Smeltzer Leading Chamber into Future

When Marna Smeltzer decided to apply for a job as a receptionist at the in 1986, she was a single mother raising two children and working two jobs.

Little did she dream that by 1995, she would step into the shoes of the man who first hired her, , who vacated his post as president and CEO of the chamber to become Redondo Beach's city treasurer.

"I have to tell you my favorite Ernie story," Smeltzer, 60, said, eyes twinkling devilishly as she spoke of an episode that occurred in 2000.

It happened during a business exchange trip to China in which O'Dell and other city officials, business leaders and members of the chamber were being hosted by their Chinese counterparts at a dinner in the Xian Wu District of Beijing.

Smeltzer, speaking through an interpreter, was attempting to explain to her hosts how much her old boss and mentor meant to her.

"He's like a father to my children," she told the assembled, mainly men, in an effort to expand on her relationship with O’Dell and "how we were good friends."

Meanwhile, the Maotai—a Chinese liquor Smeltzer described as "simply disgusting"—was flowing, their Asian hosts continuing a custom of raising their glasses and drinking "to see who lasts longer," she said, wrinkling her nose.

Sensing something was off, Smeltzer noted the Chinese tittering and whispering, until the interpreter finally clued her into the misunderstanding.

"They thought I was telling them that Ernie is the father of my children," she said, registering some of the astonishment she felt at the time. "My face just got red ... Everyone was laughing..."

No one’s laughing at Smeltzer now—especially Ernie O’Dell, who championed her selection for Patch’s Greatest Person series.

"She is one of the most wonderful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing and working with," O’Dell said. "She is a true professional. She has raised two wonderful children and is now working on the grandchildren, all while being a single mom and working a tough job.  She is one of the best on the planet, and I’m glad to call her my sister ... even though she’s not."

In her chamber office on South Pacific Coast Highway, one quickly spots the framed photos on the wall of Branden and Cary Smeltzer, both in their gowns for graduation from .

Branden, now 31 and a Redondo Chamber member (as his mother is quick to point out), is manager of InFraction Design Studio and the parent company, School Transportation News, a nationwide "niche" publication. Daughter Cary (now Cary Wheeler), 34, is a doctor in residency in Arizona and the mother of three.

Judging by Smeltzer’s beaming smile, her children and grandchildren are her greatest pride. Off to Arizona to spend Christmas with them, she plans on taking her 8-year-old granddaughter, Ivy, skiing in Flagstaff in February.

Smeltzer, a native of Redondo Beach, divorced in 1983 and never remarried, preferring to preserve her children from the trials of a blended family.

It was the chamber, in fact, that provided her kids with role models, she said—everyone from O’Dell to various city council members. The chamber also offered programs such as Leader for a Day that gave young people, including Cary and Branden, insight into how city government operates.

From the day she started as a receptionist, Smeltzer loved working at the chamber, a job she found more exciting than her previous career in insurance.

"I liked it so much I probably would have worked for free," she said. "It was so diverse. Not like insurance, where you are doing the same thing day in and day out. [Here] I could do economic development … government affairs … human resources."

As the chamber grew and people left, "I just kept moving up," said the director, who recalls "a lot of insecurity" early on. Although she had earned an AA degree at El Camino and completed U.S. Chamber Institute of Organization Management studies at Stamford and UCLA, she compared herself to those with heftier resumes.

Offered the job of office manager at one point, she declined. "You have to build your confidence, and I didn’t have a lot back then," she said.

Smeltzer suffered some of the same doubts when Ernie O’Dell vacated his post, even though she had risen to assistant director. "I had no intention of doing his job," she said.

A friend from the Simi Valley chamber, Nancy Bender, held the key to her final decision, telling Smeltzer at a conference for Western chamber execs, "You’ve never assumed the role in your head. Go back to the office and for the next four weeks, just pretend that you’re the executive director."

"So that changed my thinking," said Smeltzer, who realized how deep her connections went within the entire Western region. "I need to do this," she decided. "I have all the relationships."

