Chamber of Commerce Celebrates New Leader at Mastro’s Mixer

By MICHAEL AUSHENKER | Contributing Writer

There have been many a legendary Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce mixer around town, but last month’s business community gathering seemed extra special.

The Oct. 30 gathering, held at Mastro’s Ocean Club, celebrated longtime local retailer Bob Benton as the Chamber’s new president.

“My office is going to be open to all members and prospective members of the Chamber,” Benton said of the organization’s Antioch Street headquarters, which recently got a makeover.

Benton, who officially assumed his position Sept. 1, follows in the footsteps of Arnie Wishnick, longtime Chamber of Commerce leader who retired in January. Marilyn Crawford, who assisted Wishnick, will continue in her role by Benton’s side.

Many at the mixer said that after running Benton’s Sports Shop at Swarthmore and Monument Street for 35 years, Benton has much business-community experience and goodwill.

“He’s a force in the community,” Honorary Mayor Billy Crystal said. “He has a wonderful personality.”

Rick Lemmo joined the Chamber’s board on behalf of employer Caruso.

“Our first goal as a board was to retool and restructure the Chamber,” Lemmo said.

Benton added that the Chamber’s by-laws have been revised, and its board has expanded from 10 to 18 people since he took charge, but quickly noted what’s important is quality, not quantity.

“It’s not so much who is on the board, but who’s a member of the Chamber,” Benton said.

Chamber Director Nicole Howard, associated with the board for a decade, said this current incarnation beats all.

“It’s the best it’s been in terms of sticking to our mission,” she said.

Benton told some 45 attendees that the Chamber will serve as “a good bridge between the two,” referring to the business corridors north and south of Sunset. There are new businesses without roots and old businesses with roots, and “it’s going to be a great marriage,” he said.

The mixer also became the vehicle to announce that Palisades Village will hold its Christmas Stroll on Nov. 30 (replacing the annual Ho! Ho! Ho!), followed by a Hanukkah menorah lighting Dec. 2.

Since the Sept. 22 opening, Benton sees Palisades Village as becoming a destination fueling shoppers to “walk across the street and shop at stores [along Antioch Street, etc.]. Foot traffic is what this is all about.”

Added Howard, “We are really working hard to making this collaborative for both north and south.”

Benton’s appointment, according to revelers, seems natural.
“Everybody knows Bob Benton and Bob Benton knows everybody in Pacific Palisades,” Lemmo said.

“He loves being a part of things and it’s a perfect opportunity,” said Benton’s wife, Sue Kohl, of her husband, who retired two years ago as Caruso began constructing the mall.

Chamber members circulating Mastro’s amid shrimp and steak tartar hors d’oeuvres seemed excited about the synergy and sizzle they believe Palisades Village is already activating all around Sunset and Swarthmore, including Sam Lagana, who as a youth worked at Benton’s store following his stint as an usher at the 1977-shuttered Bay Theatre. He looks forward to the Bay Theatre’s return.

“Fire it up! Can’t wait!” Lagana said.

Benton praised the community’s unique store owner (and Chamber member) Elyse Walker, whose namesake stores now have a presence on both sides of Sunset.

Late in the evening, Honorary Mayors Janice and Billy Crystal arrived to toast Benton, following a moment of silence for the victims of the Oct. 27 massacre at a Pittsburgh synagogue.

Before a crowd that included Chamber President-Elect Richard Blumenberg, Technology For You entrepreneur Ramis Sadrieh and Dave Powers of CHEAR Physical Therapy, Billy said he believed the Palisades Village has the potential to be “a great … town square [where people] come together, as it is what a community should be. It’s all about love and respect, being kind to each other. We can be leaders by showing everyone who we really are.”