kelso longview chamber business connection

Business ConnectionK e l s o L o n g v i e w C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e

Volume 4, No. 7 July 2012

Consider hiring an intern this summer

Please see Interns, page 18

By Dani Trimble Work Based Learning Manager Lower Columbia College

Have you ever wished you could evaluate an employee before you commit to hiring? Through my relationships with local business and non-profit agencies, I rec-ognize how difficult it can be to find entry level employees with relevant skills who are an asset into the company culture.

Given the current economy and the abundance of applicants, hiring processes can be over-whelming and time consuming. Perhaps you are not able to hire, but your business could use some extra help?

Hosting a student intern can provide you with wonderful benefits without the risks of commitment, and in most cases, students may be able to work as volunteers without compensa-tion.

The Cooperative Education program at Lower Columbia College allows students to gain valuable work experience in their field of study while earning college credits. Whether the internship is paid or unpaid, this program can assist you to recruit potential employees and provides a framework for student experience. As protection for students and employers, if students are working as an unpaid intern, the college covers their L&I and liability insurance.

Lower Columbia College offers education in a wide variety of fields such as accounting, business, computer science, engi-neering, manufacturing, and welding, in addition to several healthcare and clerical fields. Internships are generally com-pleted towards the end of a student’s college program after they have completed a sufficient amount of coursework giving them the skills to benefit an employer.

Although it can take time to train and supervise a student intern, employers report a high return on their investment and

CalendarWednesday, July 4

All Day Marketplace and Food Concessions, Lake SacajaweaAll Day Information and Craft Booths, Lake SacajaweaAll Day Longview Fire Fighters Hole-in-One Golf, Lake Sacajawea8 a.m. Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, Lions Club8 a.m. Parade Line Up, 14th and Broadway9 a.m. Timber Carnival Prelims, Louisiana and Kessler10 a.m. Parade, 14th and BroadwayNoon Kids Festival, Lake Sacajawea to 6 p.m.Noon Lions Kids Races, RA Long SchoolNoon Live Entertainment, Martin’s Dock to 10 p.m.1 p.m. Timber Carnival Competition, Louisiana and Kessler10 p.m. Fireworks – Sound track broadcast on Magic 94.5 FM and 97.9 FM« Monday, July 9 – EGT Grand Opening, 150 East Mill Rd., Longview. Shuttles will be providing transportation from parking zones to waterfront event site. Shuttles start at 9:30 a.m.

« Thursday, July 12 – PARTY at the PARK. Special pricing for all Chamber members at the ballpark. Watch the Cowlitz Black Bears take on the Walla Walla Sweets at 6:30. Party Deck ticket $21 (savings of $5), includes all you can eat, $1 beers and a party atmosphere on the Party Deck. Also available $2 off any other general admission or Grandstand seating.

« Tuesday, July 17 – Business After Hours, Cowlitz County Humane Society, 909 Columbia Blvd., Longview $10 in advance, $15 at door.

« Wednesday, July 18 – Ribbon cuttings: Taylor Insurance, 11 a.m., new location, 1104 14th Ave. (14th and Florida Professional Building), Suite B; Evergreen Home Loans, noon, 1340 Vandercook, both Longview.

2

Kelso Longview Business Connection July 2012

The Drug Abuse Prevention Center’s Pregnant/Parenting Women’s Program provides residential treatment services for 16 high risk substance abusing women and their children (birth to 5 years of age). The program ad-dresses those issues specific to women in relation to chemi-cal dependency. Parenting their children is a part of the curriculum.

While mothers meet in in-dividual and group sessions, their children are cared for onsite by loving staff mem-bers with childcare experi-ence. Children participate in play therapy, craft and art projects, and lessons in self esteem building and healthy habits. They delight in taking pleasant walks with daycare staff in the area and around the facility. Our indoor play area allows ample freedom to romp and stomp, secure in the knowledge their moms are just a few steps away. We need a quality therapeutic outdoor play area for these children.

Therapeutically, outside play is essential for children and their growing bodies. Our goals are to: (1) Enhance social development by allow-ing them to interact freely with peers and develop rules for play. (2) Enhance cogni-tive development by giving

them an environ-ment where they can role play and problem solve. (3) Enhance their physical develop-ment giving them much needed exercise and fresh air (critical since over 14% of chil-dren ages 2-5 are overweight). Overall, outside play equipment is essential for a child’s mind, body and soul.

Our key community part-ners include: Child & Ado-lescent Center who provides medical homes for our children. Progress Center who provides birth to age five education and developmental testing. Parent’s Place who provides parenting services. Developmental Disability services are available through SL Start and Associates. Cowlitz Family Health Center provides medical, dental and WIC services to our mothers. Mental Health services are provided by Cowlitz County Guidance Association. Emergency Support Shelter provides domestic violence counseling services.

