Contents

Welcome 05

Chamber Board of Directors 06

Chairman’s Circle 06

Clip-N & Groom-N offers services to keep pets of
every size looking good 08

La Familia Tortilla Shop a gathering place for
food and culture 10

Happy Bins Cleaning keeping residential and
commercial garbage containers clean 12

100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties honors the
memories of fallen heroes 16

Service By George offers computer users
cyber security, peace of mind 18

Solano Community College Educational Foundation
helps students navigate the ‘highway of life’ 20

Membership Directories 22

220 N. Jefferson Street, Dixon, CA 95620

707-678-2650 | dixonchamber.org

facebook.com/thedixonchamberofcommerce

On the Cover

Spring in Dixon

Welcome!

Dear Members of the Dixon Community,

On behalf of the Dixon District Chamber of Commerce, I extend a warm welcome to you all!

Our mission is to promote, develop, and protect the economic vitality of our community. As a nonprofit membership organization, we are committed to fostering a positive business environment in the City of Dixon. Here’s how we do it:

1.  Connectors: We bring businesses and individuals together through networking, referrals, events, and introductions.

2.  Communicators: We keep our members informed about local, county, regional, state and national happenings.

3.  Collaborators: We build strong, mutually beneficial partnerships with our members and other organizations.

4.  Advocates: We address business concerns by working closely with city, county, state and national representatives.

5.  Promoters: We offer free promotion and advertising through our e-newsletters, Facebook posts and local media. Plus, we provide referrals through our office and lobby resource center.

6.  Educators: We help our members access resources and education to thrive in a rapidly changing business world.

7.  Problem Solvers: Whether it’s growing your customer base, addressing personnel issues, or effective marketing, we’ve got you covered.

Why Join the Chamber?

Credibility: Chamber membership adds credibility to your business.

Positive Perception: Consumers and business owners recognize you as part of the Dixon District Chamber of Commerce.

Support: We’re here to help your business or organization succeed!

Get Involved! Contact us at (707) 678-2650 or via email at info@dixonchamber.org. Let’s work together to make Dixon thrive!

Warm regards,

Joe Bruch

Chair of the Board

Dixon District Chamber of Commerce

2024 Board of Directors

Joe Bruch

Chair of the Board

Dixon Grocery Outlet

Jennifer Huff

Vice Chair

Silveyville Cemetery District

Ted Jorgensen

Treasurer

Dixon Tire Pros

Haley Andrew

Immediate Past Chair

Dixon Wellness Collective

Ben Ernest

Director

Montessori Charter School

Kathy Ernest

Director

Ramtown Karate

Devon
Camara-Soucy

Director

First Northern Bank

Rodolfo Pineda

Director

Universal Services

Crystal Rico

Director

Farmer’s Insurance

Karstin Stranger

Director

Almond Tree Mortgage

Clip-N & Groom-N offers services to keep pets of every size looking good

By Mike Dahahey

Clip-N & Groom-N in Dixon has been clipping and grooming tiny-to-titanic fur babies since 2004.

The business’s owner, Justin Sousa, said the size range of pets he’s seen has gone from teacup breeds of several kinds that weigh less than five pounds, and could fit in the palm of a human hand, to a 165-pound bull mastiff.

He’s trimmed the nails of a 20-year-old beagle mix and has given a full haircut to a 16-year-old Cocker Spaniel.

“I have also given what is called a puppy cut, as well as full grooms, to dogs as young as two to three months old,” Sousa said.

While grooming typically takes one to three hours, Sousa said he’s had several longer sessions involving very large and terribly conditioned dogs. Some of those cases involved extensive brushing prior to bathing, drying and cutting. And some clients request their dog not be shaved or cut too short, which requires lots of extra time.

Sousa said he’s groomed several severely matted dogs which required full shave-downs where the hair would come off the dog like a lamb. He’s even saved the fur from such instances to show clients to get them to understand matting and what it can do to an animal’s skin.

