Volume 8, No. 2
February 2016
Business Kelso Longview
Calendar Wednesday
February 3 – 7:30 a.m. Education Foundation Committee LCC Student Center 210A Conference Room
Thursday
February 4 – 7:30 a.m. Ambassador Committee Canterbury Park
Tuesday
February 9 – 5:30 p.m. Business After Hours Foster Farms Hosted at the Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center 214 Pacific Ave. S., Kelso
Monday
February 15 – President’s Day Office Closed
Connection Chamber of Commerce
New president carries Chamber spirit in her heart
B
ack in 2007, the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce presented Julie Rinard with its Spirit Award. “It said I represent the spirit of the Chamber and I just loved that.”
Rinard’s enthusiasm for the community where she was raised and calls home, and her zeal for the Chamber that supports it, is evident in her dedicated service and the countless ways daily she sings its praises through her words and actions. Rinard has been involved in the Chamber through her employers for 30 years.
Tuesday
“Every Chamber member has this circle of influence and it’s dynamic,” she said. “Community engagement is very powerful.”
Thursday
Rinard’s first encounter with the Chamber came as an administrative assistant through then-Columbia National Bank. She thanks Bob Lund and Barb Brusco for encouraging her to get involved. She jumped in, attending a Business After Hours event and quickly began creating connections and making lifelong friends. She instantly became an active Chamber member.
February 16 – Noon Board of Directors Longview Country Club 41 Country Club Dr., Longview
February 18 – 5:30 p.m. Lower Columbia Professionals Caps, Corks & Cupcakes Five Don’s Brewing 1158 11th Ave., Longview
Every Monday
Legislative Briefing Breakfast – 7 a.m. Red Lion Hotel & Conference Center 214 Pacific Ave. S., Kelso
Every Wednesday
Chamber Connections KEDO/1400 AM – 3-4 p.m. Stream live at www.threeriversradio.com Local guest and current events
“I got to be on the ground floor of the Ambassador’s Committee, which we modeled after what Vancouver was doing,” she said. “Our Ambassadors are thriving now. They are the high energy face of the Chamber.” She was also instrumental in the fundraising galas and auctions and was one of the first co-hosts of the Chamber Connection radio show. Chamber CEO Bill Marcum said his first encounter with Rinard was through the Ambassadors when he moved to Longview, the first time, in 1992 and was working for The Daily News. “I joined the Chamber’s Ambassador group, got my red coat and started my Chamber service,” he said. “Julie impressed me then and I thought she would be president of this organization one day. Little did I know then that, 20-plus years later, I would be CEO for the Chamber and Julie would now fulfill my expectation as president; I look forward to a great year with Julie at the helm.”
Please see Rinard, page 3