Thanks to a $15,000 grant from the Weyerhaeuser Foun-dation and a $1,600 donation from the Longview Junior Service League, the play-

ground has become a reality. In 2004, the Drug Abuse

Prevention Center began

developing a full continuum of treatment services for substance abusing pregnant and parenting women. To date, 212 babies have been born to mothers in our treat-ment programs. Of these, 196 babies were born drug free.

We could not have done this without community support from Weyerhaeuser, United Way, Junior Service League, private donations, and our community partners.

Community organizations support children’s program with playground

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4


‘No Money to Advertise...?’By Chuck Nau

In today’s struggling retail environment, uncovering avail-able dollars to INVEST locally in advertising to support (… and grow!) your retail business, service or small business continues to be an ongoing challenge.

“No money to advertise!” Simply stated, this is an all too frequent rationalization for not digging deeper to find those necessary and needed business investment dollars in a chal-lenging business climate.

However, when business is tough to get and the retail or service provider sector continues to be challenging, you must (…to survive AND grow) investigate every source and resource to find investment dollars for your business, service or small company.

Easily said! But, where does one look to find dollars that may be utilized to invest in your business through advertising and promotion?

Within your business and without increasing your budget or without additional cash input, advertising and marketing INVESTMENT (e.g. advertising or marketing) DOLLARS DO EXIST to invest in your business. Here are six areas to consider in your search for those elusive investment dollars...

• Explore reducing overall salary expense … by reviewing your business’ hours of operation. Opening an hour later or closing an hour earlier without impacting customer service or revenue generates 20 hours (one hour/day x 20 days) of saved expense that may be converted to a $200/month adver-tising or marketing budget (20 hours x $10/hour in payroll expense).

• Bring your vendors and suppliers into the conversation … ask each and every business that you do business with if co-op advertising or extra promotional dollars exist to support THEIR product placement in your business. Offer enhanced product placement in your store or in your ads for those vendors willing to contribute to the promotion of THEIR products or services.

• Review your current inventory and purchasing habits and controls. (Again) is it possible to tighten your inventory with-out impacting customer service or revenue, and shift those savings into an advertising or marketing dollar investment

fund?

• Take a look at initiating a joint neighborhood marketing effort. Ask Bill Marcum at The Chamber or inquire at other city agencies to see if neighborhood promotional dollars or marketing opportunities are available for the ask-ing. This strategy may also open the door for additional and NEW local businesses to partner with, too!

• Challenge yourself (and your investors) to review your own remuneration schedule (e.g. your salary… and their expected return on investment). Remind yourself and others within your business that a small reduction in your (…and their) personal income this year may reap big benefits for your business and subsequently to you (…and yours) next year and down the road!

• Last, but not least, clarify where your business dollars are going in support of your local community. Do some services or charities or groups duplicate others … would a realignment of your dollar commitments maximize results while better allocating those funds?

“No money to advertise!” … may simply be a challenge offered to you by a struggling local economy to find THE money! Seize the opportunity, have some fun and invest in your business, service or small company. Good luck!

© Murray & Nau, Inc. Chuck Nau of Murray & Nau, Inc. is a Seattle area based

consultant and sales and management trainer. He is a 25-year veteran of advertising, sales, media and management, who knows and understands the everyday challenges of starting up, growing, and surviving in today’s ever changing retail climate. He has spoken to and conducted workshops for a number of local retail and chamber organizations, national publishing groups, national retailers and manufacturers, state press as-sociations, and newspaper groups. Comments and questions are welcome and may be directed to

Chuck via email: [email protected] or at 425-603-0984.

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Ambassador Q & AD’Dee Kuanoni Swanson Bark and Wood Products Human Resources Manager

Family: Husband/ Miki Kuanoni: Two adult children: My son Trevor is married to his wife Emily and they have my 8-week-old grand-son; My daughter Monika is a student at LCC

How Long Have You been An Ambassador?: 4 years

What Prompted you to be an ambassador?: Invited by other Ambassadors and encouraged by employer.

What do you like most about volunteering with the ambassadors?: Being a welcoming face to new busi-nesses in our community.

Do You Volunteer with Any Other Organiza-tions?: Board of Directors and Executive Board member for the United Way of Cowlitz County. Kelso Rotary.

What Are You Most Proud Of?: My family, the com-pany and people I work for, those I volunteer with and our community. This community is so caring, giving and sup-portive. I feel lucky that I have been in a position to witness this on multiple occasions.

What Do You Like To Do For Fun?: For fun I like to spend time with family and friends, enjoy a good book and attempt to beat my husband at a game of bowling or golf.

