Welcome!

We hope you enjoy the Winter 2023 issue of the Dixon District Chamber of Commerce Connections magazine!

We are happy to highlight even more of our Chamber members in this issue. We will continue to promote our members for the significant contributions they make to our community.

The Membership Directory is an invaluable tool for the goods and services you might need. The businesses and organizations that belong to the Chamber are of vital importance to the economic well-being of Dixon. We would ask you to support the businesses and organizations that invest in the community by being members of the Dixon Chamber.

The Dixon Chamber of Commerce strives to bring value to our members by promoting economic well-being through leadership, marketing, networking and advocacy for business, industry, nonprofits and tourism. In 2024 we will be focusing on adding even more value to our members.

For information about the Chamber of Commerce itself, you can visit our website – www.dixonchamber.org. Please explore all of the resources there. Plus, check our official Facebook page – facebook.com/thedixonchamberofcommerce. There you will find information as to what we are all about – our members!

For more information about how membership in the Dixon Chamber of Commerce can benefit you, call 707-678-2650 or email info@dixonchamber.org.

Respectfully,

Shauna Manina

President/CEO

2023 Board of Directors

Haley Andrew

Chair of the Board

Dixon Wellness Collective

Joe Bruch

1st Vice Chair

Dixon Grocery Outlet

Ted Jorgensen

Treasurer

Dixon Tire Pros

Robin Tully

Immediate Past Chair

Tully Consulting Group

Ben Ernest

Director

Montessori Charter School

Kathy Ernest

Director

Ramtown Karate

Kristina Fink

Director

Lemuria Nursery

Jennifer Huff

Director

Silveyville Cemetery District

Rodolfo Pineda

Director

Universal Services

Crystal Rico

Director

Farmer’s Insurance

Karstin Stranger

Director

Almond Tree Mortgage

B811 Transportation Services gets
people to where they need to go

By Mike Danahey

Roslyn Taggert started B811 Transportation Services in November 2022 as a tribute to her oldest brother, Kevin Davis, who was severely disabled midlife by a medical condition that ultimately cost him his life.

“Before my brother succumbed to his illness, he instilled in me the idea of this business to meet his need of wanting to be outdoors and participate in life outside of weekly in-center dialysis treatments and occasional medical appointments,” Taggert said.

B811 provides transportation for adult clients ages 18 and older with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities throughout the North Bay Region. These adults are focused on living on their own within their community with independent living services to suit their needs.

As the company’s website puts it, “Our vision at B811 MedTrans is committed to providing a prompt, safe and reliable transportation experience rooted in efficiency and affordability.”

Toward that vision, at B811, each client is paired with a Direct Support Professional (DSP) who meets with that individual weekly to work on goals and objectives. With repetitive training tailored toward that person’s specific needs, B811 assists each client along their independence journey.

Taggert, who has more than 15 years experience in the healthcare industry, said typical clients include those who:

•  work full-time and rely on non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) services to get back and forth to work on time.

•  require NEMT services to attend medical and dental appointments.

•  require regular physical therapy (PT) treatment.

•  require regular medical appointments for managing their chronic conditions, including heart disease, kidney disease and cancer treatments.

To its recurring clients, B811 also provides no-cost transportation to a non-medical location of their choosing, typically a local restaurant or the movies. Other NMT (Non-medical transportation) needs would include hair or nail appointments.

And the farthest request for transportation thus far was a request to bring someone from El Dorado Hills to San Diego County.

In the relatively short time it has been in business, B811 has grown to average providing nearly 40 to 60 trips per week, or about 160 to 240 trips each month.

“As B811 continues to grow, we foresee expanding our service areas to better meet the needs for non-emergency medical transportation here in Northern California,” Taggert said.

As such, B811 is contracted with the Solano (County) Transportation Authority, GoGo Grandparent, Kaiser Permanente, Partnership Healthplan of California and Medi-Cal. It is in the process of extending services to Contra Costa County, Alameda County and parts of Los Angeles County.

To get clients to and from where they need to be, by the end 2023 Taggert planned to add three more vehicles to a fleet of four vans. Those vans include models that can seat up to seven ambulatory passengers or hold passengers who use wheelchairs.

B811 has five employees.

“The biggest challenge facing the business, as with nearly every industry, is an employee shortage,” Taggert said. “The employee shortage has had a huge impact on getting medical transportation drivers. We have had to work hard to secure reliable drivers in a time when options are slim.”

Thus, B811 is looking for drivers to provide caring and responsible wheelchair and ambulatory transportation for clients to and from their medical appointments and other events using a company owned non-emergency medical transportation vehicle.

