@ Work Member Newsletter February 2014

Heather’s Corner –

Since February is the month of LOVE – I thought I would share some of my favorites…

•I love seeing the snow geese on my drive home, lately they have flocked together as I drive into Conway.
•I love the unconditional affection from my pup “Max”
•I love chocolate caramels with sea-salt (husband – hint, hint)
•I love when my children say Thank You
•I love serving you all as members of the La Conner Chamber

What do you Love about La Conner?, please send me your comments & I will use them as part of an upcoming promotion.

Heather

In This Issue:

• What You Need to Know This Month
• Community Corner
• Stats That Make Us Smile
• Member Resources

How to Reach Us:
Heather Carter
Executive Director
PO Box 1610
La Conner, WA
director@laconnerchamber.com
360.466.4778 or toll free 888.642.9284

Lisa Judy
VIC Director

Board Meetings
Fourth Tuesday of the month
8:30am
Civic Garden Club
~Open to all Members~

Chamber Board Officers:
President: Corey Stout
VP: Sarah Nelson
Secretary: Jo Wolfe
Treasurer: Dani Hoskinson

What You Need to Know This Month

JOIN A COMMITTEE!
The chamber is seeking your participation is several committees…

•Beautification
•Marketing
•Finance
•Membership

Contact Heather if you are interested, these committees usually meet once a month.

MARKETING:
*Imagine Spring in La Conner event cards will cover March and April and will be distributed by the last week of February.

*Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 2014 brochures have arrived at the visitor center! The chamber will not be distributing brochures to members. If you are not a sponsor and are interested in having brochures please contact Marinus Rouw, past President of the Tulip Festival mjrouw@comcast.net.
This is a directive from the Tulip Festival, if you have an emergency need I can provide packets of 25 brochures (until otherwise noted)…

*Free Facebook class being offered – There is one opening left for the February 12th class at the chamber office, contact Heather if you are interested.

*Valentine’s Day – If you are providing any specials, events or promotions for Valentine’s Day or President’s Day weekend, please send your information to director@laconnerchamber.com, so I can post to social media.

Community Corner

Oh, What a Season!
The 2013/2014 Seattle Seahawks sparked every emotion with their fans this year, culminating in an amazing run as Super Bowl Champions.

The La Conner faithful gathered prior to the playoffs for a group picture at Gilkey Square and the chamber partnered with town to create a 12 banner!

This team created such joy and community, gathering together record numbers to cheer on the home team. Let’s keep the momentum going, right here in La Conner… Chamber members, residents, volunteers – Our “12th Man” cheering on the success of our home team – La Conner!

In the words of Russell Wilson “Why Not Us”

The Stats That Make Us Smile

January 2014 Statistics:

Visitor Information Center:
171 walk-ins (53% can be classified as tourists, visiting outside of Skagit County)
100 phone calls

Website:
11,225 visits (9,521 of them unique)
37,465 page views with an average of 3.34 pages per visit.
+29% increase in visits from JAN 2013

MEMBER RESOURCES

SKAGIT BUSINESS ALLIANCE
The Skagit Business Alliance works to support economic growth and job creation in Skagit County.
*News from Olympia: Here is a link to read about House Bill 2229 re: Long term tourism funding. http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2013-14/Pdf/Bills/House%20Bills/2229.pdf

Larry Kibbee represented La Conner on a recent visit to Olympia with the SBA. He may be able to answer your questions kibsail1@wavecable.com

WASHINGTON RETAIL ALLIANCE
There is often great information about the health of the retail industry – both nationwide and statewide – at the Washington Retail Association website.

EDASC CLASSES
Check the EDASC website for details on upcoming classes.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
From time to time we get requests for contact information for various state and federal agencies. Below are links you might find useful:
Washington Attorney General
Department of Labor and Industry
U.S. Customs Office
Washington State Department of Transportation
Renewing Your State Business License