inside this issue · 7/10/2016 · july 2016 inside this issue resources 2 economic indicators 3...

July 2016Inside This Issue

Resources 2

Economic Indicators 3

New Members / Welcomes 4

Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings 4

Member Announcements 5

Time to Evaluate 6

Business Tools 7

Networking & Events 8

Chamber Shout Outs 9

Business of the Month 10

Upcoming Events 11

404 West 2nd St. The Dalles, OR 2 541-296-2231

Mission Statement

“To prov ide va lue

to our members through

advocacy and leadersh ip ,

p r o m o t i n g a v i g o r o u s

e c o n o m i c c l i m a t e f o r

b u s i n e s s , c o m m u n i t y,

tour ism, and educat ion .”

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

107 Russell

Senate Office Building

Washington D.C. 20510

www.merkley.senate.gov

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

223 Dirksen

Senate Office Building


Phone 202.224.5244

[email protected]

www.wyden.senate.gov

U.S. Representative Greg Walden

1282 Rayburn

House Office Building


Phone 202.225.6730

www.walden.house.gov

Oregon Governor Kate Brown

160 State Capitol

Salem, OR 97301-4047

Phone 503.378.4582

Fax 503.378.6827

www.governor.oregon.gov

Oregon Senator Ted Ferrioli

900 Court St NE S-323

Salem, OR 97301

Phone 503.986.1950

[email protected]

OR Representative Dist. 59 John Huffman

900 Court St NE H-476

Salem, OR 97301

Phone 503.986.1459

[email protected]

Oregon Senator Bill Hansell

900 Court St. NE, S-423

Salem, OR 97301

Phone: 503-986-1729

[email protected]

OR Representative Greg Smith

900 Court St. NE, H-482

Salem, OR 97301

Phone: 503-986-1457

[email protected]

Chamber Staff

Lisa Farquharson President/CEO

E-mail: [email protected]

Tiffany Hardin Marketing & Communications Coordinator

E-mail: [email protected],

Camille Terry Membership & Events Coordinator


Paula Webb Office Manager


Michelle Harmon Tourism Coordinator


Mary Caldwell Accounting


2016 Board of DirectorsChairman - Nan Wimmers - Columbia Gorge Real Estate,

[email protected] 541.296.5500

Chairman-Elect - Mindy McHale - Hire Electric Inc.

[email protected], 541.296.5574

Vice-Chairman - Carol Friend - Friend & Reagan, PC,


Past Chairman - Charla Fraley - Rivermark Community Credit Union,


Secretary - Addie Case - Cousins' Country Inn,


Treasurer - Fritz Ellett- Ellett’s Green Ridge Tree Farm,


Directors

Kim Johnson/Renken Farms, [email protected], 541.296.3024

Dean Dollarhide/State Farm Insurance, [email protected], 541.298.3276

Dave Adams/Adams Design Center; [email protected], 541.296.0074

Dan Manciu/Haystack Broadcasting, [email protected], 541.296.9102

Marty Hutchinson/Oregon Cherry Growers, [email protected], 541.288.6752

Tina Springsted/Columbia Gorge Title, [email protected], 541.370.1293

John Newcomer/Google, [email protected]

Sherry DuFault/Independent Consultant, [email protected]

Lisa Rundell/Washington Federal, [email protected], 541.298.5585

Ex Officio Directors

Scott Hege - Wasco County, [email protected], 541.506.2524

David Griffith - Port of The Dalles, [email protected], 541.296.2271

Julie Krueger - City of The Dalles, [email protected], 541.296.5481

How To Contact Your Elected Officials…

DIAMOND INVESTORGOOGLE

PLATINUM INVESTORMID COLUMBIA MEDICAL CENTER

FRED MEYER

GOLD INVESTOR HIRE ELECTRIC

SILVER INVESTORBROWN ROOFING

COLUMBIA GORGE COMMUNITY

COLLEGE

COLUMBIA STATE BANK

DISCOVER RENTALS

FRED MEYER

GREATER OREGON

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

CELILO SURGICAL

SPRINGLEAF FINANCIAL

THE SPRINGS AT MILL CREEK

WASHINGTON FEDERAL

LA CABANA BISTRO

RIVERMARK COMMUNITY

CREDIT UNION

CITY OF THE DALLESUNION PACIFIC RAILROAD

Resources


Chamber Business Statistics May 2016 Chamber Walk-In Count 349 Incoming Phone Calls 186Facebook Impressions 102,174 Email 433 Relocation Packets 11Brochures to Ships 909

