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Article Archives: 2006 Edition / Chamber
An Advocate for Business
The Chamber of Eastern Pierce County is a proactive force in community
Think the local chamber of commerce is a relatively modern organization? Think again.
While The Chamber of Eastern Pierce County is certainly contemporary in its thinking‚ it’s been an important part of this area for more than 110 years.
Founded in 1896‚ the local chamber serves Puyallup‚ Sumner‚ Orting‚ Graham‚ Edgewood‚ Summit-Frederickson and South Hill.
Its mission‚ says chamber Executive Director George Chappell‚ is “to promote the business community and preserve the free enterprise system.”
“We want to be a business advocate that provides effective leadership‚ creating an optimum environment for business and community development‚” he adds.
Membership in the growing chamber now numbers 625 business‚ professional and community leaders.
The chamber maintains very active business/educational initiatives for high school students‚ those in technical schools and for the community at large to “help get tomorrow’s workforce ready‚” Chappell says.
Its economic development committee works closely with all levels of government on transportation‚ zoning‚ permits and other business issues. The government affairs committee takes a very proactive stance toward political issues on the local‚ state and federal levels.
For members‚ networking opportunities are numerous and varied‚ from Business After Hours gatherings and membership luncheons each month to the annual fall fundraiser auction.
A strong business seminar series was created to offer hour-long sessions on subjects that small- and medium-size businesses often cannot afford to stage for themselves – writing a business plan‚ shoebox accounting‚ human resources issues and more.
A very active small-business council provides expert counselors to help grow business‚ and the annual Business to Business Expo offers outstanding opportunities for local companies to showcase their products and services to other businesses.
“My vision is that people will want to belong to the chamber because they see the value-added benefits‚ where one plus one equals four‚” Chappell says. “We’re very volunteer-driven‚ and being an all-volunteer organization made up of business and community leaders‚ all of our issues are real-time and forward-thinking.”
Story by Laura Hill
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