Invocation: Pete Pankey
Flag Salute: Justin Salters
Song: “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers as performed by Downtown Rotary (kind of)
Greeter: Ken Keller
SPOKE EDITOR PROFILE:
Jorge Barrientos is the director of marketing and public relations at Chain | Cohn | Clark law office. He serves on board of directors for a variety of community organizations including The Hub of Bakersfield, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (Kern County Chapter), and Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Education Foundation. When he’s not working or serving our community, you can find him traveling the world and hanging with his family, which includes wife Carla, 3-year-old son Julian, 1-year-old daughter Gianna Sol.
GUESTS:
- Robin Fleming (Justin Salters)
- Bailey Hale and Olexsandr Voievodin (Pat Collins)
- Aryan Eastory (Syd Ralphs)
- Barry Hill (Justin Leland)
- Ashley Cope and Madeline Abernathy (Cathy Abernathy)
- Jane Dong and Shawn Kerns (Lynnette Zelezny)
GOOD NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- John Schuler shared the promotion of his son to major in the U.S. Airforce.
- Pete Pankey’s granddaughter has an art piece displayed in the hallways of Bakersfield Museum of Art.
- Rotary is dark on 7/28 and returns 8/24 with our district governor. Wear pink and get loud!
ROAMING WITH ROWDY
- In a new segment brought to us be President Jim, CSU Bakersfield mascot “Rowdy” traveled with CSUB President Zelezny to Long Beach for a conference. Where in the world will we find Rowdy next?
PROGRAM
Rotarian and Greater Bakersfield Chamber president/CEO Nick Ortiz introduced us to John Paul (JP) Lake, who joined us to discuss B3K efforts. JP, of Rain For Rent fame, cofounder of Kern Initiative for Talent and Entrepreneurship, and managing partner of Kern Venture Group, serves as the B3K’s executive director.
So, what is B3K? It’s short for “Better Bakersfield and Boundless Kern”, a collaborative aimed to create 100,000 quality jobs countywide by 2031. JP talked about five drivers of economic development that focus on traded sectors, talent, innovation, infrastructure, and governance. JP said the theme of “Imagine” for Rotary rings true for B3K as well: “It’s the most powerful word in the English language, uniquely and distinctively a human gift,” he said. The group has also identified five sectors with the most promising growth:
- Advanced manufacturing
- Aerospace
- Business services
- Energy and carbon management
- Entrepreneurship
Efforts began in early 2020, and today B3K is in the implementation phase, activating plans, pursuing a portion of $600 million CERF grant, developing a more inclusive governance structure, and creating a metrics dashboard.
In answering a question, JP shared that agriculture, while currently one of the largest sectors in Kern County, is not a growth sector due to water issues, and technology expected to replace certain ag jobs.
Lastly, JP asked us, specifically private sector leaders, to get involved by joining the board, a committee, or simply sharing your business story. Learn more at
b3kprosperity.org/get-involved.
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