Local Tourism Counts May 2016Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 2,845Maryhill Museum of Art 5031 Old St. Peter’s Landmark 369Wonderworks Children’s Museum 538 School District Museum 78 The Dalles Wasco County Library 9,509 Sunshine Mill -TD Farmers’ Market (Begins June 4) - Rorick House - Lodging Report (April) 2015 2016 % of Occupancy 60.9% 66.5%

Residential Building Permits 2015 2016

New Construction 3 8 Additions 2 0 Alterations 7 4 Construction Value $731,944 $1,274,097.86 Commercial Building Permits 2015 2016

New Construction 1 2 Alterations 5 7 Additions 0 0 Construction Value $139,265 $1,550,635.32 Source: Building Code Service Department

Wasco County Labor Force May 2015 May 2016 Labor Force Status Civilian Labor Force 12,022 12,391 Unemployment Rate Seasonally Adj. 5.8 4.9

Non Farm Payroll EmploymentTotal Non-farm 9,660 9,810 Trade Transportation & Utilities 1,910 1,930 Leisure and Hospitality 1,110 1,140

GovernmentFederal Government 280 270

State Government 350 350

Local Government 1,520 1,540 Source: Oregon Employment Department

Economic Impacts

Chamber of Commerce Visitors

MayStates: Wyoming, Washington, Wisconsin, California, Illinois, Texas, Oregon, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, Colorado, Michigan, Tennessee, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, and Washington D.C.

Countries:

Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, Iceland

Website Statistics

May Total Page Views 12,921

Most Viewed Pages

Events, Events Calendar, Attractions, Annual Events


Would you like to schedule a

ribbon cutting ceremony for

your business? Contact the Chamber to schedule.

541-296-2231 or

[email protected]

Ribbon CuingsJuly 6 - 5:15pmLa Cabaña Bistro

400 E. 2nd St., he Dalles, OR

July 7 - 12:15pm Wasco County Transit Center

802 Chenowith Loop Rd.

July 8 - 12:15pmJoyous Mouthful Personal Chef Service, LLC

404 West 2nd St., he Dalles, OR

July 13 - 12:15pmDarcy Long-Curtiss,

North Western Mutual

404 West 2nd St., he Dalles, OR

New MembersWasco County Youth Livestock AuctionRobert (Bob) DurhamPO Box 6Dufur, OR 97021(541) [email protected]

Tijuana Mexican RestaurantMoises Barajas

728 E 3rd Sthe Dalles, OR 97058

(541) 298-1712

he hirsty WomanJared Snyder - Owner904 2nd AvenueMosier, OR [email protected]

Sturgeon River Monsters.comGreg Gustafson - Owner

100 W 4th Streethe Dalles, OR 97058

(541) [email protected]

ProGlow Window Cleaninghe Dalles, OR 97058(541) 965-1720

Stockpile Survival Shop406 E 2nd St.

he Dalles, OR 97058(541) 769-1045

Union Paciic Railroadwww.up.com

Welcome to The Chamber!

After Hours

T hursday, July 215-7pm

414 Washington St., T he Dalles

Hosted by4 C's Catering and Helping Hands Home Care

Business


A

Paul’s Custom Sawing

2605 E 14th St., he Dalles(503) 730-6787

301 Cherry Heights Rd.

The Dalles, OR 97058

(541) 296-1101

1-800-548-5487

2025 Cascade Ave., Ste. 101

Hood River, OR 97031

(541) 386-1100 • (541) 386-2402

1-877-386-2402

...bringing service into focus

CASCADE EYE CENTER

w w w . c a s c a d e e y e . c o m

Mad Dog’s BBQ Pit

608 E 3rd St., he Dalles(706) 654-8007

Smokin J’s Skateboard Shop

413 E 2nd St., he Dalles(541) 769-0838

New Membership Advertising

Opportunity

We value you as our member and are always looking for ways to improve your exposure.

