March 18, 2013

Welcome on our 8^th Annual Sacramento Road Trip and thanks for joining us! You are one of a very select group of 90 representatives from Santa Clarita who have been invited by KHTS AM-1220 and California State Assemblyman Scott Wilk to join us so we may have an impact on decision makers in our State Capitol.

We want to thank our friends at The Castaic Lake Water Agency, the Facey Medical Group, Union Bank, The Southern California Gas Company and California Credit Union for helping sponsor your trip and the Santa Clarita Chamber of Commerce for supporting our trip.

In 2005, our then Assemblyman, the late Keith Richman and KHTS co-owner Carl Goldman were at an Arthritis Walk in Bridgeport Park. Keith was frustrated with Sacramento politics and said he would do anything to get a group of us up there to see “what it was really like.” Carl suggested we could rent a bus and broadcast the event. An annual tradition was born. Keith is smiling now as you are reading this, knowing his idea has sparked a powerful Santa Clarita tradition.  

We have invited a broad range of individuals representing the Santa Clarita Valley. You have a complete list of all participants in this packet; you will see we have representation from as many segments of our community as possible.

Your two days will be fun and fast-paced. As you can see from the attached agenda, thanks to Assemblyman Wilk, we are able to meet with a number of very key decision makers in Sacramento. In order to have a free exchange of ideas, we have promised not to record any of our sessions. Please keep the famous saying in mind. “What’s said in Sacramento stays in Sacramento!”

We are pleased our State Controller, John Chiang will be our keynote speaker of our private dinner at the Firehouse Restaurant in Old Town Sacramento on Monday evening. At dinner we will also be joined by our other State Representatives along with Assemblyman Wilk. These include State Senator Steve Knight, State Senator Fran Pavley and State Assemblyman Steve Fox.

Our intent is to show our government officials we as a community are unified in our concerns and are willing to commit our time and energy to share those concerns. We have specific position papers from our local schools, the Castaic Lake Water Agency, and issues covering the High Speed Rail, the Santa Clarita Enterprise Zone. Our local non-profit mental health providers are represented, along with support from our three major health providers, Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital, Providence Holy/Cross Hospital and the Facey Medical Group. We’ve also added runaway filming to our agenda.  You’ll find descriptions of each of these projects in your packet. We urge you to read these so you are better informed prior to our meetings. Representatives from each organization will be speaking to us on the bus to answer any questions.

KHTS AM-1220 radio will be broadcasting from the bus throughout our ride to Sacramento and during our return on Tuesday. You will have an opportunity to go on the air with our news department to address your concerns and talk about your organization. This as an opportunity for you to see the inner workings of our state government and have a better appreciation for the challenges we face. And as you’ll discover, our trip is a fabulous networking and bonding opportunity with each other.

As we share our experiences over the KHTS AM-1220 airwaves, on our hometownstation.com website and in our local newspapers and magazines, we hope you’ll relay your insights to as many people as possible over the next few months. 

In one of our previous sessions, the Chair of the State Assembly’s Higher Education Committee, Democratic State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino was so impressed with our group he asked if he could visit College of the Canyons. Several months later, he and then Assemblyman Smyth spent a day touring and visiting with administrators and staff at the college. 

We know you’ll find our trip rewarding, educational, and FUN!!!!  You may visit the KHTS website, www.hometownstation.com to read stories about this year’s trip and accounts of previous years’ sessions from our archives.                

This year we have four Santa Clarita High School students joining us on our bus, representing SCVi, Saugus and Valencia. Please take time chat with them.  Thanks to California Credit Union and SCVi Charter School for sponsoring these students and allowing us to inspire our next generation of Santa Clarita leaders.

Again, thanks for joining us. Together, we can make a difference.

Respectfully,

Carl & Jeri Seratti Goldman, KHTS AM-1220 Radio

California Assemblyman Scott Wilk