CEO Kevin Miller speaks in front of a rendering of Travis Credit Union’s new Hillcrest Avenue branch during the groundbreaking ceremony on Dec. 14, 2022. Photos: TCU

On December 14, Travis Credit Union was joined by the Antioch Chamber of Commerce for the groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of its Hillcrest Avenue Branch in Antioch. The new branch is set to open in late summer.

This 3,500-square-foot building will also provide space for financial education workshops, community-focused business development programs, and an opportunity to continue changing lives and lifting up communities through financial wellness.

TCU VP, Retail Sales and Service Jennifer Victor, Branch Manager Marivel Branco and CEO Kevin Miller are joined by Antioch Chamber CEO Daniel Sohn and Board Chair Ana Walker for the groundbreaking of the new branch.

The new branch will be located at 3500 Hillcrest Avenue just east of the Hillcrest Professional Center, and the Chevron and ARCO gas stations.

Currently, Travis Credit Union is the twelfth largest credit union in California, with 230,502 members and more than $4.7 billion in assets. Travis Credit Union is recognized as a Forbes 2019, 2020, and 2021 Best-in-State Credit Union.

Duoro River cruise

Please join the Antioch Chamber of Commerce in experiencing Portugal and the Duoro River on the MS Emerald Radiance, October 4-14, 2023. Portugal Trip brochure

FREE AIRFARE when booked and deposited by January 31, 20223

What a great Valentine’s Day gift this would be. A small $400.00pp deposit holds your accommodations and FREE Airfare. The FREE Airfare has been extended to 1/31/23 for The Antioch Chamber Trip.

Contact: Tammy Larsen at Almost There Travel   506 W 2nd Street, Antioch  925-238-0001  paradice95@comcast.net

Josh Hill

By Josef Britschgi, Marketing & Communication Administrator, BAC Community Bank

December 29, 2022 – Stockton, Calif – Josh Hill has joined locally-owned BAC Community Bank as Senior Vice President and Retail Banking Officer. Hill is a results-driven financial services professional with more than 28 years of extensive leadership experience.  He has most recently led and grown retail banking teams within the BAC Community Bank footprint and Northern California.

“We are excited to be working with Josh,” said Jackie Verkuyl, Chief Administrative Officer, “the skills and insight he brings complement BAC’s future-focused strategic path.”

Working with other seasoned members of management, Hill is responsible for the overall success of the relationship banker and deposit service specialist teams, as well as leading BAC’s branch operations and ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality customer banking experiences.  He also assists in developing and overseeing retail policies and strategies while working with team members to improve and implement new retail products and services.

Hill holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Financial Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

About BAC Community Bank

BAC Community Bank is California’s 10th oldest state-chartered bank. Established in 1965, BAC operates branch offices throughout San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Contra Costa counties, including a branch in Antioch at 3448 Deer Valley Road, and is identified as “one of the strongest financial institutions in the nation” by BauerFinancial, Inc.

The bank is centrally headquartered in Stockton, California, and is continuously recognized for banking excellence through local awards and banking industry accolades.

BAC Community Bank is an Equal Housing Lender and Equal Opportunity Employer. Member FDIC. More information is available online at www.bankbac.com.

Marivel Branco, Travis Credit Union Branch Manager, will serve as the Antioch Chamber’s Board Chair in 2023. Photo: Antioch Chamber of Commerce

By Daniel H. Sohn, President & CEO, Antioch Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau

ANTIOCH, CA— The Antioch Chamber of Commerce announced today that Marivel Branco, Antioch Branch Manager at Travis Credit Union, will serve as the Chamber’s Board Chair in 2023.

Branco previously served as the Board’s Secretary/Treasurer. Also serving in board leadership will be Michael Gabrielson, Co-Owner of Willow Park Mercantile located on G street in Antioch’s Historic Downtown Rivertown District. Gabrielson will serve as the organization’s Secretary/Treasurer for the 2023 Fiscal Year.

“I couldn’t be more honored to represent Travis Credit Union as Board Chair for the Antioch Chamber of Commerce in 2023,” said 2023-2024 Board Chair-Elect Branco. “The Antioch Chamber is embarking on new journeys this coming year and so I can’t wait to work with our President and CEO, Daniel Sohn, on these efforts.”

Recently, Travis Credit Union held a groundbreaking ceremony at the future site of its Hillcrest Avenue Branch in Antioch. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce was there to support Branco, who will serve as the location’s Branch Manager upon its completion.

Since 1938, the Antioch Chamber of Commerce has been the lead advocacy organization for business in Antioch and works daily to build a healthy economy and to improve the quality of life in our community and abroad. The Antioch Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 85 years supporting the local business community in 2023. Branco, Gabrielson, and the Chambers 15-member board will be sworn in at the organization’s Annual Gala on Friday, March 24, 2023. Tickets will be available soon.

