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The executive director for the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy John Villa expressed gratitude to AES and Kiewit as he cut the ribbon on the conservancy’s new educational center. This facility will allow students to work indoors as they complete their studies.
The conservancy worked with 67 students this year from Edison High School, including 32 sustainability students, granting them experiential knowledge of wetlands conservation. According to Villa, this building expansion adds the necessary facilities to grow the student-engagement program to include more students from Edison High School and branch out to Huntington Beach High School, Dwyer Middle School, and Isaac L. Sowers Middle School.
“The key to achievements in any kind of environmental progress is education,” Phil Smith said on behalf of Senator Janet Nguyen’s office. “And I love this.”
The ribbon cutting featured representation not only from Nguyen’s office, but also city hall, Assemblyman Matthew Harper’s office, Senator John Moorlach’s office, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher’s office, Vist Huntington Beach, Supervisor Michelle Steel’s office and representatives from the conservancy’s board of directors.
Tim Whitacre, representing Supervisor Steel’s, praised Huntington Beach for remaining mindful of the community and the surrounding wetlands as they undergo renovations to their own facility. AES Huntington Beach Plant Manager Weikko Wirta expressed pride in the company’s participation in supporting the community.
“This latest update facilitated by Kiewit, the AES construction team, and AES Huntington Beach will provide important training space and is just another step in the conservancy’s goal of maintaining important nesting and breeding grounds,” Wirta said.
The Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy is the second largest private land owner in Huntington Beach, second only to The Boeing Company. The conservancy began in 1985 in order to “aquire, restore and protect local coastal wetlands of Huntington Beach.”
Public Information Officer for the state of Huntington Beach expressed excitment over the new expansion, stating the invaluable asset that is hands-on learning in high school students.
Chamber of Commerce board member Ed Mountford presented Villa with an updated Chamber Investor plaque and spoke to the relationship of large and small organizations.”
“This is a great example of how the business community cooperates with non-profits to make good things happen for our community, and that’s certainly the case here with AES and Kiewit,” Mountford said. “Private enterprise coming together to make the situation better for non-profits and the community.”
Villa showed visible pride with the growth of the organization and reminded of himself of the way he changed his introduction.
“Unfortunately, I usually start the conversation out with, ‘We’re the other wetlands,’” he said. “I’m starting to change that now by introducing as ‘I’m the executive director of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy.”

BY MARY COLLEEN UNDERWOOD, HOTEL CALIFORNIA BY THE SEA
Hotel California by the Sea is a luxury addiction treatment program located in Newport Beach and Huntington Beach California treating men, women and young adults. In tandem with addiction, we also treat co-occuring disorders and eating disorders. Hotel California by the Sea offers all levels of care including detox, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient and monitoring services. We are an individualized addiction treatment program and we tailor each of our client’s treatment plans to fit their unique needs.
Our mission at Hotel California by the Sea is to guide our clients on a path of recovery where they can experience freedom from their addictions and achieve success in sobriety and in society. 90%, if not more, of our staff hold years, even decades, of long-term sobriety. Having a staff of 200 plus individuals who know firsthand what our clients are going through is paramount to the success of our client’s ability to achieve sustainable recovery. Our staff can relate to our clients when no-one else can and our staff is empowered to share their experience, strength and hope which, as we’ve seen time and time again, can prove to be life saving. Our experienced and compassionate clinical staff walk side-by-side with our clients to find out what drove their addiction(s) in the first place for we believe that it is by first addressing these underlying and core issues that our clients are able to replace self-destructive behaviors such as using drugs and alcohol, with healthy and productive habits and behaviors. Our clinical team uses a variety of therapeutic interventions including but not limited to, EMDR, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Meditation, and art and music therapy.
Our staff is also trained to find out what our clients are passionate about and what drives and fulfills them. Hotel California by the Sea offers a variety of resources to assist our clients in achieving their hopes and dreams in life. We offer job search and placement assistance, life-coaching services and we walk our clients through the college and/or GED process.
At Hotel California by the Sea, we believe that hope is the greatest gift one can give to another. Since the day we opened our doors, Hotel California by the Sea has helped over 2,000 men, women and young adults rebuild their lives and become productive and compassionate members of society.
Hotel California by the Sea’s vision for the future is to continue to expand our resources nationally as much as we can in our fight against addiction. We’ve all been touched in some way or another by this deadly disease. Since we opened our doors in 2014, we have expanded our services significantly across The Greater Orange County Area and two years ago, we opened our outpatient program and luxury transitional living services in The Greater Seattle/Bellevue Area. Within the next few months, we will be expanding into Cincinnati Ohio, a city and state that have been hit harder than most in this tragic drug epidemic. Our goal has always been to help as many addicts and alcoholics achieve recovery as possible.
Client Testimonials:
“When I came to Hotel California by the Sea, my life was over. I had hit rock bottom in my addiction, lost my family, my job and my self-respect. Quite honestly, I hated myself and wanted to die. Then I came to HCBTS. This place saved my life. My case manager and therapist were supportive throughout my entire treatment stay and I couldn’t have done it without them. The entire staff welcomed me and supported me every single day. Today I am 1 year sober, I have my family back and I have a job again. My life is meaningful and I actually am learning to love myself. Thank you Hotel California by the Sea for not only saving my life but for giving me my life back. I will be forever grateful.”
“Hotel California by the Sea gave me the tools to return to a healthy manner of living. Their staff established a personal and caring environment for the healing process. My experience there has allowed me to move on with a life that is free of substances.”

