March 2010
Serving Port Townsend, Tri Area & Port Ludlow
County residents push tourism; report details economic impact March Speakers Port Townsend 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!
March 1 - Carol McGough The Bed & Breakfast Industry: Past, Present & Future: Carol McGough, former owner of the James House, takes a look at issues affecting the bed & breakfast industry in Jefferson County, sharing her experience and insights of the last 20 years.
Representatives from Jefferson County attended the recent Tourism Day in Olympia on Feb. 9. They were able to meet with each one of our legislators for about 15 minutes. They asked for support of the tourism industry on the Olympic Peninsula and conveyed to the legislators the positive economic impart that tourism plays in Jefferson County. The Washington State Tourism office released the following press release about the impact of tourism in Washington State:
2009 Travel Impacts Report: Visitors Spent $14.2 Billion in Washington State
How is the Hotel Industry Faring Locally and Nationally: Joe will give an overview of the hotel industry and how the new potential hotels coming to our region will affect the existing local lodging businesses.
Annual study showcases economic benefits of tourism industry in Washington In 2009, travelers to Washington spent an estimated $14.2 billion in the state, according to the preliminary 2009 Travel Impacts Report, released today by the Department of Commerce and Washington State Tourism. The annual study shows that travel and tourism is Washington’s fourth largest export industry. Fueled by visitor spending, tourism supports jobs for Washingtonians, bolsters local economies and small business and contributes tax revenue for state and local governments. “This report shows that the travel industry in Washington is a significant contributor to our state’s economy,” said Marsha Massey,
March 22 – Dr. Arum Raha
Thanks to our Platinum, Gold and Silver members
State of Washington Economic & Revenue Forecast Council.
Platinum member
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March 15 – Joe Finnie
March 29 – To be announced
Let’s support tourism in Jefferson County! In Olympia for “Tourism on the Hill Day” were a total of 15 supporters from Jefferson, Clallam and Grays Harbor counties. Pictured are (from left) Viva Davis, Marilyn St. Clair, Lee Ann Dahl, Joni Eades, Carol Woodley, Joe Baisch, Diane Schostak, Joy Baisch, Bill Roney, Nancy Dudacek Milliman, Christina Pivarnik, Paris Bishop, Bill Tennent and Ryan Anderson.
Executive Director for Washington State Tourism. “Once again, we see that tourism has tremendous potential to help Washington mitigate the current economic challenges, bring in new revenues and create jobs statewide.” Although the report shows a slight decrease in travel spending from peak year 2008, the decrease is reflective of national trends, with key contributing factors being drops in hotel room rates and gas prices in 2009. In fact, Washington has held its own in terms of national market share, despite a difficult economy and a very competitive landscape.
Gold members
“Tourism is critical to bolstering our local economy in Snohomish County,” said Amy Spain, Snohomish County Tourism Bureau. “In Snohomish County, visitor spending totaled an estimated $924 million in 2008, provided nearly $15 million in local taxes and employed 9,610 residents in travel-related jobs. In this difficult economy, we depend on the revenues and jobs created by the travel industry in Washington.” The annual Washington State Travel Impacts report studies the state’s travel industry and its statewide
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Silver members
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Full plate for this year’s chamber board By Kris Nelson Chamber President As the president of the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, this year I have been very focused on our goals and objectives as an organization as well as my responsibility and role in leading us toward those goals. In our Kris Nelson bylaws, our Chamber’s objective is “Aiding in the development of the community as a commercial, industrial and residential center. Specifically, to help business prosper and grow, increase job opportunities, encourage orderly expansion and development of all segments of the community, contribute to the overall economic stability of the community, and assist in promoting good roads, transportation, schools and other things necessary for the welfare of our community.” This guidance or rules of the road helps the Chamber of Commerce board each year to set annual goals coinciding with that mission. Through a list of many ideas and passions the board came together on six goals for this year with an implementation plan for each. 1. Articulate membership benefits. Communicate the benefit that is associated with membership to the business community. Review and confirm the range of benefits provided to ensure continued relevance. We are weighing and laying out the value all of the tangible and intangible benefits of being a member, so we can clearly articulate it better to our members and potential members. It also then allows us to measure the value of new projects for our members. Once these first steps are done, we will be asking you, our members, to review our benefits and determine how they relate to your business. We also want to know what we can improve on in the future to increase the Chamber’s value for your business. 2. Educate and advocate for members. Provide to
our members fair, unbiased information regarding issues affecting the community. This effort has multiple parts and committees involved. Using our e-alert system, weekly e-newsletters as well as our monthly newsletter and at our meetings, we will be watching and reporting on city, county, and statewide decisions pending or adopted that could affect our business community. We will also inform you of opportunities to represent your business’ interests and be involved in the decision-making processes legislatively. We are committed to having our members informed and represented. A second part of this is to educate our members on relevant and useful business topics. We have a committee that will be working on business seminars for our continued education and seeking input on what kinds seminars we should offer. 3. Add new members while retaining current members. Increase the effectiveness of the chamber by growing membership while ensuring that existing members are well served by the organization. Critically assess the needs of members and evaluate new ways that the Chamber can provide services that help address those needs. We see this as two separate issues with two separate focuses, one for existing members and one for new members. Two committees are tasked with seeking answers on how we can best serve our existing membership while preserving the autonomy of different areas. The second effort involves reaching out to
