Last Wednesday, May 24th, our Chamber joined Carlile Transportation at its Tacoma freight terminal for a ribbon-cutting to celebrate its new stormwater-treatment system. This state-of-the-art system is an eco-friendly advancement for Carlile and the Tacoma Tideflats area. 

​"We are committed to being good neighbors by doing our part to protect the environment by keeping surrounding communities safe and healthy,” says Carlile VP of Freight Operations John Armstrong. The new system will filter and clean runoff water on its way back to our local waterways. 

Thank you to our Chamber Ambassadors and business community for showing your support at this exciting event. And thank you to Carlile for its investment in the environmental health of our region! 

This past Saturday, May 20th, we helped the Coffee Oasis celebrate the grand opening of their new Tacoma café and youth center with a ribbon-cutting! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported this exciting member milestone!

Last Thursday evening, May 18th, the Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors hosted our monthly Chamber After Hours at the beautiful Merrill Gardens rooftop deck at Wright Park. The weather was perfect, the views were stunning, and the networking was lively! Nearly 200 members of our business community showed up to network and enjoy the sunshine, as well as delicious refreshments. Thank you to TPCAR for hosting this month's After Hours and to everyone who showed up and made this event so special!

View photos from the event below!

Every week is different here at the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, especially for our CEO/President Andrea Reay! These three highlights from the past week are just a snapshot of the busy schedule of a Chamber CEO. Learn more below about the wide variety of ways our leadership works every day to support the business community. 

Last Tuesday, Andrea led a panel of businesses before the Tacoma City Council’s Economic Development Committee.  In talking with representatives from Umpqua Bank, WestRock, and Simon Properties, it became clear that issues around public safety continue to rise to the surface as a top priority for businesses. Despite these concerns, businesses said customer service and support from the City have been positive. View footage from the panel here starting at the 30:45 time stamp. 

Later in the week, Andrea joined the Chamber’s Government Affairs Committee in interviewing two incumbent Tacoma City Councilmembers running for re-election this fall – John Hines in District 1 (North & West Tacoma) and Kristina Walker in Position 8, an at-large position representing the entire City. The committee spent nearly an hour between the two interviews discussing safety, housing, transportation, taxes, and economic development. Register to attend the next Government Affairs Committee meeting here. 

Finally, Andrea met with Dr. Christina Theodoraki, a professor of entrepreneurship at TBS Education in France, who is leading a multi-year study of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Tacoma & Pierce County to help us determine how we can best support entrepreneurs. One of the biggest opportunities is strengthening the connectivity between businesses and economic development agencies so that all businesses feel continually supported throughout their lifecycle. Learn more about Dr. Theodoraki's work here. 
 

Last Thursday, May 4th, over 300 members of our business community gathered to participate in our first-ever Pierce County Outlook luncheon and expo. This event brought together local leaders from all parts of our region's business ecosystem— from our county executive to local entrepreneurs— to discuss and engage with some of the most pressing issues Pierce County businesses face. 

The morning kicked off with Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier giving his expert insights into where Pierce County is headed in the near future. He covered topics including construction, interest rates, and investment in our region. His personal outlook was one of optimism and opportunity for Pierce County. 

Local journalist Angela Poe Russell delivered the keynote address which was sure to inspire everyone in the room with a reminder of what makes the South Sound so incredible. Aaron Deer, chief financial officer for Columbia Bank, discussed the future of banking in the South Sound and helped put national banking issues and trends in perspective at a local level.

Two panel discussions rounded out the afternoon and touched on topics at the top of the mind of many business leaders in our region. The Future of the South Sound panel covered issues that everyone who lives, works, and does business in Pierce County cares about. This included housing and homelessness, workforce development, economic development, and public safety. The South Sound Business Issues panel featured local business owners and entrepreneurs sharing their challenges, solutions, and lessons learned regarding many prevalent issues including cybersecurity, small business, eCommerce, marketing, and coworking. 

Attendees also had the chance to network and explore expo tables from businesses in our community.

Thank you to everyone who attended, participated in, and helped sponsor this amazing event. Please share your feedback and suggestions for future Pierce County Outlook events through this attendee survey! 

This past month, our Chamber traveled with a delegation of local business leaders, elected officials, industry executives, and change-makers to our nation's capital of Washington, D.C. for our annual Washington-to-Washington Leadership Conference. Over 40 members of our South Sound community representing business, nonprofit, and government sectors traveled with us to take part in this opportunity. Our delegation met with elected officials and policy leaders, participated in panels on topics important to our region, and represented the unique interests of the South Sound. Panels covered topics including military and defense, banking, energy, ports, transportation, health care, and more.

View photos from the trip below!

This past week was a busy one for our Chamber, especially our President/CEO Andrea Reay! It is our vision to make the South Sound the most equitable, inclusive, and thriving place to do business in Washington State, and that requires attending many events and meetings, traveling all over our region, and meeting with countless stakeholders and community members. 

Andrea kicked off the week by attending a welcome reception for a delegation from the Alaska Chamber of Commerce on their Pacific Northwest Outreach Trip. Our Chamber board was also in attendance for this welcome event held at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Our Chamber Executive Vice President David Schroedel later gave a tour of the Downtown Tacoma business district to the Alaskan delegation. The purpose of this trip was to strengthen relationships with organizations, individuals, and businesses that are closely linked to Alaska through our shared economies and trade.

Then, on Thursday, April 27th, Andrea —alongside the City of Tacoma— met with international business representatives from 30 companies and 9 different countries. These guests were part of an international investment group taking part in SelectUSA, an economic development program hosted by Greater Seattle Partners.

​Nations represented included France, Canada, Korea, India, Taiwan, Poland, Japan, Ireland, and Spain. While in town, the group of senior-level executives toured the South Sound and heard from panels of local business leaders and entrepreneurs sharing why they chose Tacoma for their own business journeys. 

Last but far from least, our Chamber staff, including Andrea Reay, have been excited to begin work again administering the Pierce County Business Accelerator. 

The Pierce County Business Accelerator (PCBA) is a program of Pierce County administered by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber that serves entrepreneurs and business owners throughout Pierce County with a focus on underserved communities to help foster innovation and create wealth-building opportunities.

This past week, we kicked off Cohort 10 and 11 of PCBA. Cohort 10 is a Spanish-speaking cohort that will attend classes at Mi Centro in Tacoma. Cohort 11's classes will take place at the Chamber offices in Downtown Tacoma. 
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Last Friday, April 28th, we held a ribbon-cutting for Glow Tea to celebrate the GRAND OPENING of their newest location at the Tacoma Mall! This is their third store location, and the first in Tacoma. The line was out the door to get a taste of this delicious new bubble tea shop! We enjoyed drinks, talking with the amazing owners and staff, and even got to meet their plushie mascot, Glowie! Thank you to Glow Tea for having us be part of your special day! 

View photos from the grand opening event below.