Shannon Cahoon Fibre Federal Credit Union Community Outreach Coordinator

How Long Have You Been An Ambassador?: I have been an Ambassador since the beginning of 2012.What Prompted You to be an Ambassador?: I wanted to get to know more people at Chamber events. Wearing a red jacket sort of offers a convenient excuse for introducing yourself to new people. I also think it is very important that new businesses get welcomed to town, and existing businesses feel celebrat-ed when they achieve important bench marks. What Do You Like Most About Volunteering With the Ambassadors?: I have enjoyed getting to know the other red jackets, as well as a lot of the business community at chamber events.Your Favorite Ambassador Story?: Hula dancing at the business expo/after hours in 2012. Not saying I would do it again, but it was fun, in a heart-going-pitter-pat sort of way.Do You Volunteer With Any Other Organiza-tions?: Currently, I am active on the Castle Rock and Woodland Chambers of Commerce. I was recently elected to the board of the Woodland Chamber of Commerce. I am on the planning committee for the Woodland Hot Summer Nights Concert Series, the Castle Rock Festival of Lights, and the Castle Rock I Topped The Rock Challenge. I am on the Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest Ambas-sador Council. I am the Cowlitz County Ambassador Board Chair, and I am a Big Sister. My position as Community Outreach Coordinator at Fibre FCU also keeps me involved with many other community events – I can usually be found hosting our booth throughout the year, from Castle Rock to Woodland.

What Are You Most Proud Of?: My position at Fibre Federal CU. I earned my degrees in Business Administra-tion and Management Operations, with a heavy emphasis on Marketing, from WSU-Vancouver, and I know that is a big reason why I got this job. I love where I work, and what I do, and I know there are a lot of advancement opportunities in front of me here at FFCU.

What Do You Like to do For Fun?: In all of my spare time, haha, I enjoy spending time with my Paint horse, Kane – affectionately known as Spud. I plan to start competing in breakaway roping at local rodeos, as well as the Extreme Cowboy Race at regional events. My husband and I also enjoy going camping with the horses, and our Great Dane, during the summer at Kalama Horse Camp.

Join the Ambassadors Today!Call 360-423-8400

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Strong partnerships and loyal relationships bode well for future

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Team

Bill Marcum, President/CEOAmy Hallock, BookkeeperBrooke Fisher, Project Manager

Kelso Longview Business Connection is published monthly by the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce 1563 Olympia Way • Longview, WA 98632 • 360-423-8400

To advertise, call 360-749-2632 or email: [email protected] Deadline: 15th of each month.

By Ted SpraguePresident - Cowlitz Economic Development Council

On June 8th the Cowlitz Economic Development Council (CEDC) held a membership meeting featuring three large cap-ital investment projects going through three different phases of development in Cowlitz County. Over 180 private and public sector leaders attended to hear from representatives of the Ka-lama Energy Center, Bennu Glass and EGT. Combined these projects could account for over $650 million in capital invest-ment and nearly 200 new jobs.

Each speaker brought a different perspective; not only for their individual project, but for where they are in the process. Kalama Energy Center is continuing through the permit-ting phase, Bennu Glass is on the precipice of start-up (July 4th!) and EGT has been operating for a few months. When I discuss these projects with colleagues around the country they are quite surprised to hear a county of our size is able to attract such large projects. I am thankful we have such strong partners, like the Chamber of Commerce, in economic devel-opment to make these projects a reality. It is a testament to the leaders of all Cowlitz County communities and our private sector partners that these companies chose Cowlitz County.

As part of our ongoing relationship with the Forest Service

and our dedication to making folks aware of opportunities at Mount Saint Helens, you are invited to Friends of the For-est Day. Join us, the National Forest Foundation, the Mount Saint Helens National Monument, and the Mount Saint Helens Institute on July 7 & 8 for a volunteer stewardship and com-munity engagement weekend.

Saturday’s volunteer events will include trail work, interpre-tive training and much needed sprucing up of the Monument facilities. Sunday’s fun activities will include guided hikes and kayaking. This weekend will help accomplish important work on the ground and provide opportunities to enjoy the Mount Saint Helens National Volcanic Monument. You are welcome to arrive Friday night and camp out or sleep in the newly reno-vated Coldwater Science and Learning Center (bring a sleep-ing bag and pad) and stay through Sunday’s activities. Saturday night will include a concert at the amphitheater (our first of a series called – Music on the Mountain) and volunteer star gaz-ers with scopes for nighttime viewing! For more information please contact Alice – [email protected].

Finally, please Save the Date for our upcoming BizNet, July 19th, 6 p.m. at La Cabaña in Longview.

For more information or to get in touch with staff, please go to our website – www.cowlitzedc.com.