2 March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter
non-members. I would like to see a time where all businesses are members of the Chamber of Commerce because the Chamber of Commerce is invaluable to all businesses. My hope is that these committees may find some answers and help us on a path toward that end. 4. Actively collaborate. Network with other organizations (Marine Trades Association, Fort Worden Partners, etc.) to identify opportunities that could provide mutual benefit. We have assigned a liaison to first identify, and then coordinate with those many organizations with which we share common goals. Our ultimate goal: the success of our business community. 5. Focus on the business of business. Promote Jefferson County to new businesses. Serve as a center for information for prospective businesses seeking to locate here. Ensure consistency in the provision of information. Consistently follow up on contacts. We are improving our communications through new technology, a new expanded newsletter, a better website and social media. We are improving our staffing through evaluating job descriptions and measuring them against our objectives. We are also working on a number of useful business tools such as a better database and a coordinated effort to collect information on our business community for potential businesses as well as our members’ use. 6. Retain and involve youth. Seek ways of supporting or creating employment opportunities for young people that would allow them to stay in
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Jefferson County Administrator Phillip Morley (left) and County Commissioner David Sullivan gave a 2010 county report at the Chamber meeting on Monday, Feb. 8. They spoke about the county budget, future partnerships and Memorial Field.
our community. Coordinate with ongoing efforts that seek to create employment opportunities for youth in our community. We have created a young professionals group to seek out the needs of and to support our younger workforce. We will also look at partnering with area schools and educational institutions looking at furthering education and professional guidance for our young adults. In addition to our six goals, we have created a strategic planning committee to look at our path, where we are, where we want to be, and how to get there. You will also see many of our other longterm committees doing hard unsung work on our mixers, Concerts on the Dock, and The Business Expo, as well as our long-committed dedication to the success of tourism, and working out merger details. Our
subcommittees are already hard at work collecting information and making detailed plans. When you receive surveys, please take a moment to fill them out as they are a crucial element of our information collecting and will give us long-term direction. We also will also be having a midyear retreat this year to measure how all of these subcommittees are doing on our goals. Stay tuned and I will give you an update on how and what we are doing. If it looks like our plate is full this year, well, ambition and enthusiasm are certainly steps to great things. If you have the time, now would be a great time to get involved with the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. If you have any comments, feedback, or ideas please email me at ptchamber.kris@gmail. com.
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Chamber adopts new Travel: levels of membership Report This year the Chamber is offering some benefit packages with your membership. These special membership levels group some of our more popular benefits to add on to your membership investment. Members who take advantage of these benefit levels also will be acknowledged in our e-newsletter and on the Chamber website. So, if you already add on to your membership the expanded Internet listing and brochures, and want to try out being a meeting sponsor, then become a Silver Member and get a discount. Consider becoming some of the first Platinum, Gold or Silver Chamber members! Contact the Chamber office for more information.
Platinum Benefit Package – $500 annual investment Logo & name on Chamber website & e-newsletter Expanded listing Brochure service at VIC 2 newsletter inserts 4 weekly meeting sponsorships 2 sets of mailing labels Platinum Member Certificate Total value
$300 $80 $40 $100 $300 $40 priceless $860
Gold Benefit Package – $300 annual investment
Name on Chamber website Expanded listing Brochure service at VIC 1 newsletter insert 2 weekly meeting sponsorships 1 set of mailing labels Gold Member Certificate Total value
$150 $80 $40 $50 $150 $20 priceless $490
Silver Benefit Package – $175 annual investment 1 weekly meeting sponsorship Expanded listing Brochure service at VIC Silver Member Certificate Total value
$75 $80 $40 priceless $195
Our mission is to provide leadership and services to enhance the business environment of the community.
❱ Continued from page 1
economic effects. Prepared for the Department of Commerce by Dean Runyan Associates, the full Travel Impacts report is available on Washington State Tourism’s industry Web site, experiencewa.com/Industry. Key highlights from the 2009 report include: Total employment directly generated by travel spending in the state was 147,600 in 2009, which represents approximately 3.8 percent of all jobs in Washington. The six counties with more than 10 percent travelgenerated jobs were all non-urban. Travel spending generates more than 15 percent of local sales and lodging taxes in eight counties, all of which are non-urban. In 2009, travel spending in Washington generated nearly $1 billion ($958 million) in local and state tax revenues. There were an estimated 5.6 million domestic air passenger arrivals to Washington in 2009. International visitors accounted for $1.3 billion in visitor spending in 2009. Residents from other states accounted for $6.4 billion in visitor spending in Washington in 2009. For more information about travel, go to experiencewa.com.
