The Chamber was first formed in La Mesa in 1911 by a handful of businesses. The goal was to join forces to support the La Mesa economy and usher in the new City of La Mesa which would be incorporated a year later in 1912. Up until 1997, the Chamber provided a strong voice through advocacy for its members at the local, as well as state and national levels of government.

In 1997, the La Mesa Chamber and the El Cajon Chamber merged and became one. The reasoning was to create a “Super” Chamber which could provide a greater level of advocacy. Unfortunately the merger became nothing more than a failed experiment.

Since 1957, the La Mesa Village Merchants Association has served its members by sponsoring special events in the village. The first events held were the “Sidewalk Sales”. La Mesa residents flocked to the Boulevard for the bargains it offered. Starting in 2004, the Merchants Board had been approached by other La Mesa businesses outside of the village boundaries, and asked to re-establish a Chamber of Commerce specifically for La Mesa and its businesses. Even La Mesa Council Member Dave Allan made inquires about forming a new Chamber.

On October 12, 2007, a group of civic minded folks, and myself, re-established the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce. The goal was to promote OUR businesses by providing Advocacy, Education and Networking through a new community conduit which would incorporate all facets of La Mesa.

In May of 2008, the Board of Directors by unanimous vote hired Mary England as the Founding CEO.

We have covered a record amount of ground in a very short amount of time. But the best is yet to come!

My pledge to you is simply:

• We will never abandon our business community again.
• We will always work to promote La Mesa Businesses.
• We will support the City of La Mesa.
• We will emphasize community to every other person and business in this region.
• We will work hard to earn your trust.

La Mesa Chamber Of Commerce
PO Box 3571 La Mesa California 91944 619 465 7700 info@lamesacc.org
Staff
Download Press Release	Mary England maryengland@lamesacc.org Cell • 619 251 7730 After Hours • 619 466 1111 Fax • 619 465 3851 President/CEO
Board Of Directors
Jim Wieboldt jimwieboldt@lamesacc.org Chairman	Gina Champion-Cain ginachampion@lamesacc.org Vice Chair	David Smyle davidsmyle@lamesacc.org Treasurer
Dexter Levy dexterlevy@lamesacc.org Secretary	Heidi Chacon info@lamesacc.org	Mike Murphy info@lamesacc.org
Steve South info@lamesacc.org	Stan Young stanyoung@lamesacc.org