We have added a business card holder to the wall next to our brochure rack. We would like to invite you to

display your business card here.

PLEASE NOTE: his is on a irst come irst serve basis. It will be your responsibility to maintain your

cards on the wall.

Your card could be

here!

Welcome to The Chamber!

July 2016

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat On the Air with

Haystack Broadcasting

7:00am

Y102, 103.1, KLCK 1400

EVERY MONDAY

1 2

Chamber open

10am-4pm

3

Chamber open

10am-4pm

4

5 6

Ribbon Cutting

La Cabana Bistro

5:15pm

7

Government Affairs

7-8am

Ribbon Cutting

Wasco County Transit Center

12:15pm

8

Ribbon Cutting

Joyous Mouthful Personal Chef Service, LLC

TDACC

12:15pm

9

Chamber open

10am-4pm

10

Chamber open

10am-4pm

11 12

Marketing Meeting

10am Riverenza

Events Meeting

Canton Wok 12pm

13

Farm to Fork Meeting

TDACC 9am

Ribbon Cutting Darcy Long-Curtiss, Northwestern Mutual

TDACC 12:15pm

14

Government Affairs

7-8am

15

16

Volunteer Fair The Dalles Civic

Auditorium

10am-2pm

Chamber open

10am-4pm

17

Chamber open

10am-4pm

18

Chamber on the Air

8:35 KIHR Mark Bailey

10:10 KODL Al Wynn

19

Membership Meeting

3:30pm TDACC

20

Ambassador Meeting

TDACC 7am

Ship Focus Group

TDACC 10am

Exec. Board Meeting

Closed

21

Government Affairs

7-8am

Cycle Focus Group

TDACC 12pm

Business After Hours 414 Washington St. Helping Hands Homecare

& 4C’s Catering

5-7pm

22 23

Chamber open

10am-4pm

24

Chamber open

10am-4pm

25

Farm to Fork Meeting

TDACC 9am

26

Coffee Connection

Sandoz Farm / The Dalles Farmer’s Market

5755 Mill Creek Rd. 7am

27

History and Heritage Meeting

TDACC 8am

28

Government Affairs

7-8am

Chamber Board Meeting

29 30

Chamber open

10am-4pm

31

On the Air with Randy Haines & Tiffany

93.5fm 8:00am EVERY FRIDAY!

Chamber Closed Have a Safe and

Happy Fourth of July!


Time to Evaluate

It is important to periodically examine your Chamber participation and be sure you’re getting everything possible out of your investment – both in money

and time! Now is a perfect time to step back, evaluate and make necessary adjustments. Don’t have a plan? The Chamber can help! Here are some basic first steps to be sure you are giving your business every possible advantage.

1. Attend the networking events that are included with your membership! The Chamber calendar includes a variety of events, all designed to help you network and make business connections. Also remember that we have hosting opportunities available for these events. This is a way to get people to your business and show off what you have!

2. Have you scheduled a Ribbon Cutting? It’s great PR and a part of your Chamber membership! We can come to you with the ribbon and giant scissors, take the photo and put it in the newsletters. Are you a home-based business or in a warehouse? We do Ribbon Cuttings in the Chamber Office!

3. Does the Chamber have your business bio? We share your business bio in the monthly newsletter. This allows people to familiarize themselves with your company on a personal level.

4. Is your business card/brochure in the Chamber lobby? We have people coming into our lobby daily looking for information. Make sure your business is on the front line ready to be seen!

5. Do you have a message you need to get out

to the members? Advertising is another tool for communicating with Chamber members and the community. The Chamber offers a variety of advertising vehicles from the website to Chamber publications, newsletters, and weekly E-Blasts. We can run your ad on our telephone system. The Chamber offers mailing labels for mailing to the members and important local officials and agencies.

6. Do you have your user name and password for the Chamber website? You should be using them to do everything from making reservations for Chamber events, to updating your contact information and keywords. They are also your vehicle for submitting items to the Chamber’s Community Calendar.

It has been nearly a year since the Chamber switched to tiered dues, this is the perfect time to ensure that you are making your membership work for you! The opportunities are there, it is up to you to put them to work!