Bill (center) and Beth Juran (right) owners of Marketech International and J & S Fabrication Inc., in Glen Cove, were named the 2009 Tim Caldwell Business Leaders of the Year. Helen Kullman, (left) manager at the Port Townsend Food Bank for the past 10 years, was named Citizen of the Year.
Chamber contacts Chamber Staff
Executive Board
Interim Director Jennifer Wells MacGillonie jennifer@ptchamber.org
President Kris Nelson Siren’s Pub
Business Office Admin. Janice Wrhel admin@ptchamber.org
Vice president Kim Aldrich Cobalt Mortgage
VIC Manager Karen Anderson
Secretary Molly Force N.D. Prosper Natural Health Past President Mike Cavett FairWinds Winery
Directors Dana Petrick Dana Pointe Interiors Chuck Russell Valley Tavern Patrick Irwin Platt Irwin Law Firm Fred Obee The Leader Linda Streisguth Puget Sound Energy Thatcher Bailey Centrum Vi Koenig PT Laundromat Jeff Chew Peninsula Daily News
Marliyn St. Clair Victoria House Piper Diehl Ludlow Bay Wellness Spa Kerry Robinson Frontier Bank Kathy Sharp Piano Studio David So Inn at Port Hadlock Nancy McConaghy Coldwell Banker Le Hornbeck PT Computers
Newsletter Advertising Kathryn Peterson of the Leader 360-385-2900 We welcome your editorial submissions on topics of interest to Chamber members. We reserve the right to edit all submissions. Please submit articles to jennifer@ptchamber.org. 440 12th Street Port Townsend 360-385-7869 www.ptchamber.org
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March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter 3
Briefly... Chamber mixer Tuesday March 9 The March Mixer will be at Evergreen Fitness and hosted by Evergreen Fitness, Michelle West, owner, and Linda Lockwood, Accounting & Business Consulting Services. There is the usual food, drink and fun with some exercise class demos thrown in! The party is set for 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Tuesday March 9 at 22 Talequah Rd., across from the Elks in Glen Cove.
Ambassador program starts to roll The Chamber’s new Ambassador Program has gotten off to a great start. We enjoyed a fun evening at the Upstage Restaurant and planned events to participate in over the next couple of months. Keep your eye out for future ribbon-cuttings to welcome new Chamber businesses! Thanks to Ambassadors Vi Koenig, Sandi Bird, Melanie Bozak, Mickey Davis, Nancy Tocatlian, Carol Woodley, Viva Davis, Katherine Baril, Heather Flanagan, Rochelle Prather, Marilyn St. Clair, Mendi Short and special thanks to Sherry Kack for helping organize the group. All are welcome to join and this is a great way to get involved in the chamber in a fun and low-key way. Contact the Chamber office for information.
Teaching to marketing, Sandi does it all By Patience Rogge Sandi Bird, Admissions and Marketing Director for the Life Care Center of Port Townsend, invites the community to attend the Chamber’s third annual Wellness and Safety Fair at the Blue Heron Middle School from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 13. “There will be something for everybody, from kids to elders. The committee plans displays, presentations and demonstrations on enrichment activities like arts and crafts, gardening and music as well as health-related topics like nutrition and exercise,” Sandi said. “There will be screenings for various conditions and speakers on end of life issues. Since a similar event usually held in Sequim was cancelled this year, this will be the only opportunity for people in the area to learn about the wellness and safety resources available locally.” Sandi is enthusiastic about the improvements and upgrades currently under way at the Life Care Center, formerly known
Weekly meeting sponsors needed Want to get more exposure for your business through the Chamber? Be a sponsor of one of our Monday meetings! You get your business name on the community Reader board, a time to introduce and promote yourself at the meeting, greet fellow chamber members as they arrive and put your flyers or brochures on the tables. Sponsor a whole month and get the front page ad in the newsletter! Or, try in a sponsorship with other benefits and become a Platinum, Gold or Silver member.
Concerts on the Dock to rock and roll Yes, it’s almost summer! The Concerts on the Dock series is happening again this summer July 1 to Sept 2. Located on Quincy Street next to the Quincy Street dock and Water Street Brewery, this event brings hundreds of people to downtown on Thursday nights. We are starting to look for bands and sponsors. Downtown merchants will want to plan to stay open late on Thursday evenings during the concert series. These sponsorships are a great way to advertise your business to a large number of visitors and locals that enjoy this fun summer event sponsored by the Chamber.
profiles
as the Kah Tai Care Center, 751 Kearney Street in Port Townsend. Although the footprint of the building will not be enlarged, plans include interior and external changes such as a garden, patio, ambulation paths and a meeting room that will be available to the public free of charge. Sandi states that the Care Center is the third largest employer in Port Townsend with a staff of 90 people dedicated to the care of the population they serve. She points out that the Center is stringently governed by a state licensing board, and that the staff must meet high standards, not only the professional nursing staff but also the aides. Each aide must undergo a one-month intensive training and pass a written exam and practicum demonstration to qualify as a Certified Nursing Assistant. This certification, which the Center offers at no fee as a benefit to the community, enables the holder to work in any similar facility in the state.
