Jess Brown from the Merced County Association of Governments then stopped by to discuss the many transportation projects that MCAG is overseeing.  MCAG also maintains a GIS system that is available to all members.  He spoke about how construction of most transportation projects is often the quickest part of the project taking only 1-2 years while a project will take 5-7 years or more to get through the planning stage.  City of Merced Mayor Ellie Wooten was the next to address the class.  She spoke candidly about the city is currently facing and took questions.

                Next the group traveled to the Merced Sun-Star for lunch and a guided tour.  Mike Tharp, the Staff Editor of the Merced Sun-Star spoke to the group about the real and serious challenges facing the newspaper industry, introduced us to a few reporters & staff and showed us how the Sun-Star operates.

                Our next stop was a tour of a few of the Merced County Administration offices as well as some face time with Supervisor Deidre Kelsey.  Supervisor Kelsey explained the roles a county supervisor plays, both in the office and in the district.  One thing is for certain, a supervisor’s time is often allocated and we were appreciative to have the opportunity to share some of that time.

                Our final stop was at Radio Merced, a local studio that consists of 5 stations:  KABX “Oldies 97.5 FM”, KLOQ “Radio Lobo 98.7 FM”, KNAH “Hank FM 106.3”, KBRE “The Bear 92.5 FM” and KYOS “News/Talk 1480 AM.  After a tour by Matt Cone the class was interviewed by Robert Henson of KYOS for the Monday morning broadcast.  I was actually able to here the interview on my way to work this morning. 

Business: A company or other organization that buys and sells goods, makes products, or provides services.

We were introduced to Chris Winek with County Bank, who educated us about the current banking conditions. He informed us that bank lending was getting tougher due to banks holding capital for self preservation, which was ironic after he also said that “credit is the life blood of the economy” and that banks need capital to lend capital. Elaine Post was introduced as the next speaker for the day. She is with the Redevelopment Department for the City of Los Banos.  She too stated that her department is suffering from State Budget cuts, but looked forward to working with the Merced County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDCO) on a Business Incubator in Los Banos.

Next, Scott Galbraith from Merced County Economic Development Corporation spoke on  “Economic Development 101”. This was very informative and educational on our way to the Safeway Distribution Plant. Once arriving at the plant, we were broken into two tour groups that were given a first hand look at a top notch distribution center.  Our next stop was just down the street to Quebecor World (formerly Colorpress). 

We then went to the Courtyard by Marriott and were greeted by Sean Williams the General Manager of the facility and Karen Baker of the California Welcome Center/Merced Visitors Services.  While we were at the Marriott, General Manager Sean Williams spoke to the class about the Hotel-Motel Association, and some of the difficulties that the Merced hospitality industry is facing, including but not limited to filling up all available beds.

The class took a crash course in ski boat building, from fiberglass molds, to hand-sewn leather, to Corvette engines, we became Malibu aficionados.   We then went to the Merced Municipal Airport. We wove our way around the airports hangars, getting a private tour of where the wings of Merced are housed.  Class 24 ended their Business and Economics Day where we began, in the bowels of a secure County Bank location, where we had a roundtable discussion on the challenges and opportunities that we as local leaders face each day, especially in these troubled economic times.

The class then boarded a bus for a tour of the County Landfill. At the Landfill, we surveyed the current site, which will soon be closed, and the new future section, which will be the next to be used. The class viewed samples of the several layers of linings that are “welded” into the pits to keep the gases and toxic liquids from seeping into the ground dirt.  

We were next treated to a tour of the MID Franklin Yard followed by a great lunch .Kyle Ford and Brian Kelly gave a presentation on MID water and electric services.  MID uses over 700 miles of its irrigation canal system to get the water to more than 2,200 end users, most of who are farmers that farm more than 150,000 acres in Merced County.  Finally we made the journey out the Merced Waste Water Plant.  While there we learned that as much as 10,000,000 gallons per day of Merced’s sewer water makes its way to the plant.   The plant is schedule for a 65 million dollar upgrade that will happen over a three year period and bring a lot of new technology to the purification process.

Upon our return to County Bank offices we were able to listen to Frank Quintero who works for Merced in Economic Development. He explained about the three types of industry we try to attract to Merced County: Commercial, Retail, and Industrial companies.

      MID, created in 1919 after the Crocker family got out of the business, has 164,000 acres in the county, including 138,000 acres of farmland; 90 percent of that takes surface water, and MID is trying to expand the use of surface water.  Groundwater isn’t replenished by rainfall.  Two underground lakes at Planada and Le Grand have long since been pumped dry.  The Merced Groundwater Basin is bounded on the north by the Merced River, the south by the Chowchilla River, the east by the foothills and the west by the San Joaquin River.       

     We dismounted the bus at Robert Chad’s farm, whose system is powered by solar energy.  The top four rows of the upside-down-V-shaped structure are used for an ag pump, the bottom two rows for his house.  The panels generate 8.5 kilowatts—6 for the ag pump, 2.5 for the house, at a total cost of $76,000; he paid $66,000 out of pocket, and ag depreciation and ag credits brought the total net cost down to $56,000.  “The ag system is supposed to pay for itself in eight years, the house in 13,” Chad said.  Sunburst Solar of Atwater installed Chad’s system. 

       We then proceeded to Foster Farms.  Garbed up in outer space or hot zone-like gear, Leadership Merced participants were taken in groups of four or five through the Foster Farms plant for a 30-minute tour.  One guide said it took 89 minutes from the time the chickens die until they’re ready to cook.   Vice President/Operations Richie King later briefed the group.         

     On the way back to Merced Maxwell pointed out sweet potato farms, including by the Yagi Brothers and Dallas Packaging, both family operations.  Maxwell suggested that as far as organic farming goes, insects are the easiest issue to deal with; diseases are tougher, and the hardest factor of all is weed control.

Leadership Merced Brochure!

All the information you need about Leadership Merced in one place.

Do you wonder what you could be doing to better network with local businesses?

Or how can you make sure the new manager you hired has the leadership skills to represent your organization when the stakes are high?

There’s a way to tackle both of these issues while giving employees a better understanding of the community they work and live in.

The Leadership Merced program, run by the Greater Merced Chamber of Commerce, is a year-long class that highlights different aspects of our local economy – from law enforcement and agriculture to business and education – the Leadership Merced program gives its members a thorough understanding of the major parts of Merced County’s economy.

The class meets once a month during the year with one 3-day retreat and a variety of field trips throughout Merced County.

Recruitment for Leadership Merced runs from April through August.

I, Emily Christensen, am now working on customizing and managing our blog! This will assist us in meeting our needs for more timely and convenient communications and access to more information about Leadership Merced.

Your comments and suggestions for the site are much appreciated.

You can look at the blog for information about upcoming events, the current Leadership Merced’s class schedule, the Leadership Merced Application and other information. In the Blogroll you can find links to other Leadership programs and ideas.

Enjoy and visit frequently.