Washington State Legislative Session

The legislative session is nearing the three-quarters mark and budget-writing is in full swing. We continue to watch budget proposals as they come out. The revenue forecast was released last Monday and will guide spending over the next two years. Revenues remain healthy but are forecast to decrease, which is why we’ll continue advocating for the state to build up its reserves.

• Last Monday’s revenue forecast came in under earlier projections, reflecting the projected broader economic slowdown. There are fewer building permits and real estate excise tax collections are down 42%. Personal income growth has also slowed. The Federal Reserve’s interest rate increases to fight inflation have cooled the economy, but Washington remains in a strong position. Lawmakers will still have more to spend this biennium than they did in the last two years, meaning they likely won’t face pressure for new taxes or major budget cuts.
• The Supreme Court did uphold the Capital Gains tax, which will mean that there will be more revenue than the state budget accounted for as referenced above
• As we discussed at this year’s Horizons event, there is a bit of a “reset” happening in our local, national, and global economy. Pierce County and the South Sound are better positioned for resiliency however, recent bank failures and future interest rate increases continue to add to the economic uncertainty. 
• The Senate’s capital budget proposal unveiled last Monday shows a big investment in housing, which is encouraging given our priorities this year. There’s a record $625 million for housing, including $400 million for the Housing Trust Fund. That’s more than the entire amount the state budgeted for housing in the three biennia before the pandemic. The new funding plus a package of housing legislation would be a big win for addressing the housing crisis.

 
Pierce County

• Last Tuesday, the Pierce County Council approved the 1/10 of 1% increase in sales tax to fund housing and related services. The tax is expected to bring in 6.3M in revenue in 2023 according to estimates. Remember, cities that already adopted this, such as Tacoma, will not pay that additional .1%. Ryan Mello, Dave Morell, Marty Campbell, Jani Hitchen and Robyn Denson voted in favor. Amy Cruver and Paul Herrera voted against.
• Also on Tuesday, the Council approved the Tiny Home Village project west of Spanaway as a new approach in the County to address homelessness. 285 micro homes will be built on an 86 acre site. The goal is for construction to be completed by fall of 2028. More information on this project can be found here.

 
City of Tacoma

• Last week, thanks to successful advocacy efforts we were successful in securing the Mayor’s approval to add Ryan Spence, our MIC Program Director to the Tideflats Advisory Group (TAG). We had a robust meeting last week and are continuing to monitor all activity related to the sub-area planning process and EIS. Again, thanks to our successful lobbying the Chamber holds two seats now on this critical advisory group, along with several of our members, including our GAC Chair, Tony Belot.
• I continue to meet with the Mayor regularly and the Economic Development department on the plan to advocate for the 4M projected increase due to business license fees to be reinvested for the business community. More meetings are scheduled with the EDC in April and I will continue to keep you all updated.
• I continue to meet regularly with law enforcement and City officials to do all we can to create and maintain a safe, clean, and welcoming environment throughout the City and have had several one-on-one meetings with representatives from the South Tacoma Business District. We are particularly grateful for our partnership with the Downtown Tacoma Partnership as we look forward to continuing to support and enhance our shared work. We also had a productive meeting with UWT on how we can continue to activate campus and maintain a safe environment. These meetings will now happen more regularly with UWT Leadership, Chamber and DTP.

Thank you,
Andrea Reay
President & CEO Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber

Last Thursday, March 23rd, we attended an open house hosted by The Village Senior Living in Tacoma and helped them celebrate their Grand Reopening with a ribbon cutting! Everyone who attended was treated to live jazz music, and art demonstration, incredible food and beverages prepared by The Village's culinary team, and tours of the recently-remodeled facility. It was an honor to be a part of this incredible event!

​View photos from the event below. 

​Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber CEO and President Andrea Reay visited Olympia this past Friday to testify in support of Washington’s 2023 Middle Housing Bill (E2SHB 1110). This bill, if successful, will open the door for more housing options for hundreds of thousands of families in Washington State, including right here in the South Sound. The bill seeks to “increase middle housing in areas traditionally dedicated to single-family housing.” This would set the stage for more affordable, dynamic housing options that are much needed in our region.   

In her testimony before the Senate on Friday, Andrea Reay stated “Housing is a cornerstone for building an equitable economic ecosystem and the lack of housing makes it harder to attract and retain talent as we are still very much in a workforce shortage. We all know that production has not kept up with demand and we need creative solutions to this complex problem now to ensure we are able to continue to build generational wealth in and for the South Sound and the state.” 

A representative from the Washington Department of Commerce also gave testimony in support of the bill. The legislation is also supported by the Association of Washington Business, the statewide chamber of commerce for Washington.  

The Washington Department of Commerce recently released its housing needs projections showing that Washington will need to add over a million new homes over the next 20 years to meet population demand. This is a critical issue at play for our business community.  

“37% of Washington State Employers report the lack of housing as a top priority,” Reay shared in her testimony, “Our state has the fewest number of housing units per household of any state in the county. Over the last 30 years, our population has grown by 60% but the number of housing units has increased by only 33%. We know we will need between 20,000 and 71,000 new housing units per year over the next 30 years to keep up with growth.” 

The bill accounts for various factors such as the population size of cities, proximity to public transit, and unit affordability in determining what types of middle housing developments should be allowed in different areas throughout the state. You can learn the specific details and view the most recent version of the bill here.  

From our CEO on behalf of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, “The coalition of supporters is broad, the legislation is a step in the right direction, the time is now, and I strongly urge your support.”  

Our March Chamber After Hours was a blast! Thank you to Dancing Goats Coffee in Tacoma for hosting this fun event. Our members enjoyed a great night of networking and enjoying delicious food and beverages. Every Chamber After Hours is special, and this one was no different. We hope to see you at an upcoming event! 

This past Tuesday, March 14th, we joined Pure Infusion Suites in Tacoma to celebrate their new clinic location with a ribbon-cutting! Thank you to Pure Infusion Suites for having us be part of their celebration and to everyone in our business community who showed up to make this such a great event. 

March is shaping up to be a month full of financial opportunities for businesses! Explore 3 new funding opportunities currently open or opening soon for small businesses. Take a few minutes to learn about these opportunities, get your paperwork in order, and mark your calendar with the application deadlines. Don't miss out on the chance to earn money to help your business thrive! 

BACKING SMALL BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM (Application open March 20 - April 7)
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​​Main Street America and American Express are presenting the second year of the Backing Small Business grant program. 350 small business grants of $5,000 are available to businesses at least 51% owned by women, veterans, people of color, people with disabilities, members of the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and refugees operating businesses in historic commercial districts. This includes historic downtowns, main streets, and other commercial districts. Other eligibility requirements apply. Application window opens March 20, 2023. Learn more. 

WASHINGTON HOSPITALITY GRANTS (Opening March 14)

The Washington State Department of Commerce is opening applications this month for Washington Hospitality Grants to support eligible restaurants, bars, lodging, and other qualifying businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19. More information will be made available soon and the application window is set to open March 2023. Learn more here about this opportunity. You can also register to attend a free informational webinar about this program on March 13, 2023. 

DIGITAL SALES ACCESS PROGRAM TACOMA (Application OPEN NOW)

The Digital Sales Access Program (DSAP), made possible by Kay Tita, aims to help 65 Tacoma-based business owners grow their businesses through increased e-commerce capacity, social media marketing, improved digital literacy, greater financial awareness, and a connection to a reliable community. Chosen applicants will receive a free point-of-sale system for their business, $1,000 in Google ads, a 6-month online Quickbooks subscription, a 12-month Square online website subscription, and more. Learn more.

​Something sweet is baking on Tacoma’s Hilltop. Peeking through the frosty glass on a cold February afternoon, passersby on 11th St can see pastry cases full of individual treats and cake slices, a shelf lined with cheerful teddy bears, and an entire wall blooming with hundreds of bright red roses.  