Chamber promotes your business through Familiarization Tours Over the past several months, the Chamber has been increasing the number of “Fam Tours” that we organize for our wonderful Visitor Information Center volunteers. In January, the Restaurant Fam Tour had the volunteers enjoying tasty treats at The Spot, The Public House, Sirens, and The Silverwater Café. They loved the food and a chance to walk around downtown looking in the storefronts. February’s Fam Tour was of Uptown accommodations: The Blue Gull Inn B&B, The Old Consulate Inn and The Takaki House B&B. A Fort Worden Fam Tour is scheduled for March 10. Volunteers will tour the grounds of Fort Worden led by an experienced tour guide, will receive a brief history of the Fort and go on a driving tour of the all the buildings. On the tour, they will learn the historical uses of the buildings and current venues. We are now expanding our Fam Tours to include other Chamber member businesses in the county, and have invited the volunteers at the Gateway Visitor Center to join our tours. The more our volunteers know about local businesses, the better they can assist visitors coming into our information centers. This is an invaluable opportunity the Chamber supplies to members in Jefferson County. These volunteers love to refer visitors to places that they know and love. Remember, these are the people that are promoting YOUR business to the 22,000 visitors that came through our doors last year. Call Karen at the VIC today to see how your business can be on an upcoming Fam Tour.
4 March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter
Sandi was attracted to Port Townsend by an article in a retirement magazine and decided to make it her home three years ago when she moved here from Marin County, Calif. A volunteer stint working with Sandi Bird invites people to the Wellness elders at the Care Center led to and Safety Fair March 13 at Blue Heron the offer of a new career. Sandi brings broad experience She has found another outlet and education to her current for her energies by joining the position. As an undergraduate, Chamber’s Ambassador program, she studied to be a physical and she is pitching in to help therapist, then switched to organize the Wellness and Safety education. She has worked with sensory development of children, Fair. Sandi feels that we all owe it had a career in real estate for to our neighborhood, community more than 20 years and taught and the planet to be involved, and English as a Second Language in she really walks the walk. Shanghai, China for two years.
Main Street events coming up Main Street After Hours is set 5:30 -7 p.m. Wednesday, March 3 at The Clam Cannery. The event is hosted by Kevin Harris of The Clam Cannery and Puget Sound Energy. Come celebrate Port Townsend Main Street Program’s 25th anniversary from 5:25 to 7:25 p.m. Thursday, March 25 on the second floor of the Mount Baker Block Building. Fun, food and music, leadership and volunteer awards are on the agenda. Cost is $15 per person or $25 for two.Visit ptmainstreet.org for details or call 385-7911.
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2009 Year in Review Real Estate Sales Port Townsend and Jefferson County, WA. Results
2008
2009
% Change
Residential sales Average $ per sq/ft Days on market % of list price Median price
103 $216.62 155 95.55 $300,000
90 $198.97 162 93.05 $278,428
-12.6% -8.1% 4.5% -2.6% -7.2%
All Property Types * Sales Average $ per sq/ft Days on market % of list price Median price
153 $1,605.00 165 94.65 $265,000
131 $1,589.00 172 91.34 $218,000
-14.4% -1.0% 4.2% -3.5% -21.6%
Residential sales Average $ per sq/ft Days on market % of list price Median price
280 $201.00 166 92.91 $299,000
241 $182.45 215 92.68 $269,000
-13.9% -9.2% 29.5% -0.2% -10.0%
All Property Types * Sales Average $ per sq/ft Days on market % of list price Median price
432 $287 171 92.58 $240,000
355 $253 184 90.04 $220,000
-17.8% -11.9% 7.6% -2.7% -8.3%
122
87
-28.7%
Port Townsend
Jefferson County
Land (only) Sales
* Include, Residential, Business opportunity, Commercial, Condominiums, Farms & Ranch, Manufactured Homes, Multi-Family and Vacant Land
Figures provided by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service
Compiled by John Eissinger - Designated Broker RE/MAX FIRST INC. Port Townsend, WA.
Join the Jefferson County Chamber today! It’s easy to join the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce. Application forms are located on our current website at ptchamber. org. You can apply online, or download and print to mail. Or, stop at the Port Townsend Visitor Information Center to talk to Jennifer or Janice. Besides the member benefits you will gain, your support of the Chamber allows us to represent all
businesses in Jefferson County and aid other entities, organizations, projects and events. We partner and work with the City of Port Townsend, Jefferson County, Port of Port Townsend, Team Jefferson, Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, Jefferson Transit, Fort Worden, Main Street and more to represent the interest of businesses in the area. We ask that you consider the Chamber a valuable
and needed membership for your business. Your membership shows support for the greater business community of Jefferson County. Call the Chamber office, or any board member, for more information on becoming a Chamber member. We want to know what the Chamber can do for you. We encourage you to become involved in your Chamber!