She also had the right temperament. According to many, the job of president and CEO of the chamber requires the agility of a juggler, the diplomacy of a politician and the detailed organization of an accountant.

It means proposing, managing and tracking an annual budget under the watchful eye of a “very prudent" independent finance director, Smeltzer said. “Our staff does an outstanding job of controlling spending and obtaining resources that save our chamber money.”

It also means overseeing a multitude of events, including Redondo’s and 10K run—signature events aimed at bringing people and business to the city.

"The thing we’ve been able to accomplish since I’ve been here is to put very professional organizations in place [for both events]," she said. "Before they were just fly-by-night, not very professional."

Still, the Lobster Festival “is a tough thing to do, because it has a lot of pieces and we have a small venue, compared to the other cities,” she said, speaking at length about the history of the festival and how both San Pedro and Long Beach have adapted similar events—all three in September.

"We do it at the [and] try to do ours a little more upscale," she said. "We tried to do it all upscale one year, but people want the junk; they want the churros, they want the holy guacamole, they want the corn on the cob."

Heavy into outreach, Smeltzer belongs to numerous associations (from the Leadership Steering Committee Association to Southern California Association of Chamber Executives) and has participated in 13 boards, including the Police & Fire Medal of Valor, South Bay Economic Development and Rotary Community Service Board, which she chaired. The recipient of 20 awards and certifications, she travels to conferences and frequently lobbies legislators in Sacramento and Washington D.C.

Advocacy, it turns out, is Smeltzer’s favorite piece of the pie.

"To me, advocacy is the most important thing the chamber can do," she explained. While the Lobster Festival is great for creating a strong local economy, she said, helping businesses speak up on issues affecting them is a vital aspect of economic development.

When it comes to legislation, "unions are very organized and they have a voice," said Smeltzer, who relishes discussing local problems with people such as Sens. Dianne Feinstein, John McCain and Barbara Boxer. "It’s challenging and very rewarding to try and give small businesses a voice."

During Smeltzer’s tenure she earned the right to maintain a 310 area code in the South Bay for eight years; assisted businesses along Artesia with resources and marketing during redevelopment; and helped prevent the loss of the Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, which she calls "a huge part of the South Bay economy."

Currently, she is involved in helping businesses in North Redondo stem a tide of lawsuits filed by those misusing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

"What’s happening in North Redondo is that people can just drive by [a business] and file a lawsuit saying the bathroom isn’t complaint, or the mirrors aren’t compliant," she said.

With the practice already beginning to penetrate other areas of the city, Smeltzer said a few individuals are "taking advantage of the law, and businesses are not going to fight it because it costs them more to fight it than to settle for $5,000."

Smeltzer not only plans to fight, she plans to offer workshops to help business people "understand what they can do to protect themselves."

Many chambers stress events and networking as opposed to advocacy, she said, but advocacy and economic development are "the meat."

In 2012, Smeltzer, who just celebrated her 25th anniversary with the chamber, hopes to launch an international trade networking group to educate businesses on how to trade with other countries, "even if it’s just a service they can provide."

She also wants to implement a business development program directed at young people, one that “shows them how to start their own business,” she said.

Leaving her office, one notes the large framed picture of "" (the whale mural that adorns Redondo’s ), a project she and Ernie O'Dell worked on together.

But on her bulletin board, Smeltzer also has a "sad wall" composed of pictures of council members and business leaders who have passed away.

One photo she has yet to post is that of Shaun Lumachi, 33, a Long Beach resident who served as the chamber’s advocacy consultant. The independent contractor was Smeltzer and the Government Relations Council’s right hand "when it came to representing the interests of business to government," she said.

Married just two years, Lumachi was attending a national workforce conference in St. Petersburg, Fla. when a truck collided with the car he was riding in.

"Everybody walked away but him," said Smeltzer, still devastated by the loss. "It’s so hard to get my brain around. He was such an inspiration. You’d try to give him credit, and he’d always turn it around and say, 'Well, I’ve learned from the best.'"

Perhaps he had.