Have questions about some of your benefits? Please do not hesitate to call the Chamber office and ask! We are here to work with and for YOU and YOUR BUSINESS!


A note from CGCC Small Business Development Center

Hot In the Summertime

Rick Leibowitz, Director

Small Business Development Center

Summertime is a season of activity. School is out, crops

are growing, play time in the outdoors and so much more to do. For most small business owners, this time of year brings opportunity to capitalize on increased activity.

So what is your business doing this summer? Here are three ideas that we hope will yield improved bottom line performance.

Pricing StrategySummer is the perfect time to look at the pricing of your products and services. Chances are that you have recently completed your tax return and can compare that to your previous year. Have you incurred any increases in your operating expenses from the previous year? In most cases you will see some increases. If your vendors can raise prices, so can you. As a suggestion, avoid doing across the board percentage increases. Look to inch up prices of your more popular product and service lines. For products that are not selling as well, consider bundling discounts on those items with the purchase of your more popular items.

Reward ReferralsGetting new customers is always a challenge. Summertime activities tend to be more social and interactive. It’s a great time of year to utilize some of your marketing dollars to invest in rewarding your existing customers for introducing your business to their friends. Be creative and see what you can do to help your customers be part of a sales team. Providing a discount, service extra or gift with their purchase if they bring friends is a great volume booster.

Be Social and Have FunFun sells. It is a simple as that. Social media is not a great outlet for traditional “push” marketing where you tell the customers what is special. A much more effective use of social media is to post pictures of happy customers using your products/services and having fun. This “pull” method of marketing lets your customer’s share their fun experiences and it brings a very positive emotional awareness to your business.

Knowing your baseline performance from the previous year and having a clear understanding of your margins will help you develop better strategies to boost performance this summer. Need help? We remind you that you have access to no cost, confidential counseling at the CGCC SBDC. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce also provides great networking opportunities to run some ideas by your peers. Be more active with your business and make this your best summer yet.

Oregon’s Small Business Development Centers deliver services to anyone who owns or operates a for profit business or is planning to start a for profit business.

We work with businesses in every industry and at every stage of growth from start-ups to well-established companies, from one employee to 500.

We offer no-cost confidential advising, training and online courses that cover a wide range of business topics. More information available at www.cgcc.edu/sbdc

https://www.cgcc.edu/sbdc


Power Breakfast will resume September 9

Fun

Prizes

Networking

Thank you to The Dalles Art Center for hosting June’s

Business After Hours

Food

Networking & Events


Chamber Shout-Outs

hank you Windermere Real Estate for volunteering to help repair and paint our historic streetlights Downtown he Dalles!

he Dalles Civic Auditorium’s Annual Beer Fest was a huge success! Over 800 people attended the event that featured 48 types of beer, 28 ciders, wine and live music.

he Dalles Main Street ofered a program granting free entry if you spent money in the downtown area. Over 100 people, spending $3,095.86, took advantage of this deal.

Volunteers helped with set up, working the event, and tearing down aterwards. Trish Neal said, “We could not have put this on without the volunteers we had. his is an all-volunteer event from start to inish.”

With the success of the event, he Civic is now looking forward to the 7th Annual event taking place June 10, 2017.

The Dalles Swim Team hosted the 65th Annual Ted Walker Invitational Swim Meet in July.

Over 300 swimmers and their families converged in the Northern Wasco County Aquatic Center to compete for two days of competition. The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce asked local businesses to provide items to place in welcome bags. We are so grateful for the amazing response we received. Us Army Corps of Engineers provided water safety books, towels, cups and stickers, while Columbia Bank supplied keychain flashlights. Spooky’s, Skippers, Dairy Queen, Burgerville, and Double Berry provided coupons and Big Brothers Big Sisters used it as an opportunity to promote their program. We appreciate all of the support! If you would like to get something in front of our next guests, please call the Chamber and find out more information on upcoming welcome bags! 541-296-2231

Happy 100th birthday, Historic Highway 30! On June 7, crowds gathered to celebrate the rededication of this amazing

historic route.

Plans are set in place for the highway to once again be complete and become a thoroughfare for bikes and pedestrians through he Gorge, with a completion date of 2018.


Business of The Month

his month we would like to

recognize Pure Yoga, LLC.

