Reyna Chavez (far right) with her team of employees and Marsha Bailey (second from the right), CEO/Founder of Women’s Economic Ventures

Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) recently hosted a reception and trolley tour of WEV client businesses located in downtown Ventura. The evening began at the Watermark on Main as guests mingled with local business owners who are currently enrolled in WEV’s Thrive in Five® program which focuses on the growth of existing businesses. Following the reception, guests boarded a trolley that toured local businesses through Ventura that have been assisted by WEV’s programs, including Self-Employment Training (SET) course, the WEV Loan program and Thrive in Five®.

Guests on the trolley tour were able to see firsthand the impact their support for WEV has on the community. The tour stopped to meet various WEV clients at their businesses including Julie Teron at Sauna Studio, Reyna Chavez at  Scrubs on the Run, Angela Rosales at Very Ventura Gift Shop and Gallery, and Adriana Perez at Skincare by Adriana. Each business owner shared their entrepreneurial journey and outlined how WEV’s programs have supported the startup and growth of their business.

Since 1991, WEV has served over 13,000 clients, made over $4 million in microloans, and helped start or sustain an estimated 3,000 businesses supporting more than 4,000 local jobs throughout Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

“WEV started almost 25 years ago to fill a need,” says Marsha Bailey, WEV’s Founder and CEO “While the number of woman-owned businesses in the U.S. is growing rapidly, women often lack the training, support and capital they need to grow and thrive. WEV provides that support.”

Bailey is an advocate for female entrepreneurs on a local and national level, serving as a member of the National Women’s Business Council and as the President of the Board of Directors of the national Association of Women’s Business Centers.

For more information about supporting WEV programs, contact Danelle Mangone, Development Manager at 456-2347 or [email protected].

Parts Unknown sales lady Karen Peacock and store manager Jennifer Kildee are waiting to give you an upscale shopping experience.
Photos by Richard Lieberman

by Victoria Usher

Parts Unknown is a clothing store located at the corner of Main Street and Oak Street in the heart of downtown Ventura. It’s a store that gives its shoppers an upscale shopping experience with an attitude toward adventure, travel, leisure, sports and the great outdoors.

Apparel and footwear for men and women are offered, as well as handbags and an assortment of leather accessories. The North Country, the Southwest, and the South Pacific are the three separate environments that are featured at the store venue. The vast array of both apparel and footwear are inspired by these three locales.

Some well-known brands that you can find at Parts Unknown include Brighton, Tommy Bahama, Nat Nast, Not Your Daughters jeans, Olukai, Born, Clark, Scully leather apparel and accessories, True Grit, Tori Richard and many others.

Dan Scully first opened the Ventura Parts Unknown store on the fourth of July, fourteen years ago. He and his family have been Ventura residents since 1976. Main Street was not always the desirable location for retail that it is today and so the decision was made not to open a store in Ventura. Over time, the street improved and then in 2001, Warner Brothers filmed the movie “Swordfish,” in the old Bank of Italy building. The owner then convinced Dan to open the third Parts Unknown location in that very building once the film was done shooting.

The Ventura store is the third location of their six-store Parts Unknown chain. The other stores are located in distinctive, upscale locations: Carmel, CA, Solvang, CA, Santa Fe, NM, Fredericksburg, TX, Eureka Springs, AR, and there will be a seventh store coming soon in Cambria, CA.

The Ventura Parts Unknown store is open daily. You can drop by anytime to visit their friendly and experienced staff that will assist you with all of your shopping needs from head to toe. Their phone number is 648-4654 and their website is www.partsunknown.com.

Dr. Tam and Dr. Asato will provide for more care for animal patients

Ohana Pet Hospital expands its veterinary professional team, to support the health and well-being of its growing family of patients, by welcoming Dr. Christina Tam and Dr. Kayla Asato to the Ohana family. Dr. Tam will join Dr. Jennifer Kelly to serve the urgent care needs of the hospital’s existing patients while Dr. Asato will provide general practice services.