CONTENT PROVIDED BY HOTEL CALIFORNIA BY THE SEA

The Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High School began its impressive journey in the heart of Orange County, California way back in 1993. Originally dubbed the School for Performing Arts (SPA), the name was changed in 1996, and APA was born. Since 1993 this highly regarded program for high school students has provided arts education and entertainment to the Surf City community and beyond. The school’s mission from the very start has been to provide a creative education that cultivates in students the focus, dedication and collaboration necessary to achieve limitless excellence in the arts. It is with much pride this year culminates in twenty-five years of growth and success, and a highly celebrated 25th Silver Anniversary.
APA recently celebrated their impressive 25th Anniversary milestone this April with its alumni students, parents, staff and faculty by presenting a revival of APA’s very first play, Noises Off! In addition to this spectacular play, a new Huntington Beach landmark was unveiled in the upstairs foyer of the Huntington Beach Union High School District auditorium. This historic mural, by local artist Melissa Murphy (2002 alumni of HBUHSD, a graduate from Edison High School), is a representation of Huntington Beach through the ages, showing various stages of historical points in Surf City, USA. The artwork represents Surf City in the 1900s-1930s, moving into the 1950s-1970s, and ending in modern day Huntington Beach, including Jack’s Surfboards, Pacific City, Huntington Beach Police Department, Huntington Beach Fire Department, Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach Public Library, International Surfing Museum, Ruby’s Diner, Huntington Beach Civic Center, Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, Golden West College, Old World Village, Newland House, Duke’s Restaurant, and Surf City Seniors.
The Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts is continuing its mission by “igniting the creative artists of the future.” APA is known for its award-winning theatre and musical theatre shows, accomplished dance program, strong orchestra, innovative Music Media and Entertainment Technology (MMET) program, and professional-grade, career-oriented Technical Theatre and Costume Design departments. HB APA provides master-level instruction in classical and popular music, dance, acting, playwriting, costume design and stagecraft to approximately 740 students each year. APA is the arts magnet program for the Huntington Beach Union High School District and its students take part in a huge variety of performances, awards ceremonies and various competitions in the district’s landmark auditorium and bell tower (built in 1926), always striving to represent the spirit and pride of the Surf City community.
The Academy for the Performing Arts is a proven, award-winning blueprint for success that offers outstanding, innovative, exemplary programs that address today’s modern performing art student’s changing needs. Each of APA’s nine top notch departments provide students with a wide range of classes, outings and specialized training; combining all aspects of instruction to put on numerous stage shows that are completely performed and produced by students in the program, achieving a level of acting, dance, modern music, orchestra and technical production rarely seen in high school, or even at the college level.
It is APA’s strong belief that performing arts are an integral part of educational opportunities for those that live in and around the Orange County and Los Angeles areas, home to much of our nation’s entertainment industry. It is this shared belief that brings forth hundreds of talented young hopefuls who audition for the Academy each year. The auditioning process is highly professional, rigorous, nerve wracking, and less than half that apply are accepted. In the end, APA boasts the cream of the crop of aspiring actors, theatre technicians, costumers, media talent, musicians, singers, and dancers. APA students are constantly learning by doing, and earning opportunities to perform in a variety of programs, dance concerts, plays, musicals and performing arts events open to the public.
The Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts program inspires an environment of creativity and students definitely benefit from being surrounded by like-minded peers, instructors and staff who share a deep passion for making and celebrating art. This is a place where students can strive for excellence and really engage in their own learning experience, ultimately creating a range of options for continued education, and quite possibly a career in the arts. However, regardless of whether a student continues to study or go for more, APA believes that as a result of immersing themselves in a creative arts environment in high school, these students will always be appreciative and supportive of the arts.
It can be said that few schools do it better than APA and on any given weekday at Huntington Beach High School there is a veritable riot of artistic activity happening. Whether it’s backstage with power tools, props and paint, or in the costume shop with dress forms, fabric and the whir of sewing machines, or in the black box with actors running their lines, or in the media studio recording, editing and creating the next gem, or the sound of beautiful music and talented voices filling the hallways of the M-building, sometimes it all seems never ending. Yet all of this emerging talent and colorful energy is what makes the Academy for the Performing Arts one of Southern California’s, and the country’s, best programs for budding young artists. The Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts is a true treasure in our own backyard.
WWW.HBAPA.ORG
CONTENT PROVIDED BY HB APA

