Chamber Newsletter - June 2011 by Port Townsend Leader

June 2011

Barter exchange opens in PT Sign up this month and enrollment fees will be waived

Luncheon Speakers Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce luncheon meetings are held at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St., at noon each Monday, federal holidays excluded. Everyone is welcome!

June 6 – Mark Bowman

Lending with a mission: What type of impact does your business make? Mark Bowman is the vice president for the North Olympic Peninsula region of Enterprise Cascadia and treasurer for Northwest Natural Resource Group, a small forest landowner management organization based in Port Townsend.

Bowman

June 13 – Lynn Longan

Longan is the small business liaison for the Washington State Department of Commerce. She will share information about the Small Business Liaison Group.

June 20 – W. Ron Allen

Longan

The tribal chairman/CEO, of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is responsible for representing the tribe as the elected leader and for addressing political and policy issues and/or positions at the national, state and local levels. As the chief executive officer, he is responsible for the administration of all the tribe’s programs.

Allen

June 27 – Meisha Rouser and Jerry Kirschner

The Sound Runner passenger-only ferry story will be presented, focusing on current status, opportunities and future directions.

Rouser, Kirschner

It isn’t very often that a new company comes to town that can revolutionize the way our city does business, but here it is: Port Townsend Barter Exchange. Co-owners, Steve and Tracey Goldberg, who are experienced business owners with a flair for the unexpected, are passionate about giving back to the city they’ve decided to call their home. “We traveled to PT several times over the past few years to visit family who were living here; and finally decided to move here for good last October. We fell in love with this city and decided this is where we want to settle down, raise a family, and grow old together,” says Tracey. Steve ads, “When we moved, we knew we’d be opening up a business. I’ve pretty much been a serial entrepreneur my whole life. It was just important to us to do something that we felt the city really needed, that could also give something back to the community, especially in this down economic environment. I took my time and talked with as many people as I could to see what people wanted, needed, or could use in their daily life. Then it occurred to me…this city needs a barter exchange!” So, what is a barter exchange? Barter has obviously been around for centuries.

“When I first met Steve 16 years ago, I’d never, ever, even heard about barter exchange. Next thing I knew, Steve was helping me get prescription glasses that I needed, and printing done for his business. A little while later an accountant did the taxes for my business, and we went out to dinner at a great new restaurant all on trade! He even got his tux for our wedding on trade, and a chiropractor to help me with my sore back during pregnancy. You can literally get anything you could ever imagine Steve, Max and Tracey Goldberg are bringing a barter exchange to Port through bartering,” Tracey Townsend and Jefferson County. They say barter is the perfect way to says. The thing that makes this acquire goods and reduce expenses. so exciting is that the Port It’s the age-old exchange of this really benefits everyone, Townsend Barter Exchange goods or services with no Steve had an answer. is focusing on a small city cash changing hands. One-on“What are the goals of and local market. “Although one barter only works if each every business? To increase barter exchange companies business needs exactly what sales by driving more cushave been around for many another has to offer. A barter tomers to your business; and years, ALL of them concenexchange provides a marketdecrease costs involved in trate on large metropolitan place for businesses to buy doing business. And, what’s cities like Seattle, Los Angeand sell from each other with- the easiest way to increase les, Las Vegas, or Phoenix. out using cash. Instead, the revenue and decrease costs? They simply don’t view small members of a barter exchange Through bartering the goods cities and towns as viable do business with each other and services you currently markets. We disagree,” states using barter bucks. With a have. By bartering, you can Steve. “We love the spirit of barter exchange, members be- attract new customers and buy Port Townsend, the vibrant come part of an organization the goods and services you community, and the buy local where everyone has the ability need without spending cash.” mentality to help local busito trade with anyone else in Really? What goods and nesses flourish. We simply the organization. This sounds services can you get through want to be a part of it.” interesting and actually kind trade? The answer is, just To find out more about of cool… but when asked how about anything. Continued on Page 4

