Rima Shah
Rick Dinger might be only half kidding when he jokes about taking
over the world.
After all, the hyperactive civic leader has a lot going these
days. But first things first. Dinger has the Crescenta Valley Chamber
of Commerce to mostly think about since he took over as the
organization's president at the beginning of the year.
But Crescenta Valley business leaders needn't fear a lot of change
for change's sake.
"I look forward to building on the past successes," Dinger, 38,
said. "This is a well-run chamber of commerce. I want to enhance
things they've done in the past."
For instance, Dinger aims to attract more customers to the
chamber's events. He also wants to put on more events to drum up
business.
"[The chamber] is too good of a secret," Dinger said. "I want to
get the word out and increase our membership."
Dinger, who ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2003, also aims
to make the chamber more politically active, he said.
Because La Crescenta is split between Glendale and unincorporated
Los Angeles County, it is hard to get adequate representation from
elected officials, he said.
Residents sometimes don't know which elected leader to approach,
he said.
Dinger may run for elected office again sometime, but he has no
specific plans to do so now.
Public office is not new to Dinger. Before joining the Crescenta
Valley Chamber of Commerce, he was president of the Montrose Verdugo
Chamber of Commerce where he helped increase membership and organized
a successful Oktoberfest, he said.
He is the president of Crescenta Valley Insurance, an independent
insurance agency started by his father in 1969. Dinger started
working there in 1985 and took over as president in 1999.
Dinger, who lives in Glendale with his wife and three sons, is
president of the Crescenta Valley Sheriff Support Group, belongs to
the local Rotary Club and was also the honorary mayor of La
Crescenta.
"I am a pretty good multi-tasker," Dinger said.
Jean Maluccio, executive director of the Crescenta Valley Chamber,
recruited him when his term in office in Montrose expired.
"Rick was always very active in Montrose," Maluccio said. "If he
says he's going to do something, he does it and follows through."
