It's always been about helping business

Well, this is my final column as Kelso Longview Chamber CEO. A year ago, when I made the decision, I wondered how all this would play out. My last Holiday Mixer, my last Business After Hours, my last sQuatch Fest, my last column? This morning, I feel exhausted. We just finished sQuatch Fest and an extra 24-hour work week on this 65-year-old body is taking longer to recover.

I was thinking the other day that 42 years of working is a lot of years and I deserve to start to enjoy, hopefully, the next 20plus. As most of you know I’ve been in the newspaper business for 31 years with stops in Ashland and Albany, Oregon, and Yakima, Enumclaw and Longview, Washington. I finished up my publishing career in Pendleton, Oregon, before coming back to Longview in January 2012 to become the CEO of the Kelso Longview Chamber.

I knew basically nothing about the chamber world other than what I wish the chamber had provided to my newspapers in just about every city or town I worked. The newspaper was always a member of the chamber and in most cases a huge supporter of chamber events. So, the reminder on my wall was “Help local businesses be more successful”. If whatever the Chamber is doing now doesn’t support that slogan, we need to stop doing it and do something else.

The first thing I wanted to do was create the Small Business Boot Camp series. I always felt the chamber should provide a low-cost opportunity for local businesses to gain training, insight and knowledge about things that can help them run their business better and be more profitable. As a business owner, I could not afford to send my staff to Portland or Seattle for regular training. One, I needed them in the office; and two, the cost was not feasible. Thus, we started Small Business Boot Camp as a series of six classes, three times per year with different topics and local facilitators who can guide the discussion to provide that knowledge. I am happy to report our series starting March 3 will be the Chamber’s 192nd Boot Camp class. See page 8 for details.

“Help local businesses be more successful,” still drives the Chamber today. As it is fresh in my mind, sQuatch Fest is a great example – a January event, when nothing else is really going on in our area, that draws 2,500-3,000 people, which in turn provides our hotels with more than 700 room nights during a season when many struggle. Local businesses (52 to be exact) sell products to those attending during the two days and most tell us this is their best event of the year. Local brewers sell their beer and wine. And, most amazingly we get people to attend from over 25 states and Canada every year. That’s “helping businesses be more successful”.

One of the other things I wanted to do was provide more scholarships for our local students who hopefully, will come back and work in our local businesses and industries. My first year here the Chamber, with the Chamber’s Lower Columbia Professionals (LCP), provided a $500 scholarship to two local graduating students. Last year that number was $22,000 (down a bit due to COVID squashing our FUNraising events) but LCP is back hosting and raising money for our local student graduates. In the span of the past 11 years the total scholarship dollars given out between the Chamber’s LCP Committee and the Chamber’s Marie Harris Scholarship Fund is more than $150,000. The main thank you goes to all of you who participate in the events, donate prizes or cash, purchase raffle tickets and enjoy a no-host beverage. Thank you for your support.

I often tell people that when I worked in the newspaper business my main job was to help businesses be more successful, the vehicle I used was advertising in the newspaper, driving customers to their door. Studying their business, the layout of the items, the cleanliness, the window displays, their staff engagement and more. It was the best part of my job. Then I started my job at the Chamber and realized the best part of my last career, the part I enjoyed most, was the main function of my new career. So, again, my job was helping business be more successful, the vehicle was the Chamber.

Not many of us get to be in two careers that you really love to be in… sometimes it’s just a job, but I truly loved both of my careers and hope I made a difference in both.

Thank you all for your support during the past 11 years, this is truly an incredible community and I have been blessed to be a part of it.

Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

Marlene Johanson, President Heritage Bank

Marc Silva, President Elect Red Canoe Credit Union

Jason Gentemann, Vice President Foster Farms

Lisa Straughan, Past President Express Employment Professionals

Neil Zick, Treasurer Twin City Bank

Michael Claxton, Legal Counsel Walstead Mertsching

Diane Craft Koelsch Communities

Nick Lemiere

Edward Jones

Duane Dalgleish

Cowlitz PUD

Rich Gushman Gibbs & Olson

Keenan Harvey City Council, Kelso

Sean Kiffe NORPAC

Cherelle Montanye St. John/PeaceHealth

John Paul KUKN-KLOG-101.5 The Blitz

Bruce Pollock

Bicoastal Media

Ted Sprague

Cowlitz Economic Development Council

Michael Vorse Minuteman Press

Dennis Weber

Cowlitz County Commissioner

Pam Whittle Realty One Group Pacifica

Cowlitz Economic Development Council

Ted Sprague President