Love by the Slice Baking & Catering Company hasn’t been open in its physical storefront for very long—it celebrated its one-year anniversary this month— but you wouldn’t know it from how dedicated a customer base the bakery already has. They offer 14 signature flavors of pound cake in addition to a wide variety of other confections like banana pudding, sugar cookies, cupcakes, and custom cakes. They also have a year-long “Cake of the Month Club” that gives customers a chance to sample a different flavor of pound cake each month.  

While it may be a newer addition to the neighborhood, Love by the Slice has a long history of baking cakes and satisfying sweet tooths in the Tacoma area. The company was born from the brain of its owner Cassandra Williams in 1999 and officially licensed in 2002. For Cassandra, it has been a long road to seeing her dream realized of having a storefront in the city she loves. That journey wasn’t always easy and came with many unexpected turns for an entrepreneur.  

Cassandra’s baking roots began with a noble mission: wanting to help her church’s youth division raise several hundred dollars. She and her husband took on the task of raising the money through a bake sale because, in Cassandra’s own words, she didn’t think $700 would be too hard to raise if she tried it.  

She was right. At the end of the first bake sale—selling pound cake, of course— she had already raised all the money the youth division needed for that year and the following two years. Her pound cakes were a hit. Soon, the bake sales turned to a high demand for pre-orders from her church community. What started out as a simple formula of pound cakes with cream cheese frosting quickly transformed into requests for custom birthday cakes, and even wedding cakes. With every new challenge, Cassandra was quick to rise to the occasion. When a customer asked if she could possibly make a tiered and decorated wedding cake for an event 6 months away, the voice inside her head told her “I can learn anything in six months!” 

As her home-based microbusiness became a larger enterprise, she was faced with the reality of how much time, effort, and energy it took to keep things running. On top of owning and managing her own business, she was still working a full-time job and commuting two hours a day, and it was starting to wear on her. To Cassandra, it felt like Love by the Slice was coming to a natural end. 

Then, some of her biggest fans stepped in. Love by the Slice had been providing birthday cakes to the company where Cassandra’s aunt worked, and they were so passionate about her cakes and her business that they couldn’t stand losing it. So the company made her an offer: bake exclusively for them as a corporate client while she figured out where she wanted her business to go next. So that’s what she did for the next ten years. During that time, Cassandra says she was able to truly hone her recipes to perfection, experiment with new ideas, work on her business plan, and grow capital.  

​Even with a lease signed, the road ahead was still a difficult, and surprising, one. She signed the lease for her space in 2019. In February 2020, she learned that she would need to have $50,000 of construction completed in the storefront before she would be able to bake a single cake. Then, in March 2020, a pandemic brought everything to a complete standstill. 

In the face of this daunting setback, Cassandra knew she needed to be creative. She sat down and brainstormed what she could possibly do to make use of her storefront, keep a staff employed, and be useful to her community facing this unprecedented crisis. She decided that providing food and supplies to her neighbors in quarantine was an important way to give back. Starting off with a $500 check from a friend, she and a small team started putting boxes of goods together and delivering them to those in need. The response was incredible, and requests for more boxes, as well as funding to make this work a reality, started to pour in. Through this creative solution, the current storefront of Love by the Slice didn’t sit empty throughout the pandemic. It was ground zero for a coordinated response to help our community’s most vulnerable. Overall, this program was able to be sustainable for two and a half years while Cassandra waited to be able to open her store to the public.  

Her store is open now, but Cassandra doesn’t see that as a reason to stop her efforts to support the community. In fact, it presents new, exciting opportunities. During her ten years working for the Salvation Army, Cassandra became passionate about helping the local homeless community. Now, with a business of her own, she sees pathways to make that happen. Her goal is to have two staff positions reserved for individuals experiencing homelessness to help them earn a stable income and be surrounded by support while they work to improve their situations. Love by the Slice is currently in the phase of hiring its key staff members who will oversee the day-to-day operations. Once this happens, Cassandra is excited to get to work implementing this new program and making the vital community connections for it to succeed. Love by the Slice’s “Cake of the Month Club” is also going to play a key role in funding this ambitious idea.  