June events

Executive Director

Social media strategy a key to business success in quickly developing digital age The 14th of May marked month four of my Executive Directorship here at the Chamber. The goal of our organization is to understand member needs and exceed members expectations, so I have made it my personal mission to find out what our membership is craving. These conversations revolve around a several questions. My personal favorite... “What is one of your greatest challenges?” This question allows us to survey where our business community is at and what tools the Chamber can provide to help individuals move forward (which, in turn, moves us all). After a moment of silence I usually get a laundry list of thoughts, but the one that keeps rising to the top is Social Media Who, What, When, Where, Why and How? Let’s get started by correcting a misunderstanding. We keep hearing small business people and business association executives say, “Social media marketing can be a great tool to help you reach younger customers.” That is true. But it isn’t the end of the story. Social media can be a

great tool for just about every small business imaginable, and not just to reach the Teresa Verraes youth. The fact is that social media is being used by kids, young adults, generation Xers, the middle aged, baby boomers, senior citizens, and everybody in between. At one of my first member lunches, I asked people to raise their hand if they are on Facebook. About 40 percent raised their hand. It was much less than 40 percent for Twitter and LinkedIn. At last count 550 million people are using Facebook. The entire U.S. population is just over 300 million. With this said, if you are a serious business person and you haven’t yet updated your business plan to include a solid social media strategy you are at risk of being left behind. The world changes every day and when you fail to change with it, you and your business slowly

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diminish in relevance. If you need any more convincing, think about this. If the world is changing 1 percent per week (how fast does it seem to be changing to you?) and you can’t or won’t make a 1 percent change in your business in an entire week, you just fell behind a fraction. In a year, 52 weeks, you are now 52 percent behind the curve. In two years you are following the tail lights of your competitors. If it takes you five years to adopt social media in your company, you may not have a competitive company or unique value proposition. Don’t allow yourself to become a typewriter manufacturer in a digital world. Do you know business people that haven’t yet adopted social media? Some small businesses, almost 50 percent of them I have read, still don’t even have a website much less a well thought through social media presence. Overriding point – Social media isn’t just to reach the kids! Almost 100 percent of active consumers are using it, according to my in-person surveys.

Very Competitive

Biz Solutions

To be in business today, in this competitive world, where practically all your customers are online…. you’d better be there too. Now for a couple of tools! In Partnership with WSU Extension... Jefferson County businesses go online! Seventeen Jefferson County business owners gave up their free time on a Friday night to learn how to create and manage their own web sites! Pamela Roberts, WSU Interim Director, taught the class to help businesses get a boost during challenging economic times. This was the sixth instructional session provided free of charge to county businesses in the past two months. These classes explore Blogger, Wordpress, Facebook, Youtube and more! If you would like to participate, write Pamela at: proberts@jefferson. wsu.edu or contact your Chamber office at 3857869. “The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.” -George Bernard Shaw Yours In Service, Teresa Verraes

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June Events 1 3-5 5 5 18 18 18-19 22-26 25 27

Wednesday Farmers Market opens 28th Annual Classic Mariners’ Regatta Fort-2-Fort Bike Ride 32nd Annual Chili Cook-Off Secret Garden Tour Rakers’ Car Show Olympic Music Festival Opening Centrum’s Chamber Music Festival Rat Island Regatta July 3 - Centrum’s Voice Works

Coming events 7/3-10 Festival of American Fiddle Tunes 7/8-10 Hadlock Days 7/16 Airport Daze & Fly-In 7/19 Tribal Paddle Journey 7/24-31 Centrum’s Jazz Port Townsend 7/29-31 Festival by the Bay, Port Ludlow 7/31-8/7 Centrum’s Port Townsend Acoustic Blues Festival 8/12-14 Jefferson County Fair 8/20 Uptown Street Fair 8/20-21 Artists’ Studio Tour 9/9-11 Wooden Boat Festival 9/17-18 WSU Farm Tour 9/23-25 Port Townsend Film Festival 10/1-2 Kinetic Sculpture Race 10/6 Main Street’s Girls’ Night Out 10/22 Scandia Fall Fest Contact Karen at the Port Townsend Visitor Information Center to list your event.

Tax rates increasing this year

The state Department of Revenue reminds merchants that tax rates are changing this year in Jefferson County and the City of Port Townsend as a result of voter approved proposals to fund portions of Jefferson County government and Jefferson Transit. Effective April 1, 2011, local sales and use tax within all of Jefferson County increased three-tenths of one percent (.003) to .087 percent to fund county services. Effective July 1, 2011, sales and use tax within the Jefferson County Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA) will increase three-tenths of one percent (.003) to .090. The tax will be used for transportation purposes.