His most challenging grooming sessions have involved full shave-downs of cats and grooming extremely large breeds of rebellious dogs. Then there was the time Sousa removed more than 100 ticks with tweezers from a horribly infested dog.

“That was another very long process, a memory that I will never forget. I learned a lot from that,” Sousa said.

As for his most memorable appointment visit, Sousa recalled a time when he was training with his mother, Patti Sousa-Liu, from whom he would take over Clip-N & Groom-N upon her retirement.

While working on an elderly dog, the animal went limp during bathing. Sousa thought the dog had a heart attack. Sousa held the dog for a few minutes. The dog revived, and Sousa was able to continue the grooming process.

“I will never forget that case. It taught me to become very conscious with elderly dogs, to use caution and patience,” Sousa said.

Along with lessons learned from experience, Sousa said his mother taught him everything he knows about the business. She helped him build his confidence enough to continue and grow Clip-N & Groom-N into what it is today. His mother had more than 1,500 clients, and Sousa said he’s added 300 clients of his own, most of them regulars.

Typically, dogs should get groomed every six to eight weeks, Sousa said, for the following reasons:

•  Regular baths wash away dirt and help prevent skin irritations.

•  Detangling keeps coats from becoming matted and causing painful pulling on the skin.

•  Using correct brushes for coat type removes damaged and dead hair, allowing new growth for a healthy coat.

•  Careful brushing distributes the dog’s natural oils and gets rid of dead skin.

“Dog grooming is a service-based business. It is my job to take care of animals but also take care of their owners, my clients,” Sousa said. “My job isn’t over when I think it is over. It continues until clients say they are happy with the results and feel they have their animals back the way they want them to look.”

Clip-N & Groom-N is at 220 Foster Lane in Dixon.

For more information, go to https://clipinandgroomin.com/ or call 916-796-2058.

La Familia Tortilla Shop a gathering place for food and culture

By Mike Danahey

For Mafer Evans and her husband Kevin, their La Familia Tortilla Shop in DIxon is more than just a business.

“My shop is a gathering place for shared stories and cultural appreciation,” Evans said.

To that point, Evans enjoys teaching customers about her culture, her heritage, the real taste of a tortilla and how it gets made.

“And I love to hear memories from customers about when they learned how to make tortillas with their abuelitas or about being sent to get the tortillas for dinner when they were little ones growing up in their hometowns,” Evans said.

The couple opened LaFamilia Tortilla Shop in June 2022. Kevin still works as a sales manager for Park Avenue Turf in Dixon, where he has worked for the last 26 years. Mafer is a former account manager for refrigeration company CoolSys and has been in accounting her entire worklife.

The inspiration for starting their own business came from a trip the Evanses took to Mexico and meeting Santiago, a chef in Mexico City with a deep love for Mesoamerica culture and heritage.

“He likes to cook everything from scratch and with natural ingredients, very much like his version of farm to fork,” Evans said. “He has a tortilleria (tortilla shop) called Maizajo, where he makes his own tortillas, tamales and other foods.”

Santiago has spent several years in little farms with their farmers and families learning about their cooking processes and crops. He taught the couple the history of corn, where it started and the domestication of it in order to get the type of maize available now. He also taught us how to make tortillas from scratch through an in person class at his location and follow up meetings via Zoom.

From those lessons the couple developed their system for making their own tortillas, a process that involves them and just three other employees, Ana, Vero and Lety.

La Familia Tortilla Shop uses heirloom organic corn imported from Mexico and bought directly from the farmers.

“We do this through a company called Tamoa that works directly with the farms and helps them become more efficient and profitable in order to help keep the same ancestral practices through a fair payment,” Evans said.

An example of an ancient corn variety that the shop uses would be Conico Azul from Tlaxcala. Its deep blue color, tender texture and sweet, grassy flavor make it one of one of the shop’s favorites.

La Familia Tortilla Shop also makes and sells its own Nixtamal corn chips and its own salsa verde.

All of the shop’s items are gluten free and free of seed oils. They use natural carnitas lard to fry their chips and salt them with a solution of water and salt instead of directly adding salt.