For more information and membership visit www.antiochchamber.com.

Plans to form Business Mastermind Group

By District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock

Antioch business owners: 

This is an invitation to a private meeting with the City of Antioch’s Chief of Police Dr. Steven Ford to create a Business Mastermind Group.  You are invited to share your ideas on how to deal with the challenges of operating a business in Antioch and how to bring back the joy of doing business in Antioch.

When: Thursday, December 15, 2022

Time: 6:00pm

Where: Community Room at the Antioch Police Department

300 L Street, Antioch

Who is Invited: Business owners and representatives

As you are aware, theft, vandalism and personal threats to your safety have increased.  The costs of repeated vandalism repairs and the hiring of personal security are both driving businesses out of the city.

The City of Antioch is a beautiful and amazing location to live and have your business here.  It is unfair to be driven out of the city by those who do not care if your:

walls are graffitied

windows are broken/boarded up

doors are kicked in/damaged/boarded up

roofs are torn apart

walks to access doors are soiled making customer access difficult

customers feel uncomfortable

This is not acceptable!

There are far more vandals than there are police, hence the reason that the businesses need to figure out how to work together. Businesses need to put a city-wide plan together and work hand in hand with each other and the police.

Bring your suggestions and ideas to the meeting and let’s start to mastermind a better way to do business within the City of Antioch.

To ensure we have enough space RSVP the Antioch Chamber of Commerce at (925) 757-1800.

A slide from Rivertown building owner Sean McCauley’s presentation showing the four city owned parking lots that he wants the council to focus their initial security efforts on.

By Allen D. Payton

During their meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022, the Antioch City Council voted to adopt a resolution to develop a comprehensive Downtown/Rivertown Public Parking Lots Security Plan and authorize the City Manager to issue a Request for Qualifications for a private patrol security service either on and/or near Downtown/Rivertown Area City-Owned public parking lots or other designated downtown areas. District 3 Councilwoman Lori Ogorchock included other city owned parking lots in “southeast” in her motion which passed on a 5-0 vote.

At the request of Sean McCauley, who owns several buildings in Rivertown, the owners of two restaurants in the Rivertown Dining District, Smith’s Landing Seafood Grill and Monica’s Riverview who were in attendance, as well as other merchants, the council supported the effort to improve the safety in the city’s historic downtown.

“We’re doing our part with private security in our parking lots,” McCauley said. “Code Enforcement is doing their part.”

He showed a slide with four parking lots along the city’s waterfront that he wanted the initial effort to focus on.

Some members of the public shared concerns about the limits on private security officers and their interaction with the public.

This reporter, as a Rivertown business owner, spoke in favor of the effort and said cities across the country have been doing similar things for decades for their downtowns and focus on two things: ensuring they’re clean and safe. He suggested the private security officers also serve as ombudsmen wearing jackets and shirts with the Rivertown and Rivertown Dining District logos on them, who would provide direction to shoppers handing out maps showing where the various stores and restaurants are located. He also suggested the business and property owners could form a PBID – Property and Business owners Improvement District – and assess themselves, and contract with the city and/or a private security firm.

District 1 Councilwoman Tamisha Torres-Walker wanted the council to include efforts to ensure homeless individuals weren’t targeted. Mayor Lamar Thorpe assured her and those in the audience that the council was only issuing a request for proposal and not voting on spending any funds Tuesday night.

Ogorchock pointed out that there are other city-owned parking lots in other parts of the city before including them in her motion.

Following the vote, Antioch Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Daniel Sohn told McCauley and the restaurant owners that he would do whatever he could to support the effort.

Bring the whole family and get a photo in front of the city Christmas tree in Waldie Plaza!

In the midst of the recession in 2010 American Express created Small Business Saturday^® on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to encourage people to Shop Small and bring more holiday shopping to small businesses.

In 2011, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution in support of Small Business Saturday, and officials in all 50 states participate. It even gets a shout-out from the president of the United States.

You might not realize it, but every time you pick up a cup of coffee from your favorite neighborhood cafe or buy a gift from a local family- owned store, you’re shopping small and making a difference. By shopping in Antioch your money stays in town and the sales tax dollars help pay for city services.

Small Business Saturday continues to be an annual holiday shopping tradition including in Antioch’s historic downtown Rivertown – just one part of the larger Shop Small Movement that supports small businesses every day and everywhere. Rivertown is located between A and L Streets and W. 10th Street north to the river. Directions: from Highway 4 take A Street, G Street or L Street north.

So, this Saturday, Nov. 26 shop local, Shop Small^®, shop Rivertown and enjoy lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants in the Rivertown Dining District.

To learn more about American Express’ support for Small Business Saturday click here.