Dr. Christina Tam is a native southern Californian, originally from the San Gabriel Valley. In 2008, she graduated from the University of California–San Diego with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and obtained her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine at the University of California–Davis in 2014. Dr. Tam enjoys running, camping, biking, traveling, and any activity that takes her outdoors and around the world.

Dr. Kayla Asato was born and raised in Kaneohe, Hawai’i. In 2010, she earned her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California–Davis and continued her education at UC Davis Veterinary School where she earned her Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in 2014.

“We feel blessed that this community has embraced Ohana Pet Hospital with such open arms, trusting us with their pets,” said Dr. Janis Shinkawa, Medical Director of Ohana Pet Hospital. “It is our responsibility to ensure we provide the best care and that means expanding our professional veterinary staff to accommodate growing patient needs. I am pleased that Dr. Tam and Dr. Asato are bringing their talents and compassionate care to our Ohana.”

Ohana Pet Hospital is a full-service facility, established in Ventura, California in 2012 by four women veterinarians and leaders in our community – Drs. Janis Shinkawa, Jill Muraoka-Lim, Kate Byrne and Nicci Quinn. Ohana is also an industry and community leader in “green” ideas from construction to operations. Ohana Pet Hospital is located at 4547 Telephone Road  and can be reached at 658-7387 (www.ohanapethospital.com).

Featured turning demos by Robert Sorby Co. from England will be available each day. 

Woodcraft’s annual woodworking show on Oct. 9 & 10 from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm is packed with fun and information:  Free demos and free prize giveaways, vendor tool reps to show you the latest innovations in the industry, woodworking games and contests, specialty woods, and opportunities to learn about our wide selection of woodworking classes.  They carry over 20,000 woodworking tools and products from all over the world! Almost everything in the store is on sale from 10% – 15% off, too!  (Some exclusions apply.) This is the one woodworking event each year you and your family won’t want to miss!  Woodcraft is located at 3860 E. Main Street, 658-9663.

On September 26 the Very Ventura Gift Shop & Gallery held a grand opening party at their beautiful new location at 540 E. Main in Downtown Ventura. The greatly enlarged location features clothes, jewelry and gifts, music, books, much more and art in their GalleryV. All by local artists, artisans and manufacturers. They open at 11am and the closing hours depend on the day of the week. Call 628-3540 for more information. The perfect place to start buying you holiday gifts.

By Sheila Lowe, MS, CG

In 1982 women in business were still fighting for recognition. Despite owning 25% of all US businesses, women were required to get their husband’s signature when applying for any type of loan. There were no women’s networking organizations to support them and they were not allowed to join service clubs such as Rotary or Chambers of Commerce. For Ventura women, a change was in the offing.

Seeing the need for convenient networking in Ventura County, a group of businesswomen got together and hosted a dinner at an Oxnard restaurant for more than one-hundred interested women. That was where the seed for VCPWN—Ventura County Professional Women’s Network—was planted. Now, more than thirty years later, VCPWN still meets monthly (except December) for dinner and a speaker. Twice a year they hold a silent auction and an annual tabletop expo. Their mission remains the same: Promote the personal and professional growth of Ventura County women through education, mutual support, and sharing of resources.

Most VCPWN members are women (men are not excluded) who occupy a wide spectrum of business and industry. They meet at the Wedgewood Banquet Center in Ventura on the second Thursday of each month for an informative program and networking. Nonmember guests are welcomed by a greeter at the door and introduced to members.

Speaker topics range from self-help to business to social issues and more. As October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, the October 8^th meeting topic is Taking the Punch Out of Domestic Violence. The organization will donate $100 to a charity of the speaker’s choosing.

Local businesswoman Merle DiVita, one of VCPWN’s founding mothers, was honored at a recent meeting with the prestigious Wind Beneath My Wings Award.

Other members include, among many others, attorneys, insurance agents, accountants, and yours truly, a handwriting examiner and mystery writer. Wherever you go in Ventura, if you mention VCPWN, you’re sure to hear these words: “I used to be a member. That’s a wonderful organization!” I have served two terms as VCPWN president.