To make its salsa verde, La Familia Tortilla Shop buys all its produce from local vendors at farmers markets.

“We also use olive oil, sea salt and tomatillos milperos, which have a better, less sour taste than regular tomatillos,” Evans said.

La Familia’s tortillas and salsa can be found in their vacuum sealed versions or warm (made the day of) at the Nugget Markets in Vacaville, Davis Covell and West Sacramento as well as at the Co-Op locations in Davis and Sacramento. The shop also sets up booths at seasonal farmers markets in Sacramento, including the Thursday one outside of Sutter Medical Center and the Saturday one at the Elks Lodge in the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood.

With it all, Evans sees La Familia Tortilla Shop and its products as reflecting the legacy of Mesoamerica, one of the six cradles of civilization in the world. That legacy continues to influence the languages, traditions, and identities of indigenous communities and the broader population in the region, she said.

“To me, more than just delicious, our culinary heritage is a direct inheritance from Mesoamerica,” Evans said. “It's a tapestry of flavors, textures, and ingredients woven with respect for nature and a profound understanding of its bounty.”

Every bite of mole or barbacoa isn't just a meal, she said.

“It is a journey through time, connecting us to our ancestors and their reverence for food as both sustenance and art. In the preparation of each dish, there's a story, a ritual, a passed-down wisdom whispers through generations. It's more than just cooking, it's an affirmation of who we are as Mexicans,” Evans said.

For more information, go to http://LaFamiliaTortillaShop.com

Happy Bins Cleaning keeping residential and commercial garbage containers clean

By Mike Danahey

Brittany and Justin Robinson, the husband-and-wife team behind Happy Bins Cleaning, enjoy making the dirty clean again.

“There’s excitement and astonishment on our clients’ faces when they see the results we produce with our bin cleaning process,” Justin said.

As the name indicates, Happy Bins Cleaning cleans garbage bins for commercial and residential clients. The company also offers power washing as well as a concierge service for bringing bins to and from the curb come collection day.

The couple’s favorite line at the end of a bin cleaning, if the client is present, is telling them to stick their head in their bin and take a whiff. This gets the Robinsons a lot of sideways looks – until the clients do it and smell the difference.

“Their head comes up with a smile instead of a stink-face. Most of them tell us that they later tell their family and friends to stick their heads in too. Most think they are playing a joke on them, until they smell the difference,” Justin said.

The Robinsons started their company after Justin, who was an aircraft maintainer in the Air Force, was transferred in 2021 from Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota to Travis AFB in the Sacramento Valley.

Justin retired in 2023 with just under 21 years of service. His vast mechanical and logistics knowledge has abundantly aided in the success of the business, not only with starting Happy Bins Cleaning, but also with keeping the machinery rolling every day.

The couple’s day starts by checking emails, responding to messages received overnight and finalizing their route.

Next they refill cleaning supplies and ensure water tanks are full and ready to start cleaning. Then they head out to the first client of the day, which usually is out of town, and work down the list of clients as they make their way back to Vacaville.

Clients are notified by text when the Robinsons are approximately 15 minutes out from their stop. Once the cleaning is complete, the client receives before and after photos as well as information on how to pay for their cleaning.

“We don’t require payment up front or prior to the cleaning. This has helped us build the trust of our customers,” Justin said.

Once done with the route, it’s time to dump wastewater and shovel out the hopper, which has collected all the solid material washed out of the bins. This step is what Brittany calls cleaning out the pig barn, which she remembers doing on hot summer days, years ago, while staying at her grandparent’s farm.

Once all the dirt is removed from the trailer it is time again to fill water tanks for the next day.

Clients range from busy working professionals with small children and pets to elderly clients who no longer want the hassle of cleaning their bins by hand.

“They all share the notion of being fed up with having something stinky around the house that no one has an easy solution for cleaning and are equally elated that someone like us has come around to take care of it with a smile,” Justin said.

