What is the MBA?

The MBA is the Morena Business Association. For more details, including our goals, click here.

Who are the members?

Most of our members are business people from the Morena area. They either own a local business, or they work in a local business, or they have regular dealings with a local business, or they are a landlord in the Morena area. Some of our members are community-minded residents, volunteering their time to help improve the Morena area.

How much are the dues?

There are no dues.

Who can join?

Anyone may join.

How often do you meet?

General meetings are held on the third Tuesday of each month at 2 pm at Baci's Italian Restaurant.

What is the Executive Committee?

Four MBA members, elected by the MBA membership, and the BID Council representative serve on the Executive Committee. The members of the Executive Committee plan and prepare for each monthly meeting, arrange for guest speakers, coordinate the agenda, and assign meeting topics to Committee members. The Executive Committee also implements action items voted at monthly meetings. Recent examples of action items include designing the MBA logo, submitting the favorite logo designs to the general membership for a vote, acquiring an Internet domain and Internet Service Provider, setting up a Web site, writing and distributing a monthly newsletter, successfully applying for a Micro District Block Grant, and preparing and submitting documents that establish the MBA as an non-profit corporation.

What is the Finance Committee?

Four MBA members serve on the Finance Committee. The Chairman of the Finance Committee is the Executive Committee Treasurer. Each of the Finance Committee members has a career job in the financial industry (tax preparation, tax planning, financial planning, estate planning, setting up corporations, banking, accounting, etc.). The Finance Committee is currently researching, preparing, and filing our corporate documents. Other responsibilities will include financial planning and budgeting for MBA promotional activities, auditing financial transactions, and submitting periodic reports and returns to government agencies.

What is the Promotion Committee?

The Promotion Committee plans promotional activities (business mixers, business directory, special events, etc.). Two MBA members currently serve on this Committee.

What is the Communication Committee?

The Communication Committee oversees preparation and publication of the monthly MBA newsletter and the Web site. Two MBA members currently serve on this Committee.

How long has the Morena Business Association been meeting?

The Morena Business Association evolved from an earlier organization, the Bay Park Village Merchants Association whose first meeting was May 26, 2005. To read a brief history of the Bay Park Village Merchants Association and the Morena Business Association, click here.

Is the Morena Business Association connected with the Morena Quarter that served the Morena area from 1995 to 1999?

No.

When is the next MBA meeting?

Click here to see our upcoming meeting schedule.

Who maintains the MBA Web site?

Michael Sisk is our Webmaster, designer, writer, photographer, database administrator, and programmer. Anyone may contribute to the Web site. If you have an article, an announcement, a photograph, or anything of interest to our community, please contact Mr. Sisk by phone at 858-273-3036 or submit items by e-mail to msisk@mbasandiego.org.

Where does the money come from?

We are supported by our members and by volunteers. We have a small treasury carried forward from dues that were collected last year by our predecessor organization, the Bay Park Village Merchants Association. We are using these funds to canvass businesses in the Morena area. Our printing and mailing expenses are paid from a Micro District Block Grant that the Morena District receives each year from the City of San Diego. Our new trees and routine watering are also paid for out of the Micro District Block Grant.

What is the Morena Business Directory?

The members of the Morena Business Association voted to create a Web site and on-line directory of all the businesses in the Morena area with an easy-to-use search feature to help businesses and individuals find specific types of businesses, products, and services in the Morena area.  The City of San Diego Office of Small Business provided a list of 400+ businesses in the Morena area. This list was the foundation of the Morena Business Directory. Over the past year, we have canvassed the Morena area door-to-door and by telephone, finding businesses, gathering information about each business, and listing the information in the Morena Business Directory. As information is added and updated, the value of the Morena Business Directory grows. It is a valuable resource for those who work and live in the Morena area.

Who can be in the Morena Business Directory?

Any business in the Morena area and businesses conducting business with companies in the Morena area can be listed in the Morena Business Directory.

What information and how much information can I enter in the Morena Business Directory?

