Looking to meet at least 35 new business contacts each week? The Fullerton Chamber Networking Luncheons are held each Tuesday and offer business representatives the chance to meet and exchange referrals with nearly 40 people. Cost includes lunch, leads, and a presentation from a fellow member.

Reservations are required by the preceding Friday at 4 p.m., for the $15 rate, or $20 at the door, space permitting. Luncheons are held at the Colette’s Catering at the Meridian Club, 1535 Deerpark Drive, in Fullerton.

Tuesday, February 7, Teri Peterson with USA Mobile Drug Testing of Orange County will review her services so employers will know their options during the hiring process.

George Fieldhouse with Vector Financial Group will further explain their retirement planning services on February 14.

February 21 will feature Dr. Gaurav Goswami, with Precise Intervention, who will share their services for combating varicose veins.

Closing out the month on February 28 will be Dr. Paul Kwik with Body Intelligent Center, who will offer solutions for continuing a healthy lifestyle in 2012.

Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz today (Feb. 3) announced that Michael F. Sellers has informed the city that he will retire from his position as chief of the Fullerton Police Department.

The retirement will be effective Feb. 18.

Felz, who wished Sellers well, said the retirement will help the department and the city in the process of moving forward.   He added no decision has been made as to a permanent replacement.

“We will be reviewing our options with the Council in the coming months and will determine the best course for the city in finding a replacement,” Felz said.

Police Capt. Dan Hughes, a 28-year veteran of the department, will serve as acting chief until a decision is made on a permanent replacement.

Sellers, who became Fullerton’s chief in May 2009, has been on medical leave since Aug. 9, 2011.  The announcement of his retirement coincides with resolution of Sellers’ workers’ compensation claim.

That resolution involves a payment of $127,500 to Sellers, plus $22,500 in legal fees.  In addition, it relieves the city from any future responsibility for medical costs related to the claim.

William McCormick, the attorney who represented the City of Fullerton in the workers compensation claim, said he is pleased with the outcome of the case.  “Chief Sellers’ treating doctor and an independent doctor both said he was unable to return to work at his job, and the settlement ended any potential liability for future medical treatment costs, which could be significant,” McCormick said.

Sellers will be eligible for an industrial disability retirement based on findings from his doctor, as well as from the city’s doctor, who determined Sellers is disabled from performing his job as Fullerton’s police chief.

Sellers began his career in law enforcement in 1976 when he joined the La Palma Police Department.  He left La Palma in 1995 for a captain’s position with the Los Alamitos Police Department.  In 1997, he was made chief of the Seal Beach Police Department.  He accepted the post of Laguna Beach chief of police in 2005.

He left Laguna Beach to become Fullerton’s chief of police.

My Giggle Place, located at 160 E. Imperial Highway, celebrated one year of business on Thursday, Feb. 2. My Giggle Place is an indoor playground that specializes in birthday parties and offers ”open play” hours Mon-Fri,  and caters to private parties on Saturday and Sunday. For more information please call

My Giggle Place celebrates 1 year of membership, Feb. 2, 2012, located at 160 E. Imperial Hwy in Fullerton.

Gateway Mortgage Group LLC
Linda Piper
3655 Torrance Blvd., Suite 420, Torrance
(310) 316-8786
Mortgage & Escrow

Home Savings of America
John Ortega
(714) 319-8465
Mortgage & Escrow

Cathy Kaihara RN, Wellness Coordinator
(714) 337-4760
Health & Nutrition

Mammoth Electric
Carri Morones
170 E. Liberty Ave., Anaheim
(714) 446-8880
Complete electrical services for commercial and industrial new construction, remodel, tenant improvement, maintenance and design/build using high standards of workmanship and years of experience.
Electricians

Johanna Rosenthal MD Inc.
Johanna Rosenthal
1440 N. Harbor Blvd. #100
(714) 870-0000
This is a general Neurology practice. We see adult and pediatric patients. Our office offers Neurrodiagnostic testing, electromyography, nerve conduction studies, and evoked potentials.
Physicians and Surgeons