President’s message

We are all in this together Here in Jefferson County we chose to make the bold move of connecting three of our Chambers of Commerce, consolidating them into one entity that would represent all Jefferson County member businesses. By doing so we have removed some of the duplication of services that were occurring and have created a somewhat more streamlined model. It is a work in progress. This is certainly old news, but deserves to be aired once again. I have heard a few people and have heard of others who say that a Jefferson County Chamber means they are not represented in their community or that their Chamber has lost its sense of place. I would challenge those individuals to expand your boundaries. Keep your identity and place, but be a part of the greater whole. As a countywide Chamber of Commerce, we are able to work more effectively, creating and strengthening partnerships for education and business development, keeping our finger on the pulse of all of the local governments so that we can advocate for and inform our members and continue to look for opportunities to promote our corner of the world and the businesses that inhabit it. Having grown up in the 1950s,

60s and early 70s, I was spoon fed the idea of being a citizen from the earliest age. I have been doing a lot of thinking about that recently in my work with our youth in the Sea Scouts. Kim Aldrich Growing up, it meant I was part of a greater whole and that along with certain rights conferred on me I was obligated to make that whole better by active participation. Remember “Do a good deed every day”? That was in simple terms, a statement of who we were and of who we were striving to become. We were told we were citizens, not only of our town, but of our county, state, country, and ultimately, the world. Personally, I have a great sense of place. When I drive across the Hood Canal Bridge, approach from the water via Washington state ferry or drive up the Hood Canal on U.S. Highway 101, I am always happy to cross that line to my home. I have lived and worked in Port Townsend proper for most of my time here and have enjoyed everything that meant to me – walking every-

where, knowing the shop owners both up and downtown, taking my children to Chetzemoka Park, and supporting my neighbors and friends by shopping in their stores or using their services. Now, I live outside the city limits, and I love that too. I buy food from farmers I have gotten to know and I shop a little closer to home, in Port Hadlock and Chimacum. I continue to do business with the people and businesses I always have, but spend more time with those business owners closer to my home. So, what does this ramble have to do with the Jefferson County Chamber? Only this: We are all in this together. Jefferson County is a beautiful place and holds within it some beautiful communities, each with their own gifts and their own concerns. We can think of each of them as jewels in our crown, if you like, each one beautiful in its own right, but adding to the whole. If you have concerns about the Chamber and the direction we are taking, please talk to us about it. We are always happy to listen to your concerns and want to engage with you in making this great place to live and work even greater.

BOAT SCHOOL BUILDING DEDICATION Jeff Hammond, a master instructor emeritus at the Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, cuts the ribbon for a new building for the school bearing his name. The building was dedicated to him in honor of his 25 years as an instructor at the boat school. Chamber representatives were on hand to provide the big scissors and offer congratulations.

Building Business, Building Community Communicate through our business blog on jeffcounty chamber.org, our weekly e-newsletter and our newsletter. If you’re not tuned in you are missing the most current news available on issues that matter to your business. Members are encouraged to submit their news for publication to director@jeffcountychamber. org. This is the best FREE advertising available – get your message out there!

The Resort at Port Ludlow

New members kabobs (lamb kofte, organic chicken), tacos (steak, shrimp), burritos (veggie, chicken, beef), hot sandwiches (reuben, grilled veggie, tuna melt), soups, salads, and sandwiches. They are on Facebook and we will also be on the Port Townsend map due out this spring. We are going to have a web site soon at owlsprit.com. They are joining the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce because they want to step into the community even more and support Port Townsend. They try really hard to work with as many local suppliers as possible and joining the Chamber makes sense for following with that mindset. Stop in for lunch or dinner at 218 Polk Street, Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

the Port Townsend Barter Exchange, and how it all works, please visit www. PTBarter.com, send an email to info@ ptbarter.com; or call (360)232-4411. The $395 enrollment fee is currently being waived for new members who enroll prior to June 30, so sign up now! Trading officially starts July 1, 2011. The first 50 members to enroll will get $150 free barter bucks. Refer a new member and get $50 free barter bucks. And don’t forget to let them know what your needs and wants are and they’ll work diligently on getting them fulfilled! Don’t spend cash – use barter instead. Barter is Smarter!

orchard produced enough fruit to ferment was 2008, they had 2,400 pounds of apples and were delighted. In 2009 they had over 15,000 pounds of apples and we were astounded. The cold wet spring of 2010 slowed them down a little but they were still able to produce more than 700 cases of cider this year. Because they are a two person plus friends crew, that is probably enough for awhile. They are completing a tasting room this spring and will open for tasting and tours on the June 3. They can be reached at 379-8915, snpbishop@ waypt.com and through their web site at www.alpenfirecider.com.

