 20-30 hours to 10 hrs/ week yearlong; Seniors; ages 17 & 18
• May be paid or unpaid
• Students are prepped regarding what to wear, behavior, confidentiality, sexual harassment, etc.;  also given more detail about the field and/or business
• Hands-on experience; participate and do some work
• Anticipated need for 2008-09 is 50 students.

Mentoring

• Ongoing; one hour per week during the school year; may add on extra activities if desired
• Adult volunteers matched one-on-one with youth at-risk ages 5-17
• Social- emotional support; encourage­ment towards schoolwork and attendance; not tutoring
• Mentors are screened, trained and have ongoing support through the MMP program
• Anticipated need for 2008-09 is 100 mentors

In addition to the three programs listed above, the committee is looking to widen and deepen the range of its activities and plans to discuss the following ideas for the future:  

• Promote events, conferences, and other activities that help highlight issues facing Petaluma school districts and raise the level of awareness of these issues.
• Identify unmet needs of Petaluma schools and galvanize business support to meet those needs.
• Identify unmet needs of Petaluma business and galvanize school support to meet those needs.
• Coordinate activities with PACC and other organizations that support education in Petaluma.
• Review legislative proposals that impact local schools and recommend policy positions to the Board of Directors for Chamber action.
• Identify needs of high school graduates and help them obtain success in higher education by building relationship with the SRJC and SSU systems and other local institutions of higher learning.
• Serve as a unified business voice on education issues.
• Hold an annual “Spotlight on Education” forum to focus on issues facing Petaluma schools.
• Coordinate events to recognize teachers and other school staff, including but not limited to a Teacher Appreciation event [mixer, luncheon]; Teacher Discount Shopping Day, or other program.
• Identify a specific capital need of the Petaluma schools and raise funds for this purpose. Examples could include a computer donation program; library book fund, sports equipment fund, etc.
• “Adopt a School” and “Adopt a Classroom” programs.

To get involved with job shadowing, internships and SLC, contact Patricia Souza at psouza@pet.k12.ca.us or 921-8499.  To become a mentor or to learn more about the Business-Education Committee, contact Val Richman at vrichman@mentormepetaluma.org or 778-4798.  The Business-Education Committee is actively soliciting new members. The next meeting will be Monday, November 10th at 8:00am at the Chamber office.