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New team, new website, kick off July

President’s Message

By Bill Marcum President and CEO

Wow, has it really been five months? I was looking at the calendar and this week marks five months back in the Kelso/Longview area and with the Chamber of Commerce. We have gone through some major changes in staffing as most of you know. Brooke Fisher is now on board as our new Project Manager (see story on page 11) and Amy Hallock just started as our bookkeeper.

Brooke will have many items to focus on but most of her re-sponsibility will be to manage and oversee our events and sell our monthly newsletter, website and the other printed materi-als we produce for our membership. Amy will be responsible for keeping our accounting records up to date, accurate and pay the chamber’s monthly bills, along with producing our monthly financial reports for the Board of Directors.

By the time you are reading this our new website should be up and running. We have had some issues with the credit card application and authorize.net. We wanted to make sure it was functioning properly and secure before we launched the new site. Please take a look and our new website and give us your feedback. While we will still be doing some tweaking, and adding additional information throughout July, I think you will agree it is a huge improvement.

In July we have two fun events you can take advantage of… On July 12th the Chamber is hosting a Party at the Park. The Cowlitz Black Bears take on the Walla Walla Sweets at Story Field on the LCC campus. All chamber members and their em-ployees are invited to a fun evening at the ballpark. The Cham-ber has reserved the Party Deck for the evening. The Black Bears are discounting the cost of the Party Deck ticket by $5 for the night, making it $21. The Party Deck ticket includes all the food and soda you can eat and drink and $1 beers. The way I figure it, I am saving money with a $21 ticket. The Black Bears are also offering Chamber members and their families $2 off any general admission or grandstand ticket. So, come on out to the ballpark, have some fun and support the Cowlitz Black Bears.

Our next event for July is the Businesses After Hours, July 19th, at the Humane Society of Cowlitz County. The BAH is from 5 to 7 p.m. and will include finger food, beverages and plenty of pet friendly animals to tear at your heartstrings. Cost to attend is $10 in advance, $15 at the door, non-members $20. And remember, you can now go to www. kelsolongviewcham-ber.org and book your reservations.

In August we will again have our MEGA MIXER with a few changes. This year the event will be sponsored by Twin City Bank, Longview Radiology, Bowlby Chiropractic Clinic and Futcher-Henry CPA Group and will be held in the adjacent parking lot of all four businesses. The Mega Mixer will feature a western theme, so dust off your boots and your cowboy hat and come kick up your heels to Clay Chambers & The Last Ride band. There will be a western barbecue, beverages, dance les-sons and lots of fun for everyone. Cost is $20 in advance and $30 at the bucking shoot.

Have a fun filled fourth of July.

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Friday Night Summer Fun with Downtown LIVE!By Janice Forbes President, Longview Downtown Partnership Owner, Highlander Cycling Imports

Train rides for the kids, cupcake decorating, glamour shots, live music and pedicab rides are just a few of the exciting activities lined up for this year’s 4th annual Downtown LIVE Friday Nights!

The calendar of events launched last Friday with the first race of the Downtown Longview Twilight Criterium four week series. And even though the rain came, the atmosphere was festive at the Start/Finish line in front of The Brit’s with live music by Johnny Dark providing a lively sound track for the four races of the evening. The series continues June 29, July 6 and ends July 13, and will be held each week at The Brit’s at 1427 Commerce Ave.

And there are many more events scheduled for Downtown LIVE – a series of 12 Friday Nights of planned fun on Com-merce Avenue, beginning at 5 p.m. and ending at 9 p.m. Downtown LIVE is hosted and sponsored by local businesses working to re-energize and revitalize Downtown Longview.

Calendar of Events

(In addition to the activities listed above) with DJ Kevin Lee announcing, and live music sprinkled throughout).

June 29 Cardboard Boat Regatta

July 6 Downtown LIVE Plus

July 13 Action Entertainment presents Minute to Win It!

July 20 DJ Kevin Lee and special event TBA

July 27 Angry Birds Game

August 3 Kid’s Play Night Downtown

August 10 Pug Parade and the Urban Adventure

August 17 Motorcycle Rally

August 24 Downtown Dash for Cash Bicycle Races with live music by Raeann Phillips

August 31 Columbia Theater Strolling Murder Mystery

For more information log on to www.longview-

downtowners.org. To get involved, please

contact Downtown LIVE Event Coordinator

Anna Goff at [email protected] or

360-423-3747.

Janice can be contacted via email at janice@

highlander-cycling.com or at 360-353-3790.

9


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What’s Up at the Wye?By Mayor David Futcher

By far, the most frequent question I get is, what’s going on at Exit 36? We’ve all seen the construction over the past few years of the Highway 432 interchange, and we’ve seen the addition of a nice street into the property just south of the interchange, which we call the Segale property. And you heard from your brother-in-law’s neighbor who works for the PUD (so he’s got to know) that everything from Costco to Olive Garden is opening up this fall.

