March 2012 - Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce

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Mission:
Vol. No. 10 • Issue No. 9 • March 2012
As a regional Chamber we serve and promote our members and proactively
encourage economic growth. We support members by providing information,
training, networking opportunities and advocacy.
Come Join the Fun with Mount Vernon Chamber
of Commerce at Skagit Valley Gardens
IN THIS ISSUE
Book of the Month .............3
New & Renewing
Members ........................4
Announcements..................5
Events Calendar..................6
THE MOUNT VERNON
CHAMBER
of COMMERCE
Phone: (360) 428-8547
Fax: (360) 424-6237
www.mountvernonchamber.com
chamber@mountvernonchamber.com
PO Box 1007, 301 West Kincaid Street
Mount Vernon, WA 98273-1007
Chamber Chat News is designed by
Guy D. Corp of grafixCORP • grafixCORP.com
Thursday, June 21 2012 • 5:00pm - 7:00pm
BBQ . Raffle . Silent Auction • Music and FUN!
Purchase a $10.00 Raffle Ticket for your Chance to win one of
Three Fabulous Prizes plus entry to the event and Dinner!
Silver Members:
Platinum Member:
Bronze Members:
Annette Booth Agency
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Who’s that Member?
MEMBER PROFILE
Each month, the Mount Vernon
Chamber of Commerce will randomly select
a member to feature. This is a great way to
get to know some of the diverse and interesting businesses in our community.
Hansen’s Furniture
Hansen’s Furniture has been in the
same location and serving the Skagit
Valley and Island County since 1947. We
have a very knowledgeable staff. Our
sales team each have many years experience in furniture, knowing the products
and what customers are looking for.
Because of our growth through the
years we have expanded and we now
have two new locations just yards away
from our original store located at 916 W
Division. With our combined stores we
now have over 45,000 square feet of furniture show room.
At 1101 W Division is a Lane*
showcase in the front section, here you
will be able to find the latest and greatest
Lane furniture.
From sofas to cedar
chests. From recliners to entertainment
consoles. In the back section of 1101 we
have the newly expanded Children’s
department , where you will find furniture and accessories that are for all ages.
If you’re looking for even better
deals check out our new Clearance
Center located at 901 W Division. There
you will find deals on closeouts, discontinued & one of a kind items.
Hansen’s is a high quality, low
everyday priced furniture store. Since we
belong to a large National Furniture
buying group we are able to get the most
current up to date styles with a wide
range of top quality but reasonable
priced furniture.
Hansens Furniture
916 West Division
Mt. Vernon, WA 98273
(360) 424-7188
BOOK OF THE MONTH
Each Month the Mount Vernon Chamber
of Commerce calls on The Tattered Page to
scout a book to help you improve your
business and work life. This month’s book
is available at the Tattered Page at 514 S.
1st St. in Downtown Mount Vernon.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What
We Do in Life and Business, Charles
Duhigg
In The Power of Habit, award-winning New York Times business reporter
Charles Duhigg takes us to the thrilling
edge of scientific discoveries that explain
why habits exist and how they can be
changed. With penetrating intelligence
and an ability to distill vast amounts of
information into engrossing narratives,
Duhigg brings to life a whole new understanding of human nature and its potential for transformation.
Along the way we learn why some
people and companies struggle to change,
despite years of trying, while others seem
to remake themselves overnight. We visit
laboratories where neuroscientists explore
how habits work and where, exactly, they
reside in our brains. We discover how the
right habits were crucial to the success of
Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps,
Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and civiltwo
rights hero Martin Luther King, Jr. We go
inside Procter & Gamble, Target superstores, Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church,
NFL locker rooms, and the nation’s largest
hospitals and see how implementing socalled keystone habits can earn billions
and mean the difference between failure
and success, life and death.
At its core, The Power of Habit contains an exhilarating argument: The key
to exercising regularly, losing weight,
raising exceptional children, becoming
more productive, building revolutionary
companies and social movements, and
achieving success is understanding how
habits work.
Habits aren’t destiny. As Charles
Duhigg shows, by harnessing this new
science, we can transform our businesses, our communities, and our lives.
Book of the Month Sponsor
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Thank You Angel of the Winds
Casino
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce would like to extend a huge THANK YOU to
Jon Cronin of Angel of the Winds Casino for the donation of the official Ribbon Cutting
shears! Thank you so much for your generosity and continued support of the Mount
Vernon Chamber of Commerce.