As a business owner who is so deeply invested in her surrounding community, Cassandra is also passionate about promoting access, affordability, and inclusivity when it comes to resources for small and microbusinesses. She believes it is important that small businesses like her own, and other businesses owned by groups often left out of the conversation—such as Black-owned and woman-owned businesses—always have a seat at the table in organizations such as chambers of commerce. Cassandra shares an important reminder that when it comes to equity and inclusion, things won’t always be easy. Sometimes hard conversations, sacrifices, and struggle are necessary to make real change happen. In the end, however, it is worth it to create a business community where everyone is able to access and afford the tools they need to succeed. “We just have to keep coming to the table and presenting ideas and being willing to listen and try new things,” says Cassandra. 

Throughout every challenge the universe has thrown at her, Cassandra credits “great faith and grit” as her recipe for success. She also gives credit to her team of “the best baker, the best decorator, and the best admin staff in the whole wide world.” 

After one year in business at its first permanent storefront, Love by the Slice has no plans to slow down anytime soon. It has been a long, storied journey for owner Cassandra Williams to get to this point, but it has all been a labor of love.  

Last Thursday, February 23rd, we joined Therapeutic Associates Inc. to celebrate their new clinic location with a ribbon-cutting! Thank you to everyone who attended and made this milestone so special! View photos from the event below. 

Last Thursday night we hosted our February After Hours at The Press Room in Tacoma. Nearly 200 members of our business community came out to check out this amazing event venue in Downtown Tacoma, network with friends and peers, and enjoy delicious food and beverages! 

Thank you to The Press Room for hosting this month's event and to everyone who came out and made this such a special evening! 

View photos from the event below! 

Thank you to all the businesses and organizations who have chosen to join our Chamber community! Explore the businesses who have joined so far in 2023:

Nyhuis Creative
​Therapeutic Associates Physical Therapy-Lakewood
Spoton LLC
PhysioStrength Physical Therapy
​The Tangled Gardener, Art & Craft Studio
Divine Living Ministry Health and Healing Center
Promo Originals
Commencement Bank
Mind Body Spirit Massage Ellie Esteves LMP LLC
Impact Washington
The Village Senior Living
Capital Business Machines
​Giant Leap Management Solutions
Morris Verdonk Accounting
Ginkgo Forest Winery LLC
​Pure Infusion Suites 
D & M Truck LLC
​Bio Clean Inc.
​GlowTea, Inc.

Our Chamber’s annual Horizons Economic Forecast event recently took place on January 26th, 2023. This year’s event was sold out and saw over 500 guests in attendance. Expert economists, industry executives, and local business leaders convened to candidly discuss the economic outlook of the coming year and offer insights and advice to business owners.  
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Some of the top issues on everyone’s minds at Horizons this year were inflation, workforce development, and the possibility of a recession. Event speakers covered all these topics and more through presentations and live discussions. Read a recap of our top 10 takeaways from Horizons Economic Forecast below to be the most informed and prepared you can be for 2023! 

1. PROGRESS AT THE PORT
The Port of Tacoma, one of the South Sound’s biggest economic drivers, has big plans for workforce development in our region. The Port is launching a new Workforce Development Strategic Plan in 2023 that will focus on pathways to well-paying jobs in maritime trades that do not require 4-year degrees, as well as increasing internships and paid work opportunities. The Port plans to partner with local organizations such as the Tacoma Youth Marine Foundation, as well as working with Tacoma Public Schools to develop a Maritime Skills Center for youth to gain practical on-site experience.

2. BOEING BREAKING RECORDS 
Boeing, a company in our region that saw some of the biggest economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, is on the road to recovery and expects to see growth over the next 3-5 years. In December, Boeing announced a record-breaking order from United Airlines for the largest purchase of 787 Dreamliners in the company’s history as well as one hundred 737 MAX jets. Boeing is entering the first quarter of 2023 strong and is actively hiring.