You may list as much information as you wish about your business. Most companies list the products and services they offer, and much more. Many Morena businesses provide one or more links to their Web site, detailed business descriptions, company slogan, keywords and business categories for searches, business photos, business card images, business hours, years in business, and more. An automatic map button is provided to display your business address on a Google street map. Example, click here to display the map location for Baci Ristorante Italiano, where the MBA meets each month.

The Morena Directory input form prompts for me to enter my e-mail address. I am concerned about SPAM, viruses, and spyware. What is your policy on e-mail?

We encourage business owners to provide their e-mail addresses, so that we can send (1) reminder notices of monthly MBA meetings, (2) notices of special events for businesses in the Morena area, and (3) our periodic MBA Newsletter. Our e-mail list is not published or displayed on our Web site or anywhere else. Our Webmaster is the only person with access to the list. Because of the way that e-mail addresses are stored in our SQL/PHP database, the e-mail addresses cannot be accessed or discovered by Internet search engines. We do not give out or share our e-mail list with anyone. The only e-mails you receive will be notices from the Morena Business Association of monthly MBA meetings, notices of special events in the Morena area that we think you might be interested in knowing about, and periodic MBA Newsletters. The e-mails and attachments that we send are scanned twice to insure that they are virus-free. We do not send spyware.

How do I add a new business listing to the Morena Business Directory?

1. Go to the MBA Web site, mbasandiego.org.
2. Click Add My Business To The Directory. This displays the Morena Business Directory input form.
3. Complete as many fields as possible. Most fields have unrestricted length. Key Words are the words that people type when they are searching for your business. Type key words for each of your products and services. Separate each key word with a space. For Business Description type as much information as you wish to explain and describe your business. You may include hyperlinks and HTML in your description. For more information on using markup language, click here. The words you type for Slogan are displayed in red characters. When you have finished entering your business information, click Submit to submt your listing for the Morena Business Directory. All new listings must be activated by our Webmaster. Once your record has been activated by our Webmaster, you will be able to view it and edit it. For more information on why we use activation, click here.
4. If you have more than one business in the Morena area, enter each business as a separate listing.
5. To edit or change the information you submitted, see the next item.

How do I change or update my business listing in the Morena Business Directory?

1. Go to the MBA Web site, mbasandiego.org.
2. Click on Morena Business Directory.
3. Type the first few characters of your business name and click Search, or click the first letter of your business name. A list of all the matching businesses is displayed.
4. Click on your business name to display the public listing (business name, slogan, business description, contact names, address, phone numbers, Web site, and hours of operation).
5. Type your password in the password field and click Edit to display the business and search information update page. If you need a password, write to mba@mbasandiego.org.
6. Complete as many fields as possible. Most fields have unrestricted length. Key Words are the words that people enter when they are searching for your business. Type key words for each of your products and services. Separate each key word with a space. The words you type for Slogan are displayed in red characters. For Business Description you may type as much information as you wish to explain and describe your business. You may include hyperlinks and HTML in your description. For more information, click here. When you have finished entering your business information, click Submit to post your listing.

How do I add my business card or a photograph of my business to my business listing in the Morena Business Directory?

For security purposes, we have not provided an automatic way for this to happen. We ask you to e-mail us the digital images you want to display in your Morena Business Directory listing. Send as many photos as you wish to mba@mbasandiego.org. The images will be added to the MBA images directory, and we will post the photos in your listing.

I added my business to the Morena Business Directory. Why can't I find it in the Morena Business Directory?

Each new listing must be activated by our Webmaster before it appears in the Morena Business Directory. Activation usually occurs within a few hours. You will not be able to see your new listing until your new record is activated. This step foils Internet opportunists who submit hundreds of Web listings to the Morena Business Directory. Their listings never appear, because we delete them.

Do you have a question?

Please e-mail questions regarding the MBA, the MBA Web site , or the Morena Business Directory to mba@mbasandiego.org. We promise a prompt reply. To speak to someone at the MBA, please refer to our Contacts list.