Those rumors have been floating around for years, and may someday prove true, but to my knowledge, there are no deals in place for any of the Segale property.

Throughout the years, the council has been very supportive of the developer’s efforts for the property. Council members and staff have been meeting with the folks from Segale for more than five years, and assured them that we are here to help them in any way we can. The council waived require-ments to install curbs, gutters and sidewalks on the property in order to allow them to proceed sooner with the develop-ment. But outside of being easy to work with, state law gives us little in our toolbox.

At the end of the day, we’re waiting for an $88 billion dollar corporation to make a deal with a wealthy Seattle-area land-owner. It’s a helpless feeling when you know how important the development is to the city. But until both parties can agree that the deal is a benefit to them, there’s not much we can do.

Fiscal Facts & Budget Briefs

By Mayor Dennis WeberCity Council and staff work

hard to grapple with the finan-cial challenges confronting us during this prolonged reces-sion.

Our general fund revenues are expected to increase less

than 1% this year, not enough to keep up with inflation. The county has reported a 7% drop in assessed value for property in Longview, now pegged at $2.7 billion. By law, we can only collect 1% over last year’s property taxes. Sales tax revenue has also fallen some 16% since it peaked in 2007. Only B & O Taxes are up – a modest 2% per year since 2009 mostly due to increases in utility rates.

The state has officially set our 2012 population at only 36,910. That is merely 6.5% over our 2000 US Census (an annual rate of about ½%). Consequently, our state-shared revenues based on per capita are not growing with inflation, either.

The city has responded by cutting employees and hours worked, exploring innovative ways to address health care costs, delaying some maintenance, avoiding filling vacant positions where possible, reducing administration by reas-signing duties, and supporting more economic development. We expect to end the year with a 12% ending fund balance.

TUNE IN every WednesdayYour Chamber Connection

KEDO AM 1400 – 3 to 4 p.m.Contact the Chamber to

schedule YOUR 10-minute business spotlight

10


Business Toolbox

Planning for Holiday Sales in July? You Bet!By Jerry D. Petrick

For some industries it is already deep into the planning and buy-ing cycles for seasonal inventory; for others, now is prime time to think carefully about how you will manage your resources for the upcoming retail sales season.

Ensuring that there is a cycle of targeted planning and activity taking place throughout the year will help you take advantage of these seasonal peaks. There are a number of key steps to imple-ment to maximize the opportunities for your business.

Keep everything up-to-date: Remove and refresh all sale items and promotional content from websites once sales are over – nothing more frustrating to prospective customers than out-of-date web promotions.

Review last year’s figures, examine what worked well and identify causes for peak in sales activity. This will help you un-derstand what seasonal peaks in the year ahead to take advan-tage of based on last year’s success.

Keep stocked up for those critical times: Analyze items in the inventory that sold better than others for specific events or times of the year and ensure there is enough stock in place in the upcoming year to meet this demand again.

Break this down in to quarterly plans: Having quarterly plans reduces the possibility of retailers overestimating on the amount of stock needed for a quarter, as well as ensuring popular items are available at the right time.

Planning ahead of this time is key to ensure that sales oppor-tunities are maximized and that the bestselling inventory from the year is ready and available.

In order to ensure you have stock available for shipping when it’s required, use your calendar and count back from each event to when you need to:

• Identify what inventory you will need (60 days prior) • List key inventory (45 days prior)

• Have 100 percent of inventory listed (30 days prior) • Have sold/dispositioned half seasonal inventory (15 days prior. NOTE: If suppliers are relying on international shipping, check-in 150 days in advance to get confirmation that they will have the stock you plan to be selling.

Follow these suggestions as you contemplate the readiness of your own business:

Prep work • Create the list of vendors to be used • Check status of or apply for customer status with vendors • Contact each to inquire about seasonal purchases, get order and shipping schedule • Get a list of price points, FOBs, volume discounts, off invoice allowances, rebates, prompt payment discounts and dating programs • When the vendor says they don’t offer those, insist that they do and demand the information

Prepare orders • Put above vendor info on an excel worksheet for schedul-ing and order development • Contact the sales department for each vendor and ask for order recommendations, velocity reports and promotion schedules • Create an order calendar for each vendor using info from sales • Go back to the excel worksheet and run the numbers for each vendor, with landed costs • Determine EOQs (economic order quantities) for each vendor/merchandise category • Develop a pro forma order for each vendor and send to the sales rep for confirmation of availability and current pricing • Use the order confirmations to set up an order and receiv-ing schedule and receiving report for each shipment

Finance • Use pro forma orders to arrange invoicing dates, dating programs and vendor credit • Discuss additional needs with lender • Place orders

Please see Petrick, page 18

11


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Meet Brooke Fisher

Mark Morris grad comes home and joins Chamber

Greetings Chamber members and friends,

I am pleased to introduce myself as the new Project Manager for the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce. I come to the Chamber with a Bachelors of Science degree in Tourism Management from Central Washington University, and have served in a variety of management roles in the luxury hotel industry, including Walt Disney World Resorts, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and West Paces Hotel Group. This experience in-volved providing services in event planning, sales and market-ing, food and beverage, quality and productivity management, recruiting and special project management.

