AROUND THE VALLEYS

Universal Studios Hollywood used a major downtown Los Angeles convention for association executives to show off its new park features in hopes of attracting event bookings, officials at the amusement park said. About 100 event planners visiting Los Angeles for the American Society of Association Executives’ Annual Meeting & Exposition toured the park Aug. 24, which was the last day of the four-day convention. The convention was expected have an economic impact of about $15 million on the city of Los Angeles and is expected to attract about $500 million in event bookings to the area over the next two years. The event planners toured the theme park’s new attractions, including its King Kong 360 3-D show and its New York set streets that were added just a few months ago, said Thomas See, the amusement park’s vice president of sales. The group also got to see Universal Studios Hollywood’s Globe Theater, which is used for events. The amusement park recently upgraded the theater’s technology to high-definition, See said. “Ideally, we want to be perceived as an integrated part within Los Angeles and a must-do for conventions when they decide to come upon Los Angeles,” he said. The convention’s kick-off golf fundraiser event also took place in the San Fernando Valley. It was held at the Angeles National Golf Club in Sunland on Aug. 20. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY Woodland Hills Sale: Great American Group Inc. sold off the assets of the corporate offices of Movie Gallery Inc. The sale featured a large selection of office furnishings, computers, servers, consumer electronics, and a wide variety of motion picture and video game memorabilia, promotional materials, toys, and other collectible items. Great American conducted a live auction at the Movie Gallery headquarters in Wilsonville, Ore. with a simultaneous internet webcast for online bidding. “This auction offers commercial and industrial buyers a chance to acquire some very nice furniture and equipment at what may represent significant savings over brand new merchandise,” said Mark Weitz, President of Great American Group’s Wholesale and Industrial Services. “Many of the movie and game-related items are promotional, out-of-print, or hard-to-find, and potentially of great interest to memorabilia collectors.” Canoga Park Coins: The 4th annual Miles of Quarters fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club of the West Valley takes place starting at 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 11 at the Westfield Topanga shopping mall. Donors can give quarters that will contribute to reaching one mile in length. One foot of quarters equals $3.25, so the full mile raises $17,160. The event also includes magic shows, a deejay, dignitaries, and other entertainment throughout the day. Burbank Movie: The Burbank Green Alliance hosts a screening of “Crude — the Real Price of Oil” as part of its Eco-Conscious film series. The screening takes place starting at 7 p.m., Sept. 15 at the Ahmanson Space, Woodbury University. Stefanie Sekich Quinn, Surfrider Foundation HQ and Jack Eidt, Wild Heritage Planners, will be the speakers. “Crude” chronicles the epic battle to hold oil giant Chevron (formerly Texaco) accountable for its systematic contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon. A $10 donation is suggested to attend. Studio City Network: Two grassroots women’s business networking groups collaborated for the first time, holding a “Manis and Martinis” event at a nail salon in Studio City. Members of Women to Women, based in Encino, and Women in the Entertainment Industry, based in Los Angeles, came together on Aug. 18 for discounted manicures, hors d’oeuvres, martinis and prizes. The event was held at ROBB OPI Concept Salon on Ventura Boulevard where refreshments were served on the outside patio. Women to Women’s co-founders Nicole Kamm and Vanessa Soto Nellis of Lewitt Hackman law firm teamed with Women in the Entertainment Industry’s co-founder Jeanine Percival Wright of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. to plan the event. ENcino Online: California United Bank launched its redesigned website featuring new and interactive content. The new website comes at the heels of the bank’s five year anniversary and strives to reflect many of the banks core values such as dedication to customers, the community, and technological innovation. In addition to updated lists of the bank’s products, the website will include a blog written by bank president and CEO David Rainer in an effort to establish a more personal dialogue with the community. The blog, which will feature CUB news and events where website users will have the ability to comment, marks one of the first authored by a commercial bank president in Southern California. ANTELOPE VALLEY Lancaster Motors: Car dealer owner Rick Clutter will open Antelope Valley Subaru in an empty dealership building at the Lancaster Auto Mall. Clutter, who has operated Lancaster Honda for more than 20 years, chose to go with Subaru as his newest offering because of the safety of the vehicles and high customer loyalty. Antelope Valley Subaru will be located in what had been a Mitsubishi dealership before closing. While the recession has been tough on auto dealers and there is no sure thing the Subaru dealership will be a success one has to have faith and a plan to execute, Clutter said. His plans at the new dealership are the same Clutter has at the Honda dealership: giving the best deals and the best service by the best employees. “If I take care of my customers and my employees, they will take care of me,” Clutter said. VENTURA COUNTY Camarillo Support: Biopharmaceutical giant Amgen Inc. donated $35,000 for the masters programs at California State University, Channel Islands. The donation provides financial assistance to graduate students wishing to enter the biotechnology field. Students in the Biotechnology and Bioinformatics program and the Biotechnology and MBA dual degree program will, in turn, provide an educated workforce for the many biotech companies surrounding the campus. This is the third year in a row Amgen has donated scholarship funds.