Associated Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley Collection, 1955-1977 | Special Collections & Archives

The Associated Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley Collection and its predecessor organization, the West Valley Associated Chambers of Commerce, reveal the rapid growth of the organization during the post-war years and the corresponding growth of the San Fernando Valley business community. The collection consists of correspondence, minutes and agendas, by-laws, articles of incorporation, city planning reports, resolutions, rosters of Chamber delegates and officers, printed brochures and literature, newspaper clippings, newsletters and press releases. The materials help to explain the history of commerce and community development in the San Fernando Valley since 1955. Gaps may exist in documentation of the Chamber's first twenty-five years [1927-1954] as an organized body. The collection has been divided into five series: Correspondence (1958-1976), Minutes and Agendas (1955-1978), Administrative Records (1956-1976), Issues and Topics (1958-1976), and Publicity Files (1955-1976.)

Series I, Correspondence, consists of letters and memoranda exchanged between officers of the organization and officers of the various member Chambers. The series also contains correspondence relative to the Associated Chambers' advocacy of community development in the San Fernando Valley through legislation. Included are letters from various local, state and federal government representatives and officials such as United States Senators Thomas Kuchel and George Murphy, United States Congressmen Alphonzo Bell and James Corman, California Governors Edmund Brown and Ronald Reagan, State Senators Tom Carrell and Thomas Rees, Assemblymen Lou Cusanovich and Charles Conrad, Los Angeles County Supervisors Warren Dorn and Kenneth Hahn, Los Angeles Mayors Tom Bradley and Sam Yorty, and Los Angeles City Councilmen Ernani Bernardi and John Ferraro. All correspondence in the series is arranged chronologically.

Series II, Minutes and Agendas, documents the contributions of the various member Chambers of the San Fernando Valley regarding the formulation of administrative policy. Included are the minutes and agendas of the Associated Chambers' Board of Directors and Executive Committee. The series is arranged in chronological order.

Series III, Administrative Records, consists of attendance records, articles of incorporation, ballot propositions, by-laws and amendments, financial records, reports, resolutions, senate and assembly bills, and rosters of Chamber delegate committee members and officers. Also included in this series is a history of the ACCSFV, which depicts the early phase of the organization (1927-1954). The files are arranged alphabetically according to subject heading and chronologically within.

Series IV, Issues and Topics, consists of printed information published by various outside organizations. The material deals with issues and topics which were of interest to the ACCSFV, as well as items which the Chamber kept on hand for their own reference. Included are press releases, reports and subject files. The series provides information on a variety of topics from city planning to California business trends to rapid transit. The series is arranged alphabetically by subject.

Series V, Publicity Files, consists of newspaper clippings. Newspaper clipped articles, most of which were taken from issues of San Fernando Valley newspapers like the Valley News [now Daily News] and the San Fernando Valley Times, document the civic and organizational activities of the ACCSFV over a thirty year period. The articles provide a reliable source of information on the recent history of the Association and the issues and events with which it was concerned and are filed chronologically.