The most interesting assignment so far happened during the Robinsons’ first week of cleaning bins when they showed up to a client’s house only to find the remnants of a deer carcass stuck to the bottom of a bin.

“The smell was enough to knock you right over,” Justin said. “At the end of that day, we felt pretty great knowing that we not only removed the yuck but also had the experience and knowledge of just how bad a bin could be and that we were able to bring that bin back to life and smell fresh once more.”

A heartwarming job came this past holiday season when the couple met a young man whose grandmother had given his family Happy Bins Cleaning’s monthly bin service – because of the man’s fascination with all things related to garbage.

“This young man was able to push buttons and see how our process worked, from the time we arrived to the time we left them with fresh smelling bins. The smile on his face when he saw the bins being hoisted up by the simple push of a button, and over the cleaning heads, is what makes all the tough dirty jobs worth doing,” Justin said.

As for the biggest challenge, with the concept of the business so new in the area, Justin said that’s been educating the public on the reasons why the couple provides bin cleaning and why their process is better than using a home pressure washer hose and dumping the wastewater out on the lawn.

Justin said their go-to line to naysayers is, “‘You wouldn’t wash your dishes with cold water and no soap, would you?’ We know that bin cleaning is not a service that everyone is going to buy or use, and that is OK. We want to provide a service to those who see the value in having clean and fresh bins.”

For more information, go to https://happybinscleaning.com/

100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties honors the memories of fallen heroes

By Mike Danahey

The 100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties provides immediate financial assistance to families of public safety officers and firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

The nonprofit also offers resources, including mental health and PTSD counseling services, to enhance the safety and welfare of these families and furthers the education of their children through scholarship funds.

Members of the 100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties help guide and mentor young people and support them in their efforts to become good citizens who value education and civic responsibility, too. The club’s goal is to help these youths to reach their potential and encourage a life of public service.

The local branch of the 100 Club traces its beginnings to a tragic incident in 1984 when Fairfield Police Sgt. Art Koch was shot by a disconsolate Vietnam War veteran. Koch died a day later.

At the time of the shooting, Ron Turner was a 30-year-old Fairfield police officer. The incident was his first officer-involved shooting, and the memory stayed with him.

Turner wound up having a 37-year career in law enforcement, first in Long Beach, then Fairfield and then in Concord, where he was involved with a branch of The 100 Club there.

After retiring to Vacaville, in 2016 Turner started The 100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties. He currently serves as the club’s president.

The 100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties keeps the memory of local fallen firefighters and police officers alive on its website.

The most recent firefighter death listed is that of Patrick Sean Higgins, who passed away in 2016 at the age of 60.

One of several firefighters in his family, Higgins started his career in the fire service as a seasonal firefighter in Porterville, California before spending more than 30 years with the Vallejo Fire Department. While with Vallejo, Higgins was promoted to engineer and was a ladder-truck driver for most of his career. He succumbed to the effects of job-related cancer.

The website notes that the end of watch for Richmond Police Sgt. Virgil L. Thomas occurred in 2020. Thomas, 50, who had worked in law enforcement for more than 24 years, died from complications due to COVID-19 contracted while working during the pandemic as an essential worker.

Thomas was a long time board member of the Richmond Police Officers Association and the President of that association in 2015. He started his career as a police officer in the Albany and Novato Police Departments.

In Richmond, Thomas held assignments in the Neighborhood Services Team, Training Officer Program and the School Resource Unit at Kennedy High School. As a School Resource Officer, he mentored and guided underserved youths and was like a father figure to many. He also coached youth baseball and softball.

The most recent local police officer to be killed in the line of duty was Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, 22, who was shot to death in 2019 after being with the department for just five months.

Corona responded to investigate a three-vehicle accident in Davis. During the investigation, shots were fired. Corona sustained gunshot injuries and was transported immediately to UC Davis Medical Center, where she died.

The suspect retreated to a nearby home, where he was located by police. After refusing to come out of the home, he apparently shot himself.

To keep the memories of such fallen heroes alive, The 100 Club of Solano & Yolo Counties also is responsible for maintaining the Solano County Peace Officers Memorial that recognizes police killed in the line of duty.

