(September 17, 2010) Debbie Hunsaker is always on the go. The Fresno native and 2010 California Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advocate of the Year award-winner is so busy because, as a business owner herself, she understands the importance of being politically active.

Debbie Hunsaker

“You influence the decision-making the best that you can and you try to make sure quality people and business-friendly people get elected, but I think even more important is just being educated and knowing what could have a detrimental impact on your business,” Hunsaker said.

Hunsaker, the president of Alert-O-Lite, Inc., a family-owned construction company that rents, sells and services traffic control equipment, is involved in everything from the Fresno Better Business Bureau Board (business ethics board), to the Measure C (transportation funding) Committee, to the Greater Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee.

“My dad was a workaholic and I think I followed in his footsteps,” Hunsaker said.

Hunsaker took over as president of Alert-O-Lite for her father in 1992.

Transportation

In the late 1970s, Hunsaker, as a then-employee at Alert-O-Lite, got involved with the Fresno Chamber to “influence transportation decisions and be aware of what those transportation decisions are.” The experience helped introduced her to many new people including leaders in the local transportation industry.

After serving on the chamber’s transportation committee, and later becoming chair of that committee, the chamber asked Hunsaker to join the board of directors and in January 2009, Hunsaker became chair of the board.

The leadership role is a result of the many years of experience and dedication to business advocacy, as noted by her colleagues.

“Debbie’s passion and persistence has helped to make the Fresno Chamber a powerful force in the community,” said Kerri Ginis, Fresno Chamber government affairs manager. “She has proven herself to be a local expert on transportation issues.”

‘Buy Local’ Campaign

Well aware of the state of the economy, Hunsaker had a plan going into her new role as board chair last January.

“My whole thing was, we need to do a better job of taking care of our chamber members,” Hunsaker said. “We need to make sure we are providing our businesses, especially our small businesses, what they need to have in order to survive this down economy.”

To develop on this idea, Hunsaker, with the help of the board of directors, created the idea of a “Buy Local” campaign—a campaign that encouraged residents of Fresno to do business with local businesses which, in turn, would help stimulate the local economy.

The campaign received high acclaim from city hall and county government officials and resulted in more tax dollars for the Fresno area in 2009.

“I think everyone was proud at the way this rolled out and how successful it was,” Hunsaker said. “We got a lot of positive feedback from our members.”

D.C., Sacramento Lobbying

Last summer, Hunsaker was part of a group of Fresno Chamber members who traveled to Washington D.C. to lobby to stop card-check legislation from moving forward.

Members from 150 local chambers across the country were involved in the trip. As the Fresno Chamber board chair, Hunsaker was selected to participate in a private meeting with Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“We had the opportunity to say what our experiences had been with unions and felt that the current process was working and that card-check would only add undo pressure to the process—these were real life stories,” Hunsaker said.

Hunsaker felt the trip to be a worthy cause as Feinstein ended up not voting for the card-check legislation.

“I feel very strongly that our group helped influence her decision to not vote on it at that time,” Hunsaker said.

Hunsaker also visited Sacramento several times last year to help the Fresno Chamber take an active role in supporting issues that benefit the business community such as advocating for flexible work schedules, and against legislation harmful to business such as a single-payer health care system. During one of those lobbying trips, Hunsaker took part in a private half-hour meeting with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. They discussed the budget, water and several other items that had an impact on the Fresno area.

“He didn’t want us to leave, it was cute,” Hunsaker said. “You could tell he wanted to continue the conversation on issues that we cared about. This just reinforced his commitment to Fresno and the valley.”

Hunsaker said Governor Schwarzenegger is one of the first governors she can remember who has really spent time in the Fresno area communicating about the needs of the city and the surrounding agricultural areas.

She may be right, as The Fresno Bee recently reported that Governor Schwarzenegger has visited Fresno at least 70 times during his governorship.

Other Duties

On top of her duties with the Fresno Better Business Bureau Board, the chamber’s Governmental Affairs Committee and Alert-O-Lite, Hunsaker also serves as chair of the chamber’s political action committee and sits on the executive committee.

“I don’t know if I am just crazy for being so politically active, but I am one of those people, if you give me five minutes I will fill it with 10,” Hunsaker said.