Dr. Thomas grew up in San Diego and received her bachelor's degree in Animal Physiology from University of California San Diego. She then went on to UC Davis for veterinary school where she graduated in 2007. She completed her internship training, along with Dr. Riehl, at Loomis Basin Veterinary Clinic in the Sacramento area.

Dr. Thomas has worked as an emergency veterinarian since graduation as well as performing general practice and shelter medicine. Dr Thomas’ special medical interests include trauma, soft tissue surgery and transfusion medicine.

When she is not working, Dr. Thomas enjoys spending time with her husband and four children, riding her horse and taking her dogs to the beach. She is a mutt-lover and has 2 mixed breed dogs at home, Ollie and Chloe. She also has one very smart and mischievous cat named Lefty. 

Discussion Topics:

[4:37] What is a fear-free model? How does implementing this into your practice help your client?

[6:05] Important considerations for creating a healthy environment for your pet - especially puppies - while working at home

[7:00] Tips for dealing with transitions when you go back to work

[8:05] When should you get pet insurance?

[8:45] Differences between at-home care for cats vs. dogs during quarantine

[9:26] Is it possible to over-exercise your pet?

[11:30] Changes within the veterinary medicine and what’s on the horizon

[13:30] Importance of socialization and how owners can incorporate it with their pets

Resources mentioned:

Advanced Veterinary Care of San Elijo

Ohio State University’s Indoor Cat Initiative

Pet Ville Pet Hotel

American Veterinary Association - FAQ section

"All of the things that we experience in our life really get us to where we are today." - Mayor Rebecca Jones 

Mayor Rebecca Jones has been a long-time San Marcos resident and has served on the San Marcos City Council since January 2007 after being appointed to a vacated Council seat. She was re-elected in 2008, 2012 and again in 2016. Rebecca served as the Vice Mayor from 2012-2018. She is currently serving in her first term as Mayor, having been elected in November 2018.

In addition to her role as Mayor, Rebecca currently serves on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors, on the SANDAG Regional Housing Needs Assessment Committee (RHNA) and is an alternate for the SANDAG Executive Committee. Rebecca also serves as alternate on North County Dispatch Joint Powers Authority (NCDJPA), the League of California Cities (LOCC), and North County Transit (NCTD).

Mayor Jones is a strong supporter of business in San Marcos and believes that a healthy business base is an important part of a dynamic and thriving community. She is a member of the Lincoln Club of San Diego County, an organization that supports business, and has promoted streamlining city planning processes so that small businesses open in a shorter time frame so they are able to succeed. Rebecca also serves on the Board of the San Diego Regional EDC.

Prior to joining the San Marcos City Council, Rebecca served as a member of the San Marcos Creek Specific Plan Task Force from 2005 to 2007. She also previously co-owned a furniture marketing company for over 20 years that had over $100 million in annual sales.

Discussion Topics:

• Biggest challenge during the pandemic
• How Mayor Jones started in city government
• Get to know Mayor Jones
• City of San Marcos
• COVID-19 Response
• Mayor Jones Bio

Resources Mentioned:

• Boys and Girls Club San Marcos
• #WithLoveNorthCounty Staycation

If you enjoyed this episode, would you consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and helps to make a difference in getting important news out to our community.  

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

Produced by the San Marcos Chamber

Music: Driving Home by Dee Yan Key 

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

"That’s something that’s really neat about our Farmers' Market - we’re in a position now where we’re going to be able to keep bringing on new things." - Melanie Jamil, San Marcos Chamber Events Director 

Melanie Jamil has been the San Marcos Chamber’s Events Director for the past five years. Included in her duties of overseeing all the Chamber’s special events is the San Marcos Farmers Market. The Market is in its second year and is newly located in North City across from CSUSM. Melanie joins Chamber CEO Rick Rungaitis to discuss how the Chamber is able to keep the Farmers Market safe for shoppers. In honor of National Farmers Market Week, this discussion highlights the vendors, small businesses, and upcoming special collaborations with local chefs from San Marcos restaurants. 

Come out to the Farmers Market every Tuesday from 3-7pm for a variety of fresh organic produce, flowers, delicious food offerings, and crafts!

To learn more about the Farmers' Market:

sanmarcosfarmersmarket.com

Follow the San Marcos Farmers Market for weekly updates:

San Marcos Farmers Market on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SanMarcosFarmersMarketCA/

San Marcos Farmers Market on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sanmarcosfarmersmarket/

***

The California Competes Tax Credits provides a great opportunity for business owners that are looking to grow their business. Find out how you can apply by visiting: https://business.ca.gov/california-competes-tax-credit/

***

If you enjoyed this episode, would you consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and helps to make a difference in getting important news out to our community.