ALPENFIRE CIDER Steve and Nancy Bishop are the owners of Alpenfire Cider (Formerly Wildfire Cider). Alpenfire Cider is Washington’s Organic hard cider producer. They grow 900 English and French traditional cider apple trees with a few heritage apples scattered through. The trees are tightly trellised on just about an acre and a half of land. The first year their

OWL SPRIT Owl Sprit is a lunch and dinner cafe serving homemade, quality food in a warm cozy environment. They feature delicious home made foods such as

Continued from Page 1

4 June 2011 Jefferson County Chamber Newsletter

WALKS WITH LLAMAS I’m Beverly McNeil and my business is “Walks With Llamas and Essence of Nature Photography” My photography offers fine quality blank greeting cards and matted and framed images and are shown by appointment. I have everything from birds to grizzlies. My part time profession is Physician Assistant, Primary Care. My passion is hiking and nature photography and more recently my two llamas which I’ve been training and socializing over the past several months. I have had such an overwhelming response from people that I meet on a local trail or just walking the llamas down Hastings that I decided to start a business called Walks With Llamas so people can learn more and have a personal experience with these beautiful, gentle, and intelligent animals. I’ve even had a 3 year old walking my 6-year-old llama named Sweetie by

herself! I can be reached at 360-385-9730 or at btrails@q.com. Phone contact is best because I’m allergic to computers. I joined the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce so I could meet more of the community and of course to get my new business going. I’ve been living in Port Townsend for about five years now. Previously from Forks three years, Portland 12 years, rural Alaska 12 years, and Colorado as a child and young adult.

PERFECT ENDINGS CUPCAKES Perfect Endings Cupcakes specializes in cupcakes and retail products related to cupcakes. After years of perfecting her cupcakes with friends and family, LaTrecia Arthur began cupcake catering for weddings and special events. Her love of this community motivated her to open Perfect Endings Cupcakes to share her cupcakes with locals as well as visitors. She offers cupcakes in more than a dozen flavors in two sizes, classic and petite. Some of her most favored flavors are coffee chocolate and sweet lemon. She also offers local Sunrise coffee. Her new location at 909 Water St., Port Townsend. 360-385-2332. perfectendingscupcakes.com.

Ag-tourism big topic at state VIC conference By Karen Anderson Each year the Association of Visitor Information Centers of Washington (AVICW) meets in a city somewhere in Washington state. Near the end of April 2011, our Port Townsend Visitor Information Center (VIC) staff met in Leavenworth for their second year at this conference. The annual AVICW conference covers a variety of topics relevant to tourism and VICs across the state. Key talking points this 2011 conference were: Visitor Center volunteers, how to keep them coming back for more; Leavenworth, 2.2 million annual visitors (How do they do it?); the end of Washington state tourism?; apples and potatoes; with the hot item on the agenda being ag-tourism. During a time when citizens and tourists are becoming more conscious of local sustainability, ag-tourism is becoming a big draw in rural communities. For nonprofits in Jefferson County, volunteers are an essential component of staying alive, especially in this economic climate. Our beautiful summers fill us up and support all of our businesses. Overcast and drizzly winter months though, leave us feeling eager for action. Volunteers’ commitments to our causes keep them coming back. We do what we can to recognize and make our appreciation of them known, but how do we keep them happy and busy during those slow times? Fortunately, the slow times can be a blessing, albeit in disguise. The VIC uses these times to update informative lists and make schedules. It serves as a transition between time with the people and time with the paper. Volunteers all have different skill sets. Some are organized. Some are artistic. Some have a lot

Visitor Information Center Manager Karen Anderson gets into the promotional spirit at the meeting of the Association of Visitor Information Centers of Washington . of great ideas. Some you rely on to get things done. Find the skill set and start making the improvements to your business you’ve had on your list during the previous year. Employ your volunteers for brainstorming sessions on what improvements need to be made for the upcoming year. Volunteers who recognize that they are a part of your business and not just warm bodies filling obligatory space are more apt to stick with you during times when the sun is on vacation and the tourists are at home. Leavenworth is a small town on the eastern side of Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains. In an effort to bring tourism into Eastern Washington, Leavenworth branded itself a “Bavarian” town. Its authenticity is questionable, though, to say the least. So how is Leavenworth one of the most popular tourist destinations of Washington? The answer is this: 100 percent cooperation. All shops, restaurants, and accommodations in the downtown area are complete-