3. INFLATION ON THE DECLINE 
Inflation, while still a major concern for both businesses and consumers, has peaked and appears to be on the decline. According to Fiqri Dine, Head of Investments for the Pacific Northwest for J.P. Morgan Private Bank, we should expect to see inflation continue to drop with each coming month in 2023. However, getting inflation to below 2% may prove to be a challenge with variables such as China reopening, de-globalization of commerce in the U.S., and energy transition. The good news is that low unemployment and record high profits can serve as a stabilizing force for the U.S. economy while the Federal Reserve continues its efforts to curb inflation.

4. GET READY FOR RECESSION 
A long-anticipated recession is likely to occur in Summer or Fall of 2023. However, experts predict that it will likely be short and mild.

5. UNEMPLOYMENT COULD INCREASE 
Along with this, unemployment in Pierce County is likely to rise in 2023 to around 5.9% from an average of 5% in 2022.

6. ECONOMIC WELLNESS FELL FOR PIERCE COUNTY IN 2022 
The Pierce County Economic Index (PCEI) fell by 1.5% in 2022. The PCEI is a measurement designed to gauge the economic health of Pierce County driven by changes to metrics in total real personal income and real personal income per capita in Pierce County, as well as other factors. The PCEI was previously forecast to fall by 0.4% in 2022 but had a more significant change due to factors such as the end of pandemic stimulus funds.

7. PIERCE COUNTY ECONOMIC INDEX FORECAST TO RISE IN 2023 
The PCEI is forecast to rise 1.4% in 2023, which is positive news for Pierce County. The PCEI is useful for predicting how well residents in Pierce County are doing, as well as retail sales and consumer spending.

8. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STILL A FOCUS 
Workforce development continues to be a top priority for investment in Pierce County. According to Samuel Bradshaw, Business Solutions Manager at WorkForce Central, skills-based hiring is an area of major interest for many jobseekers and employers. The skills-based approach to hiring prioritizes individuals’ skills and experiences rather than degrees. This is a way for employers fill open positions and practice diversity, equity, and inclusion by offering opportunities to workers from historically underserved communities and backgrounds.

9. CONSTRUCTION BUILDING BACK STEADILY 
The construction industry struggled with high labor costs, high interest rates, and supply chain issues in 2022 which led to issues with many projects stalling or stopping in Pierce County. Rob Brewster, president of InterUrban Development, says that costs appear to be steadying for the industry which will lead to more consistency in development and the success of project completion.

10. JBLM PROVIDES ECONOMIC STABILITY AMONGST UNCERTAINTY 
​Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Pierce County’s largest employer, was an important stabilizing force for the South Sound economy from 2020-2022. While many industries faced shutdowns and decreased staffing, JBLM remained open and operational. JBLM will continue to benefit the economy of our region in 2023 with increases to its military housing allowance, payroll, and basic sustenance allowance leading to more money being spent in South Sound markets.  

[1/31/23] Last Thursday morning, January 26th, over 500 members of the business community joined us for our SOLD OUT Horizons Economic Forecast. This was the first time in several years we were able to host our Horizons event in-person, and it was the largest attendance we've seen yet!

Thank you to everyone who attended this important event and to all our sponsors who made it possible! View a photo recap of the event below. 

[1/24/23] Last Thursday evening, January 19th, we held our first Chamber After Hours of 2023 with over 100 members of our business community in attendance! What better way to start the new year than with new business connections? Attendees enjoyed food, drinks, and networking inside the amazing Edison Square event space in South Tacoma. Thank you to everyone who came out and took part in this great event! View a photo recap of the night below. 

[12/27/22] 2022 was an exciting year for the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and our local business community! This past year we were thrilled to get back to in-person events where we strengthened relationships with friendly faces—many familiar and many new! We also developed new ways to connect with our membership through candid conversations and storytelling. The conferences we took part in gave local leaders chances to learn, grow, and be inspired with ambitious ideas for the South Sound. We were honored to play a role in leadership development programs for business owners and entrepreneurs on the rise in our region. Advocacy to protect business interests and ensure a thriving local economy was a top priority for us on a local, state, and national level. Throughout the year, we enjoyed many different opportunities to celebrate the successes and accomplishments of our vibrant business community.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this year to make an impact for business in the South Sound. We can't wait to have you alongside us for everything 2023 has in store! 