Drivers must be at least 23 years old, have a valid California driver’s license and good driving record and pass alcohol and drug screenings and a background check. Applicants must also pass a First Aid & CPR training course and a Department of Transportation (DOT) physical.

Those who do work for B811 Transportation Services find the work rewarding.

“I really enjoy providing the services we do to my community,” Taggert said. “Each client that we transport, we have a personal relationship with.”

B811 Medical Transportation is at 241 West A St. in Dixon.

For information, call 877-796-2811, email medtans@b811medtrans.com, or visit www.B811MedTrans.com

Castillo’s Legal Life Support guides
people through the process

By Mike Danahey

Lisa Castillo is the permit center supervisor for Fairfield’s community development department, where she manages building permit services and the city’s business license program.

She’s worked for that city for 22 years. All told, Castillo has more than 25 years of experience working for local government, including stints with the City of Dixon and with Solano County.

Castillo brings that experience to running her own business, Castillo’s Legal Life Support, which specializes in legal document recovery.

At the encouragement of her father, Castillo pursued, then obtained a paralegal degree.

“He said, ‘You help so many people, and I think you can make a business out of it. A lot of people need your help.’” Castillo said.

“At the time, I didn’t think much of it, but as I did research and found the legal document assistant profession, it was a perfect match for me and what I wanted to provide my community.”

As such, Castillo’s Legal Life Support, 1285 Stratford Ave. Ste. G-121 in Dixon, specializes in estate planning and matters of family law that don’t require an attorney. Most of her calls are about trusts and wills.

The material she offers customers is provided by the California Association of Legal Document Assistants. CALDA works with attorneys and provides Castillo’s business and other businesses like hers with approved written material.

“I can tell you why I decided to do an estate plan myself,” Castillo said. “I wanted to control my assets, have them distributed as I directed and not leave that to the court to decide.”

Castillo has four adult children and six grandchildren. According to her financial advisor, her estate plan can spare her children inheritance taxes. She had a Durable Power of Attorney drawn up, so if she ever becomes incapacitated, her children can deal with her financial affairs. Castillo also has an Advance Healthcare Directive, planning out her medical and end-of-life decisions.

She has a HIPPA release in place too, so a designated agent can access her medical records.

“Believe it or not, all that’s a big weight off my shoulders. And that is what I want everyone to feel,” Castillo said.

Castillo noted that her story may not be everyone’s story, so it’s best for people to educate themselves about how an estate plan can be of benefit to them. She pointed out that, according to a brochure from CALDA, the only people who don’t need an estate plan are those who have no assets, no family and who will never die or become incapacitated.

As for family law, the typical inquiry to her office is about uncontested divorces. Family law also involves marital separation, child support payment agreements, support modification, request for orders, guardianship, names changes and adult adoptions, she said.

A lot of people have called her about creating an estate plan for out of the country property or a divorce with an incarcerated or an estranged spouse. She also offers notary public services.

As legal document assistants (LDAs) are not attorneys, they may not offer legal advice. They may not litigate, and they may not represent people in court.

In California, bonded LDAs are allowed to prepare legal documents for consumers. They may assist with the preparation of documents at the direction of their customers.

LDAs may not select forms, but may provide general published factual information written or approved by attorney’s pertaining to legal procedures, rights or obligations.

Castillo said people who have concerns about legal issues should first consult with an attorney. Once they consult with an attorney, they can decide to use the attorney, handle the matter themselves or hire her. And all criminal cases or customers who need representation will need an attorney.

For applicable matters, the determining factor usually is the cost, Castillo said. She prides herself on her affordable fees, assisting medium income families, homeowners, parents, the elderly and Spanish speaking people along the way.

“People can do all of what I do for themselves. It’s a bit intimidating for some, and that is why I do my business. It’s to assist them through the process with confidence,” she said. “I like meeting and helping people.”

Castillo’s Legal Life Support, 707-564-3977, https://legallifesupport.com

Customers appreciate quality, attention to detail from
Universal Painting Contractors

By Mike Danahey

Universal Painting Contractors, Inc. founder Steve Fitzpatrick has been in the trades since he was a child.

“My dad and uncle are big developers, so I grew up in the construction business and was swinging a hammer as a young boy. By the time I was 15, I was a licensed carpenter,” he said.

Fitzpatrick found that his true calling was as a painter, though, and in 1993 he started his own company. It’s grown from Fitzpatrick and one friend to a bustling business with 24 employees.

And he’s set to turn over the operation to his son, Ryan, soon.

“He’s the focus now. Ryan’s a great painter,” Fitzpatrick said.