Ludlow arts thrive in business galleries Bank, formerly American Marine Bank, 9500 Oak Bay Road, Suite A, displays Bob Jamison’s oil paintings. Coldwell Banker Town & Country, 9522 Oak Bay Road, boasts Joyce Jordan’s oil and watercolor paintings. Mats Mats Chiropractic Clinic, 7470 Oak Bay Road, proclaims Wanda Mawhinney’s acrylic paintings and Cucina Pizza, 52 Village Way, shows off watercolor paintings by Mary Brannaman and Barbara Adams. Gather a few close friends and make plans to seek out each of these artist-sponsoring businesses while taking note of their neighboring businesses. You may be surprised at the variety of service and shopping opportunities in the Village of Port Ludlow!
By Arlene Obtinario March is a perfect time to become acquainted with the Port Ludlow “Village” business amenities while viewing local artwork displays. Throughout the month, Chamber business members in Port Ludlow participate in this parade of local artistic splendor starting in the lower and upper business sections of Port Ludlow and winding along Oak Bay Road. Home Instead Senior Care, 9483 Oak Bay Road, shows Bev Nelson’s oil paintings. Active Life Physical Therapy, 9483 Oak Bay Road, flaunts Jeanne Joseph’s pencil drawings. Port Ludlow’s Madrona Hill Urgent Care, 9481 Oak Bay Road, exhibits Betty Harmon’s oil paintings and ink drawings. Columbia
Hadlock Days looking for vendors, volunteers The Hadlock Days Association is in full swing getting ready for its community festival July 9-11; the Chamber has now joined the effort. The festival will encompass the entire Port Hadlock area, with parade, vendors, classic car and motorcycle show, salmon bake, music, and yes, the famous lawn mower races. This year, the 2010 Northwest Regional Championship Lawn Mower Races will be held during Hadlock Days, bringing 100 racers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Canada and California.
The committee has voted to declare Port Hadlock the “Lawn Mower Race Capital of the World.” Each racing team consists of three to four people – so you can see the huge impact this race and the whole festival will have on the region. Currently, the committee is looking for vendors to participate. Applications for vendors, races and the parade, and contact information, can be found on the Festival’s website, hadlockdays.com. There is also a Facebook fan page at porthadlockdaysfestival.
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March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter 5
Demystifying tourism marketing on Peninsula By Christina Pivarnik With the Chamber merger occurring at the beginning of the year, we’ve heard questions arise about how the lodging tax revenue will be handled and what the tourism marketing plan is for the year. Also we’ve been asked about what those crazy acronyms like TCC and OPTC mean. And how does that all relate to what the Chamber does? The short answer is the lodging tax dollars are hard at work, being used to bring visitors to our area and, yes, there is a marketing plan for how those funds will be spent in 2010. There is a team of dedicated marketing professionals promoting our region on a daily basis, using the lodging tax resources wisely and effectively, and collaborating wherever possible without duplicating one another’s efforts. So let’s take a look at how tourism marketing is accomplished for Port Townsend, Jefferson County and the Olympic Peninsula. At the risk of oversimplification, I’ll start at the beginning. When a guest stays at one of our accommodations within the Port Townsend city limits, their lodging tax goes to the City of Port Townsend or if they’ve stayed outside the city limits it goes to Jefferson County. The same holds true for cities and counties across the state. Lodging tax budgets are approved at the beginning of each year by their respective jurisdictions. A Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) is appointed for the City of Port Townsend by the City Council and for Jefferson County with their LTAC appointed by the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). City of Port Townsend LTAC The Port Townsend LTAC is chaired by Deputy Mayor George Randels and meets quarterly. Marketing strategies for the upcoming year were discussed and recommended by the LTAC with input from various Port Townsend
marketing partners such as Main Street, the Port of Port Townsend, Centrum and the Northwest Maritime Center and me (the City’s contracted marketing director). Those core strategies for 2010 (as addressed in the Feb. 1 Chamber of Commerce meeting) are: 1) Integrate a communications/ public relations plan into all strategies; 2) Develop an active Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) for Port Townsend; 3) Continue to develop culinary tourism for Port Townsend; 4) Market to British Columbia; 5) Utilize a communications/ public relations plan revolving around the launch of the new “Chetzemoka” ferry in August; 6) Co-op our marketing efforts with partners to reach secondary and ongoing target markets; 7) Develop solutions to work with various groups attending trade shows; and 8) Continue to expand upon core marketing endeavors. The City’s tourism-based Web site is www.EnjoyPT.com. Allocation of the lodging tax funds is based upon the marketing strategies listed above and made as a recommendation to City Manager David Timmons who is responsible for overseeing the administration of the lodging tax budget. A portion of the annual LTAC budget is “encumbered,” meaning that funds automatically go toward long-term capital projects such as the McCurdy Pavilion or the Natural History Exhibit at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. The “unencumbered” or more liquid part of the budget supports the above stated marketing strategies including: the Visitor Information Center (VIC), advertising and promotion, public relations, Internet management and professional services contracts, among others. Jefferson County LTAC The County’s LTAC meets in the fall to recommend appropriation of lodging tax funds based upon requests from tourism entities across