Read our recap of the Chamber's Top 10 accomplishments, events, programs, and moments from 2022 below! 

1. LEADING THE FUTURE CHAMBER: In May, Andrea Reay joined the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber as its President and CEO to advance our vision of making the South Sound the most equitable, inclusive, and thriving place to do business in Washington State. Read a recent profile of Andrea in South Sound Business Magazine. 

2. ACCELERATING SMALL BUSINESS: Throughout 2022, our Chamber has administered the Pierce County Business Accelerator program to offer support and opportunities for success to people of color, women, and veterans in addition to Spaceworks continuing its Incubator business trainings. Read "A Year of the Pierce County Business Accelerator" from South Sound Business Magazine to learn more. 

10. BRINGING THE SOUTH SOUND TO WORLDWIDE MARKETS: The World Trade Center Tacoma carried out a Vietnam Trade and Investment Mission with hybrid in-person and virtual opportunities for creating connections for trade, education, and supply chain to connect the South Sound to growing worldwide markets. 

[12/19/22] Last Monday, December 12th, more than 400 members of our Pierce County business community came out in their holiday best to celebrate our dedicated public officials! Guests joined us at the Marriott Tacoma Downtown for delicious food and drink, live jazz music, ice sculptures, a 360-degree photo booth, and plenty of chances to mix and mingle with our community leaders. At this event, former Chamber Board Chair AJ Gordon officially passed the gavel to new Board Chair Eli Taylor. 

Thank you to our amazing sponsors, as well as everyone who attended and made this event a stunning success! 

[12/19/22] Wednesday, December 14th, the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and Comcast hosted a reception event for 21 BIPOC, women, and veteran-owned small businesses in Tacoma selected as recipients of the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund. This fund was made possible through contributions from Comcast.

The mission of the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund is to provide direct financial support for small businesses, many of which are still struggling with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Each recipient has been granted $5,0000 for their business. In addition to a total of $105,000 in grants, recipients will receive direct finance, digital access, and other technical support specifically curated to their unique business challenges, thereby ensuring greater equitable economic development in Tacoma. 

With help from community partners getting the word out, over 800 applicants applied for this opportunity. Thank you to the Black Collective, Mi Centro, and Asia Pacific Cultural Center. 

Congratulations to the 21 businesses selected as recipients of this fund!

Loak Toung Thai LLC
Native American Reentry Services
K&T LLC dba Le Le Restaurant
Buffalo Soldiers Museum
Limitless Apparel LLC
The Atkins Consultant Group LLC
OM Michael Quality Painting LLC
Pour It On LLC
K. Hancock Events
Johnygirl Sound Therapy & Healing Arts Studio
Vigil Family Medicine
Chémel Salon LLC
Ellis Bookkeeping & Tax
MauraMcMahon.com
West Coast Beauty Lab
Sabrina's Imagery LLC
Nail Pro
Connections Counseling & Consulting
Construct N Style
Elements Of Sunshine
Red Elm Café.

View photos from the reception below.

[12/13/22] The Chamber recently joined Around The Clock Childcare in Tacoma to celebrate their grand opening, open house, and recent renovation and expansion. Thank you to everyone who came out to this fun event! 

View photos from the ribbon-cutting below. 

[11/21/22] Congratulations to the graduates of the 44th Annual Business Leadership Academy. This year, over twenty participants took part in a 10-week program to learn leadership skills, engage with the business community, and connect with a mentor on their journey to success. The 2022 Business Leadership Academy wrapped up with a graduation and celebration luncheon at Court House Square in Downtown Tacoma. Congratulations once again to this year's graduates and we can't wait to see what you go on to do in our community! 

View a slideshow recap of the 2022 Business Leadership Academy and photos from the graduation below. 