UPC is located in Fairfield. The full-service residential and commercial painting contractor specializes in high-quality interior and exterior painting, stain, and acrylic, elastomeric finishes. The company’s services also include remodeling and a variety of woodworking. It serves Solano, Napa, Yolo and Contra Costa Counties.

Over its 30-plus years in business, UPC has completed painting projects for more than 12,000 customers. Fitzpatrick said 90% of his business is residential work.

In contrast to other types of businesses, Fitzpatrick said he was busier than he ever was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

With most everyone stuck at home, people didn’t spend money they might have on vacation but on home improvement projects instead. With officials in Solano County considering painters essential workers, Fitzpartick said, he was able to continue to work, with UPC thriving.

Past the pandemic, with inflation and rising interest rates, work slowed down last winter but picked up again in April.

“We’re slammed now,” Fitzpatrick said.

Projects lined up include what Fitztpatrick said will be one of the biggest jobs UPC has ever undertaken – a commercial building on which his crew will be working come March 2024.

As for trends he’s seeing, Fitzpatrick said shades of gray remain the most popular ones for both home exteriors and interiors. Shades of beige are big, too. And a good many people are having the outsides of their homes painted white with black trim.

People are no longer using a ton of colors inside their homes, Fitzpatrick said, but are sticking to using just one or two choices for the walls throughout their dwellings.

He said projects he’s particularly enjoyed have been painting old Victorian homes. While less ornate homes can take a week or less to finish, with their elaborate detailing and multicolored decorating schemes, Victorians can take several weeks.

“They’re super fun to do and very satisfying work,” Fitzpatrick said.

Universal Painting Contractors has been named “Readers Choice Best House Painter” by Daily Republic Newspaper for 10 years. And the Vacaville Reporter named UPC “Best Painting Company” for each year from 2012 through 2022.

Fitzpatrick felt there were a couple key factors for being thusly honored.

First, Fitzpatrick said he pays his staff well, which allows him to retain quality employees. In turn, his employees help him find workers when he needs more hands.

Also, Fitzpatrick said he really enjoys his job and running a painting business that always puts quality and customer service first.

Toward that goal, when he meets potential clients, the consultation can take 45 minutes to an hour. During that time, he will explain the process involved in the requested work.

Using his extensive background in construction, he also frequently points out other work besides painting that might need to be done on a particular property.

Fitzpatrick said quite a few people have told him they appreciate that attention to detail, that it differs from other contractors they’ve encountered who barely talk before providing an estimate. UPC also provides tips related to painting on the Media Room page of its website.

“I love my job. I enjoy meeting people, helping them turn their houses around and seeing the joy on their faces when we help them do that,” he said.

For more information about Universal Painting Contractors, Inc., see https://www.upcpaint.com or call 707-372-0765 .

Eagle Eye Engraving delivering detailed, quality work for nearly 40 years

By Mike Danahey

Rick Writer learned the art of engraving back in 1981, while working for Things Remembered, the store that in many a mall touted its ability to customize keepsakes while you shopped.

“I was trained on a state-of-the-art pantograph, a weird looking machine with individual brass letters,” Writer said.

Three years later, Writer launched out on his own, establishing Eagle Eye Engraving in Fairfield, first on Travis Air Force Base, where it remained through 1999 and where it now operates at 716 Jackson St. Writer opened a second location in 1987 at 400 Elizabeth St., Vacaville, which also remains open.

Over the years, Eagle Eye Engraving has proudly sponsored numerous fundraisers and local community sporting events.

In addition to Travis Air Force Base, the business has done work for and supported the Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville, Travis Unified School Districts, Travis Fisher House, the Boys & Girls Club of Vacaville, area Boy and Girl Scout groups, Fairfield Host Lions, Baskets of Hope, local law enforcement agencies and fire departments, Mission Solano, The Leaven, Solano College, Touro University, a good many churches and many other organizations.

It sponsors the Fairfield Atlantic and Pacific Little Leagues, the Vacaville American and Central Little Leagues, Richmond Steelers Junior Football and local soccer leagues. Other clients have included Jelly Belly and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Writer said Eagle Eye Engraving took quite a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, as did many other storefront businesses. What helped keep the business afloat was being in business for so long meant an established customer base. So a good amount of repeat business could be done through email and the internet.

“We are just about back to our pre-covid sales numbers. It took awhile,” Writer said.

Writer also credited long-time employees Robin Suggs and Jill Dunham as being essential to the success of Eagle Eye Engraving. Suggs has been working for and with Writer for 33 years and Dunham for 28 years.

