Channel Islands Choral Association (CICA) in partnership with CSU Channel Islands, Pleasant Valley School District and Channel Islands Chamber Orchestra is pleased to announce our 2021 Fall Choral Concert Season. Excerpts from two joyful and uplifting choral works will help herald a much-needed celebratory tone as our community launches their holiday celebrations: Morten Laurdisen’s Lux Aeterna and George Frideric Handel’s Messiah will be a part of CICA’s Holiday Choral Spectacular, Saturday, December 4 at 7 PM and Sunday, December 5 at 3 PM, Rancho Campana Performing Arts Center, Camarillo.

Members of the community, high school-aged and older, who wish to participate are cordially invited to audition and join. Alumni who have sung previously do not need to re-audition.

Understanding the need to offer flexibility during these unique times, CICA will be offering a slate of varying rehearsal formats designed to best fit the community’s needs and preferences. Community members can choose to participate in either in-person, outdoor Choral Workshops on Saturday mornings, attend virtual rehearsals on Monday evenings, or a combination of the two.

Community members electing to just attend Saturday Choral Workshops will be able to participate in 4 in-person, outdoor sessions: September 18, October 9, October 23 and November 13, 9:30 AM – 12 Noon. These workshops are designed to prepare singers for the presentation of Handel’s Messiah, and will be supported with safety protocols that have been established and regularly updated using federal, state and local requirements and guidelines. Please note, all 4 workshops must be attended in order to perform in the Holiday Choral Spectacular.

Should singers wish for more involvement and even broader musical training, virtual rehearsals in our VCR (Virtual Choir Room) will be available on Mondays starting at 6:30 PM beginning August 23rd. These rehearsals will include preparations for both the Fall and Spring performances of Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and focused sectional work on Messiah. In addition, rehearsals in the VCR are designed to provide more in depth discussions on the works being performed, the composers being featured, as well as, provide members with guided access of online resources for practice at home.

For more information, please contact Dr. KuanFen Liu at [email protected]. Also, visit www.cicachoir.org for *updates and the latest information.

*Please realize that due to the unique times, concert selections, rehearsal formats, times and dates are subject to change.

Coverly Professional Services (CoverlyPro) CEO, Lynnette Coverly and her company are having a banner year. In the first six months of 2021 Coverly has been awarded the 2021 BRAVA Adaptability Award by the National Association of Women Business Owner Ventura County (NAWBO-VC), is the Women’s Economic Venture’s 2021 Media and Communications Spirit of Entrepreneurship award winner and was named as a state NAWBO finalist for the Women Business Owner of the Year. These honors come as CoverlyPro celebrates its 11th year in business as a full-service marketing project management firm bringing creative ideas to implementation that continually exceed client expectations.

Part of the firm’s recent successes is a result of Coverly’s leadership and ability to pivot and adapt during the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. “During the pandemic, from a business standpoint, there was an opportunity to be flexible and adapt. The way we adapted at CoverlyPro was to begin offering virtual event productions. We literally became overnight Zoom and Live Stream experts and have produced 18 virtual events, including a 3-full day conference, in the last year and a half,” commented Coverly. With this adaptation to the firm’s service offerings, 2020 became a stellar year for Coverly Pro. She continued, “Now we’re transitioning from virtual productions to producing hybrid events that include both virtual and in-person elements.”

A result of the company’s achievements, is its growth. CoverlyPro has expanded its team from two to six employees. With over 30 years of marketing leadership, project management and communications experience, Coverly is building her diverse team with advanced subject matter experts who are creating and implementing branding, marketing, and communications strategies across a variety of business sectors for local, regional, and statewide clients.

Coverly credits her firm’s favorable results from her established philosophy of giving back. “What I love most about being a woman business owner, is that I can support other women business owners. It’s so important to me to provide services and help women business owners tell their stories,” states Coverly. Translating her giving spirit directly into her business, Coverly has been an integral volunteer and board member of community projects and events including VEP’s Summerfest, Women Economic Ventures, FOOD Share’s Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat, Ventura County Medical Resource Foundation, Ventura County 4-H youth development program, and National Kidney Foundation. She is currently on the Executive Board for NAWBO California and is a past president for NAWBO Ventura County.

Learn more about Coverly Professional Services at www.CoverlyPro.com or by contacting [email protected].

Coverly Professional Services, Inc. – Founded in 2010 by Lynnette Coverly, Coverly Professional Services (CoverlyPro) is a full-service marketing and public relations project management firm based in Ventura, California. With a varied portfolio of clients, CoverlyPro’s focus is creating and implementing branding and marketing strategies for the “service” industry from veterinary practices to in-home service companies, professional services, non-profits, and more. Leveraging its Three-Tiered Approach, the firm’s turnkey services include brand and marketing development, social media strategic management, media/public relations, SEO copywriting, development of all client-facing communications, graphic design, website content management and user experience (UX) direction, and media placement. www.CoverlyPro.com, 805-642-1301.

It is a commonly accepted belief that Girl Scout Cookies are the most delicious cookies, but they also provide opportunities for millions of girls across the country to learn skills that are essential to leadership, success, and life. Unfortunately, this year 250,000 boxes of the coveted Girl Scout cookies have been left unsold in stores across California’s Central Coast due to an inability to outreach during the Covid-19 pandemic. These cookies need to be sold by September 1 and are currently being sold in a buy one, get one free sale by the troops in the central coast.

The cookies can be found at the following location, Monday-Friday, 9 am-4:30 pm

Ventura Office

1500 Palma Drive, Suite 110

SCORE’s Ventura County Chapter was awarded 2020 Platinum Status, SCORE’s highest rating. The award recognizes the Ventura County Chapter for outstanding leadership, commitment and exemplary services in maintaining chapter standards of operation. This recognition is client centered and given to the top performing SCORE chapters out of 300 nationally.

SCORE Ventura County’s mission is to foster vibrant small business communities through mentoring and education. Founded in 1972, the chapter will soon celebrate its 50th Anniversary. The chapter’s volunteers provided confidential and free mentoring to 645 entrepreneurs during 2020. The chapter’s 61 workshops & webinars during the year reached 1,968 small business owners and attendees.

The chapter’s volunteers believe that building alliances and receiving support from the Small Business Administration, Ventura County’s Chambers of Commerce, the Economic Development Collaborative, the Women’s Economic Ventures and our many other community partners is making it possible for SCORE Ventura to grow and achieve its goal to give every person the support necessary to thrive as a small business owner.

SCORE was established in 1964 as a nationwide, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization to facilitate retired business owners and managers to mentor and assist small business owners. The organization’s 11,000 volunteers operate out of over 320 chapters through the country. The SBA includes SCORE, along with the Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers, in its triad of technical assistance partners offering mentoring and educational services.

For up to the minute information, visit facebook.com/SCOREVentura

Question:
I often see Coast Guard boats going into the Ventura Harbor. What are they doing in the Harbor?
Diane Brown

Answer:
We asked Tim Burrows from the Ventura Harbor Patrol to answer this.
The US coast guard serves many functions, one of which is boarding vessels for safety inspections and or suspicious activity. They will enter the Harbor and look for suspicious activity or for violations.

They also are part of Homeland Security, so they patrol all water ways (inland / international).

Also, it is easier to board vessels in calm waters, so they will sometimes bring vessels to our dock for inspections and investigations.