Spring into savings with the Mount
Vernon Chamber of Commerce Tulip
Hunt! April 9th - May 31. Find the special
tulips at participating locations and enter
to win the grand prize. Sponsors include
Wildfibers, Tattered Page, River & Main
Gifts, Kids’ Stuff, The Lunch Box, Good
Old Days Antiques, Riverclay Studio,
Embellish, Gretchens, Dilly Dally
Antiques, Annie Mae Antiques, Sprouts,
Homeward Bound, Work Outfitters,
Skagit New & Used, Tri-Dee Arts, Heritage
Gallery, ReFeather Your Nest, Clark
Schatt, Community Thrift & Vintage,
Mobile Music, Cascade Mall, Same Ol’
Grind, Carpet One, Skagit Valley Gardens.
We would like to thank Thousand Trails for hosting the April Open House, great networking and delicious food.
Mark your Calendars!
First Annual "Skagit Wine Festival"Saturday, November 17. Sponsorship and
Kristen Keltz
volunteer information available, please
call Lisa Swanberg at (360) 428-8547
m o u n t v e r n o n c h a m b e r. c o m
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
New Members
Boys & Girls Clubs of Mount Vernon Delamae Salon & Spa
Danielle Russell
Krista Cameron
(360) 428-6995
www.delamaesalonspa.com
1100 N. LaVenture Rd
Beauty, Personal Care, Salons & Spas
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
www.bgcskagit.org
Embellish
Family, Community & Civic
Kate Pickett
Organizations
(360) 336-3373
Retail
G Bros Inc. Office Furniture &
Moving Services
Home Attendant Care
Craig Greenough
Jim Darling
(360) 755-5730
www.homeattendantcare.com
170 N. Burlington Blvd.
Senior Services
Burlington, WA 98233
www.gbrosnw.com
Mercado
Business, Professional & Moving
Edgar Carreon
Services
www.mercadoeatery.com
Restaurants & Dining
Handz In Clay Pottery School
Phoenix Rising
Phelps Tire Factory
(360) 202-2329
Gary Johnson
525 E. Fairhaven
www.phelpstirefactory.com
Burlington, WA 98233
Tire Sales & Service
www.handzinclay.com
Art - Education
Puget Sound Veterinary Group PC
Jacquelyn Waltner
La Conner Quilt & Textile Museum (360) 416-6944
Liz Theaker
Veterinary Clinics
(360) 466-1051
703 Second St.
Skagit Gleaners & Thrift Store
La Conner, WA 98257
Barb Blair
www.laconnerquilts.com
www.Skagitgleaners.org
Museum
Non Profit
FUN FACT
of THE MONTH
According to legend, there is a Superman
in every episode of Seinfeld.
Allelujah Business Systems
Scott Curtin
www.allcopiersystems.com
Office Equipment and Sales
Send Out Cards
Karen & Rich Mattausch
www.sendoutcards.com/102957
Customer Relations
American Insure All
Sheri Buno
www.americaninsureall.com
Insurance
Sylvan Learning Center
Chelsea Ginder
www.sylvanlearning.com
Schools
Bob Denham Construction
Bob Denham
(360) 708-1647
Construction
Tri Dee Arts
Summer Houlihan
(360) 336-6131
215 South First Street
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
www.tri-dee.com
Shopping & Specialty Retail
Cafe 11
Song Lee Kim
(360) 424-6998
Restaurants & Dining
Mount
New Bronze Member
Cascade Companion Care
Jon Senn
www.cascadecompanioncare.com
Senior Services
four
WIN Home Inspection Mount Vernon
Brian Fish
(360) 320-8133
430 Shantel Street
Mount Vernon, WA 98274
www.wini.com
Real Estate, Moving & Storage
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Thank You From Mount Vernon
Carpet One
Greetings Fellow Chamber members! Just a note of thanks for attending the afterhours event in our store
last Thursday. We had so much fun
having you visit our showroom! We’d
like to remind you that if you or
someone you know has a need for
flooring, cabinets, countertops, paint
or window fashions, we’d love to help!
We’ve got an amazing design team
that can promise you unmatched
expertise, enthusiasm and passion!
Save the Reverie
Please help seniors, the working
poor and our homeless population
get a hot meal. The Reverie BBQ
Restaurant’s free meal program provides over 1000 dinners a month for
those in our community most in
need. Without your support this program will be coming to an end. Every
month long lines of people wait for a
modest yet nutritious meal provided
by Cheryl and Matt Kaufman and a
dedicated staff of volunteers. By day
the restaurant serves award winning
BBQ specialties to the public. “The
only reason we opened the restaurant
was to pay for the free meal program.”
said Matt Kaufman. But even that’s
not enough. The program relies on
support from donations and volunteers to keep it running.
Washington Workforce Development
News – House Higher Education
Committee To Get Preview Of Joint
Report
The House Higher Education
Committee will review the results of
the collaborative supply and demand
report soon to be released by the
Workforce
Board, the
Higher
Education Coordinating Board and
the State Board for Community and
Technical Colleges. You can learn
about other legislative activities and
get a preview of some of the slides
from
the
presentation
at:
www.wtb.wa.gov/LegSchedule.asp
Workers To Gain College Credits
With Workplace-Based Learning
Workers will earn college credits,
receive online instruction, and
advance their career prospects with
the help of their employers as part of
a new Workplace-based Learning
Initiative. The Workforce Board
selected three programs for funding,
with the focus on Vancouver area hospital workers, child care workers in
Whatcom and Skagit counties, and
machinist apprentices statewide who
will now be able to pursue engineering
careers.
Read
more
at:
www.wtb.wa.gov/LearningLaboratory
Partnerships.asp
Swinomish Channel to be fully
dredged this year
Rep. Rick Larsen, WA-02, today
announced that the Swinomish
Channel in Skagit County will be
fully dredged this year after receiving
$2.277 million in U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers funds. Larsen spoke to U.S.
Assistant Secretary of the Army for
Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy last week
and stressed his support for funding
of the project. “This funding is a
major boost for Western Skagit
County, which depends on the
Swinomish Channel as an economic
driver,” Larsen said. “The channel is
overdue for maintenance, but this
substantial investment will make sure
it is fully dredged this year. I told
Assistant Secretary Darcy that the
community strongly supports the
project and I am pleased the Army
Corps has recognized the value of this
investment.”
Thank you from the Mount Vernon
Boys & Girls Club
On behalf of the Mount Vernon
Boys & Girls Club we would like to
thank Randall S. Linde & Associates, a
branch of Ameriprise Financial, for
sponsoring their Second Annual
Christmas Party for the members of
our club on Dec. 7, 2011. Their gracious support and generosity helped
to ensure a memorable holiday for 36
of our members, ranging from age 6
to 18. Several leaders from Randall S.
Linde & Associates participated in
assisting club members with many
fun and exciting activities including
sugar cookie decorating, ornament
making and personalized t-shirts for
the teens. Of course the best part of
the day was when Santa stopped by
for a visit and photos!
Vernon
DressBarn Aims To Gather 60,000
Clothing Donations To Assist Women
With thousands of women unable
to secure employment because they
lack the resources to take the initial,
m o u n t v e r n o n c h a m b e r. c o m
five
yet vital, step of looking presentable
for a job interview, dressbarn (NASDAQ:ASNA) is teaming up with the
non-profit organization, Dress for
Success, to gather more than 60,000
articles of clothing, as part of its
S.O.S. – Send One Suit – Weekend®
donation drive, March 1-4. This year’s
clothing drive marks the 10th consecutive year dressbarn and Dress for
Success have partnered to help
women in need receive professional
business attire. All 825 dressbarn
stores across the country, including
dressbarn in Burlington, will serve as
drop-off sites for new or gently used
professional attire including suits,
dress shirts, blazers, pants, dresses
and shoes that will be used to benefit
women seeking to transition into the
workforce.
Skagit Valley College, Whatcom
Community College, announce innovative early childhood education
program partnership
Skagit Valley College (SVC), in
partnership
with
Whatcom
Community College (WCC), was
awarded one of three statewide workplace-based learning grants to support an innovative education program for early childhood education
adult workers who want to earn college credits and advance in their
careers. Awarded by the Workforce
Education and Training Board and
the U.S. Department of Labor, the
nearly $200,000 grant will fund scholarships for assistant teachers, aides,
and those currently unqualified to
progress in their careers due to limited credentials.
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RENEWING MEMBERS
Sponsorship Opportunities
- Newsletter Inserts - $75 - 550
businesses per month.
- Newsletter Sponsorship - $500 $1,500 - 6,600 copy annual distribution.
- E-Chat Sponsorship - $75 - Over
900 weekly e-mail distribution
- Website Sponsorship - $25-$100
monthly- Over 300 website
pageviews daily.
- Membership Luncheon Sponsor $250 - Logo visibility, 5-min. presentation, banner, distribute flyers.
- Breakfast Biz-Buzz Sponsor $150 - Logo visibility, 5-min presentation, banner
- Skagit Young Professionals Event
Sponsor - $150 - Logo visibility, 5-10
min presentation, distribute flyers.
- Million $ Putts & Pints
Tournament - $50 - $2,500
annually - Summertime networking with over 150 golfers
and attendees.
Call (360) 428-8547 or e-mail
Karenm@mountvernonchamber.com
for more info
Thank you to these Members who have continued their
Membership Support.
A big thank you goes out to these members who know the true value of chamber
membership and renew each year. We value your support and acknowledge that we
wouldn’t be able to provide all of the services we do without you.
20+ Years
Kern Funeral Home
Kitchens & Design
Puget Sound Energy
Piazza Realty Property
Management, Inc.
15+ Years
Anacortes Inn
Little Nickel
Peoples Bank
10+ Years
Edward Jones - Timothy
U. Price
La Conner Country
Inn/Channel Lodge
Holiday Inn Express &
Suites
Human Resources of
Mount Vernon, LLC
Mount Vernon Goodwill
North Coast Credit Union
Peoples Bank @ Haggen
Super Media
Swinomish Casino &
Lodge
Volunteers of America
5+ Years
Bank of America Home
Loans
Brown McMillen Real
Estate
Business Bank
Cascade Mall
Chicago Title Company
Chuckanut Valley
Veterinary Clinic
Columbia Bank
Eaglemont Golf Club and
Community
Fairfield Inn & Suites by
Marriott
Hartford Photography
Liberty Tax Service
Martin Marietta Materials
Mira Vista Care Center
Pizza Factory - Burlington
Reverie BBQ
Skagit Valley Disabled
American Veterans
Chapter
Skagit Valley Gardens
Sound Cedar Lumber
Center
Speedy Automated
Mailers, Inc
Town & Country
Chiropractic
Urban Fitness
Wycoff Insurance
Under 5 Years
Accounting & Business
Solutions
Allstate Annette Booth
Agency
Amtrak
Anytime Fitness
Artisan Construction, LLC
AT&T
Baby Bo Peep
Baker Septic Tank
Pumping, Inc.
BC Accounting
Bevs Collectibles &
Antiques
Brite Hope Solutions
Community Thrift &
Vintage Place
Conway Pub and Eatery
Creekside Retirement
Community
Edward Jones - Joel
Pemberton
Envy Salon For Hair
Escape Salon
Fidalgo Networking
Field of Beans
Fire Mountain Solar LLC
Foss Heating & Cooling
Frontier Communications
Garden Cafe
Grandy Creek KOA
HDR Engineering Inc.
Highline Pavement
Maintenance
Hometown Values
Magazine
Manpower
McDonald's- College Way
Mobile Home Parts
Northwest
Perry Family Dentistry
Precision Collision Inc.
Reality
Rosario Skin Clinic
Salon Rouge
Saunderson Marketing
Group
Servpro of Skagit County
Sprouts Clothing and
More
Steller Solutions
Take Shape For Life- Leigh
Robinson
The Soup Bowl
Three Rivers Inn
Youthnet
Mount
CHAMBER EVENTS CALENDAR
April 11
six
Business & Industry
Division Meeting
April 14
MVDA Clean Sweep
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The results are in! Shared Work
keeps businesses afloat
By Paul Trause, Employment Security
Commissioner
Great news! More than twothirds of employers who participated
in Employment Security’s SharedWork layoff-avoidance program in
2011 say the program helped them
survive the recession.
Another 20 percent of businesses
reported that it probably had.
These amazing results show that the
Shared-Work Program is one of the most
effective tools offered by any government
agency to save jobs and businesses.
The program allows employers to
reduce the hours of their full-time
employees by up to 50 percent, while
the workers collect partial unemployment benefits to make up for some of
the lost wages.
This provides business owners with
immediate payroll savings without losing
skilled employees.
In 2011, 3,176 businesses and more
than 38,000 employees were approved to
participate in Shared Work, the secondhighest year on record.
The program also saved an estimated
26,000 jobs and more than $42 million in
unemployment-benefit payouts in 2011.
Most employers who responded to
Employment Security’s survey reported
cutting their payroll by 20 percent or
more. Additionally, 52 percent of businesses saved up to two jobs, while 30 percent saved three to five jobs, and another
12 percent saved five to 10 jobs.
Better yet, nearly 100 percent of participating employers said they would
apply for the program again and recommend it to other struggling businesses.