BY CRISTAL GONZALEZ, HB HOSPITAL
Huntington Beach Hospital, the first community hospital to be built in the City of Huntington Beach, celebrated its 50th Year Anniversary on Wednesday, March 21, 2018. The celebration began at 11:30 a.m. at the hospital’s entrance, where it all started.
Dignitaries, leaders, and staff gathered to commemorate the hospital’s accomplishments over the last 50 years. Among those in celebration was Lance Patrick Emma, the first baby to be born at Huntington Intercommunity Hospital, as it was first known. Emma happily shared his experiences at the hospital and the city he called home. He was joined by his mother Pat Emma, and wife Angie Emma as he was recognized for being a part of the hospital’s history.
In 1967, just one day after the hospital was dedicated, the maternity unit received their first patient. As the first all-electric hospital to be constructed in Orange County, the 141-bed facility was ahead of its time. The $2.1-million-dollar facility helped transform what was then among the fastest-growing cities in the nation into an urban community.
Emma and his mother became part of the hospital’s rich history 50 years ago. “Huntington Beach Hospital is wonderful. I am really happy that it is here for us and the community,” said, Pat Emma. She was overjoyed that she had the opportunity to meet the leadership, staff and community members that have helped Huntington Beach Hospital progress. Emma and his family were grateful to be a part of the hospital’s milestone.
In 2006, Prime Healthcare purchased Huntington Beach Hospital, which has been operating as the only not-for-profit hospital in Huntington Beach since 2013. “Our goal when we purchased Huntington Beach Hospital was to operate a quality hospital close to home for residents of the Huntington Beach area,” said Prem Reddy, MD, Chairman, President & CEO of Prime Healthcare. “Huntington Beach Hospital has a proud history and it has a strong and secure future. Congratulations to the hospital on its first 50 years and I look forward to their continuing service to the community.”
Throughout the course of Huntington Beach Hospital’s 50-year development, one thing has remained the same; the dedication and care of the employees and medical staff. Today, Huntington Beach Hospital has more than 450 employees and a medical staff of more than 200. Specialized service lines have continued to grow to include the geropsychiatric unit, behavioral health unit, emergency care, wound care, and surgical services to name a few.
Huntington Beach Hospital also recently announced their certification as a Primary Stroke Center by The Joint Commission, an independent, non-profit organization. This collective achievement was made possible by the hospital’s patient-focused nurses, staff and committed physicians. Every second counts when it comes to stroke care and as the only hospital in the community, this certification will provide local patients with those crucial, extra lifesaving seconds in the event of a stroke.
The hospital’s commitment to excellence is also evidenced by its 2017 ranking of Top Performing Hospitals for the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). This prestigious award would not have been possible without the hard work and determination of Huntington Beach Hospital’s staff and its relentless drive to provide quality care for each patient.
With over $200 million donated to the community since its founding, Huntington Beach Hospital will continue to evolve and serve the community in the best way it knows how: by providing quality, compassionate healthcare to the residents of Huntington Beach and surrounding cities.
The last 50 years have been a testament to the hard work and dedication that has been put into creating a quality, community hospital. “We are very grateful for the contributions that so many have made over the past fifty years. While we will never forget the past, we are intently focused on the future and meeting the evolving healthcare needs of Huntington Beach for the next fifty years,” said Richard M. Rowe, Pharm. D, CEO of Huntington Beach Hospital.
Founded in 1967, Huntington Beach Hospital is a 131-bed, not for profit, acute-care community hospital, and member of the Prime Healthcare Foundation, a 501(c)3 public charity. As the only hospital in Huntington Beach, Huntington Beach Hospital is proud to be the community hospital serving the residents of Huntington Beach and the surrounding area for the past 50 years. Fully accredited by The Joint Commission, and with nearly 200 physicians and more than 400 healthcare and other professionals on staff, our team is committed to providing outstanding service in a safe, comfortable, and caring environment. 

The Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors will welcome three new members to its seated officials at its April Board meeting. The chamber board also acknowledged that HB Digital owner Domenic Iorfino, Cornerstone Real Estate president Ed Mountford and Michael Grant Construction Services owner Michael Grant will start additional three-year terms on the board.
“All three of these individuals have played key roles in making the business community of Huntington Beach one of the best,” Chamber President and CEO James O’Callaghan said. “We look forward to their ongoing contributions.”
Jose Perez from AES, Sheik Sattaur from Union Bank, and Beth Hambelton from MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center will bring relevant knowledge and expertise to the board as they begin their three-year terms.
Perez has been with AES for more than 15 years. In the past year, he rose to Southlands operations director and narrowed his focus to root cause analysis. His process-solution inclination will afford the board a new operational edge and allow for effective long-term planning.
Sattaur serves as the chamber’s ambassador committee co-chair with local business owner Victoria Alberty. Sattaur actively engages in the community at Chamber events by emceeing ribbon cuttings and networking events. He brings to the board both his financial expertise and digital insight to increase the chamber’s online presence and appeal.
Hambelton serves as MemorialCare’s Senior Program and Community Outreach Liaison, representing the nonprofit hospital and health system on various boards and committees that provide services to the community and local businesses. She has been serving on the Huntington Beach Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee for several years.
Hambelton is responsible for outreach with elected officials and their staff, as well as collaborations with other organizations and employers to help fulfill shared missions of wellness, health improvement, access to care and service to the community.
Additionally, the board’s nominating committee presented the 2018 Executive Committee slate, which included Boeing’s Barbara Mason as continuing board chair, CIELO CEO John Hobson as chair-elect, Republic Services’ Shannon Clark as CFO/Treasurer, HomeSmart/Evergreen Realty realtor Teri Miles, Michael Grant Construction Services owner Michael Grant, and Cornerstone Real Estate president Ed Mountford.
Although the chamber’s board chair historically served a one-year term that started and ended in March, recent changes made to enhance pecuniary planning will lengthen the board chair’s term this year.
The chamber shifted the beginning of its next fiscal year from March to January 2019 to align its operating year with many local businesses. This change resulted in a 10-month fiscal year in 2018, and to smooth the financial transition, the position of board chair will change hands in July this year. At that time, current board chair Barbara Mason will finish her 17-month term as chair-elect John Hobson begins his own.
“This leadership transition plan ensures the chamber has continuous sound leadership for the coming two years,” O’Callaghan said.
John Hobson brings to his new role as chair-elect experience and expertise with companies of various size and stages of growth. For ten years, he has developed and sold several companies here in Orange County, while also serving as the CEO of CIELO, an organization dedicated to assisting career builders and entrepreneurs maximize their potential. In addition, John served on numerous boards as those companies underwent major transitions.
Both AIM Office Solutions owner Jim Duncan and AES plant manager Weikko Wirta completed their second term on the board this year. Wirta guided the chamber through a period of leadership transition and set a course for future development with the board. At the same time, Duncan chaired the ambassador committee as his successor Sattaur does now, and brought his passion for developing the next generation of leaders.
As Duncan and Wirta leave the board, both the chamber board of directors and staff express gratitude for their time, dedication and contributions in advancing the organization’s mission.
In accordance with the chamber’s bylaws, a nominating committee of board members put forth the new and renewing board member names and developed the slate of executive committee officers for approval.
Additional candidates for directors can be nominated by petition bearing the genuine signatures of at least 20 Chamber members in good standing for each candidate petitioned.

The mission of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce is to provide programs, connectivity and advocacy that promote economic vitality. This vital tool of the business community was established in 1904 and is going strong at 114 years old! It has been my honor to serve as your Board Chair this past year.

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