(September 16, 2011) For more than 40 years, Dr. Les Malo has been an active member of his community. A founding partner and director of medicine at the Garden Grove Dog and Cat Hospital, and president of the Orange County Emergency Pet Clinic, Malo has always considered himself to be a responsible businessman. Through the hospital, Malo had long done charity work for his community, but had never needed to get involved with local advocacy efforts.

Les Malo explains his inspiration for getting involved.

When the city of Garden Grove began to consider removing the animal hospital from its location for a redevelopment project, Malo knew it was time to take action.

“I got started with the chamber because I was trying to protect my business,” Malo said. “For over 40 years we did charity work for our community. We did what every responsible member of the community does. But, all of a sudden [the city] made a decision to take the business out and I said, ‘No. Stop it!’”

Thanks to the Garden Grove Chamber’s support, the city dropped its plans to remove Malo’s hospital, which still stands at its original location today.

Of One, Many

Oftentimes, business owners are too busy running their businesses to demonstrate and speak out against what’s affecting them, Malo said. The chamber of commerce watches out for businesses and springs into action on their behalf.

“As a business person, you’re checking out the leaves of a tree,” he said. “By supporting a chamber of commerce, you have someone who’s looking at more than just the leaves of the tree, but at the whole forest.”

A chamber of commerce also is a difficult force to disregard. While a single person can be ignored by lawmakers, the chamber makes it hard for business issues to be overlooked, as the chamber is not just one voice; it represents a multitude of voices, emphasized Malo.

Advocacy Efforts

In June, the California Chamber of Commerce presented Malo with a 2011 Small Business Advocate of the Year Award to recognize him for his advocacy efforts on behalf of small businesses.

“Dr. Malo has always been a champion of small business. This recognition by the California Chamber of Commerce validates his tireless hours of volunteerism and the hard work he has put in on behalf of the Garden Grove business community in order to ensure Garden Grove remains a great place to do business,” said Jeremy Harris, president and CEO of the Garden Grove Chamber, in a press release.

Malo is the voluntary chairperson of the Garden Grove Chamber’s newly formed government affairs committee and chairs an active monthly meeting agenda through which the chamber takes positions on local, state and federal legislation.

Under Malo’s leadership in 2010, the chamber reviewed, debated and took positions on no fewer than 55 critical issues to the Garden Grove business community. One of these critical issues was the release of the chamber’s first official vote record, which shows how local state elected officials side with businesses in the community.

Malo also helped the chamber lead the early efforts for Proposition 22, the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and Transportation Act, by partnering with the League of California Cities in supporting the ballot measure, and bringing awareness to the local business community about the importance of protecting vital, dedicated transportation and public transit funds from state borrowing.

‘If Not Now, When?’

The chamber establishes its agenda based on what issues it thinks are the most important to local business, Malo said.

“We want to keep our businesses,” he said. “We want to make sure that government doesn’t do anything that makes us less competitive to other cities and, in a bigger picture, business in other states.”

Anything that over-regulates or increases the cost of manufacturing will limit businesses’ ability to compete. This in turn endangers businesses.

“If we perish, jobs perish,” he added.

Chambers of commerce allow people to get involved in a wide variety of areas.

Oftentimes, people don’t realize all the things that need to be done, but “they need to be done,” Malo said. “The tentacles of business are everywhere and the reliance of one on another is everywhere...So many things have an impact on your business. And being a member of a chamber of commerce makes you realize what you can do to influence them.”

Moreover, members of the business community can help legislators who simply don’t get how business operates, he pointed out.

“We see the unexpected consequences other people can’t see. If you’re an informed businessman, you can anticipate that and inform people,” Malo said.

This is one of the reasons advocacy is so important, he stressed.

“You sit back there and you think that from some magic the world is going to know what to bring to the party, but it’s not,” he said.

To illustrate the importance of what chambers of commerce do, Malo recalled the words of Hillel, an ancient rabbi and philosopher: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And if I am for myself alone, what am I? And if not now, when?”

“If business doesn’t take up its own advocacy, who do we expect will? If business is just for business, what is it?” Malo asked. “The chamber is proof that it’s not only for it and itself...If we don’t stand up and tell the people, ‘hey we [businesses] are not the bad guys,’ nobody gets it.”

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