March 20, 2023

Welcome on our 16^th Annual Sacramento Road Trip and thanks for joining us! You are one of a very select group of representatives from Santa Clarita who have been invited by KHTS FM 98.1 & AM-1220 and California State Senator Scott Wilk to join us so we may have an impact on decision makers in our State Capitol.

Our other representatives, Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo, Assemblyman Tom Lackey and State Senator Henry Stern will also be participating and joining us at our Monday night dinner. We hope you take time to personally meet each of them.

We want to thank our friends at The SCV Water Agency, Southern California Edison, California Credit Union, Southern California Gas Company and State Senator Scott Wilk for sponsoring your trip. And a special thanks to Jersey Mike’s for the yummy box lunches and Feathers for all printing material.

Believe it or not, we are the only community to do anything like this. 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 up there to see “what it was really like.” Carl suggested renting a bus and broadcasting 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.

We plan to keep our trip around an intimate size capping out at 100. That way we can maintain the personal connections and preserve a format that has proven to be powerful. Over the years more than 1,000 Santa Clarita community members have joined us.

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

Your two days will be fun and fast-paced. As you can see from the attached agenda, thanks to Senator Scott Wilk and his awesome staff, we’re meeting with very key decision makers in Sacramento. For us 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!”

 However, we do want you to share your experiences with others on social media throughout our trip and upon your return. Our vision is to spread the word and have other Santa Clarita leaders be inspired to join us in future years. You make take pictures during our sessions and post on social media, but please, no recording. Our twitter hashtag is KHTSSacramento.

The intent of our KHTS Sacramento Road trip is to show our government officials how 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, Water, Business and others listed on our attached agenda. You will be meeting with the decision makers impacting each of these topics.

KHTS FM 98.1 & 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 be interviewed to share your experiences and talk about your organization. Your interview will also be posted on our website, www.hometownstation.com upon our return. As you’ll discover, in addition to learning about 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 airwaves, on our website, hometownstation.com and through our daily emails and our social media, 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 our then Assemblyman Cameron 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 our “About KHTS” devoted to Sacramento and an historical archive of our 15 previous trips.

This year we have five Santa Clarita High School students joining us on our bus, representing SCVi, Valencia and Castaic High Schools. Please take time to chat with them.  Thanks to California Credit Union and  SCVi Charter School (iLEAD Schools) 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.

Respectfully,

Carl & Jeri Seratti Goldman, KHTS Radio

California State Senator Scott Wilk