Chuck Sberna is a Marketing Representative for Chamber Member, SERVPRO of Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma Counties NE. He interfaces with businesses throughout Lake County daily with some clients in Sonoma County. He was a member of the Glendale, Arizona and Santa Rosa Chambers. He is a Director on the Lake County Chamber Board of Directors, a member of the Chamber Marketing Committee, a Lake County Certified Tourism Ambassador and a consistent Chamber Volunteer.
When we moved from Las Vegas, NV, in 2010 I did not know what we were going to do once we arrived in Lake County but I have never doubted my ability to move ahead. I had owned a trucking company, Sberna Material Transport, Inc. for 12 years until the 2008 economic down turn, which forced me to shut down my business. After losing our 2 houses, we decided to move to northern California to start over.
My wife at this time got a job at LASAR, at the airport. A co-worker told her about Doug Bridges and that he was starting a SERVPRO franchise in Ukiah, serving Mendocino County and the surrounding area. I hired on as a technician, not knowing what SERVPRO was but learned the business from the ground up. In 2012 Doug bought the Lake County SERVPRO franchise, and I became the SERVPRO Marketing Representative. As a Marketing Representative it was important to gain knowledge of the area and let potential customers know about SERVPRO and our services.
I thought the best way to get to know people fast, was to get involved with the Lake County Chamber of Commerce. After SERVPRO joined the Lake County Chamber I met with Melissa Fulton, CEO, explaining that I wanted to get to know people in the county to expand my center of influence (COi). I realized that the Chamber was a great fit and it worked out very well to spread the word about SERVPRO and its services. Melissa had said all I have to do is volunteer, help out at functions and I will get to know a lot of people. Not only was this true but it was obvious that volunteering wasn’t work but very rewarding. I had been warned that once you volunteer for Melissa, the ‘work’ was never done!
In 2014 I moved to Surprise, AZ, again working for a Servpro franchise, and not knowing anyone, I got involved with the Glendale Chamber of Commerce and became an ambassador. After being there for a year, Jonathon Bridges called me and said that they are buying a franchise in NE Sonoma County, and would I like to come back to help get this franchise going. Again, not knowing anyone in Sonoma County, I joined the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber and became an ambassador, meeting a lot of people quickly. This worked out very well, and when I had the opportunity to come back to Lake County, I jumped at the chance.
I meet customers under very stressful situations. They have suffered losses to their homes or businesses, the most minor situation in the eyes of others, is many times major to those suffering the loss. Delivering sensitive customer service in these situations is often quite difficult especially when the losses are large. People have usually never gone through these situations before and are somewhat dismayed by all the decisions that must be made. Dealing with insurance adjusters and others, strangers who are advising them in new and unfamiliar situations is at best difficult for them. I have found that having empathy and expressing understanding to guide them through difficult times is very rewarding.
After being back in Lake County for about a year, I was nominated for and voted onto the Chamber Board of Directors. I have found that being a director affords me the opportunity to contribute and have input on some decision making to benefit Chamber members and their businesses. I love this beautiful county feel very fortunate to be part of the community and the Chamber.
