Chamber of Commerce Reopens, Loses Executive Director

By CHRISTIAN MONTERROSA | Reporter 

At the grand reopening of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, July 25, over 70 people gathered to see the redesigned headquarters.

Food was provided by Mastro’s with drinks donated by This Girl Walks Into A Bar and the new Pali Wine Store in The Highlands.

“I think it was a big success,” said Susan Payne, chair of the board, in an email. “With the ‘new’ office looking beautiful and very professional! It’s also a pretty good venue for a party.

“The three rooms make the most of the small square footage, with the office actually feeling bigger to me than when it was an open room. Our members were so appreciative of the new office and shocked at the change.”

For Executive Director Arnie Wishnick, it was also a chance to say farewell after 25 years of dedication to the organization and its members after announcing he is stepping down.

“It’s gonna be tough moving away from here,” Wishnick said in an interview with the Palisadian-Post. He recalled a long list of events he was proud to have been a part of and hopes those traditions will continue.

“We put together some very, very nice events,” he said. “Events that the public really, really cherished like polo, car shows and monthly mixers. We did networking breakfast just to incorporate the community, and hopefully the new executive director will continue with those.”

Wishnick welcomes the incoming Caruso businesses as well as Rick Caruso himself, and is confident he will be a great addition to the community.

“Things are going to change after September 22 for sure,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of new things … from day one when Mr. Caruso said he was going to buy the property, we welcomed him.”

While he won’t be welcoming the new businesses in an official capacity, Wishnick will remain active in the community by producing musicals for Theatre Palisades, serving as president of the Optimist Club of Pacific Palisades and helping the parade committee.

Wishnick said he has been asked to remain as an ambassador for the Chamber of Commerce and is excited to stay close to the organization that he’s been with for the last two decades.