[11/21/22] Last Friday, November 18th, the Chamber helped ZEVA Aero & Rift Carbon Campers celebrate their Open House with a ribbon-cutting! ZEVA is an innovative company in Pierce County that creates lightweight camper trailers and is also building the next generation of sustainable electric aircraft. Thank you to everyone who came out and helped us celebrate this exciting local business! 

View photos from the ribbon-cutting below.

[11/1/22] Last Friday, October 28th, the Chamber joined Top Fitness Store in Tacoma to celebrate their grand opening and new business name with a ribbon-cutting! Thank you to everyone who attended and made this such a great event. View a photo recap of the event below! ​

[11/1/22] The Business Leadership Academy of Tacoma-Pierce County was recently given the opportunity to tour the Port of Tacoma and several of the many businesses and organizations that reside within it to get a close-up view of economic development in Pierce County. The group's stops included the Port itself, Tacoma Rail, Richlite, and the Tacoma Youth Marine Center. View a photo recap of this exciting and informative trip below!

[10/25/22] Last Thursday, October 20th, the Chamber joined Al's Hot Chicken in University Place to celebrate the grand opening of their storefront. This business is sure to be a vibrant addition to the Pierce County food ecosystem, and it is already very popular! On its opening day, the restaurant saw cars lined up down the road just to get a taste! Guests who attended this ribbon-cutting were lucky enough to get to try Al's Hot Chicken for themselves, and it was delicious. View a photo recap of the event below! 

[10/25/22] Last Thursday, October 20th, the Chamber held its monthly Chamber After Hours event at the beautiful Historic 1625 Tacoma Place venue. Over 150 guests from the business community joined us for a night of networking, refreshments, and fun. Attendees enjoyed seeing the stunning event space offered at Historic 1625 as well as a chance to taste many delicious catering vendor options, take pictures using a 360-degree photo booth, and win raffle prizes.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made this event such a wonderful night! View a photo recap of the event below. 

[10/4/22] The 44th Annual Business Leadership Academy, a program of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and Pacific Lutheran University, is currently taking place. This program gives emerging community leaders a chance to engage with the Pierce County business community, develop leadership skills, and connect to mentorship opportunities. Last Thursday, the 2022 cohort of the Business Leadership Academy got to experience the annual Downtown Tacoma Walking Tour, a highlight of the program.

The tour was led by David Schroedel, vice president of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and executive director of the Downtown Tacoma Partnership. Along the way, Leadership Academy participants got to meet and greet with leaders of local business and industry and view some of the most important and exciting storefronts and properties in Downtown Tacoma. The stops on this year's tour included The Method Skateboards and Coffee, TOTE Maritime, Courthouse Square, InterUrban Development, McCallum & Sons Whisky Co., and Spaceworks Tacoma.

​View photos from the tour below. 

[9/27/22] The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with Comcast on a new initiative to benefit small businesses owned by women and people of color in Pierce and King Counties. The Comcast RISE Investment Fund will contribute $1 million to small businesses in the region. Grants of $10,000 will be distributed to 100 businesses throughout Pierce and King Counties. 

The application to apply for this fund will be open October 3rd - October 16th, 2022. Eligible businesses must be located within Pierce or King County, have established business operations for 3 or more years, have 25 or fewer full or part-time employees, and be at least 51% owned and operated by a woman or person of color (including Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian American owners).

Learn more here. 

Watch below to see Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber CEO/President Andrea Reay introduce the Comcast RISE Investment Fund. 

In addition to the investment fund, Comcast RISE also offers the opportunity for businesses across the country to apply for marketing and technology services from Comcast Business and Effectv, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable. For full details, eligibility requirements, and to apply visit www.ComcastRISE.com.

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is also currently partnering with Comcast and the City of Tacoma on the Thrive Tacoma Business Fund. This fund is open to BIPOC and women-owned small businesses located in the city of Tacoma. The application for the Thrive Tacoma Business fund closes on October 15th, 2022. Learn more here.