ly devoted to the theme. In an area where there is spectacular hiking, camping, fishing, and breathtaking views, the business owners have chosen to capitalize on their scenic beauty by pretending to be in the Swiss Alps. False as it may be, it works. Oh, the comparisons to Port Townsend are spinning in my brain! And Port Townsend comes out on top in almost every ring I put it in with a town like Leavenworth. Port Townsend is real. It has working trades, local products and arts crafted by the people who really live here, and a real and palpable history. And our businesses’ commitment to our Victorian heritage is palpable in itself. So where are Port Townsend’s 2 million visitors? It could very well be that the thing keeping them away is the thing that many local citizens are grateful for: you can’t get there from here. Port Townsend is not a thoroughfare for travelers on their way to some fantastical getaway, it IS the fantastical getaway. The people who

come here are here because they want to be here. So maybe it’s a tradeoff. Does our town need the business so badly that we all dress up like swashbuckling pirates and surly wenches to deal with snarky tourists? Or are we content with our rollercoaster profits and losses as long as they are determined by money that is eager to be here? Nuts. Didn’t Jack London spend the night in our jail? If you’ve been keeping up with Washington state tourism, or just reading the Chamber newsletter recently, you know that the state’s tourism budget has been cut as of the end of this month. Tourism is Port Townsend’s largest industry, second only to the Port Townsend Paper Corp. Whereas the paper mill provides approximately 300 jobs to our community, the rest of our residents are affected by tourism, whether they realize it or not. It’s the circle of life for the new millennium. Tourism brings people with money to spend in Port

Townsend. That money helps businesses pay for stock and employees. Employees pay their mortgage with those dollars. Are you a resident of Port Townsend with a job that doesn’t deal with tourism? Guess again. We ALL deal with tourism, even if it’s indirect. What happens when there are no tourism dollars for marketing Port Townsend? This is the actual economic problem we are facing at this moment. How long can we rely on repeat business and word of mouth? A large number of the VIC numbers are from people who say they’ve never been here before. They’ve seen Port Townsend in Sunset magazine, AAA, and other travel/tourism pieces. During our statewide tourism crisis, a group of concerned people came together to form the Washington State Tourism Alliance to take care of all of our tourism concerns. Meanwhile, back in Olympia, tourism as we know it looks like this until June 30: “Share Your Washington.” The premise is that if everyone in Washington state invites and receives one person, this will create approximately 20,000 jobs and generate millions of dollars in revenue. If you ask them, they will come. How do we get them to come? Surprisingly, people are more and more interested in how others sustain their community so they can learn how to sustain their own. In these days of climate change, box stores, and pollution, the trend seems to be heading in a new direction – ag-tourism. Washington state is the largest producer of apples in the country, second in the world to China. Your Braeburns, Fuji, and Granny Smith apples are all grown on the eastern side of our state.

Think Idaho supplies most of potatoes in our country? Nope. Washington produces 57 percent more potatoes than our potato state next door. Looking around East Jefferson County, we see many local farmers living off the land and supplying their produce to our Food Co-Op and farmers’ markets along with their own direct sales. Many of the farmers are originally from larger cities and have developed an awareness and a foresight to recognize that mass food production, genetically modified produce, and pesticide-laden fruits and veggies are not sustainable for our world. To avoid the country’s continuing epidemic of obesity, we must start living a healthier lifestyle; and people who are not working within the industry are starting to stand up and take notice. Tourists these days want to see where their carrots are grown, or take a weekend to pick their own mushrooms, or maybe even meet their future lamb chop. In the past few years, we’ve seen an increase in farm tours and weekend excursions to local “U-Pick” farms. It’s not just about the lavender or tulips anymore. People want to know what they’re putting into their bodies. And what better way to do that than by taking a vacation to where their food is grown, meeting their local growers, and even helping to pick their own afternoon snack. Eastern Jefferson County is brimming with local merchants who offer services for local produce, wine, cider, beer, honey, cheese, herbs, eggs, coffee and chocolate among other things. It’s time to follow the herd. You can support local tourism by supporting your local growers!

