calendar Please join us on October 9 at 11:30 am for the candidate forum and chamber membership annual Candidates Forum

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1 October Commercial Avenue Volume 24 / Issue 10 calendar Wednesday, October 1 3:30 pm Marketing & Promotions Division Meeting Thursday, October 2 11:45 am 1:00 pm Ambassador Luncheon Wednesday, October 8 2:30 pm Economic Development Division Meeting Thursday, October 9 11:30 am 1:00 pm Chamber Luncheon Anacortes Lutheran Church Thursday, October 9 3:45 pm Governmental Affairs Division Meeting Tuesday, October 14 Membership Division Meeting Friday, October 17 Finance/Executive Meeting Thursday, October 30 Business After Hours Evans Funeral Chapel Tuesday, October 28 Board Retreat Tuesday, October 28 VIC Volunteer Meeting cornerstone members TESORO 4:00 pm 10:30 am 5:30 pm 7:00 pm 9:00 am Puget Sound Refinery chamber luncheon Candidates Forum Please join us on October 9 at 11:30 am for the candidate forum and chamber membership annual meeting (ratification of board member slate of nominees). The format for this forum is more relaxed than traditional forums. While chamber members enjoy lunch, candidates will move from table to table to share their platforms and answer your questions. Make sure you take this opportunity to learn more about these individuals who may soon represent you. Bring your thoughtful questions as a member of the business community and let s keep the conversation going. County-wide and state legislative district 40 candidates will be present including assessor, auditor, county commissioner, treasurer and PUD commissioner. Community partnerships are an important aspect of doing business. Deb Davis Bundy with Skagit Publishing will briefly discuss some of their partnerships, including their partnership with the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Association (EDASC) of Skagit County. Games and prizes (wine and restaurant gift certificates) provided! Lunch ($15) will be held at the Lutheran Church at 22nd & O and will be provided by the Farmhouse Restaurant, please bring a gift for the give-away. business after hours Evans Funeral Chapel In 1967 Willard Evans, along with his son, Bob, founded Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, located on 32nd Street across from Storvik Park. The business remains with the family, currently owned by lifelong Anacortes resident, Bob Evans and his wife Joanne. Willard was active in the funeral business until 1988, and continued to be involved for another 5 years, retiring at the age of 84. Having passed away in 2002, Willard s vision of serving families with the utmost respect and dignity lives on. With this vision of heartfelt personal service in their ministry to families, the present full-time staff includes Joe Waham, licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer, Lennie Williams, licensed Funeral Director and Embalmer and Paula Kidder, Office Administrator. Part-time staff includes Jim Haddon, licensed Funeral Director, Linda Haddon, certified Insurance Planner and Celebrant and Ellen Evans, Administrative Accountant. Bob continues to serve as Executive Administrator and licensed Funeral Director. Please join us for a special Halloween themed afterhours on October 30 at nd Street from 5:30-7:00PM. RSVP online and bring a gift for the give-away.

2 CARRIE WORRA Mortgage Consultant NMLS Cell: The Lender You Can TrusT! Contact us for all of your home-financing needs. ESTHER SPENCE-CRABB Mortgage Consultant NMLS Cell: Commercial Avenue WA: CL (NMLS ) Not a commitment to lend. Borrower must meet qualification criteria. COMPU MAT TER COMPUTER REPAIRS WEBSITES & HOSTING Commercial Ave, Anacortes of Course COMPUTER ECYCLE DROP OFF Serving ANACORTES Since 2007 a message from the president Anacortes IS open for business! Greetings from your 2014 President! As I look towards the future and reminisce of the great year that the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce has had. What is still in progress, changes coming with the Comp Plan and office staff changes. Wow what a year! Of course I did not get as much as I wanted done but I know that our new president, Karin Baldwin, of Quantum Construction will not miss a beat and continue with what the board, members and staff tasked us to do. For our new board members and the ones leaving, thanks for your dedication to the chamber and staff. Mary and Tricia, thanks for all the work that you have done for this chamber and the best to both of you. save the date Anacortes is open for business! I want to say that anyone who says Anacortes is not, well, they have not gone down