Having grown up in Longview, and graduating from Mark Morris High School, I bring in a special interest in using my skills and background to contribute to the future business suc-cess of my home town.

In my new role as Project Manager for the Chamber, I will be providing a variety of services to membership and the commu-nity. These will include such things as planning and implemen-tation of major Chamber events, coordination and leadership of various committees, new chamber member recruitment, and sales and marketing initiatives.

I am very much looking forward to meeting all of our existing and prospective Chamber members, and to work hard on your behalf.

Best Regards,

Brooke Fisher

Mega Mixer

Join us for our group Mixer!

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Kick up your heels and join us for…

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13


Anne O’ConnorOn The Mark Associates

Chris Bailey Lower Columbia College

Frank V. McShane, Past Chair Cascade Networks, Inc.

Jerri Henry, ChairFutcher-Henry CPA Group

Michael ClaxtonWalstead Mertsching

Sara Cave PeaceHealth

Bianca LemmonsCowlitz County Title Co.

Clayton J. Bartness, DCLongview Chiropractic Clinic

George RaiterCowlitz County Commissioner

Joel Hanson, Chair Elect KLOG KUKN The Wave

Ted SpragueCowlitz Economic Development Center

Micheal JulianKelso Theater Pub

Chet Makinster Longview City Council

Diane Craft, Vice ChairKoelsch Senior Communities

Ginny WhiffenRed Lion Hotel & Conference Center

Julie RinardCommunity Home Health & Hospice

Neil ZickTwin City Bank

Fun par for course at Chamber tournament

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

By Dannie Oliveaux For The Chamber

With bright, sunny skies and warm temperatures, about 100 men and women competed in the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Annual Golf Tournament Monday, June 11, at the Longview Country Club.

The Chamber raised more than $10,000 during the one-day event. The tourna-ment was a four-person scramble with each team member playing the best shot and each player getting three drives dur-ing the 18-hole round.

Each team had their photograph taken by Mr. C Photography before the tour-nament began and a large group of men and women participated in the putting contest sponsored by Chase Bank.

The golfers also had a chance to hit the driving range before the event started.

“It was a good turnout,” tournament

chair David Taylor said. “Everybody seemed to have a great time, the food was good and the banquet was fun. It was a fun day overall.”

He said people he spoke to said they were pleased with the tournament.

“Our sponsors were pleased because they got lots of plugs,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he expects to see more people golfing at next year’s event.

Stirling Auto Group, a title sponsor, had vehicles placed in various places along the course.

“They really stepped up to the plate and had some great looking vehicles around the course,” Taylor said.

Red Canoe Credit Union had a booth stocked with snacks for golfers.

Kaye Lynn Sanders, assistant vice president of business development, and Carey Mackey, business development

representative, manned the booth for Red Canoe.

Please see Golf, page 14

14


Golf from, page 13

“We enjoyed it and it was a great time,” Sanders said. “We had great response from the golfers who came to our table. They were appreciative of our snacks and asked us a lot about the credit union. That is why we go. I thought it was very successful for us.”

Gross team winners were:

First Place (Score 58): Steve Jones, Tom Renaud, Gene Guttormsen and Chris Ehrlich

Second Place (Score 62): Jerry Gee, Geary Martin, Andrea Klingberg and Scott Person

Third Place (Score 63): Dales Lemmons, Derek Lemmons, Jarrett Skreen and Craig Bergerson

Net Team winners were:

First Place (Score 54): Mark Johnson, Kevin Bogner, Ron Holt and John

Oliva

Second Place (Score 56): Bianca Lemmons, Mike Lemmons, Terry Gabel and Scott Walstra

Third Place (Score 57): Greg Berg, Jan Dennis, Tony Strovas and Erik Gottormsen.

Closest to the Pin, Hole No. 3: Women - Jan Dennis (6'11"); Men - John Browne (2'2").

Closest to the Pin, Hole No. 7: Jeff Thorton (12'1")

Closest to the Pin, Hole No. 9: James Willis (1'9")

Closest to the Pin, Hole No. 16: Dave Spaulding (3'4")

Longest Drive, Hole No. 17: Women - April Sage; Men - Chris Wend.

The Longview Country Club catered the banquet with barbecue hamburgers with all the fixings.