June 2011 Jefferson County Chamber Newsletter 5

Profile

Randels a fan of Fort Worden plan By Patience Rogge Port Townsend’s Deputy Mayor George Randels arrived in Jefferson County 11 years ago by that happy accident known as serendipity. His path led from growing up in the western New York state town of Painted Post, to college in Rochester and law school at the University of Buffalo and various jobs on the East Coast. While on a brief visit to the Key City with his sister and brother-in-law, who were considering relocating to Port Townsend when they retired, Randels and the couple found the ideal house. Since they weren’t ready to retire and Randels was, they struck a deal. Randels would lend them the down payment, move in and rent the place until they were ready to make their move. On Labor Day 2000, his third day in the area, Randels became a fulltime resident of Jefferson County. A few years later, the story was completed when they moved to the house and Randels found his own place. After a 20-year career in the other Washington on the staff of Rep. John La Falce (D-N.Y.) and working for the House Small Business Committee, Randels naturally was drawn to civic involvement

Gerorge Randels spent 20-years in the other Washington and served on the staff of Rep. John La Falce (D-N.Y.) and the House Small Business Committee. in his new town. He joined the Fort Worden Advisory Committee, a citizens’ group charged with representing the community’s interest in the management of the state park. A short time later, he took a seat on the Port Townsend Planning Commission and eventually became chair. When a vacancy occurred on the City Council, Randels received an interim appointment and was subsequently elected for a four-year term. As a councilor, Randels is involved with the big picture of making city policy, but his heart still belongs to Fort Worden. He

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sees Fort Worden as an important part of the regional economy. “Fort Worden is a factory. It doesn’t make widgets. It makes smiles. It makes arts; it is an economic engine. We need to make sure that the budget problems in Olympia don’t spill over and affect Fort Worden.” On the subject of the recently passed Discover Pass legislation, Randels expresses strong doubts about its application to Fort Worden. “Fort Worden is different from most state parks because it is an urban park. People come here to listen to jazz, to build furniture, to work out; yes, to walk on the beach, but many don’t necessarily visit as a destination like Yosemite,” he declares. Implementation of the pass will be difficult and he foresees problems for the city in enforcing parking regulation in the adjacent neighborhood. Randels feels that hope is still alive for the Legislature to provide the money necessary to fund the conversion of Building 202 into a higher education facility even though the entire State Parks system in under financial stress. Randels points to the exponential growth of the Goddard College program, the

development of Madrona Mind & Body Institute and the Port Townsend School of Woodworking as examples of the potential for development of the fort as a center for lifelong learning. The implementation of a Public Development Authority (PDA) will speed this development, Randels says. Even though State Parks and Peninsula College could do the job, their processes are by law slow and cumbersome, while a PDA is nimble, he explains. He points to the Pike Place Market, the Seattle Aquarium, and Fort Vancouver as examples in Washington of how a PDA works. The San Francisco Bay Area’s Gateway in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area stands as a model for reuse of former military facilities. In closing our interview, Randels wanted to emphasize how impressed he is with the new leadership he sees emerging in Jefferson County. He is especially pleased to see Teresa Verraes as executive director of the Chamber of Commerce, and looks forward to the organization’s growth with her at the helm. Randels can be contacted by email at gr321@ olypen.com.

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The Resort At Port Ludlow welcomes return of Tall Ships

The brig Lady Washington and her companion Hawaiian Chieftain are scheduled to sail into Port Ludlow Bay the evening of June 16 and remain docked for four nights. The ships will tie up at the Port Ludlow Marina and are to be open to the public for viewing June 17-19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lady Washington and Hawaiian Chieftain also will host guests on numerous excursions, aptly titled, “Battle Sails,” “Adventure Sails,” and “Sunset Sails.” Battle Sails feature booming cannon fire and close-quarter naval style maneuvers, scheduled June 18-19 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Adventure Sails feature a demonstration of tall ship handling and a chance for guests to assist sailing such a vessel. The romantic Sunset Sail takes guests around Ludlow Bay during the twilight hour. The Lady Washington is a 1989 wooden replica of one of the first U.S. ﬂagged vessels to visit the west coast of North America. The modern ship appeared as HMS Interceptor in the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean – the Curse of the Black Pearl.” The Hawaiian Chieftain is a steel-hulled representation of a typical early 19th-century South Seas trader.. Tucked away on the Olympic Peninsula of the northern Puget Sound, the Resort At Port Ludlow’s secluded location is what makes it so special; it’s easily reached from Seattle yet removed from the fast pace and demands of urban life. For more information on the resort or the tall ships’ stop in Port Ludlow, visit portludlowresort.com or call 877-805-0868. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for up-to-the minute announcements. The Grays Harbor Historical Seaport Authority is a not-for-profit public development authority based in Aberdeen, Wash., that owns and operates the tall ships. For more information and to purchase tickets for the sails, visit historicalseaport.org/, or call the Grays Harbor Historical Seaport at 1-800-200-5239.

