STUDIO CITY : John Nelson Elected Chamber President

A longtime civic leader has been elected president of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce.

John Nelson, owner of Nelson Texaco on Ventura Boulevard, will take the helm of the business organization from current president Jave McWilliams at the installation ceremony on June 22.

“I feel very honored that they had enough confidence in me” to be selected for the job, Nelson said Thursday.

Nelson is board chairman of the East Valley Family YMCA and is a past president of the Rotary Club of Studio City-Sherman Oaks. He has been an active member of the chamber, serving as its treasurer for two years and as chairman of the zoning committee.

In addition, he has been involved with the Ventura Boulevard Specific Plan Streetscape Committee and the Studio City 5K/10K Run.

Nelson said that as chamber president, he will focus on increasing the organization’s membership, which now stands at 185 people. “The more participation we can get, the more impact we will have on businesses in Studio City,” he said.

As Nelson sees it, the biggest issue facing local businesses is a critical shortage of parking on Ventura Boulevard. The chamber is working with city government and the Studio City Residents Assn. to build a public parking lot.

Other incoming officers are Carol Zide, first vice president; Paul Simon, second vice president; insurance agent Kathleen Powers and attorney Joann Deutch, secretaries, and property owner Louise Dedeyne, treasurer. Their term of office begins July 1.

Elected as directors were Alfred Annino, Earl Prebell, Ben Frankel, Bob Marks, Mary Hulme, Herbert Piken and Susan Frieder.