Hitting the Links

909 Columbia Blvd

Tuesday, July 17 2012

5:00-700 P.M.

$10.00 in Advance, $15.00 at the door, $20 Not Members Yet

We would like reservations for Business After Hours hosted by Humane Society of Cowlitz County

Tuesday July 17th The cost is $10 Members advanced, $15 at the door. Not Members Yet $20

I understand if I make a reservation and am not able to attend, the fee is non-refundable.

For your convenience, we accept VISA/MasterCard.

Name:_______________________________________ Phone: _____________________ Business Name:________________________________ Number Attending: __________ Card Number:__________________________________ Exp:_______ CVS ______ Name on Card:_______________________ Address____________________________ City ______________________ Please Invoice: _________

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce 1563 Olympia Way, Longview, WA 98632

Fax: 423-0432 website: www.KelsoLongviewChamber.org Phone: 423-8400 www.twitter.com/klchamber www.facebook.com/kelsolongviewchamber

16


Spotlight

Joel Hanson - Chair ElectKLOG KUKN The Wave

Son follows father’s footsteps into ChamberBy Dannie Oliveaux

For The Chamber

Joel Hanson, along with is brothers Ken and Mark, spent time working at the radio station their father, Steve Hanson, owned while growing up in Longview. But he never thought he would return to the fam-ily business his father started in 1967.

Twenty-one years later, Joel returned to work with his father at the station. From the first day, Joel’s father stressed the im-portance of becoming a Chamber of Commerce member.

Today, Joel is a board member of the Kelso Longview Cham-ber of Commerce.

“My dad immediately got me involved in the Chamber,” Joel said. “He said you needed to be involved and the station has always been involved in it.”

Joel came back to Longview in 1989 to work at the station.

Steve Hanson was president of both the Kelso and Longview Chambers before they merged in 1998. Like his father, Joel was involved in both chambers before they merged. He was on the board of the Kelso Chamber, and the last president before the merger.

Joel said his father joined the Chamber soon after he started the station in 1967.

He said being part of the Chamber allows him and the station

to network with other business people in the community.

“The outreach and networking that we see lets me get in-volved with different types of businesses,” Joel said. “That’s the thing I like about a lot of the organizations that we can take part and not necessarily people we do business with. It gets us involved in the community as a whole.”

He said every individual business counts and that work-ing together can help improve the community.

“The definition of community is working together,” Joel said.

Joel said by his father stressing the importance of getting involved in community groups has been a key to his company’s success over the years.

“It’s about relationships and building those relationships,” Joel said. “I think that is what is nice about groups like the Cham-ber to build those relationships.”

Joel remembers he and his brothers working at the station.

“We all had to work here,” Joel said. “Whether it be janito-rial or pushing a button on the board during Blazer basketball games.”

After graduating high school, Joel went to Western Washing-ton University to major in music. After a couple of years, he realized “it wasn’t going to fly.”

He then attended culinary school in Seattle to become a chef.

“I soon realized I didn’t want to work every night and on week-ends,” he said. “I came back to the family business to be trained in sales and hoped I could use sales experience to work in the culinary industry. I never saw myself coming back to Longview.”

Joel said he fell in love with working at the radio station.

“This is the job of my dreams,” he added. “I get to do so many different things. The days are always changing.”

He said he likes helping businesses with their marketing and advertising.

Today, Joel said he still plays his drum and still cooks for the family. He also competed in triathlon competitions until he injured his knee several years ago.

17


Longtime radio salesman signing offBy Dannie Oliveaux

For The ChamberFor most of his career, Tom Iverson has been a mainstay in

the offices at 500 Cowlitz Way.But on May 8, 2013, Tom will retire from his sales position

at Washington Interstate Broadcasting, Inc. after 36 years to spend more time with his wife and grandchildren.

“I’m just retiring because I’m old and tired,” said the 65-year-old salesperson.

Washington Interstate Broadcasting, Inc. is the home of three stations – KLOG 1490 AM, KUKN 105.5 FM and The Wave 101.5 FM.

Tom started at the station in 1976 at age 29 while attending broadcasting school in Tacoma. He worked as a DJ spinning records for two years from midnight to 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to midnight before settling into sales in 1978.

“I was hired by Steven Hanson and his program director because they were going to broadcast 24 hours a day,” said Tom, who graduated from Stadium High School in Tacoma in 1965 and then attended broadcasting school at Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood. “Our only station was KLOG 1490 AM, and I was commuting from Tacoma for the first few weeks.”

Tom loves the new computerized technology that radio sta-tions have evolved into.

“This is fantastic. Leaps and bounds better than before,” he said. “It took a little bit of getting used to.”

Tom said he has loved working for the Hanson family. “After 36 years, I wouldn’t change a thing.”