and talked or met with the wonderful staff at city hall. As I talk to my colleagues north and south and they express their frustrations with county and other city staff and regulations, I feel blessed to be in Anacortes. The planning, building, and public works go beyond what they need to make your project go as smoothly as possible. I speak from experience as I myself have gone all the way through conception, permitting, inspections, and now construction. What a great community we live in. We should be proud to live in a community that is so friendly. I wish the best to all the members of Anacortes Chamber of Commerce and remember our mission statement: To be the most livable and economically vibrant waterfront community in the Pacific Northwest! Open your doors for our guests and they will return. Mark Lawrence Simply Yards Landscape and Design Mark@simplyyards.com member profile Adrift Nicole & Maggi Holbert are proud to be starting their 14th year as Anacortes Chamber members. Nicole started Cafe Adrift on October 16, 2001 as a small coffee shop and bakery in the back of the Business when it was operating under the leadership of Bret Lunsford at 17th & Commercial, and the business grew to expand into Adrift Restaurant in the Wells Building at 510 Commercial in August of 2003, thanks to the support and encouragement of many, but most importantly the wonderful Derig family who own the building, and sister Maggi who joined the business. Over the years the business has grown, flourished, and changed, but the mission has remained the same to take the bounty of the Skagit Valley and surrounding waters and transform it into delicious and nourishing food to be shared with friends and family in a comfortable and artistic atmosphere. Adrift serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week. Adrift has forged long standing relationships with local farmers and fishermen who bring the best ingredients to be used in the long standing favorite dishes on the menu and the many specials created daily by the kitchen team. As a team, the Adrift staff is grateful for the local support that keeps the business thriving and are so impressed with the ways the chamber and the City of Anacortes have developed the town into a unique destination that keeps them busy in the summer, introducing tourists and family and friends to the joys of living here. Many of Adrift s staff alumni have gone on to open their own restaurants in town, creating a diverse and eclectic food scene that has increased business and vibrancy downtown. Adrift has always had a nautical theme, from the watery green blue walls and deep night sky blue of the ceiling, and the nautical art, to the seafood-heavy menu. Nicole even found love at Adrift, meeting her husband Mark Turner, a boat builder from New Zealand, and starting a relationship over the counter, as she cooked and he ate dinner. Nicole and Maggi have a new business as well. They recently purchased the venerable Corner Pub, in Bow, and have spent eight months renovating the building. The building is now sturdy enough to handle drinking and dancing in your boots for another 100 years. It is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with live music on Thursday evenings. They look forward to feeding you soon! Tune up your flat top, rosin up your bow, re-string your washtub and put on your best dress overalls. It s time for BREWGRASS! 3 Clubs 6 Acts 51 Handles Hot Dang! ambassador profile Barry Harter Imagine this Barry Harter of Central Payment Corporation as an elementary school teacher. We can see it! Barry is one of our Ambassadors and he lives by the golden rule. While attending Ball State University, Barry, like most of us, worked in various restaurants and hotels, which started his passion for the hospitality industry. In 1982 he came to Anacortes and was employed at Boomers Landing Waterfront Restaurant for 11 years, which gave him the opportunity to buy Axelsons Café in Burlington in Ownership was a huge change and a dream come true. The next 11 years went fast providing a successful food and beverage concept to the Northwest. In 2004 he sold the café. Barry has taken his hospitality passion into his new career as a consultant with Central Payment Corporation, by helping business owners with all their non-cash payments. Barry is the Passionate Premium Provider of all Non- Cash Payments. Central Payment is a leader in the merchant bankcard industry processing over 40% of the transactions in the USA using the latest technology to offer secure handling of all non-cash payments. Central Payments offers Merchant Loyalty and Rewards called Spoton which increase