Charity: GCVCC Future Leaders Program
By Noe Gutierrez
Josh Bonner will tell you he’s a “simple guy”. He is far from it. As President and CEO of the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce, aka The Chamber, the second largest in Riverside County, he is leading the charge of the Coachella, Indio and La Quinta Chambers of Commerce as well as the Cabazon and Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians into an extraordinary collaborative that unites over 1,200 members. Through it all Bonner remains humble. “My primary interests are faith, family and work, in that order. There really isn’t much more to me.” His modesty is paralleled by his business savvy.
Bonner’s career path coincidentally began in sales. “I started off my career running Learning & Development departments. Part of my duties in that role was creating and delivering sales curriculum. Eventually I transitioned into managing sales and marketing efforts directly, that is where I spent the bulk of my career, almost 15 years doing that. During that time I stayed active in local non-profit work, serving on Boards for several local charities. One of the boards I participated in was the Indio Chamber. In 2013 that job came open and I interviewed for it, eventually becoming the President & CEO of that organization in January 2014.”
Bonner also has a multitude of experiences with big companies and small business. “During my career I have had the good privilege of working for two Fortune 500 Corporations and one International Company based out of France. I have also owned my own businesses and assisted with several startups. That diverse background of corporate and small business experience has really helped me in my current role; I have a solid understanding for business in general.”
Bonner has been able to achieve success through hard work and shunning failure. “I’m not averse to putting in 50-60 hour work weeks. For me I set a bar of success in my position, whatever it is, and I insist on hitting my own benchmarks. I’m also a super competitive person; I want to win, even if it’s a game of Monopoly with my kids. I’m a horrible loser. When my oldest son started to play basketball a lot and was getting close to being able to beat me, I refused to play him one-on-one anymore,” laughed Bonner.
Bonner was born and raised in Indio with humble beginnings. “I spent most of my childhood in a little trailer park off of Miles Avenue in what is now La Quinta. My family is originally from Illinois, but a lot of them now live in the valley. The Bonner legacy of dedication will indeed live on. “I am married with 6 kids (yes, they are all mine lol). My oldest daughter is a third year nursing student at Texas A&M Corpus Christi. My son just graduated Palm Desert High School and is attending College of the Desert. I have one in middle school and three that haven’t started yet, including one year-old twins. I enjoy children, as you can see.” His children have followed Bonner’s varied path.
Bonner shared the diversity of his upbringing. “I have traveled a lot. I was fortunate to have a father that really enjoyed traveling. By the time I was 18 I had been to 15 different countries and all over the US. It was a nice cultural emersion for me. I once bought a house in Rancho Mirage for $8,000! I’m not sure how many people have pulled that off, ever.”
“I am a really big Denver Bronco fan. One of my boys is named Denver, and the other is named Champ, after Champ Bailey the former All-Pro Corner. I also really like to Air B&B. I rent my house out for all the concerts and also enjoy renting myself at the beach and other places.”
Bonner shared that he respects and admires his father the most. “My dad was a single parent; he made a lot of sacrifices in his life to provide for me and to keep me heading in the right direction.”
At Coachella Valley Weekly’s Top Men & Women event Bonner will be representing the Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce Future Leaders Program. “Well, since I work for a non-profit I kind of have to choose my own. Specifically though any money The Chamber receives will go directly to our Future Leaders program, a scholarship program that has been established for local high school students enrolled in the Chamber’s year round leadership development program.”
