ERBE SET TO HELM AGENCY IN 2007 CHAMBER'S PROGRESS EYED.

Byline: ERIC LEACH Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY -- Richard S. ``Dick'' Erbe has a special appreciation for the creativity of Simi Valley's inventors and business entrepreneurs who have helped change the community dramatically since he came here in the early 1990s.

Now, in his new role as chairman of the board for the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce, he is looking forward to helping local residents and tourists learn more about the community and the chamber's activities, including the spring street fair, the city's first youth-oriented ``street scene'' festival in the fall and a new magazine for tourists coming out in March.

Erbe was installed as the 2007 chairman at a Friday luncheon, along with other new board members.

``I've lived in Simi Valley since early 1993, so I've seen lots of changes,'' he said. ``I'm out and about and see a lot of people. There is a general sense of well-being here.''

The Simi Valley Town Center mall has been good for the city's businesses, has increased tax revenues, attracts shoppers from out of town and improves the quality of life for local residents, he said.

``One of the complaints I used to hear a lot was that there were not enough good restaurants,'' he said. ``Now there are plenty, in the Town Center and elsewhere.''

Erbe said he hopes to help Simi Valley residents this coming year learn more about the chamber-sponsored events and the diversity of the business community.

``I think people would be amazed by the number of events we put on during the year to serve our members, promote our community and enhance business opportunities,'' he said.

In the coming year, the chamber wants to look more carefully at the changing demographics of Simi Valley's work force and at the growing number of home-based businesses, some made possible by the Internet, he said.

``A lot of people here wake up in the morning, have a cup of coffee and walk into their home offices,'' he said.

Colleen Janssen, marketing director and community outreach specialist for the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, is the chamber's vice chairwoman of tourism and marketing and has been working with Erbe for several years.

``He brings wonderful leadership skills to the board. He's done a great job with every role he's taken with the chamber,'' she said. ``He will bring us forward. Like any other business, the chamber has to grow and progress.''

The magazine, called Images of Simi Valley, is part of that progression, she said. It will highlight what there is to see and do in and around Simi Valley.

``The hotels here in town are full almost all the time,'' she said. ``There are tens of thousands of people visiting our community, and the magazine will be available at hotels.''

Leigh Nixon, the chamber's president, said Erbe is thorough, a good leader and an excellent spokesman on behalf of the chamber.

``He's very likable,'' she said. ``People really take to him.''

In addition to being a patent attorney, Erbe is a mechanical engineer who worked 15 years for Walt Disney Imagineering, primarily in the legal department.

Although he has clients across the country, Simi Valley has its share of very creative people, he noted.

``It's the best thing every time someone brings me something new,'' he said.

For example, he recently helped patent a new kind of pillow for a chiropractor.

``I use the pillow. It's been a real boon to me,'' he said. ``It amazes me at what people think up.''

As for the chamber, Erbe said he is looking forward to the new year, adding, ``We've got a good membership and a wonderful board of directors.''

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Photo: New Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce chairman Richard S. Erbe, right, is seen with Leigh Nixon, chamber president.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer