Newsletter of the
San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce
March 1999
Chamber Member Meeting
When:
Tuesday, March 9 - 5:30 PM
Where:
Downriggers Restaurant, Front Street
Featuring:
Doug Scott, Friends of the San Juans
Topic:
Speaking on the recent oil spills and
the near misses here locally
and the preparedness issue.
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Chamber Contact - Phone 378-5240
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President's Message Brenda J. Larson
March 1999
Greetings!
Wow! I think this will be a productive year!
At the last meeting at Spring
Tree Café (thank you Steve and Kathy Anderson!) many people
signed up for
the committees. The new committees consist of Christmas, New Years,
4th of
July, Shoulder season and the Retail committee. We had a great
turn out.
Michele Closson spoke about the San Juan Promoters and the January
25th
workshop. Her enthusiasm got the ball rolling and the attendees
came up
with lots of fresh ideas and comments. We also talked about the
proposed
Photo Symposium for March 2000 (see the concept on page three).
A chamber office location committee was formed,
and we will be working with
the Town Counsel to locate a possible site for public restrooms
and a
chamber office. This is all very preliminary and nothing has been
set in
stone as of yet except that the Committee and the Town Counsel
have agreed
to be in communication concerning this matter.
I want to see the creation of a Chamber Guide
to San Juan Island. There
are many ways of going about it and I have had a few people volunteer
to
study the feasibility and cost, if you are interested please give
myself or
Peter DeLorenzi a call.
All the Committees need to start meeting and
getting their dates and times
of events set so that the Retail and Shoulder committee can produce
a
calendar of events to promote on island as well as the mainland
market.
All committees must report to the Chamber board on a regular basis.
I attended the EDC meeting on February 22,
we will be working toward the
goal of eventually bringing back an EDC office here to San Juan
County.
Look for Mr. DeLorenzi's update in this newsletter.
As we deal with yet another week of wind and
rain, I try and take solace
that the crocus and tulips are finally up. I tell myself this
is proof
that spring will eventually arrive and around the corner soon
will be our
Summer Season and a positive cash flow!
This is an important time to remember to shop
local, lets help each other
out as we wait for the sun to return!
I will see you at our next meeting on March
9th at Downrigger's! Bring your
enthusiasm and ideas!
Best regards,
Brenda J. Larson, President
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There has been a lot happening lately here
on the island, so I'll bring you
up-to-date.
First on the Town Front: At last Thursday's
Town Council meeting it was
heartening to learn that several issues have progressed to the
upper rungs
of the Council's Agenda. After using a rating system that inputs
each of
the council member's priorities on a variety of important issues
(28 in
all) public restrooms came in #2 and establishing criteria for
the use of
2% hotel/motel tax monies came in 5th.
The Town is also in the process of studying
local traffic patterns, hence
the presence of the 40 traffic counters in and around Town. On
other
matters, Friberg Construction was reported to be ready to start
the
sidewalk project on Spring street last Monday (2/22) although
that didn't
happen as yet.
I attended a meeting with the islands County
EDC and Christine Miller, Fair
Administrator, and came away with the great news that the Fairgrounds
will
be hosting our first ever Home & trade Show, with the help
of the EDC.
There will be lots more info on this in the near future.
The EDC also met later that day (Monday, 2/22)
with Commissioner Darcie
Nielson and Mayor Boothman for an update on current EDC projects
in the
County, such as the Lopez Food Processing project, Farmers Market
and small
business information. We will soon be receiving a comprehensive
database
on past County businesses that we can start working with and updating.
Our next meeting will be March 9th at Downriggers
Restaurant. Featured
speaker will be Doug Scott, Executive Director of the Friends
of the San
Juans. Doug will be talking to us on the recent near misses we
have had
with ocean vessels and what is being done, proposed and possibly
what we
can do to help. Please make sure you hear this important information.
We are collecting dues for your 1999 membership
and we are happy to have
121 new and renewed members so far this year. This is a record
number of
renewals for this time of year. For you seasonal businesses,
we'll look
forward to your dues just as soon as your business allows. Meanwhile,
it
is VERY IMPORTANT that you at least fill out your membership form
and
return it as soon as possible so that we may continue to update
our mailing
list and web site. We also need this information for budget planning
for
our Committees and events.
Thanks for listening, I promise to be not quite so winded in the
future.
Peter DeLorenzi., Executive Officer
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NEW FACES IN 1999..........
ALOHA APPLIANCE - Steve & Michele
Luther
D.A. DAVIDSON CO. - Libby Thompson, Full service financial services
FUNK n JUNK/ISLANDS AUCTION CO. - Mike & Annie Adams
RAINSHADOW ARTS GALLERY - Donna Reed
BRENDA LARSON - RE/MAX - San Juan Island Realty
DIANE GIESEY - RE/MAX - San Juan Island Realty
THE AMERICAN LEGION POST 163
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San Juan Island Y2K Preparedness Seminar
When:
March 20, 1999 from 9 - 11 am
Where:
The Gubelman Room, San Juan Community Theater
Sponsored by:
The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce
Participants:
Darcie Neilson, San Juan County Commissioner
Steve Dubail, Town of Friday Harbor Systems Administrator
Dick Kneipp, President, Islanders Bank
Jerry Wilson, President, Inter West Bank
Tom Small, OPALCO
Bob Jarman, Century Tel
John Zerby, San Juan County Undersheriff
Mona Meeker, American Red Cross Coordinator
Mike Greene, Rock Island Communications
Jim Skoog, Financial Advisor, Salomon Smith Barney
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Do you want the chamber to sponsor a Marine Wildlife Photo Symposium?
When would this event take place?
* We are looking at the week of March 6 - 12, 2000 (Monday through
Sunday)
What will this event include?
* Educational Seminars presented by experts in their respective
fields.
* Field workshops guided by the experts, including vessel excursions,
snorkeling and scuba diving.
* Special evening slide shows and movies at the Community Theater.
* Celebrity speaker/s (Bob Talbott - Art Wolf - Stuart Westmorland,
Stan
Waterman).
* Photo competition - several categories of prints, slides and
videos.
* Awards and prize drawings.
* Vender exhibits (film, cameras, special effects equipment, editing
equipment, etc.).
Why should the Chamber sponsor the event?
* To create business in early March.
* To make a profit to benefit the Chamber members.
If you like this idea and you want the chamber
to sponsor this event, let
us know so we can get started NOW!
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1999 Board of Directors
Dave Baughn - Island Wine Company
Andy Duke - Duke's Sporting Goods
Linda Hemphill - Emerald Seas Diving Center
Susie Campbell - Susie's Mopeds
Brenda Larson - San Juan Real Estate Co.
Larry Talbott - Friday Harbor Septic & Drain Cleaning
Libby Thompson - Merrill Lynch
Susan Jarman - Sandpebble
Stephanie Picconi - Lakedale Resort
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