Table 7 Events
Stephanie Hassan
PO Box 10275, Fullerton
(714) 343-0707
Events

Tutor Doctor
Vanessa Sanders
3822 Campus Dr., Newport Beach
(714) 655-8374
Utilizing in-home, one-on-one tutoring, we provide the highest quality learning experiences that help each student to achieve their potential and goals.
Educational Resources

Young artists in first through sixth grades are invited to explore the myriad facets of the art world through the popular “Wednesday Art Studio” sponsored by the Fullerton Museum Center.

There are three sessions of the innovative education program:  Session A – now through Feb. 15, and Session B – Feb. 29-March 21, and Session C – April 25-May 16.

All sessions are held from 2-4 p.m. Wednesdays at the Museum, 301 N. Pomona Ave., one block east of Harbor Boulevard, in Downtown Fullerton.

Led by Aimee Aul, museum educator, participants learn about various art media and techniques.  Through exploration, demonstration and instruction, participants gain a working knowledge of art and the creative process in a loosely structured, highly individualized setting.  Lessons include drawing, painting, beads, clay, fused glass, metal and more.

Aul noted the studio is also an opportunity for participants to “make new friends and have fun creating original art.”

Fee for the program is $35 per student for members of the Fullerton Museum Center per student, and $40 for the general public.  The fee includes all materials.  Paid pre-registration is required, and there will be no refund for missed classes.

Registration and further information may be obtained by calling the Fullerton Museum Center at (714) 738-6545.  Museum hours are noon-4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and noon – 8 p.m. Thursday.

Registration may also be completed on-line by logging onto fullertoneconnect.com.

Parents of children requiring special accommodations to participate in the Wednesday Art Studio are asked to notify the Museum staff when registering.

The award-winning Fullerton Museum Center is a division of the City of Fullerton Parks and Recreation Department.

A small business workshop will be held Wednesday, February 8  from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ehler’s Community Center in Buena Park, 8150 Knott Avenue – in the Heritage Center.

Topics:

• Resources Available to Start and Grow Your Small Business
• Opportunities for Women Owned Businesses in Federal Contracting
• Benefits of Locating in A HUBZone
• Certifications to Help Small Businesses Get Government Contracts

Lenders Panel of local lenders will discuss Availability of Capital and How to Best Position Your Company to get Needed Funds.

Congressman Ed Royce is sponsoring this event , provided at no cost to attendees.  The event is presented by U.S. Small Business Administration staff from the  Santa Ana District Office.

If you have questions or need more detailed information please call Jill Andrews at 714-560-7466.

Green Bliss- the Café (opening soon) in downtown Fullerton, is looking to collaborate and to promote local artists. The owners are seeking creative, eco-friendly art to display and offer for sale. Once the cafe opens, Green Bliss will be participate  in the monthly Fullerton Artwalk.

Interested artists please contact celebrate@green-bliss.com.

Steven Harrigan, New York Times  best-selling author of Remember Ben Clayton, three time Edgar Award winner author–and Orange County’s own– T. Jefferson Parker, whose eighteenth crime novel, The Jaguar, was recently released,  and award-winning crime novelist, Denise Hamilton, creator of the popular Eve Diamond mystery series and newest stand-alone novel, Damage Control,  will be the keynote speakers at the 20^th annual “A Day of Authors” on March 24, 2012 at Cal State Fullerton. They are among nine successful novelists hosted by the ALPHA Auxiliary to the Assistance League of Fullerton.

Proceeds from the annual event benefit local philanthropies including Operation School Bell, which provides disadvantaged children with backpacks, books and hygiene kits; Tiny Togs, which supplies St. Jude Medical Center’s clinics with newborn layettes and children’s books; Santa’s Closet, offering practical household items and personal clothing to local families in need; and Special Family-Emergency Needs providing furniture and clothing for special needs children.

