Voting is an Act of Hope

Voting.  The election this year is November 5th, now just a week or so away.  If you have already voted. THANK YOU!  If you are planning to vote THANK YOU!  Below is some information about our local polling places and ballot drop boxes, you may find helpful.  If you are able to vote but not planning to, I ask you to reconsider.  

Voting is a privilege and a responsibility in a democratic country.   It is how our preferences and choices are communicated to our leaders.  It is a way for our individual voices to be heard amongst the noise of the world.  It is a way to make change in policy that we don’t agree with and keep policy that serves us. It is a way to help shape the world you live in to reflect how you want it to be.  It is a way to have power when we feel powerless because it is only in staying silent that we relinquish our rights.  

Ultimately, voting is an act of hope.  Hope that no matter how dire things may be or how grand we may think they are, we believe we can still make this a better world through our voices.  So join me as I keep hope alive, casting my ballot by making choices based on research and conversations with others that I believe will reflect the kind of world I wish to live in.  Let us all use our voices and vote as acts of hope.   

Options for voting in our community~

At Home With Ballot~

Complete your ballot.  Secure inside the return envelope sent with the ballot.

Sign and date.  Make sure the signature on your ballot envelope matches the one on your CA driver’s license/state ID or the one you provided when registering to vote.

Ballots may be returned by mail but must be postmarked by November 5th, 2024.  No stamp is needed.

Ballots may be dropped at a Secure Ballot Drop Box available 24 hours a day from October 5, 2024 until November 5th, 2024 at 8PM.  These are the following locations in our community-

Lompoc City Hall - 100 Civic Center Plaza

Lompoc Public Library - 501 East North Ave

SB County Dept. of Social Services - 1100 West Laurel Ave

Vandenberg Village Library - 3755 Constellation Rd

Ballots may also be dropped in person at a polling place 7AM to 8PM on November 5th.  For a complete list of Polling Place locations in Santa Barbara County, visit www.sbcvote.com.

Sign up and Track My Ballot at http://wheresmyballot.sos.ca.gov/ or call the Elections Office at  805-568-2200 or 800-722-8683.

Voting at the Polls~

Your assigned Polling Place is printed on the back cover of your County Voter Information Guide, which was mailed to you or can be found by calling 800-722-8683 or visiting www.sbcvote.com. 

It is helpful to bring your own ballpoint pen to sign in and use while voting.  Polls are open 11/5, 7AM-8PM.  The Polling Places in Lompoc are-

- Dick DeWees Community Center-Banquet Room - 

1120 West Ocean Ave

- Events Mission Valley - 

138 North B Street

- First United Methodist Church-Fireside Room -

925 North F Street

- Grace Baptist Church - Large Fellowship Hall -

1009 East Pine Ave

- North Avenue Baptist Church-Fellowship Hall -

1523 West North Ave

- Providence Landing Clubhouse -

699 Mercury Ave

Wondering if you are registered to vote?  Visit 

https://covr.sos.ca.gov/ to check your status.  Not registered?  It’s not too late.  

You can register conditionally and vote a provisional ballot at any Polling Place or Elections Office in Santa Barbara County on election day.  The ballot is counted once eligibility is confirmed. 

Visit www.sbcvote.com or call 800-722-8683 for more information.  

College Park Skateboard Competition this August!

Lompoc Parks and Rec Annual Skateboard Competition is a community event and fun for all ages!   We have been partnering with Lompoc Parks and Rec since 2000 on this competition featuring Best Run (skate jam format) and Best Trick in six different age groups.  Registration starts at 10AM with competition to begin shortly afterwards by age group, youngest to oldest.  Prizes will be awarded for first through third place in all categories and there will also be opportunities to win some great raffle prizes throughout the competition.  Lompoc Foursquare Church will be joining the fun again as well!

We are so very thankful and grateful for everyone that makes this competition possible each year including the skateboarders and the spectators, Lompoc Parks & Rec staff, Lompoc Foursquare Church, Robby-our emcee, and our judges.  Without all of these wonderful people this great event wouldn’t be possible.  

So bring your skate, helmet and pads or perhaps your lawn chair and some sunscreen Saturday, August 20, and we’ll see you at College Park for some fun!

Celebrate Lompoc Flower Festival with Us!

The Lompoc Flower Festival this year is June 26th-June 30th but it traces its roots back to the 1950’s when an annual parade and two day rodeo was held during the summer in Lompoc.  George Miller, a prominent citizen, began advocating to change the celebration from a rodeo (arguing they were common and rather mundane) to something more unique and aligned with what Lompoc had to offer.  The Alpha Club Flower Show had been established in 1922 and it was decided to develop the Festival around this key event.  Since those days the Lompoc Flower Festival has grown to a 5 day event with local entertainment on stage at Ryon Park, food booths run by community organizations and nonprofits, a parade on Saturday which includes floats and marching bands and of course the opportunity to visit and catch up with all your friends that you haven’t seen in the past year.  

An important part of my summer activities, the Flower Festival has always been close to my heart and I have participated on many different levels through the years.  I have performed on stage and worked at some of the beloved food booths but also taken my turn as an audience member and enjoyed food purchased to support our local nonprofits.  It is also fun to stroll through the park, peruse the arts and crafts and visit with friends and the community.  

Then there’s the parade.  A parade that delighted me when I was much younger, I enjoyed with my children when they were little and I have also had the experience of being a part of.  From walking in it when I was in high school (just a couple of years ago) to gluing flowers to a float, being part of the parade is a special experience. And it is a special experience I am humbled to be a part of again.  The Flower Festival Association asked me to be the Grand Marshall for the parade this year and I gratefully accepted the honor.  

So join me Saturday, June 29th, as I join the Lompoc Flower Festival Parade once again and celebrate Summertime Fun and Friends and the Lompoc Community!  See you at the park!

https://www.lompocvalleyfestivals.com/flower-festival/parade

https://www.lompocvalleyfestivals.com/flower-festival/entertainment-schedule

https://www.facebook.com/lompocvalley.flowerfestival/

Celebrate National Small Business Week With Us on Saturday May 11th!

We believe small businesses should be celebrated every week but there is an official National Small Business Week which was established in 1963.   Over 50 years ago, President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation citing the importance of small businesses in job creation and building strong, viable communities. 

Though many years have passed and many things have changed since the first National Small Business Week over 50 years ago, one thing that hasn’t changed is how important our local small businesses are.  More than 50% of Americans own or work for a small business, every 2 of 3 jobs in the private sector is created by a small business and the success of small businesses is critical to growing the US economy.  Also, on a local level, a healthy small business community contributes positively to the local economy, allowing money to circulate within the same community for an extended period of time.  Local business owners tend to use the services of other local businesses and employees spend money where they work.  This, coupled with the resulting tax dollars for infrastructure that then stay within the community, make for a stronger local economy and community.  

Please join us this year and celebrate National Small Business Week on Saturday May 11th. We’ll have special sales that day and our prize wheel will be spinning!

Sources:

http://www.mainlinemedianews.com/mainlinetimes/opinion/as-i-see-it-national-small-business-week-over-years/article_173736b5-dfb6-553d-9b78-9a6cc95f0231.html

https://www.business.com/articles/small-business-week-2018/

https://www.sba.gov/node/1615232

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-m-kirby/small-businesses-can-make_b_13127000.html