While serving in the Kelso Longview Chamber of Com-merce, Tom has been part of the Ambassadors for about 15 years.

“The group has grown and is the largest it has ever been,” he added. “And that is in a down economy. It still boils down to ‘meet and greet.’ You have to get out and meet people. No contact, no contract.”

He said he originally joined the Chamber to make contacts and network, but after many years he sees it as a service to help pay back to the community.

Tom said he sees a lot of value in joining groups like the

Chamber, Lions and other groups.

“Get involved be-cause it will help you personally, and help you grow profession-ally,” he added.

During his time here, he has been a longtime member of the Longview-Pioneer Lions Club and on the Go Fourth Committee. He is also an ex-president of the Rainier Chamber of Commerce, where he resides with his wife.

When Bill Marcum was named as the new Chamber director earlier this year, Tom said he was glad to see “someone come back that had some roots here.”

“The Chamber has been chugging along quite nicely and it has had its ups and downs like everything else,” Tom said.

In his spare time, Tom and his wife enjoy traveling and spending time at casinos.

“In 20 years, we have gone everywhere and done everything we wanted to do,” he said. “We’re going to stay around the house. I’m 65 and I can’t believe it. I’m going to take care of my wife and my grandsons.”

Tom said even though he’s going to retire, he doesn’t know if he will like retirement.

‘Get involved because it will help you personally, and help you grow professionally.’

Tom Iverson on joining the Chamber

18


Interns from, page 1

continue to host students year after year.

Investing in education is always a good bet, whether it be your own or another’s. By participating in this program, not only will you be able to potentially benefit your own workforce needs, but you are helping to contribute to our local community and economy. By providing a student with relevant work experience in their field, you are giving them a great start to a new career.

For more information or questions about Cooperative Education and how to get started, please contact:

Dani Trimble Work Based Learning Manager Lower Columbia College [email protected] 360-442-2332

Check out our jobs board online at www.lowercolumbia.edu/hireconnec-tions to post available positions, appli-cations and more!

Petrick from, page 10

Marketing • Use the receiving sched-ule to develop the marketing schedule • Lead times vary by category and customer base, poor neighborhoods time promotions for the first of the month, etc. • Work with outreach channels, prepare and proof collateral • Make arrangements/order/buy for direct mail, blow ins, web based and POP

Receiving/Stocking/Follow up • Use the receiving sched-ule and purchase orders to check in incoming shipments, document overages, short-ages, mis-ships and damages • Use the receiving sched-ule to create a stocking sched-ule to advise stockers when and where to display the seasonal merchandise / POP • Document and liquidate or donate residual inventory, use documentation as a basis for next year’s orders

• Survey customers for insight into consumer sat-isfaction with the seasonal program

The competition is keen. Make sure you are prepared to take advantage of your strengths and cultivate your customers throughout the year – they and you will benefit.

This article was compiled from various sources by Jerry Petrick, Certified Business Ad-visor, Longview Small Business

Development Center (SBDC).

Petrick, Certified Business

Advisor, MBA, PMP, SPHR, is

part of the Washington Small

Business Development Center

Network. Jerry serves Cowlitz

and Wahkiakum Counties. He

provides no fee, confidential

business advising by appoint-

ment. Contact him at jerry.

[email protected] or 360-

442-2946.

Golden Jubilee

The June Business After Hours at the Goodwill

of Longview drew quite a crowd of well-wishers

as the second-hand store celebrated 50

years of business.

Business After Hours

19


Longview Country Club2012 Golf Membership Special• Unlimited golf for your entire family

• Full clubhouse privileges including dining room, lounge, & heated swimming pool

• Summer junior golf program

• Weekly golf & social activitiesFor more information visit our websitewww.LongviewCountryClub.net

NOW ONLY

$200/mo*

41 Country Club Dr.423-8500

*Requires initiation fee and food minimum

Welcome Update

The Chamber Ambassadors joined leaders of The

Boulevard Teen Center on the Lake June 21 for a

ribbon-cutting ceremony. Fibre Federal Credit Union was the contributor for the

center’s new interior updates and amenities for the

teens.

Ribbon Cutting

20

Kelson Longview Business Connection July 2012

Ribbon Cutting

Bright Opening

Chamber Ambassadors celebrate the Banda’s Bouquets opening June 5. The shop, which features antiques and collectibles, is located at 1310 Broadway in Longview.

Ready for BusinessNick Lemiere takes

center stage June 7 during

the Chamber ribbon cutting

ceremony for his new Edward

Jones business, located at

2020 9th Avenue, Suite C, in

Longview.

kelso longview chamber business connection

Documents

students college program

student intern

business connectionk

lake sacajaweaall day

college credits

local business

unpaid intern

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