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

Prior to NCTD, Sean served in the United States Navy for 20 years.Sean was designated a Naval Flight Officer and served aboard ships and in squadrons that deployed worldwide.  His last tour was as the Safety Director onboard the USS CARL VINSON (CVN 70), which conducted a 10-month deployment in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE.   He has a MS in Operations Management from the University of Arkansas and a MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.  Additionally, he has undergraduate degrees from The Ohio State University and Johnson and Wales University. 

Discussion Topics:

• Overview of the North County Transit District
• How NCTD has adapted during COVID-19 and what safety measures have been implemented
• How NCTD works with local cities

Website: https://GoNCTD.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoNCTD

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoNCTD

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/GoNCTD/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GoNCTD

***

If you enjoyed this episode, would you consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts? It takes less than 60 seconds and helps to make a difference in getting important news out to our community.  

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

Prior to joining the San Marcos team, Jack Griffin served as city manager of Sebastopol, California, which is located in Sonoma County’s wine country. He has also worked for the City of Chula Vista as the director of public works and director of general services and the Township of Moon, Pennsylvania as their assistant township manager and planning director. Griffin has held several other public positions during his tenure, including work in municipal transportation management, engineering and animal control.

Griffin has overseen more than $250 million in municipal construction projects during his career including the renovation of Chula Vista’s civic center, police headquarters, three new fire stations, three new recreation centers and 12 new parks.

Griffin has also undertaken several difficult budget adoptions as city manager during the recession, has extensive labor relations experience and strong organizational management skills.

Discussion Topics:

• City’s Response to COVID-19 Pandemic
• Business Sustainability Program
• City Protests
• Creek Project

Contact Information for Jack Griffin:

[email protected]

(760) 744-1050 ext. 3115

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].
 

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

Mel Russell, RN, MSN Chief Nursing Officer at Palomar Health

Prior to assuming his current role as Chief Nursing Officer, Mel Russell served as the Director of Clinical Operations and the Director of Critical Care Services. He is a nursing leader with more than a decade of leadership experience in hospital settings.

Russell is committed to quality and safety, patient experience, and employee engagement. He has a proven record of accomplishment in process improvement, finance, and survey readiness.

His nursing career began in 1996 and he has been involved in a multitude of clinical, operational, and leadership roles. Russell has provided direction in concurrent roles as the Director for Critical Care, Trauma Program, Joint Dialysis Operations and the Float Pool.

Russell holds a Master’s of Science in Nursing with a reputation for aligning and building high-performing and outcome-driven teams.

 Mentioned:

Palomar Health

San Marcos Farmers' Market

Connect with Mel:

Mel Russell on LinkedIn

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

“Struggle is Optional … Success is A Choice!” - Miguel de Jesus, MBA, CPC (Certified Professional Coach) Executive Coach, and Sales Marketing Consultant

Miguel is a highly accomplished, results-oriented C-level leader with more than 30+ years of experience leading business management, global sales/marketing, for growth-oriented companies and CEOs, with two Fortune 500 companies.

A Leader in running a $200M Sales organization in new business revenue, as a VP, Sales, and most currently providing Leadership and Sales Training to professionals as a Leadership Consultant and Personal Development Coach.

He is a Digital Marketing professional helping business leaders, authors, speakers, coaches and other professionals to improve their Marketing efforts to gain more visitors, leads, and client conversions.

Resources Mentioned:

Senior Experience Program

Business Response, Recovery, and Resource Program

Miguel’s books, “Success Leaves Clues” and “So, What Do You Do”, are in release. http://amzn.to/1ad6e0P 

His most recent books “Let Your Emotional Intelligence Do The Talking!” & “Build To Grow”, for the entrepreneurial mindset, with Founders and creators in mind, are available in both Kindle and paperback version on Amazon 

Contact Miguel at  [email protected] or 760-750-4266

Sign up for the San Marcos Chamber's email newsletter at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/64awz8m

Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Email Rick at [email protected].

Discover the benefits of membership with the Chamber: sanmarcoschamber.com

Follow the San Marcos Chamber:

Twitter: twitter.com/SMChamberCA

Instagram: instagram.com/SanMarcosChamber

Facebook: facebook.com/sanmarcoschamber

YouTube: youtube.com/sanmarcoschamber

For our first episode of the San Marcos Chamber Podcast we introduce you to the thriving businesses and community of San Marcos; a vibrant, forward-thinking neighborhood recognized as being the educational hub of San Diego. Get to know business and community leaders of San Marcos, interviewed by our very own CEO, Rick Rungaitis.

If you have a question or feedback on this series, email Rick at [email protected].

Follow Us:

Our Website
Facebook
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Youtube

Music: Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/