During a time when the U.S. was the first to land on the moon, the Boeing 747 recorded their first flight and the New York Mets won their first World Series, the Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce opened its doors to strengthen local businesses and ensure economic growth in Placer County.

Since its founding in 1969, the chamber has grown to more than 650 members and has become the voice of business before government, provided networking opportunities to its members and promoted the local community.

“The Rocklin community has changed so much over the years,” said Ray Spadoni, Chamber President in 1980. “But the chamber’s mandate has remained the same. As an organization, our goal was to support the local businesses and be a valuable resource for them and the community, the same as it is today.”

Larry Osborne, chairman of the board in 1992 and one of the chamber’s longest running members, has fond memories of the chamber breakfasts that were held at Rosie’s, a Rocklin mainstay. Owned and operated at that time by Randy Peters of Randy Peters Catering & Event Planning, Rosie’s gave the chamber an opportunity to provide members with a place to gather for quality networking.

“We were a little more casual in those days,” said Osborne, owner of Elephant Ideas and a Run Rocklin organizer. “We were trying to create an environment that was a comfortable place for members. Our goal was to fill a room and create a synergy of people and activity that made an impact.”

For Martha Totaro, business manager for the Rocklin Chamber from 1994 to 2000, her fondest memory during her tenure included the Hot Chili & Cool Cars event, which was held for the first time in 1994. For the first two years, Hot Chili & Cool Cars went all day and into the evening, with a street dance under the stars.

During that time, the San Francisco 49ers still had their summer training camp at Sierra College. Many local families and visitors came to watch them practice and the players were often spotted frequenting the local restaurants and video stores.

“It was a win-win situation for the city and for the team,” Totaro said. “The team literally helped put Rocklin on the map.”

As business manager, Totaro’s primary goal was to establish a friendly and helpful atmosphere so that the community’s businesses, organizations, individuals and visitors felt well served by the Rocklin Chamber.

Following Totaro’s term, Mary Jo Edmondson held the CEO position from 2000 to 2005. Her goal while at the chamber was to grow the membership in order to connect the members to other businesses and the community and offer events that brought people together. The Leadership Rocklin class was started in 2002 and has been a successful business education, training and mentoring program that continues today.

While heading up the chamber, Edmondson and the board adopted the theme of having members focus on their “Return on Involvement.”

“The goal of our theme was to encourage members to get involved in the chamber and in their community, which in turn helped them in their business,” Edmondson said.

Current CEO Robin Trimble, has been with the chamber since 2005 and oversaw the move of the chamber offices to its current location in historic downtown Rocklin. Trimble ushered in a new era by bringing her business acumen to the day-to-day operations and management of the chamber. The chamber’s membership has grown to more than 650 members under her leadership and has become a partner with local, city and state government to become the voice of business for Rocklin.

Business committees like the Rocklin Area Chamber Political Action Committee and the Government Relations Committee have been established under Trimble’s leadership.

“We’ve been very fortunate to inherit outstanding programs and values here at the chamber,” Trimble said. “We’ve been able to utilize the solid foundation that was established in the beginning and build on that to meet the specific needs of our members and the community today.”

From the start, the Rocklin Chamber has been part of the city’s amazing expansion. As more and more people flocked to Rocklin, new businesses opened their doors to meet the needs of the increasing population. To promote and support that growth, the Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce became an advocate for business owners who turned to them for support.

Today, the chamber continues to be a resource to its members, by offering networking events, vital business education and training, opportunities for visible community involvement, traditional breakfast meetings, mixers, open houses, ribbon cuttings, community events and more.

Chamber members and the community are invited to join the Rocklin Area Chamber of Commerce as they celebrate their 40th anniversary on Friday at the annual Business Excellence Awards. A gala reception featuring wine and appetizers will be held at Mercedes-Benz/ Bistro 33 of Rocklin at 4747 Granite Drive in Rocklin.

Tickets for the Awards Reception are $50 per person. Tickets can be purchased online at www.RocklinChamber.com or by contacting the chamber at 624-2548.