A rendering of the Tulare Business Innovation Zone building that will soon take on new resident startups. Via City of Tulare

With a $12 million, 5,000-seat amphitheater and a courthouse-turned-business accelerator on the horizon, Tulare is a city on the move.

So, it’s no surprise the Tulare Chamber of Commerce is also making waves, honored in Sacramento last week as one of 12 recipients of the 2024 President’s Circle Award from the California Chamber of Commerce.

In its 16th year, the President’s Circle Award recognizes chambers putting forth “exceptional efforts in business advocacy and helping their members comply with complex California employment laws,” according to the CalChamber.

This is the 7th year in a row the Tulare Chamber of Commerce has won the award, said President and CEO Donnette Silva Carter.

“Our Tulare Chamber of Commerce works very hard to be the voice of business for our local area,” Silva Carter said. “It’s exciting to stand among the 12 other chambers in the state working so diligently on the state of the political climate to help businesses thrive “

Other President’s Circle Award winning chambers include the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Greater Conejo Valley, Greater Riverside and Long Beach Area Chambers of Commerce, which have won it all 16 years.

The Tulare Chamber has five staff members as well as a team of board members and ambassadors working on behalf of 600 chamber members that employ 14,000 people, Silva Carter said.

There are some significant economic development initiatives taking shape in Tulare, Silva Carter said, including new master plans for downtown and the southeast area centered around the International Agri-Center.

Concerts could be booked as early as the fall for a new amphitheater in Tulare’s Zumwalt park.

Spade Entertainment in Tulare will produce concerts at the venue on behalf of the city.

Within 60 days, the Tulare Chamber expects to start taking applications for the Tulare Business Innovation Zone, a micro-enterprise and small business center with space for up to two dozen startups.

The Tulare Business Innovation Zone is located in a former county courthouse building.