Follow the Chamber on Twitter, Facebook If you are a member of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and use Twitter or Facebook -- please follow us @ JeffCoChamber on Twitter and Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.

We use Twitter and Facebook to showcase our members and bring you the latest business news that is important to our members – so if you’ve got some news, a deal, a Twitter-only special – tweet about it and we’ll help spread the word.

Share Your Washington will bring visitors, create jobs Who would you like to invite to visit? Your best friend from college, relatives you haven’t seen in a while, a favorite neighbor who moved away a few years ago? Well, now is the time to invite them to visit you and experience everything that Port Townsend and Jefferson County have to offer – all while simultaneously supporting our local economy. You may have seen us out and about with our big Share Your Washington sign, taking photos, tweeting and posting them on our Facebook pages to help spread the word and build awareness about this exciting

campaign. Created in partnership with the Washington State Tourism Office and the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, this campaign offers you an opportunity to invite your friends and family for a visit by sending a special Share Your Washington postcard invitation online at ShareYourWashington. com. It gives you an opportunity to make a difference in helping support our local tourism-related businesses. Running now through June 15, the Share Your Washington promotion encourages Washingtonians to invite loved ones for a vacation in our neck of the woods, while also

entering a sweepstakes drawing for a chance to win a significant grand prize from Alaska Airlines. Entering is simple. Residents of Washington may go to ShareYourWashington.com to send electronic postcards to friends and family, which automatically enters the sender into the sweepstakes. There is no limit to the number of times residents can enter – the more people invited, the more chances to win! Here’s what the grand prize entails: Unlimited air travel within Washington state on Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air numbered flights in their coach class cabin for two people. One round trip air travel in coach class cabin for two people anywhere Alaska Airlines flies. The round trip travel vouchers may be redeemed between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012. Travel must be completed by June 30, 2012. Tourism is Washington’s fourth largest industry and represents $15.2 billion to our statewide economy. If we all get one person to visit, we could help create 20,000 Washington jobs. Look for us around town and throughout the county with our Share Your Washington sign reminding everyone about Deputy Mayor George Randels (left) and PT Arts Commission Chair Stan Rubin are en- the campaign. If you’re using thusiastic about inviting friends and family to visit Port Townsend. Photo by Christina Twitter, please use the hashtag Pivarnik #ShareYourWA and “like” us

on Facebook at www.facebook. com/ShareYourWA. We’re very excited about this promotion and hope it encourages all of you to invite a friend or loved one to come enjoy Port Townsend and Jefferson County.

For more info about the campaign or if you’d like to use the sign for an event you’re hosting, contact Christina Pivarnik, the City of Port Townsend’s contracted marketing director, at Christina@EnjoyPT.com.

Chamber contacts

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Chamber Staff

Executive Board

Executive Director Teresa Verraes director@jeffcountychamber.org

President Kim Aldrich Cobalt Mortgage Vice president Fred Obee The Leader Secretary Molly Force N.D. Prosper Natural Health Past President Kris Nelson Siren’s Pub Treasurer Kerry Robinson Frontier Bank

Event Coordinator Laura Brackenridge admin@jeffcountychamber.org 385-7869 VIC Manager Karen Anderson info@jeffcountychamber.org Membership Director Heather Flanagan

admin@jeffcountychamber.org

800-800-1577 ourfirstfed.com

More enthusiasm for Share Your Washington, this time at Rocky Brook Falls near Brinnon. From left is Debbie Wardrop, Teresa Verraes, Christina Pivarnik, Miriam Villiard and Kitti deLong.

Member FDIC

385-7869

Directors Jordan Eades Hope Roofing Chuck Russell Valley Tavern Ron Ramage Quimper Inn Katherine Brady Brady Chiropractic Linda Streisguth Puget Sound Energy Judy Cavett FairWinds Winery Carol Woodley Hadlock Realty & Hadlock Hotel

Debbie Wardrop Resort at Port Ludlow Vi Koenig PT Laundromat Terra Tosland Worldmark Club Piper Diehl Ludlow Bay Wellness Spa Nancy McConaghy Coldwell Banker Kathryn Brady Brady Chiropractic Bill Wise Team Jefferson

Alex Vinniski Ancestral Spirits Gallery Dominic Svornich Kitsap Bank

Newsletter Advertising Sara Radka The Leader 360-385-2900 We welcome your submissions. If you have news to share, send articles and photos to director@jeffcountychamber. org or mail to 440 12th St. Port Townsend, WA 98368.