6 March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter
the county. It provides funding to operate visitor facilities including the Gateway Visitor Center off Highway 104, the North Hood Canal Visitor Center(s) in the Brinnon/ Quilcene area and the West End via the Forks Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the only tourism-based event— Hadlock Days—the Quilcene Museum and the Jefferson County Historical Society are funded as well. In addition, lodging tax dollars are appropriated to the Tourism Coordinating Council (TCC) to run tourismbased marketing programs in unincorporated Jefferson County. The TCC meets monthly and is comprised of two voting members each from Port Hadlock, Port Ludlow, Brinnon/Quilcene and the West End. In turn, each voting member has an alternate. John Austin is the BOCC representative who sits in an advisory capacity on the TCC, but is not a voting member. Joy Baisch is the chair and Bill Roney is vice-chair. Part of TCC’s marketing strategy for the upcoming year is to focus on Puget Sound “agri,” “culinary,” “eco” and “geo” tourism adventure travelers with their spring campaign having a goal to grow the niche markets of diving, cycling and fishing. Over the past few years, the TCC has partnered with unincorporated Clallam County’s Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau (OPVB). This additional funding provides a more effective marketing program for the rural portions of the Peninsula. In fact, for the Fall 2009 campaign, the City of Port Townsend added lodging tax dollars for partnering as well. (Diane Schostak is the director for the OPVB, located in Port Angeles.) Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission (OPTC) OPTC was created as a tourism marketing collaborative (formerly dubbed “Joint Marketing”) and is comprised of members in Jefferson and Clallam counties. Port Townsend is a member with Jennifer
MacGillonie, Jefferson County Chamber director, and me, as representatives with a portion of City LTAC funds going toward membership. The same holds for Jefferson County with the four representative areas from the TCC as members and a portion of their funds allocated to membership as well. The group meets monthly in Sequim and welcomes all interested guests. Other members are: Sequim Chamber of Commerce, Port Angeles Chamber, Forks Chamber, Clallam Bay/ Sekiu Chamber, Neah Bay Chamber and the Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau. The funds are channeled into regional marketing programs to promote tourism across the entire Olympic Peninsula. As an example, one of OPTC’s goals this year is to target visitors from southern Vancouver Island, which dovetails perfectly with one of Port Townsend’s marketing strategies. Through this organization we also have the opportunity to partner with Washington State Tourism, reaching beyond our region. OPTC also hosts the annual Tourism Summit in October and is administered out of the OPVB office in Port Angeles. Our Web site for the region is www.olympicpeninsula.org. Additional tourism partnerships Special interest organizations have sprung from some of these partnerships, allowing us to focus on a specific tourism target market. A case in point is the newly incorporated Olympic Peninsula Loop Culinary Tourism Association,
better known as the Olympic Culinary Loop. Its mission is to promote the Olympic Peninsula’s culinary experience as a destination for travelers with its board comprised of four members from each of the participating counties: Jefferson, Clallam, Grays Harbor and Mason. Steve Shively, Jay Payne, Crystie Kisler and I sit on that board for Jefferson County. Culinary tourism is also part of Port Townsend’s marketing strategy for 2010. A CVB committee has been formed to attract conferences and meetings to Port Townsend. Members of that committee are comprised of representatives from Fort Worden, the Chamber, Main Street, the Port of Port Townsend, the Northwest Maritime Center, the City’s LTAC, Centrum and the Jefferson County Historical Society. As you can see, a great deal of effort is given to marketing our area to visitors. We collaborate at every turn and partner wherever we can to maximize our precious resources—a woven tapestry of effective marketing. We attend one another’s meetings in the spirit of collaboration, seeking ways to enhance what each region is doing. It’s our hope this clarifies who does what in tourism marketing and how it gets done. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Special thanks go to our elected bodies of City Council and the BOCC for supporting tourism—it truly matters to our local economy! Christina Pivarnik is the contracted Marketing Director for the City of Port Townsend.
