Chamber History
Long before Hesperia became a city in 1988 there was a Chamber of Commerce.
It all began with Penn Phillips; a developer of Hesperia. The original
Chamber of commerce office was located in his corporate office in Azusa. During the late
1950's the first Chamber office was housed in the Dempsey building in what is
now known as "Old Town Hesperia" and was managed by Loren Pratt. Hesperia
Chamber of Commerce incorporated in 1954.
In 1964, the Chamber was turned over to the general business community, and the
office was moved to a small space in a building shared with the Leisure League
Thrift Store.
The first president of the chamber was Realtor Warren Watts, and at that time
the office was staffed by Lillian King. Percy Bakker was the second president
elect in 1966.
In 1965-1966 Penn Phillips divested himself from all of his holdings in
Hesperia. This included the Hesperia Inn, the Hesperia Country Club and many
other local landmarks.
With the departure of Penn Phillips the Chamber also took over Hesperia Days and
ran that event until it was taken over by the Kiwanis service organization.
The first fundraiser for the Chamber was to elect the Honorary Mayor. This
fundraiser was the primary source of revenue for the Chamber of Commerce until
the city was incorporated in 1988. Percy Bakker was the first Honorary Mayor of
Hesperia.
Hesperia Chamber of Commerce has a long, successful history of working with the
local business community and the city to help develop ongoing programs to
support business growth.
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