June 2011 Jefferson County Chamber Newsletter 7

volunteer of the month

Groves loves traveling the world, volunteering at chamber, MSC moved to Port Townsend in 1986. They made their way out here to visit one sumWhen I grow up I want mer and fell in love with to be Ian Groves. Ian sat in the area. Then they did the sunlight at a window the smartest thing – they table at T’s Restaurant, came back and visited in smiling and laughing with the winter! It didn’t matNancy Tocatlian before we ter; their connection to PT started talking. I was struck was strong and a year later by how the art set behind they sold their spinning Ian enhanced the blue in and weaving business and his pale eyes like shallow moved out to the Northwest water in the Caribbean. permanently. We talked for a couple Ian loves volunteering of hours and I don’t think for the Port Townsend Mawe covered a quarter of rine Science Center in the his life. But what I came away with was more than Ian Groves enjoys good company, traveling the world and the Natural History Exhibit and the Jefferson County stories. Ian loves to smile vibe of an artistic community. Sheriff’s Department as and laugh. He loves good injured himself cliff diving mania as places he would well at the VIC. He also company and seeing new while on furlough. While still like to go to, I realized has his eye on the Port things. He’s done everyTownsend Film Festival thing and been everywhere recovering in a VA hospital that his previous negative in Chicago, he met a young response was due to the for later this year. He can and he’s still going. nurse named Lois. His fact that this man makes no relate to everyone due Everywhere he’s been, charm won him the girl and plans; he is presented with to all of his experiences, he’s found some sort of an opportunity and he takes which makes him perfect artist community to mingle they married nine months later. it. He’s been presented for these jobs. If left alone in. This might strike some Ian said of his and Lois’ with a lot of opportunithough, he’s got a book in people as odd if they knew 57-year partnership that ties, like the opportunity his hands, or you might him during his speech find him in the kitchen therapist or radio announc- “she was the perfect travel- to bike over the Alps from Munich to Salzburg, or run making mussels with er days, but completely nat- ing companion.” I asked Ian if there’s anywhere he’s the Yukon River in his own lemon cream sauce. Oh, I ural to anyone who knew never been that still dreams riverboat. Our talk actually know where I’m going for him while he was metal of going, and with deadpan interrupted his packing for dinner tonight. sculpting or weaving. precision, he looked at me an Alaskan cruise. Thank you, Ian, for Ian grew up in Califorand said, “no.” I laughed Ian makes big decisions always coming through in nia and joined the Meras he watched me smiling in short periods of time. a pinch and spending so chant Marines right out thoughtfully. There’s too much to do to much time with us. And of school. He was only Later, after he came up waste time thinking every- thank you to all of our there a short time before with New Zealand and Tas- thing over! He and Lois hard-working volunteers! this young, confident man

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID PORT TOWNSEND, WA PERMIT NO. 34

By Karen Anderson

8 June 2011 Jefferson County Chamber Newsletter

Brainstorm for Education makes lunch for chamber BrainStorm for Education treated Chamber members to a lunch of fresh local foods on May 23, much to the delight of everyone who attended. The program began in 2010, with a handful of independent-study math students from Port Townsend High School. Seeking to raise scholarship funds to pay for their tutoring, they produced and performed a dinner and variety show at the Upstage Restaurant on Feb. 22. In a one-night benefit performance, they reached their goals and raised $1,500, enough money to support themselves for four months of after-school education. They were empowered to pursue more opportunities. Working with their tutor, Jonathan Safir, they are creating their next project – the “BrainStorm FieldCourse” – an out-of-the-box, community-based experiential learning program for high school students from our community. Currently there are 12 students representing Port Townsend, Chimacum and Jefferson Community School. They will be focusing on local food – “the systems that feed us” – and will be creating a book, website, and Facebook blog, to provide resource guides for

the community and to promote local businesses. Each student will receive a different academic credit, ranging from environmental studies and sustainable business to journalism and photography. Many local organizations are getting involved, as sponsor/investors, mentors, and advisers.

Member of the month

Subway Sandwiches Mickey Davis 1300 Water Street Port Townsend, WA (360) 385-1463