This November, along with our wonderful pre-holiday silent auction, VCPWN is planning a membership drive and on December 10^th a Champagne and Chocolate meet and greet at the office of our “Guy at Large,” Jim Nicoll. For anyone who’s been thinking about joining, there couldn’t be a better time. The normal joining fee will be waived and membership will start January 1^st, which gives a free month and member rates for dinner.

We’ve all come a long way since 1982, and we still have a long way to go. Knowing there is a supportive organization to provide support and resources makes the trip a lot more pleasant. Please visit www.vcpwn.org

www.sheilalowe.com

Some businesses include an art gallery, a hair salon and a housing cleaning service.

On Wednesday, August 12th, Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) celebrated the accomplishments of fourteen men and women graduating from the WEV en Español’s Basic Self-Employment Training (SET) program.

Students in the four week course explored the risks and benefits of starting different businesses, characteristics important to becoming a successful entrepreneur, and they evaluated their own strengths and abilities. Graduates left the course with an understanding of whether they are ready to take the next steps in launching their own business.

“These graduates took a small but important step in determining their readiness for starting their own business,” said Leticia Sandoval, WEV Spanish Program Coordinator. “We are excited to see what the next few months brings for each graduate.”

WEV is dedicated to creating an equitable and just society through the economic empowerment of women. Since 1991, WEV has been providing self-employment training, technical assistance and microloans to primarily low-income women. WEV offers a continuum of programs to help both women and men start, stabilize and grow small businesses. WEV’s service area includes Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, with offices in Santa Barbara and Ventura. As a non-profit community lender, the WEV Loan Program provides start-up and expansion loans of up to $50,000. For more information, visit WEV’s website at www.wevonline.org.

Dr. Jan Shinkawa, Medical Director of Ohana Pet Hospital, announced the expansion of their professional family as they welcome local veterinarian, Dr. Jennifer Kelly, to the growing Ventura practice. Dr. Kelly will be overseeing urgent care services for existing clients.

Dr. Kelly is a native Southern Californian from Westlake Village. She earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from the University of California-Davis and obtained her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008. Following veterinary school, Dr. Kelly returned to Ventura County, completing a rotating small animal internship at Veterinary Medical and Surgical Group (VMSG). Dr. Kelly went on to join small animal veterinary clinics in 2009 in both Ventura and Thousand Oaks before joining Ohana Pet Hospital in May 2015.

“Dr. Kelly brings specific knowledge and experience working with patients in need of urgent care services,” said Dr. Janis Shinkawa, Medical Director of Ohana Pet Hospital. “As a growing veterinary practice, we must be able to accommodate our clients with scheduled appointments while also seeing our patients with urgent needs. Dr. Kelly is a perfect fit.”

“I’ve been building a career that emphasizes critical care and emergency medicine and I look forward to helping Ohana Pet Hospital’s growing list of clients with their urgent care needs,” stated Dr. Kelly, the seventh veterinarian to join Ohana Pet Hospital since its opening in December 2012.

At home Dr. Kelly spends her leisure time with her significant other, Rocky and her three year old daughter, Emma. Her family also includes a Great Dane named Bella, Chester the Bullmastiff and her beloved cat, Isis.

Also in attendance at the celebration were manufacture representatives.

Barber RV has relocated from Main Street where it had been since it opened in 1978, to the Ventura Auto Center at 6660 Auto Center Drive. Kirby Subaru remains in its current location, 6404 Auto Center drive.

August 1 and  2 were celebration days at the location.  Live music was provided by Nathan McEuen and Friends and fresh tacos and condiments were provided by Juan Mendoza.

On Sunday attendees were treated to the Ventura K 9 Search and Rescue Unit and Carol and her PR Dog.

Also in attendance were manufacture representatives from 7 different companies who answered detailed questions for those interested in purchasing their vehicles.

Jeff Sukay, President of The Kirby Auto Group invited customers, city officials and Ventura Chamber members to attend the 2 day celebration.  Motor homes, trailers, towables, and campers were put on display which amounted to over a one-quarter mile of  traveling toys for all their visitors to enjoy, tour and purchase.

For nearly 50 years, The Kirby Auto Group has been treating customers like family.

www.barberrv.com  www.kirbyautogroup.com