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Chairman of the Board, VCEDA
Howard J. Smith is Chairman of the Board of VCEDA, the Ventura County Economic Development Association, and was honored this year as one of the top fifty Business Leaders in the Central Coast by the Pacific Coast Business Times. A Past President of the Ojai Valley Chamber of Commerce, Smith has also served as a Financial Advisor to the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, the Ojai Community Hospital Foundation, the Ojai Valley Youth Foundation, the Wild Foundation, the Ojai Valley Sanitary District and numerous other clients and community organizations.
He recently organized an exhibit at the Ventura County Maritime Museum; "When China Ruled the Seas, The Treasure Fleets of the Ming Dynasty." Smith is an active member of the Estate Planning and Planned Giving Councils of Ventura County as well as the Business & Technology Partnership at CSUCI. He taught for five years at UCLA Extension and has lectured nationally. A frequent Op Ed contributor to the Ventura County Star and the Ojai Valley News, his articles have also appeared in the Washington Post, Horizon Magazine, The VCEDA News, The Journal of the Writers Guild of America, and numerous trade publications. Random House published the paperback edition of his second book "Opening the Doors to Hollywood."
Unlike other stockbrokers who tend to have a golf club in their hand during their off hours, Smith can more often than not be found with a pick axe, shovel or hoe in his.
Entries by this author:
March 18, 2007 - Heron's Gate
September 12, 2006 - The Garden of Quiet Beauty