If your business is struggling and
you’ve been considering layoffs as a way to
cut costs, check out our Shared-Work
Program as alternative.
Thousands of Washington businesses
have used the program to cut costs and
hang on to their most valuable resource –
their trained employees.
To learn more about the Shared-Work
Program, visit www.esd.wa.gov, search on
“shared work,” or call 800-752-2500.
Friday
August 17, 2012
EAGLEMONT GOLF COURSE
Skagit
County’s
Most
Popular
Phone
Book
Ver-A-Fast Corp.
2010 Usage Survey
360-848-0870
www.actionYP.com
UPBEAT AWARD WINNER
Kayla Koopmans
This months up beat person greets
you with a smile that lasts for a mile.
This person is bubbly, energetic , ambitious and has an contagious laugh that
you can hear from across the river!
This person has NEVER had a bad hair
day and ALWAYS is a positive influence
on others. . SHE can milk a cow with
one hand while raising five kids with
other. It is my pleasure to present the
Upbeat Award to Kayla Koopmans of
Synergy Salon and Spa!
SAVE THE DATE
Vernon
Kayla Koopmans, Synergy Salon and Spa,
receives the Upbeat Award from Kimberly
Self, Therapeutic Massage.
m o u n t v e r n o n c h a m b e r. c o m
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PRESORTED STANDARD
US POSTAGE PAID
MOUNT VERNON, WA
PERMIT No. 47
PO Box 1007
Mount Vernon, WA 98273-1007
Phn: 360.428.8547
Fax: 360.424.6237
www.mountvernonchamber.com
Or Current Resident
Can’t escape the same
old mousetrap?
Printwise has built a totally new one.
360-424-5945 (office) • 2226 Market Street • Mount Vernon, WA 98273 • www.printwiseinc.com
President/CEO
Board of Directors
Kristen Keltz, IOM
Chair
April Axthelm
Axthelm Construction ACI
Past Chair
Paul Pickering
Max Dale's Steak & Chop
House
Vice Chair
David Cope
Business Bank
Treasurer
Rob Martin
Chinook Enterprises
Assistant Treasurer
Frank Tuzzolino
Geiger's Custom Cleaning
Legal Counsel
Rachelle Eason
The Eason Law Firm, P.S.
Laura McDaniel
Best Western Cottontree Inn
Kelly Schols
CPI Plumbing & Heating
Jeff Harris
VP Member Services
Karen Mills
VP of Operations
Lisa Swanberg
Administration &
Communication
Jeremy Kindlund
Visitor Information Center
Keith Ridgley
Marinus Rouw
Bud Whitney
Experience Work Project
Coordinator
Terry Findley
Thank You VIC Volunteers
Arliss Abbott
Ron Eerkes
Bob Johnson
Michael B. King
Florrie Reep
We Appreciate You!
O F F I C E
S T A F F
B O A R D
O F
Ambassador Committee
Dr. Carl Bruner,
Superintendent
David Cope, Chair
Business Bank
Mount Vernon School District
Sabrina Linman
Cobalt Mortgage
Bob Lama
Companions & Care
PROForma Creative Printing Alice Collingwood
Senior Services
Solutions
Brian Soneda
Joel Pemberton
Edward Jones
Mount Vernon City Library Steve Brown
Group Benefits Northwest
Darlene Mindrum
Susan
Trenary
Hometown Values
Think Solutions Consulting
Julie Speck
Junior Achievement
Pamela McNaughton
The Tattered Page
Mike Yeoman
KAPS Radio 660
Bookstore
Sherry Ruderman
LegalShield
Dr. John Jarolimek D.C.
Tammy
Custer
Liberty
Tax Service
Town & Country
Chiropractic
Scott Sutton
Lithtex NW
Jeff Power
Debbie Snow
Manpower
Draper Valley Farms
Dawn Latimer Mister T's Awards & Embroidery
Cory Ertel
Paul
Tinnon
Skagit Publishing
Puget Sound Energy
Tammi Wells
Skagit Valley Gardens
Carol Lawson
State Farm Insurance
Kayla Koopmans
Synergy Salon & Day Spa
Bruce Thomson
Frank Draper
Synergy Salon & Day Spa
Solid Project Services
Christie
Smith
The
Bridge at Mount Vernon
David Lindsey
Action Pages
Kimberly Self
Kimberly Self Therapeutic
Barb Lowery
Whidbey Island Bank
Kelly Kutchick
Whidbey Island Bank
Jeff
Harris
D I R E C T O R S