July 2011
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!
July 4 – No meeting. Happy Independence Day! July 11 – Leif Hansen
Leif Hansen of Spark Social Media presents: “Social Media Marketing: What works, what’s hot and where are we going next?”
July 18 – Rogers Weed
Rogers Weed, director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, is charged with retaining the jobs and companies we have in our state today and attracting new ones. Hear what the Commerce Department is doing for you.
July 25 – No meeting due to an Elks event.
The Young Professionals Group has formed to promote networking among the younger entrepreneurs in Jefferson County. Above is a Gallery Walk event at Artisans on Taylor. Photo by Rachel Ganapoler
Young Professionals Network rolling By Jordan Eades Our Executive Director, Teresa Verraes, talks about Port Townsend as “one of the last best places.” I can attest to that. Seven years ago, I journeyed from Madison, Wis., to Port Townsend. PT was enrapturing and sometimes exasperating! It’s not easy making a go of it on the Olympic Peninsula. Many of us have struggled to provide for ourselves and our families. I have watched too many of my friends and fellow entrepreneurs not survive economically and leave for bigger cities. I joined the Chamber board with the intent to give back to my community and to help create positive change for the future. I also wanted to create a space for young professionals to have more of an influencing voice and hand in the direction of Jefferson County. To do so, we had to
be pro-active in creating opportunity for ourselves and for each other in this challenging economic environment. It was out of our collective desire to connect and to see our businesses thrive that the idea for a program for the young professionals of Jefferson County evolved. Over the last six months, the Chamber has facilitated conversations to better understand the needs of the young professionals and entrepreneurs in Jefferson County. In our “Test Labs” (information gathering sessions which have helped create the platform for the young professionals network) we learned that our young professionals are craving more real-time connection with each other – connection that goes beyond a Facebook page or the Linked-In network. We want to know the faces of our peers – to gather together, share our stories and help each other succeed personally and
professionally. Ultimately, we feel that this new platform created by the Chamber will help facilitate the deeper connection sought by our young professionals. What is the Young Professionals Network (YPN) all about? The Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network is comprised of under-45 entrepreneurs and business professionals within Jefferson County. Through a variety of different programs, YPN helps participants build business networks and community, share resources and experiences, develop professionally through educational opportunities, combine goals for advocacy, contribute to economic development and leverage influence in the county’s future. The Chamber and supporting entities Continued on Page 2