The club officially assumed those responsibilities in 2019. That year, both organizations were recognized for their commitment to honoring and supporting the public safety community.

The Peace Officers’ Wall of Honor stands outside the Solano County Sheriff’s Office in Fairfield and currently holds the names of 22 fallen officers. Each May, local police hold a ceremony by the memorial to honor those brave officers, reading the names and end of watch for each.

A poem by Justin Nelson, part of the memorial, puts it best:

They wore a star for a shield
And were sworn to protect everyone in the field.
They gave their lives with a fight
Now they can soon see the light,
From the Lord up above
Who always shows his eternal love.
They say O’ Lord with their tear in hand,
Please let us be the last who have fallen from this land.

For more information, go to http://www.100clubsyc.org

Service By George offers computer users cyber security, peace of mind

By Mike Danahey

Service By George owner/operator George Felton pointed to a big story from 2023 that should serve as a lesson for any of us who use computer devices connected to the internet.

Last September, hackers wreaked havoc upon the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

MGM Resorts called the matter a cyber-security issue. Whatever the name, what happened shut down gaming machines, left guests unable to access their rooms and led to personal data about customers, clients and employees being stolen.

MGM Resorts reportedly spent up to $10 million on what happened to them and may have lost $100 million or so in revenue because of the attack.

Apparently what happened to MGM Resorts involved vishing, Felton noted. That’s where a bad actor gains personal information about someone from social media sites. The bad guy then pretends to be that person, not online, but on a phone call to a help desk, to gain passwords or other information in order to get into a company’s systems.

For everyday internet users, from little old ladies to small business owners, Felton said a related scam involves splash screens. Those sometimes pop up in front of an article or website someone is looking at online. A message (falsely) warns the viewer that their computer has some sort of security breach and they should call a phone number provided, ASAP.

Not knowing any better, some people call the number, provide personal information to the caller and wind up victimized in ways that include identity theft and unknowingly granting covert access to electronic devices.

Educating people about such dubiousness is among the services Service by George provides its clients.

“Most people over the age of 50 haven’t taken a cybersecurity class,” Felton said.

To that point, Felton said a good many of his clients are the aforementioned little old ladies. For such people, he offers a $30 monthly service that includes unlimited remote support, running a variety of antivirus software on their devices and making service calls.

Many people still don’t realize that malware can be put on their computers and phones through them opening attachments in emails, from hyperlinks to files such as documents and even photos, Felton said. That’s why it’s important for many if not most to use email scanning software for protection.

That protection for mom-and-pop businesses and smaller nonprofits can be found through boilerplate services, Felton said. What sets Service By George apart is his personal touch and tailoring what’s provided to the specific needs of the customer, be those basic IT security classes for employees, IT planning, recommending cybersecurity insurance coverage or having access through Felton to Kaseya products to monitor systems.

“I’m a people person. When it comes to knowing about their computers, people like to have someone to talk to. That’s especially important for small businesses,” Felton said.

Felton also noted that professionals such as doctors, lawyers and accountants need to take extra measures to protect the personal information and privacy of their clients, not only for the good of those clients, but to comply with laws. In California that means following the regulations overseen by the California Privacy Protection Agency.

Regardless as to if it is an individual, business or nonprofit, Felton said there is one thing he stresses to everyone.

“Back your information up in at least two places,” he said.

That means having the data on devices also stored in external drives and in cloud systems such as those available through Apple, Microsoft, Google and other tech companies. Many don’t realize that if they use Microsoft products, some come with free cloud backup, Felton said.

Backing up data means information will be saved elsewhere should a cyber attack happen – provided the backup is consistent, Felton said. Toward that goal, he makes sure his clients backup their data at least once a week, typically every Sunday morning.

As such, Felton sees himself as a local service guy, like a mechanic.

“People think they can fix their own PCs and equipment, like they can fix their own cars. There will come a time when they will need a mechanic, like they will need someone to look at their computers. And like with a mechanic, you want to find someone you can trust and build a relationship with,” Felton said.

