Ashley Lewis of Dog Beach Design helped us launch the celebration of Ocean Beach's 125th anniversary by creating an anniversary seal to commemorate the event. The OBMA Promotions Committee worked to develop a line of merchandise with the logo on it in order to fundraise for the community.
The first Annual Marketing Breakfast was held in January with Brown Marketing Strategies. The year of upcoming promotional and marketing opportunities was laid out for our business membership. It was the first meeting in the Business Development Series, which was also developed this year.
The Ocean Beach Library closed for six weeks to get a new roof, new carpet, and a fresh coat of paint.
Last Days Tattoo Co. hosted a Sundowner in February.
Gary Gilmore Goldsmith changed their business name to Gilmore Family Jewelers and hosted the next Sundowner.
The next meeting of the Business Development Series was held at Electric Ladyland and hosted Susan Clarke who gave a presentation called The Fundamentals of Believing, Achieving & Succeeding in Ocean Beach. It was a well-attended and successful event.
The Crime Prevention Committee of the OBMA held their monthly meeting at Electric Ladyland to talk about local solutions to ongoing problems. The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce developed the Save Our Events Groups with online petitions and information in order to protect local special events. Lawsuits had recently threatened to require all local special events to pass a full CEQA review. As a result of the Crime Prevention Committee's work, a "Make it Right" button was developed to rotate on the homepage of the OBMA website in order to provide local business owners and residents with municipal code information and contact information for city agencies.
Phase 17 of the OB Tile Project was completed.
Noon Design Shop hosted a Sundowner in April.
OBMA began a collection of photos of people wearing or using their 125th Anniversary merchandise or stickers. The photos were shared with through social media and the monthly member newsletter.
A sub-committee of the Crime Prevention Committee hosted a meeting at the Lifeguard Tower and launched the Respect OB program. They sold t-shirts and bumper stickers and got hundreds of merchants to sign up to stay connected.
Pizza Port OB developed the 125th Anniversary Ale, an American style IPA, in order to support the anniversary fundraising efforts. Yiga, the head brewmaster; Mayor Sanders; and several others celebrated the launch on the roof deck at Pizza Port OB. Restaurant and bar owners that would be carrying the beer, along with the OBMA Board of Directors, were also there. Each business selling the beer donated $10 per keg to the Anniversary Fund. This was the first beer made for OB. Other local businesses support the anniversary fundraising efforts by carrying the merchandise in their stores.
OB Beach Ball was back for its second year in May. A giant ferris wheel, waterslide, and arts and crafts were available along the waterfront, and there was a live music festival on Saturday.
