What happens when you are elected Chairwoman of the Los Alamitos Chamber of Commerce and three months later, all of a sudden you find yourself struggling to save your own business and the Chamber as well?
For Nesi Stewart, such a situation was all too real when the pandemic struck without warning in March. “My initial thought was ‘we can’t do this,’” said Stewart this week.
When it became obvious that what many thought would be a two-week lockdown in March became an indefinite setback, she wondered “how will we function.”
Nesi’s journey to Los Alamitos began in Lake Charles, Louisiana, where she was born. Her parents moved to Lancaster when she was 15, and eventually she attended college in Los Angeles.
For two decades, Stewart worked for a general contractor in the Bay Area, “wearing hard hats and steel toed boots” as she supervised construction of some major facilities, including one of the largest school complexes in Los Angeles.
Those days are gone now, but Stewart said she has an affinity for construction sites, even thinking about visiting the site of a hotel under construction near her office to chat it up with the hard hats. “I have flashbacks,” she laughs.
Stewart finally hung up her steel toed boots in 2007 when she and her husband Carl moved to the area. “We wanted to buy a business,” she said. The Stewarts had their eye on another business but purchased the Printmasters print shop in Los Alamitos when that deal fell through.
“Now, I’m glad it did,” she said, as she and Carl have made a success of their multi-purpose printing facility on Los Al Boulevard.
The ambitious businesswoman had big plans for the Chamber, while fate had its own plan for Stewart.
Suddenly, under orders from the government, her business, like every business in town, was shuttered. The Chamber’s only part-time employee, Toni Hauger, was put on furlough and the city became a virtual ghost town overnight.
The situation was not exactly what Stewart had in mind when elected Chair of the Chamber. “Several businesses have closed,” she said, some permanently.
Stewart said, when she was finally able to reopen their printing business, they were fortunate because the pandemic drove a mini-printing boom with social distancing signs, emergency placards, etc.
While business has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, Stewart said her situation soon stabilized and she began calling around to Chamber members to take stock.
The membership, she said, “was happy to know we were there and still trying to network to keep things going.” Many members, she said this week, “are still struggling.”
Stewart said the Chamber was in a rebuilding phase when the pandemic hit, and the Chamber had grown to having more than 200 members and was on a steep incline when the pandemic hit.
Now, she said, the Chamber is working even harder to prove its value to local businesses. Stewart has strengthened ties with key partners like the City of Los Al, Los Al Unified and others.
She implemented Zoom meetings and the Chamber is again meeting monthly. Hauger has returned to work and a recent membership mailing netted more than 60 memberships, she said.
“People ask me all of the time what do I get out of the Chamber,” said Stewart. “I tell them that the Chamber is one of those organizations where you get out what you put into it.” Stewart said her business has benefited from the being in the Chamber but added, “I’ve put a lot into it.”
Nevertheless, after a few dark months during lockdown, Stewart said things have steadied both in business and for the Chamber as well.
“We have to be vigilant to get new members,” said Stewart, “but we’re growing again.”
Stewart and the current board of directors recently agreed during a Zoom meeting to continue in their current roles for another term. There is simply no way for the Chamber to facilitate an election, therefore Stewart said her term and the entire current Chamber board will be extended for another year. The board is still discussing what type of online event to host in January in lieu of its annual January fundraiser. “We’re still working on it,” she said.
“I’m encouraged,” she said, adding that the Chamber will continue its online networking meetings to preserve continuity and hopes to return to normal in-person meetings as soon as the pandemic will allow.
In spite of current obstacles, Stewart said she and her husband Carl are totally happy they made the decision to buy the business and become a part of the Los Al community. They will celebrate their 13th year in business on Dec. 10.
Stewart and Printmasters have also just announced a student art contest that they hope will bring joy and opportunity to students throughout the community.
Stewart, who firmly believes “timing is everything,” said she thinks 2020 has been a year of “unforeseen challenges. In her words, the year 2021 “can’t get here soon enough.”