Over the past twenty years, ALPHA has donated nearly $500,000 in profits to charitable programs from this regularly sold-out event.

The $85 admission includes author presentations, a continental breakfast, three-course lunch and a chance to win valuable gift baskets. Barnes and Noble will provide the authors’ books for purchase and signing. Day of Authors offers an opportunity for passionate book lovers to interact with one another, meet nationally celebrated authors and help support worthy local area philanthropies.

Guests also may select two different break-out sessions featuring the following speakers:

• Tom McNeal: winner of the James Michener Prize for his first novel “Goodnight, Nebraska,” McNeal released his second novel, “To Be Sung Underwater,” in 2011.  The novel examines the effect a broken relationship can have on an individual as he or she moves through life.
• Jim Newton: a former U.S. Senator and Distinguished Professor for Georgetown University, Newton’s work, “Justice for All:  Earl Warren and the Nation He Made,” is considered a seminal work of 20^th century American history.  His latest work, “Eisenhower:  The White House Years,” paints a vivid picture of the man and the leader.
• Laura Rhoton McNeal: a retired high school English teacher, McNeal’s solo debut work, “Dark Water” was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the San Diego Book Award in young people’s literature in 2011.  Prior to that, she co-authored, with husband Tom, four young adult novels.
• Ron Hansen: Hansen’s novels frequently blend history with themes of unconditional love, redemption and resurrection.  His critically acclaimed “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award.  His recent novels are “Exiles,” about the 1975 shipwreck of the “Deutschland,” and “A Wild Surge of Passion,” a true crime novel set in 1927.
• Susan Straight’s seven novels explore human connection and belonging. Her latest novel, Take One Candle Light a Room, reflects the emotional memory of bloodlines (i.e. the anguish of rape, the abuses of slavery) as they affect subsequent generations.
• Mary Ann Fraser: Author-illustrator of over 60 books (fiction and non-fiction) for children, her recent titles are: Ogg and Bob Meet Mammoth and, written with her son Ian Fraser, Ogg and Bob: Life with Mammoth

For more information please email ADayOfAuthors2012@att.net.

The Museum of Teaching (MOTAL) and Learning is seeking items for its March 3 annual white elephant sale.

MOTAL will hold its second annual White Elephant sale March 3 from 7-11 a.m. at Morningside Presbyterian Church, 1201 Dorothy Lane in Fullerton. Boy Scout Troop #97 will also hold a pancake breakfast at the church at the same time. MOTAL’s sale will take place in March when nationally known museums also hold theirs, such as Oakland Museum in Northern California (http://www.whiteelephantsale.org/), Huntsville Museum of Art (http://www.hsvmuseum.org/events/white-elephant-sale-2012/) and also the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum in Virginia (http://edithbollingwilson.org/).

Items are needed for the sale, which include collector’s items, art, jewelry, clothing and toys. They can be brought to the church’s reception room March 2 from 12-noon to 6 p.m. For information, call Mary at 714-879-7267.

Proceeds from the sale will benefit MOTAL’s educational activities. Check out their Web site http://www.motal.org for more information.

Arborland Education and Youth Activity Center celebrated another Chinese New Year with the Elks of Fullerton on January 21, 2012. The event was held at the Fullerton Elks Lodge at 1400 Elks View Lane. The celebration, aptly called “A Night in Shanghai,” was well-attended and very well enjoyed.

Dinner was served first, followed by a variety show presented by Arborland, Lightning Tai Chi, and Ling-Fong Dance Group. Stunning dance performances, impressive musical presentations and amazing martial arts exercises peppered the celebration. It was truly a night of magic and friendship that will no doubt bring another fantastic lunar year to all.

Aside from these yearly collaborations, the Fullerton Elks are avid supporters of the Arborland institutions. Earlier this year, Arborland was one of the recipient schools of the dictionaries donated by the Elks. This generous gesture is greatly appreciated.

For more information about this or other Arborland events, please call (714) 871-3111 or visit www.arborland.com.