customer traffic over 30%. The FREE Cpay Point of Sale for all restaurants and bars was just released and is a gamechanger and technological wonder. Barry feels that being a consultant allows him the opportunity to make a financial difference to every business in our area. A big Fan of face-to-face service, time and cost saving measures, and the appropriate equipment really improves a business bottom line which is very rewarding. The goal is to help one business at a time, anytime, and all the time. Being involved in the Fidalgo Island Rotary, Burlington Lutheran Church, Local Networking Groups, SICBA, and Local Chambers of Commerce is a way to give back to the community. Love to live and love to volunteer! says Barry. You can call him at or him at barryharter@comcast.netwww.cpay.com/ team/barryharter/acceptcreditcards/facebook. com. 2 3

3 Local Home Loans Eileen Hebert AVP Real Estate Loan Officer BankofthePacific.com NMLS # All loans subject to credit approval. Certain fees and restrictions may apply. Your Anacortes American print subscription now includes premium access to local news and online-only content from your computer, tablet or mobile device. Visit goanacortes.com! At the Framemaker Regional Fine Art and Custom Picture Framing 420 Commercial Ave. Anacortes Trip to Bellingham Each year chamber members along with port and city staff or elected officials tour a port city. This year our hosts were the port, city and chamber of Bellingham. Overlooking the Waterfront District a 237 acre piece property on an old Georgia Pacific site. 37 acres have been set aside for mixed use, the rest for economic development. Pictured: Silvia Goodwin (Port of Bellingham), Karin Baldwin (incoming chamber president Quantum Construction), Chris Johnson (Port of Anacortes), Matt Miller (chamber treasurer, city council member Read Me A Story), John Prosser (co-chair economic development division-windermere), Mark Lawrence (chamber president Simply Yards and Landscaping), Dodd Snodgrass (Port of Bellingham), Tara Sundin (City of Bellingham) and Guy Occhiogrosso (Bellingham/ Whatcom Chamber of Commerce and Industry). Halloween Candy Drive Why does my RSVP matter? The high society of England adopted French etiquette in the late 18th century, and the writings of Emily Post aim to offer a standard no more stringent than that tradition. Late 20th century editions building on her 1920s work say, e.g., that Anyone receiving an invitation with an R.S.V.P. on it is obliged to reply whether yay or nay, and some recent editions describe breaching this standard as inexcusably rude. With that said, when you accept an invitation whether it is for a chamber luncheon or a business after hours the host (chamber or business owner) is expecting you and makes arrangements accordingly. Those arrangements mostly (for this purpose) involve caterers who by trade charge by the head count that you provide to them. When you do not show up, who pays the caterer? Clearly it is the hosts fiduciary obligation. In the chamber s case all other members are paying for your absence. For an after-hours event, it is your host. Of course there can be unexpected life situations that come up and everyone understands and empathizes. For both Emily Post after-hours and luncheons our cut-off is the day before at 3:00PM, we ask on behalf of all members that you extend the courtesy to let us know by that time if you are unable to attend, and on the flipside if you are planning to attend. Our member caterers and chamber staff thank you for your help with making our events run smoothly and costeffectively. Halloween is right around the corner! Help support the downtown trick or treating by donating an unopened bag of individually wrapped candy. Drop off locations: Anacortes Senior Center, Bank of the Pacific, Read Me A Story, Upstage Boutique and Men s Store and Anacortes Chamber of Commerce lobby. The Majestic Inn and Spa will be hosting an amazing costume contest in their new ballroom at 4:00pm with ghoulishly fun treats and prizes for the kids (for children 12 and under). Free photos are sponsored by Read Me A Story and The Apothecary Spa during trick or treating (photos will be available at Walgreens the Monday after Halloween). San Juan Lanes is also hosting a Cyber Bowl Costume Contest from 9-11pm. Downtown Trick Or Treating Friday, October 31, :00 4:00pm Anacortes ROTARY PRESENTS Italian Comedy THE ANNUAL TASTE OF WINE October 24, 2014 Swinomish Casino & Lodge TICKETS $75 each. Call Lindy Evans (360) for tickets or more information. 4 5