“They are Eagle Eye’s right hand and left brain – unless of course you’re left-handed,” Writer said.

Eagle Eye Engraving offers fast service, in as little as 24 hours, and even faster on some items. Items purchased in-store come with at least one word of free engraving, while awards and plaques come with three free words.

What allows Eagle Eye Engraving to offer such prompt service has been advances in technology.

“We bought our first new-fangled computer engraver in 1985, which seriously slashed production time in half, or less. Plus, the quality vastly improved,” Writer said. “In 2001, we bought our first laser engraver. We now have three laser machines. Most of our jobs are produced by this method, which provides speed, quality, variety and accuracy.”

The technology is continuing to evolve, Writer said, which has also posed some challenges. With equipment prices continuing to come down, more individuals are entering the vast market of engraving, including some hobbyists and some new entrepreneurs.

“There is plenty of room for all of us,” Writer said.

As is, Writer said it is difficult to say what a typical order is these days. With so many variables to consider, that can be one item or 50 items. The items available through Eagle Eye Engraving are wide ranging. They include an array of trophies and awards sold in the two stores as well as other items available through a catalog.

Some of the more interesting work done by Eagle Eye Engraving has been inscribing wording on ship bells, swords, various medical devices and even a large caliber, 3-foot-tall tank shell.

Challenges to engraving can be how well the artwork will transfer for the job, the medium being engraved, how an item can be held or positioned for engraving and the timing of the job’s delivery.

“It’s busiest mid April through mid June, sometimes crazy busy,” Writer said.

Whatever the case, whatever the shape of an item, accuracy, consistency and paying attention to detail are keys to quality engraving, Writer said.

It’s also important to offer quality customer service. Writer and his staff believe the best way to give someone exactly what they want is to talk with them and not let the internet take an order.

For this reason, Eagle Eye Engraving asks customers shopping online to browse, get an idea of what they are looking for, then email or hit “Contact Us” on the company’s webpage to connect.

Better yet, Eagle Eye loves its customers and welcomes them to visit its two locations.

“I never don’t want to come to work. I meet lots of new and different faces and hear people’s stories,” Writer said. “We make our clients happy with the items that pass through Eagle Eye Engraving. It is a rewarding feeling, being involved in making the end recipient feel special.”

Eagle Eye Engraving, 716 Jackson St., Fairfield, (707) 428-4774, eagleeyefairfield@gmail.com or 400 Elizabeth St., Vacaville, (707) 447-4774, eagleeyevacaville@gmail.com, https://eagleeyeengraving.com/

Solano Life House enhances the
lives of seniors

By Mike Danahey

Mary Felix used to drive to work with her mother, from Dixon to Davis, where her mother would clean homes.

“I would sneak off and go to the senior center and hang out with the Red Hat Society, a lady club,” Felix said.

When she turned 18, Felix started working in home care with seniors and moved on to senior living communities. She worked her way up and learned how to operate each and every department in such organizations.

In 2015, Felix became Senior Administrator at Solano Life House, which has been serving Solano County and beyond since 1985.

She said the approach the award-winning memory care facility takes differs from most other places of its kind.

The 38-bed home is more intimate than life at impersonal corporate facilities, yet larger than a board and care home. Its residents are over 65 years old and need assistance with all ADL’s (activities of daily living) and with their medications.

“We care for the whole family, and our families actively participate in our residents’ lives,” Felix said. “Our community is like extended family.”

As such, Solano LIfe House has an activities team dedicated to adding joy to residents’ lives. Those activities include exercise, dancing, arts and crafts.

“We remain actively engaged with the world and the community, not removed from life, as our name Solano Life House implies,” Felix said. “Our mission is beyond merely housing our residents and providing care. We strive to enhance their lives every day.”

Being focused on involving families means not only engaging them in the care, but also engaging them in activities and inviting them to come along on outings, said Solano Life House Managing Partner/Operations Director, Porter Mills.

“We’re a more intimate environment, and families participate in the daily lives of our residents more than they would at larger corporate facilities,” Mills said.

Helping families address costs, Solano Life House is the only senior care home in Northern California which offers a Flat Fee for Life program.

Typically the industry charges one price for the room rent, then charges separately by levels of care, so the care rates increase as the resident ages, requiring higher levels of care, Mills said.

At Solano Life House, Felix provides an initial assessment of a resident. Past that, an all-inclusive rate is set on the Admission Agreement and remains at that rate as long as the resident chooses to remain at Solano Life House. Residents can remain with Solano Life House through hospice without any change in the cost to the family.