For more information, call 707-301-1318

Solano Community College Educational Foundation helps students navigate the ‘highway of life’

By Mike Danahey

Kenny Koby Chavez at one time had to drop classes at Solano Community College because he couldn’t afford the book access codes.

Chavez sometimes felt embarrassed having to tell professors about his situation so they would grant him an extension to buy materials. Chavez would end up falling behind and feeling under more stress.

Magan Cruz-Wingo’s father died when she was very young. She and her brother were raised by a single mother and lived out of a car.

“I have always felt that I have had to work twice as hard as everyone else, but without that ethic I feel that I wouldn’t have achieved what I have so far in life,” Cruz-Wingo said.

Julio Quintanilla, Jr. said before he joined the SCC Automotive Program, he was lost and depressed. Thanks to his professors, he found purpose and direction.

Maekaelagail Santos, a child of immigrant parents, learned early to take responsibility for her family and herself.

Along with their own tenacity and fortitude, scholarships from the Solano Community College Education Foundation helped each graduate from their respective programs and put them on solid footing toward meeting their life goals.

“The impact of a scholarship is to enable students to reflect on how far they have come, giving them a little boost for the future and for them to take the world in their hands and do something great with it,” Santos said. “I believe education is an avenue we take on the way to the highway of life. Your worth is in how much positive impact you do for others. What have you done, what will you do and how will this boost get you to where you need to go.”

Quintanilla received an automotive technology degree with the plan to become a master technician, then one day become an automotive teacher at the high school level.

“I want to help kids the way this program has helped me,” Quintanilla said.

Like Quintanilla, Cruz-Wingo also worked toward an Associate’s Degree on the path to her goal of becoming a master technician.

And Chavez was able to obtain an Associate’s Degree in Sociology then head to a four-year university.

Helping such students find solid footing is part and parcel of what the Solano Community College Educational Foundation is about, said the organization’s Executive Director, Curt Johnston.

Since 2013, the foundation has provided more than $3 million to support the college. In addition to scholarships, the self-funded foundation makes donations to SCC departments and its 100-plus programs, to the athletic department and to establish an alumni association.

One such program is aeronautics. Classes are offered at Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville. Students who complete required courses are eligible to take the Federal Aviation Administration written oral and practical examination for an airframe or powerplant license.

Making the public aware of such programs is also a responsibility of the foundation, Johnston said, as it serves as the marketing and promotions arm of Solano Community College.

Those efforts include the SCC Business Networking Series. The most recent joint chamber of commerce mixer in the series happened in January at the SCC Vacaville Center. It involved the Dixon, Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville and Winters Chambers of Commerce and was sponsored by Travis Credit Union and the Solano-Napa SBDC.

To raise money, the SCC Crab & Shrimp Feed is set for Saturday, March 2. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be the first time the foundation has hosted this benefit since 2020, Johnston said.

The foundation is also putting together the Suisun Valley Music Festival which will feature a VIP event the evening of Friday, June 27, and a full day featuring performances from six bands on two main stages Saturday, June 28, 2025. The festival will take place at the Solano Community College’s campus in Fairfield.

As the Suisun Valley is at risk from potential urban development, event organizers hope that establishing a signature summer weekend music festival will draw regional attention and become a portal to drive tourism and brand awareness for Suisun Valley.

Along with renowned bands, to show off what the Suisun Valley has to offer, the festival will feature local wineries and produce, products from the local food and beverage industry and Phil Glashoff art.

Proceeds from the Suisun Valley Music Festival will be directed to programs that provide a pathway to college for disadvantaged youth through after-school tutoring, mentoring, counseling, gang diversion and foster youth programs.

Students from these programs will also be supported with scholarships at Solano Community College. So an important goal of the festival is to increase the number of local students who obtain a college degree or career-technical certificate at SCC.

“Education is the great equalizer. It can change your life,” Johnston said.

For more information, go to https://foundation.solano.edu/