4 DOES YOUR FINANCIAL ADVISOR KNOW YOUR FINANCIAL GOALS? IF NOT LET'S TALK. Jeffery C Pleet Financial Advisor. 630 Southeast Midway Boulevard Oak Harbor, WA Member SIPC CIPF Tim Eslick, Proprietor Tel: Cell: Anacortes WA Supporting Home Owners At Home Or Away... Allen Workman Managing Broker AllenW@JohnLScott.com Considering Buying or Selling Real Estate? Experience Matters Full time top producing Real Estate Broker Experienced Negotiator Exceptional Marketing Top Search Engine Placement RESIDENTIAL & COMMERCIAL member renewals A-1 Mobile Lock & Key Anacortes School District #103 Bank of the Pacific Coupeville Lodging Association Deception Pass Tours Donatello Flowers & Gifts Hotel Services Group Home Sweet Home Antiques Islands West Real Estate, LLC Law Office of Alan Souders Little Caesars Pizza Lovric s Sea-Craft, Inc. John R. Lucke The Mail Box Papa Murphy s Take n Bake Pizza Pelican Bay Books Penguin Coffee LLC pflynn+associates ProScapes, Inc. Simply Yards Landscape and Design Vicki Stasch, M.S. The Heart of Anacortes Tri Mariye, LLC 2014 Ambassadors Cameron Bigge Fidalgo Chiropractic April Breckenridge Anacortes Sun Jack Hamilton Cap Sante Court Retirement Community Barry Harter Central Payment Corporation Linda Harvey Anacortes Ship Harbor Inn Rich Heidecker Youth Dynamics Brenden Jones Bank of the Pacific Sarah Jurkovich Washington Federal Dan Maul Classic Style & Company Matt McKay Nantucket Inn; Anchor Catering Catherine Mers Windermere Real Estate Therese Rudzis Individual member Veronica Spencer Take Shape For Life Mary Staley Marketing WITH Mary Boyd Veer Seaside Autobody & Accessories John Williams Skagit Publishing ribbon cutting Buer s Floral and Vintage new owners Cindy and Dave Storrer celebrate the opening of their new shop with Mayor Gere, chamber Past President Kathy Larson and friends. thanks... Thank you to Gentry House for hosting the September luncheon and to the following businesses for bringing gifts for the give-away! Bank of the Pacific Bella Ve Permanent Make Up Central Payment CPI Plumbing & Heating EDASC Express Employment Professionals Gentry House Island Adventures, Inc La Conner Retirement Inn Louis Auto Glass, Inc Papa Murphy s Pizza Puget Sound Energy Skagit Publishing US Bank Thanks to Barrett Financial and Alt Insurance Group for hosting a lively September after hours and to the following businesses for bringing a give-away! Ace Hardware Barrett Financial, Ltd. Fidalgo Pool & Fitness Center Islands West Real Estate Papa Murphy s Pizza Read Me A Story Washington Federal Watermark Books new members Deception Distilling 9946 Padilla Heights (360) Harold Christenson deceptiondistilling@hotmail.com Distillery Production of spirits, wholesale of product, retail of product with on-site tasting room. On The Spot Healthcare 619 Commerical Ave, # Mellisa McFarland melissa@onthespothealthcare.com Health Clinic We take the stress out of healthcare by offering prompt, affordable and personalized medical care for most acute conditions in the comfort of your home, office or hotel. San Juan Outfitters 248 Rueben Memorial Drive 2 Spring Street Landing Friday Harbor, WA Brian Goodremont Brian@SanJuanIslandOutfitters.com Sea Kayaking/Kayak Tours So, you never kayaked before? No problem! San Juan Outfitters loves to introduce people to the thrill of sea kayaking in the calm waters off San Juan Island. There are kayak tours for every skill level. Also offered are tours that specialize in kayak tours for families with kids. Come see us for all your vehicle or vessel needs! Registration renewals, title transfers, disabled parking placards, monthly tonnage, trip permits, dealer work 819 Commercial Ave Ste. B (360) Staffers Depart This month we say goodbye to two chamber staff members. Mary Talosi has served this chamber as the VIC, Operations and Human Resources director for eight years. Mary raised the bar of efficiency, customer service and professionalism in the office and continually worked to add to the value of investment to our members. Many of the benefits chamber members enjoy today were the work of Mary. She shepherded the VIC volunteers with true love and respect they so deserve. We are frequently told that our visitor center is the best in the state! Like herding cats, Mary ensured that the operations and programs of the chamber ran seamlessly. Since giving her notice two months ago, I am wide eyed as I try to chronicle all that she does for us thank God for the procedures manual she is leaving us. We wish her well in her future endeavors and will miss her greatly. Tricia Sharp arrived just last year, but she will be leaving a lasting impression. We won t EVER produce a marketing/chamber piece without hearing her in our ears keep to the branding! She grabbed the reins