The Colton, Grand Terrace, and Loma Linda chambers of commerce, along with Ashley Furniture Home Store recently hosted businesses, organizations, and chamber members for a night of networking, food, and raffle prizes. Dozens of businesses and organizations set up booths to display the products and services they have to offer to the community. Some of the organizations present included the Kiwanis Club, The Oasis Fellowship Church, and the non-profit group Gospel Talent Search. Independent contractors also took the opportunity to increase their visibility, including Maria Bautista with Tupperware, and Oragami Owl independent jewelry designers Samantha Lopez, Kathie Garcia-Carcano, and Brooke Barcia. Gary and Isabel Walbourne who shared their book "Guardian of the Dragons" at the event, also own Pride Envelope Corp. "An author should keep their day job, and Pride Envelope Corp. is ours!" Gary joked. Information was shared about upcoming events, including auditions for the organization, Gospel Talent Search(GTS), which is to be held at Splash Kingdom Waterpark, organized by Dexter and Charmaine Murphy of GTS. Chetay Catalano, the director of the Colton, chamber thanked Ashley Furniture for allowing the event to be hosted at their store, and the store manager Gary welcomed the guests. Several raffles were drawn, which included donations from each of the businesses present. "Its a good opportunity for businesses to network, not only with each other, but with the community," Tonya Hall, manager of Storage West shared about the mixer.

Mixer Brings Businesses and Community Together