“We wanted to care for the entire family by giving them peace of mind so they wouldn’t be concerned that they’d not know the future costs and not know if they would be able to afford a loved one’s care eventually,” Mills said.

To ensure the quality of its service, Solano Life House caregivers and med-techs receive mandatory training twice monthly so that staff is ever evolving in its competence in care, safety and professionalism. It also maintains one of the highest staff-to-resident ratios in the industry, to ensure attentive care.

Mills noted that Solano Life House has some core care staff members who have been there for years with a focus on the residents, not the tasks.

With such attention to detail, Solano Life House made it through the pandemic with no lives lost to COVID-19 by going to great lengths, with no expense spared.

Mills said the facility overstaffed caregivers and assigned them to designated clients to mitigate contamination transference. It also overstaffed housekeeping and hyper-santintized extensively.

Solano Life House also set up its building into red/ yellow/ green zone clients and assigned rooms accordingly. It turned away hospice nurses who had worked directly with covid-positive patients at other communities and made them send substitutes.

“And lastly, we got lucky. But the dedication of our staff made it possible to get some luck,” Mills said. “That experience prompted greater attention to be given to the safety protocols and being more keenly aware of how easily diseases are spread.”

Past the pandemic, while the facility currently has about five openings for new residents, Mills noted that there remains a big demand for care for people with Alzheimer’s and/or dementia.

“The fact that only one drug focused on dementia has been launched in more than a decade suggests a lack of research, treatment and medication focused on dementia,” Mills said. “Accordingly, the trend for more dementia focused care needs will continue.”

For more information, see solanolifehouse.com or call (707) 640-9700.

707 Diesel & Automotive Repair owner makes sure all customers leave satisfied

By Mike Danahey

Antonio Martinez’s path to owning and operating 707 Diesel & Automotive Repair in Dixon began with a job in construction.

Martinez decided that career wasn’t right for him. So he learned how to work on cars with an uncle in Texas. There, he discovered he enjoyed taking things apart and putting them back together.

That led to working for a car dealership for nearly 12 years, starting his own mobile business in 2015, then opening his own shop in 2017.

As such, Martinez has more than two decades of automotive and medium-duty vehicle repair experience, with extensive training and certifications.

He is a Senior Master Certified Ford Technician, the highest level Ford motor company can offer in all Ford makes and models.

Other credentials include:

•  Master Technician GM

•  Isuzu Elite Certified

•  Cummins ISB/C/L engine certified

•  Allison Transmission 1K/2K Certified.

•  Advanced specialist level ASE certified in A6 A8 and L1

•  Licensed smog technician as both inspector and repair technician.

With all the above, Martinez said he has completed more factory training than most dealers and technicians within a 45 mile radius of Dixon.

Martinez and his staff of three other seasoned mechanics service Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, VW, GM, Buick, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Mercedes, Sinister Diesel and many other makes and models of cars and trucks.

Martinez said what he enjoys about being a mechanic with his own shop is the interaction he has with customers. That’s different from what a client may get at a car dealership, where frequently customers just talk to a clerk, with the clerk sometimes trying to upsell work to be done on the vehicle that’s been brought in for service.

Martinez finds that most of his customers work in agriculture. They want to make sure their vehicles work and can be kept running for the long haul.

When choosing a mechanic, Martinez said people should ask friends they trust for recommendations. They should look at websites to see what experience particular shops have and how they might be rated.

Consumers should ask questions at a shop, learn more about the shop’s background and see if the atmosphere there and the personality of staff members meshes with theirs.

Mechanics should also be approachable, Martinez said, with a customer not feeling that an intermediary is there to try to sell them something they might not need at that moment and keeping them from talking with the person doing the work.

A good mechanic will also talk directly to a customer to explain the work being done and to point out work they might or will need to be done down the road. Keeping the customer informed is essential, Martinez said.

For those looking to buy a new or used vehicle, Martinez said it’s always a good idea to at least talk to your mechanic about that make and model and to let the mechanic look over the vehicle, if possible.

As for maintaining and keeping a vehicle running, Martinez said it’s important to do periodic routine maintenance, such as having the oil changed. Checking in with a mechanic for a checkup is good, too. Car and truck owners should also actually read the manual that comes with their vehicles, and follow its suggestions for service.

Whether coming in for a routine inspection or a repair service, Martines promises that customers will be completely satisfied with the work done at 707 Diesel & Automotive Repair.

“We’re committed to providing a stress-free experience to both new and returning customers,” he said.

707 Diesel & Automotive Repair is at 529 N. Adams St., Suite C, in Dixon.

For information, call (707) 761-0281, email gearhead@707diesel.com, or visit https://707diesel.com/