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Sequim: 683-8573 680 W. Washington
New Members We welcome these new and returning businesses to the Chamber! Linda Lockwood Accounting & Business Consulting Services 2023 E Sims Way #130 Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-531-0854 Seaport Landing Retirement & Assisted Living Melinda Short 1201 Hancock St Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-379-9376 Arrow Lumber & Hardware Cadian Hendricks 8457 Highway 20 Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-9474 ECHHO Chery Torres 1110 Jefferson St. Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-379-3246 Olympic Peninsula Dance Ken Barnett PO Box 366 Chimacum, WA 98325 360-732-4872 Neu Images Charlie & Jayne Neu PO Box 730 Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-0764 Jefferson Community School Linda Maguire 280 Quincy St Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-0622 SOS Printing Dan Huntingford 2319 Washington St. Port Townsend, WA 98368 360-385-4194 Finnriver Farms & Cidery Keith & Crystie Kisler 62 Barn Swallow Road Chimacum, WA. 98325 360-732-6822
We represent businessess all across the spectrum By Jennifer Wells MacGillonie Executive Director We recently surveyed our members with two simple questions – what are the advantages and what are the obstacles of the Chamber merger? The key I feel, as many did, is good, clear communication. Over the past several months, we have greatly stepped up communication with our members. We have implemented a great email system using Constant Contact. These emails go out to almost 800 people in our community. We also have this newsletter, which this month we increased to eight pages (a huge undertaking!), to provide you with more information about the Chamber, members and partners. This increase in size also will allow us to provide coverage for the whole county. We use our weekly meetings to update our members about Chamber events. Meetings are also a chance for members to communicate with other members. We now have almost 20 Ambassadors that are talking about the Chamber in the community. I spend a lot of my time talking to members and future members about what the Chamber is doing, how they can get involved and what the Chamber can do for them. We have been using social networking, and are currently setting up new Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts under the Jefferson County name, and are developing a new website, jeffcountychamber.com. My goal for the new website is not for it to be a stagnant website, but a constant source of updated information. The board and I are committed to making this merger a success. The enthusiasm and teamwork is exciting. This is a whole new Chamber – a very exciting time – and a chance to move into the future without the old cliques, prejudices and cityversus-county mentality of the past. It’s time to mend fences and join forces and broaden our thinking beyond just small communities of small towns but a large community working together for common goals. As always, I am available to talk with you about your ideas or concerns. Communication goes
two ways. Call us, stop at the Chamber office, or meet me for coffee or lunch. The best part of my job is getting to personally know the business owners in the community. The focus of this newsletter is about tourism. It is a driving force for our region. And the Port Townsend Chamber has a long time reputation as a “tourism” chamber. While the Jefferson County Chamber is committed to representing and being a partner in every business sector in the county, this goal is not pursued at the expense of being involved in tourism in the county. Personally, I am passionate about tourism. I’ve owned the English Inn B&B for nine years. In fact, since I’ve been working for the Chamber, we have greatly increased our involvement with tourism for the entire county. The Chamber board members and I regularly attend Port Townsend LTAC (Lodging Tax Advisory Committee), OPTC (Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission), County TCC (Tourism Coordinating Council) and CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau) meetings. Christina Pivarnik has provided a detailed article about how all these entities work together. Christina, the Chamber and Main Street meet regularly so we are helping each other, not duplicating efforts, and working in partnership. Christina constantly updates members on current marketing plans via this newsletter, the e-newsletter, and by making announcements and presentations at Chamber meetings. And now with the merger, the Chamber will be working with the Tri-Area and Port Ludlow communities on their marketing. Not a day goes by that the Chamber is not directly involved in tourism. However, the Chamber represents ALL businesses in Jefferson County, and we are just as passionate and spend as much time on other projects and committees and partnerships as we do on tourism. We represent hotels, restaurants, retail shops, manufacturers in Glen Cove, web designers, schools, auto shops, nonprofits, retirement communities, real estate agents, insurance companies and banks. Our members come from all sectors of the economy, and it’s my job, and the Chamber’s mission, to work for them all.
Chamber members are enjoying meeting and getting to know other members. Many made comments on how fun it was meeting new people from other areas of the county.
Julie McCulloch from Elevated Ice Cream shares her delicious candies.
Wine and Chocolate mixer a big hit with membership The Chamber-sponsored “Wine & Chocolate” event was Feb. 9 at the Northwest Maritime Center. More than 100 members enjoyed fabulous wine by Sorenson Cellars, Christina James Winery, Fairwinds Winery and cider by Finnriver Farm. Yummy chocolates were provided by Lehani’s/Port Townsend Chocolates and Elevated Ice Cream. Holly’s Fine Flowers supplied the table decorations and everyone got a good laugh when Holly Mayshark, the original Holly of Holly’s Flowers and now with the Leader, won one of the arrangements as a door prize. A gift basket raffle raised $180 for the food bank. Board members Dana Petrick and Piper Diehl put on this event last year in Port Ludlow and did a wonderful job organizing this year’s Chamber event. The mixer drew members from all over the county and was a huge success.
50% Off Second Entreé
Equal or lesser value.
Valid lunch or dinner. With purchase of two beverages.
T’s Restaurant Northwest Cuisine At Its Finest www.Ts-restaurant.com
Lunch & Dinner • Open Wed.-Mon., Closed Tues. • Outside Dining Reservations welcome 360-385-0700 141 Hudson St. at Point Hudson, Port Townsend * Not valid with any other coupon, discount or holidays. One coupon per table. Offer expires 3/31/10.