BusinessMonth

of theBusinessMonth

he small business of the month program is designed to recognize the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by small businesses within he Dalles. he goal of the monthly award is to highlight a small business and give them extra marketing exposure to aid in growing their business. We have asked Crestline Construction, as our Business of the Year, to select the Business of the Month.

he business will be selected based on overall customer service, their willingness to go above and beyond, and their overall impact in our community.

We have selected this business because Pure Yoga ofers welcoming and refreshing yoga classes to the residents of he Dalles and the surrounding area. One of our employees, Pamela Jensen, began attending Pure Yoga in January of 2015 to help ease low back pain and to ind a way to strengthen her muscles and relax her mind. As she became acquainted with Shannon Red-Cloud, the owner, and the many yoga instructors, Pamela was impressed by their friendliness and encouragement of her newly found yoga practice. She continued practicing at the studio because it is such a safe and heartwarming environment. Proof positive of the depth of their encouraging yoga hearts at Pure Yoga is the fact that many of their yoga students are inspired to train to become yoga instructors. Many of their former students are now instructors and teach as well as attend classes at the studio. Our employee followed that path as well. Pamela became certiied to teach and began oicially teaching a weekly YogaFAITH class at Pure Yoga on June 13th. We are thankful to Pure Yoga for the peace and health they bring to our employees and to he Dalles Community.


Upcoming EventsColumbia Gorge Economic

Symposium

A half-day event focusing on economic and employment trends in the regional economy.

July 14, 20169am to noon

(doors open at 8:30am)

Hood River Middle School1602 May St.

Hood River, ORRegister at mcedd.org

Highlights:• Business Leader Keynote• Local Data, Regional Trends, Economic

Forecasts: Dallas Fridley and Scott Bailey• Learn more about what is happening with

wage rates, the employment outlook and what industries are growing

White Salmon River Fest

July 13, 2016 9am - 10pm

he White Salmon River Fest and Symposium celebrates the White Salmon River and the environment, community, and history that

surrounds it. he river is an invaluable social, recreational, and economic beneit to those who

call it home.

We aim to gather the local boating and non-boating community for a day of celebration, education, legendary whitewater, food, dance and more.

In celebration of the White Salmon River there will be guest speakers, a community rat loat, kayak clinics, a kayak slalom, and a party at Big Man’s

BBQ! Our goal is to provide an educational resource for the professionals that work on the river and the

community members that live nearby.

More information at:http://wetplanetwhitewater.com/

Cruise he Gorge Classic Car Show

and Neon Classic Weekend!August 12 -August 14

Friday, August 12: 7pm Neon Cruise 2nd & 3rd Streets Featuring special guest, Dennis Gage of My Classic Car TV.

Saturday, August 13: 9am-4pm Show in the Shade Car ShowSorosis Park, Cars must be registered to participate.Register at midcolumbiacarclub.org

7pm City of he Dalles Summer Celebration presents “he concert formerly known as... Neon Nights” Featuring Journey tribute band, “Stone in Love.” More information and tickets available at thedalleschamber.com.

Sunday, August 14:8am he return of the “Dallesport Drag Races”Columbia Gorge Regional Airport

9am Dufur hreshing Bee Car ShowDufur City Park - Dufur, Oregon

404 West 2nd Street • The Dalles, OR 97058

Affiliated with:• Associated Oregon Industries

• Oregon State Chamber of Commerce

• Oregon Festivals and Events Association

• Travel Oregon

• Columbia Gorge Visitors Association

• Oregon Tour & Travel Alliance

• Columbia Gorge Arts & Culture Alliance

• US Chamber of Commerce

• Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives

Business After Hours

Coffee Connections

Power Breakfast

July 21, 2016Helping Hands Home Care & Four C’s Catering

414 Washington St.5:00pm - 7:00pm

July 26, 2016

Sandoz Farm & he Dalles Farmer’s Market

5755 Mill Creek Rd, he Dalles, OR7:30am - 8:30am

No Power Breakfast July or AugustResumes September 9, 2016

Yo-ProsYoPros Resumes in September

July Member focus brought to

you by:

inside this issue · 7/10/2016 · july 2016 inside this issue resources 2 economic indicators 3...

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