March 16, 2015

Welcome to our 10^th Annual Sacramento Road Trip and thanks for joining us! You are one of a very select group of 110 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.

Today happens to also be our Assemblyman, Scott Wilk’s birthday. He is very shy about this and doesn’t want any fuss, so please keep his birthday very low key.

We want to thank our friends at The Castaic Lake Water Agency, The Southern California Gas Company and California Credit Union for helping sponsor your trip.

We believe we are the only community to do anything like this. Here’s a bit about our history. 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. Now, Keith is smiling as you are reading this, knowing his idea has sparked a powerful Santa Clarita tradition. This year is our 10^th annual trip!

We have 110 community leaders joining us this year.  Our trip has become so popular over the years, we now have a waiting list. We plan to keep our trip at a maximum of 110 so we maintain the personal connections and preserve a format that has proven to be powerful

This year, we’ve invited a broad range of individuals representing the Santa Clarita Valley. We’ve included a complete list in our booklet.

Your two days will be fun and fast-paced. As you can see from the attached agenda, thanks to Assemblyman Wilk and his awesome staff, 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 our famous saying in mind. “What’s said in Sacramento stays in Sacramento!”

We are pleased to hold this year’s private dinner at the Mix Restaurant on Monday evening. Our keynote speaker is California State Treasurer, John Chiang. At dinner we will also be joined by our other State Representatives along with Assemblyman Wilk. These include Vice Chair of the State Board of Equalization, George Runner (our former State Senator), Senator Fran Pavley and State Assemblyman Tom Lackey.  Our former State Senator Steve Knight is now our Congressman in Washington DC. The election for his vacant State Senate seat is tomorrow, March 17^th, 2015. Our former State Assemblywoman Sharon Runner is running unopposed and she will also join us for dinner as well.

We hope you take time during our cocktail hour to personally meet each of them.

The intent of our KHTS Sacramento Road trip is to show our government officials we, as a valley are unified in our concerns and are willing to commit our time and energy to share those concerns. We have meetings arranged covering Education, the High Speed Rail, the drought, Worker’s Compensation, the State Budget and Covered California to mention a few. You will be meeting with the decision makers impacting each of these topics. A complete agenda is included in this material.

As usual, 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 Perry Smith, our KHTS news director to share your experiences and talk about your organization. As you’ll discover, in addition to discovering the inner workings of our state government, you’ll have a better appreciation for the challenges we face. 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. We have a special section in “About KHTS” devoted to Sacramento and an historical archive of our 9 previous trips.

This year we have five Santa Clarita High School students joining us on our bus, representing SCVi, Canyon and Golden Valley High Schools and three college students representing College of the Canyons and Master’s College. Please take time to chat with them.  Thanks to California Credit Union, SCVi Charter School (iLEAD Schools) and COC for sponsoring these students and allowing us to inspire our next generation of Santa Clarita leaders.

Again, thanks for joining us. Together, we can have an impact. And did I mention today is Scott Wilk’s birthday.

Respectfully,

Carl & Jeri Seratti Goldman, KHTS AM-1220 Radio

California Assemblyman Scott Wilk

KHTS Sacramento Road Trip Travelers:

Welcome to the 10^th annual KHTS Sacramento Road Trip.

In 2005, former State Assemblyman Dr. Keith Richman and KHTS owner Carl Goldman created this annual trip. Over the years, more than 500 community leaders have participated, like you, taking two precious days out of their busy work schedule to listen and learn from state leaders about the most important issues affecting Santa Clarita.

Carl’s vision was to allow Santa Clarita community leaders the opportunity to gain an understanding of those issues and to share what they learned on the trip with others. Ten years later, Santa Clarita Valley is still the only community doing anything like this and I am proud to continue the tradition.

I am pleased to announce that California State Treasurer John Chiang will be our keynote speaker at Monday night’s reception. He will be sharing his insight into California’s finances and his office’s role in managing them.

If you are a returning participant on this trip, I know you will continue to gain new insights. For those joining us for the first time, you will have a memorable two days.

I’d like to thank you for taking the time to join us this year and sharing your ideas with us. I am truly honored to serve as your State Assemblyman.

Sincerely,

Scott Wilk

Assemblyman

38^th Assembly District