March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter 7
volunteer of the Month
Meet a real Jersey girl, Harriet Small Harriet Joan Small always has her eye out for the easiest way in to an eatery. She’s part of a breakfast club which goes to different restaurants each week to chat and catch up over a cup of coffee and a good meal. It’s one of the many groups she has become a part of in her 25 plus years living in Port Townsend. She still talks with an accent which, if you didn’t already know that she was a fixture here, you would assume she’s straight off the plane from the Jersey shore. How she ended up in Port Townsend is a common, yet always heartwarming story. She fell in love with it. Harriet was a school teacher and used to own a travel agency. One of the many perks travel agents get is a free flight from different airlines. One day, she decided to go to Victoria, British Columbia. It was all over from there. But her home was still in New Jersey. Instead of moving to the Pacific Northwest right away, she traveled the world. Milan in Italy became her favorite travel destination. However, her favorite memory of her travels was while in Marrakesh, where she stood in a marketplace watching a snake charmer charm a dancing cobra out of a basket. Some Egyptian women came out of a store nearby dressed
Harriet Small
in the common dress of the time. Then the women climbed on to their Harley Davidson and roared away. The invasion of western culture had begun. Harriet’s children were inspired and taught by their mother to go out and see the world. Her son lives in Bangkok, China. And her daughter, after years of travelling, settled down in the lovely little town of Port Townsend. Harriet visited every year until her daughter began raising a child and decided to go into business for herself. At that point, Harriet decided it was time to make the move to her new home. She continued to teach elementary school and soon moved up to teaching eighth grade. She was strict, but fair; and gave the problem children the discipline they
needed to go on to become over achieving students. She even keeps in touch with many of her students from her lifetime of teaching. In fact, Harriet is kept very busy these days keeping in touch with all kinds of people she has met throughout her life, including a child she and her husband fostered for nine months, from Korea who needed medical treatment in America for his heart. Harriet’s big heart is evident to all she comes in contact with. Her students called her “firm but loveable.” Since she retired, Harriet has filled her time with several volunteering jobs, and spending time with friends. Her favorite place for breakfast is the Highway 20 Roadhouse because of the huge portions they serve. She’s also a whiz at Port Townsend history. Come by the VIC on a Sunday and chat her up. When asked why Harriet didn’t move to Port Townsend sooner, her reply was, “Because of Helga, my masseuse! …If I could have people on my payroll, I would have a personal masseuse and hairdresser.” Well, you know what they say; you can take the girl out of New Jersey… Thank you Harriet for helping us out during the unpredictable Sunday afternoons. And thank you to all our volunteers!
Service added for accommodations At the old Visitor Information Center there were framed displays by various accommodations promoting their establishments with pictures to lure the visitors
looking for a last minute place to stay. Well, we are now offering the same service at the new VIC, but are stepping it up a notch! Participating members
Special for Chamber members only!
20.10 % Off
on any Rack Card or Brochure printed in full color. EN
385-4194 sos@olympus.net sosprinting.biz 2319 Washington Street
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8 March 2010 Port Townsend Chamber Newsletter
will be highlighted at our VIC in two new ways. We have set up a display wall with a digital frame offering a running slide show of photos of your businesses and still frames for each accommodation to display pictures and information about your place. You just supply the photos and descriptions and we’ll do all the work of setting it up. The cost will be $100 per year. Come on in to the VIC and see a sample. This is a great way to entice those walk-in visitors to pick your place to stay!
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Port Townsend, WA Permit No. 34
How about starting your own e-newsletter to keep your customers in constant contact? You all get the Chamber’s e-newsletter. How about starting one of your own? As a Chamber member, you can get some of the biggest discounts on Constant Contact’s email marketing to help you stay in touch with your customers. Get more loyalty and business from your customers AND get more
from your marketing budget and efforts. You can use this benefit even if you are already a Constant Contact customer. The Chamber is always looking for new benefits to help you in your business. Contact the Chamber office to find out more about this great discount on email marketing.
Staff changes at the VIC Karyl Pagel has left her position as Community Liaison for the Visitor Information Center due to health and personal reasons. She was a tremendous help this past year with the VIC move, and worked hard at setting up familiarization tours and connecting the tourism Chamber members with the VIC. She will be missed! 2009 was an impressive year in visitor numbers. The final count of visitors in the door was 21,308. That is just the number that actually signed the guestbook. This was almost 2000 more than 2008’s 19,349. And January is starting out strong with 739 (626 in 2009, 563 in 2008). We are crediting the increase to an increase of visitors to the area, but also to the better parking availability here at the Park and Ride.
Member of the month •
Northwest Maritime Center 430 Water Street Port Townsend, WA, 98368•
info@nwmaritime.org nwmaritime.org woodenboat.org