on tackling familiarization tours to promote our community through earned media. Dragged kicking and screaming, Tricia continually attempted to lead this technophobe into the current century. Tricia and her family are building Anacortes Candle Company, and plan to immediately join the chamber and sit on the Marketing and Promotions Division she s not going anywhere. Of course, it is not how you arrive at a job, it s how you leave. I am confident that our new hires will be able to step right into these positions. Thanks ladies for the hard work, the tough love and the belly laughs! Stephanie October is Disaster Preparedness Month Disasters are going to happen. It may not be tomorrow, next year, or in the next few decades but it will happen. If it does happen tomorrow, how well will you, your family, your business and your community respond to the drastic new needs? What have you done to prepare? Consider these statistics: Almost 40% of small businesses that close due to a disaster event never re-open. 91% of Americans live in places at moderate to high risk of earthquakes, volcanoes, tornadoes, wildfires, hurricanes, flooding, high-wind damage, hazardous material spills, or terrorism. 85% of the U.S. critical infrastructure is owned by private industry. Every $1 spent on hazard mitigation, such as a disaster recovery plan saves society $4 in response and recovery costs. Following a major disaster, it take about nine years for the community to return to the same economic level as it was when the disaster occurred. Disaster Preparedness Resources for Your Business American Red Cross Ready Rating Program at FEMA Ready.Gov at gov/business Local Actions You Can Take Sign Up for the Washington ShakeOut and run a drill on October 16th. ShakeOutDrillManualBusinesses_v2.pdf Participate in a local Map Your Neighborhood program by contacting Rick Wallace, about training, at rewallacepm-ff@comcast.net MYN-Overview.pdf Take the Community Emergency Response Anacortes Bier on the Pier breweries, one distillery, live music, 29 great food and roughly 2300 visitors will be in attendance this coming weekend October 3 & 4 at the historic Port Warehouse. We would like to thank the following community partners for making this festival possible! Barrel Birch Equipment Keg Kelli Lang Coldwell Banker Bain Shell Puget Sound Refinery Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company Growler Anacortes American Rockfish Grill/H2O/Anacortes Brewery The Apothecary Spa Yard Skagit Valley College The Brown Lantern Ale House Trident Seafoods Whidbey Island Bank Stein Island Rental and Supply Pint Cathy s Accounting and Bookkeeping Services, LLC Team training starting October 13th. CERT training is 24 hours over three weeks. For information or to register, contact the Anacortes Fire Department at (360) or swans@cityofanacortes.org. And last but not least, position the goal of disaster preparedness education for businesses in a prominent position in the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce. Rick Wallace West Skagit CERT EWallacePM-FF@comcast.net 6 7

5 PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID ANACORTES, WA PERMIT NO Commercial Ave., Suite F CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED chamber officers Executive Board President Mark Lawrence Simply Yards Landscape and Design President Elect Karin Baldwin Quantum Construction Treasurer Matt Miller Read Me A Story Past President Kathy Larson Puget Sound Energy Board Member At Large Carol Van Iterson Bank of the Pacific vic (visitor information center) statistics Aug Aug Visitors Phone Calls Information Requests Volunteer Hours Aug Aug Relocation Requests Web Visits 16,090 14,921 Web Page Views 40,167 41,596 Thank you, volunteers! Visit us on the web at Board of Directors Darren Boarnet Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co. Jody Carlisle Shell Puget Sound Refinery Duane Clark Cap Sante Court Retirement Community Colleen Craig Windermere Real Estate Peggy Flynn pflynn+associates Laurie Gere City of Anacortes Jim Gordon Freedom Wireless Media, Inc. Bob Hyde Port of Anacortes Gary Jacobson Attorney Brian Johnson Anacortes Construction Services Chris Long Jolly Mon Charters Duane Knapp Pearl Buttons Andy Schwenk Northwest Rigging Chris Terrell How It Works Mark Wenzel Anacortes School District Chamber Staff Stephanie Hamilton Executive Director Mary Talosi Visitor Information & Operations Director Cecilie Miller Event & Communications Director Tricia Sharp Marketing & Promotions Coordinator Kristi Daniels & Crystal Johnson Licensing Sub-Agents Photography by Steve Berentson Newsletter designed by LMac Graphics