Steve Bell of Bellmont Cabinet Co. named 2014 Washington Manufacturing Executive of the Year

Steve Bell, President & CEO of Bellmont Cabinet Company, was selected as winner of the 2014 Washington Manufacturing Executive of the Year Award.

Seattle Business Magazine recognized leading manufacturers at the Washington manufacturing Awards, held at the Seattle Design Center April 24, 2014, honoring 19 top manufacturers in the state.  “The finalists are outstanding manufacturers who have survived and thrived through tough times by improving processes, adding new technology and addressing market needs,” said Leslie Helm, editor of Seattle Business magazine.  “Their stories of struggle and success captivated all of us.”

Steve was recognized for his business skills and executive leadership, which has developed Bellmont Cabinet Company into one of the premier custom frameless cabinetry manufacturers.

Steve Bell has come a long way, from building cabinets in a small garage, to employing over 250 people in an 185,000 sq ft facility.  Through core values and a company culture which includes respect, integrity, and living by the principle ‘our word is our bond’, they build loyal customers.  These values also extend outside of the company through partnerships with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Agros Foundation, who assist in breaking the cycle of poverty internationally and at home.  Whether building fine cabinetry in Sumner, Washington, or ensuring a clean water supply in a village in El Salvador, Steve Bell and Bellmont Cabinet Company strive to leave the world a better place.

Laila Ghambari Is 2014 United States Barista Champion

Congratulations to Chamber member, Dillanos Coffee, who was all smiles when they received the news that Laila Ghambari was chosen as the 2014 United States Barista Champion.  See the Sprudge Article below:
APRIL 27, 2014 BY SPRUDGE STAFF

Laila Ghambari of Cherry Street Coffee House in Seattle, WA is your 2014 United States Barista Champion! This is Laila Ghambari’s first USBC win, and the first win for Cherry Street Coffee, a wholesale partner of Dillanos Coffee.

Ghambari’s Cherry Street Coffee House is owned and operated by her father, Ali Ghambari (pictured below), and has 9 locations throughout the Seattle area. This makes Laila Ghambari the first competitor from a family-owned business to win the USBC since Heather Perry did it for Klatch Coffee in 2007. It’s also a huge win for Dillanos Coffee Roasters, based in Sumner, Washington, whose head roaster Phil Beattie featured prominently in Ms. Ghambari’s winning routine.

Coffees served by Laila Ghambari at USBC were grown and processed by the team at Cuatro M Cafes, hailing from the company’s El Manzano farm in the Santa Ana department of northwest El Salvador. Her routine featured three distinct processing methods from El Manzano: pulp natural, washed, and natural, each yielding distinct flavors and combined together in a complex blend.

The champ is pictured below with Phil Beattie of Dillanos (left) and producer Emilio Lopez Diaz, of Cuatro M Cafes.

Ghambari competed with milk in her cappuccinos from Pure Eire Dairy in Othello, Washington. For her signature drinks, she combined coffee cherry jam & coffee flower blossom honey with espresso, and added smoke from coffee tree wood, ignited and captured live on stage with a smoke gun. Every last component of her sig drink–the jam, the honey, the wood, and the coffee–was grown on the grounds of El Manzano in El Salvador.

It was in many ways an irresistible story here at the 2014 United States Barista Championship. Laila Ghambari has competed extensively over the last five years, for multiple companies, but destiny seemed to be holding back victory until she could claim a title for her family’s company. Cherry Street’s strong partnership with Dillanos Coffee Roasters resulted in a carefully sourced, specifically roasted coffee from Cuatro M Cafes. The hometown hero came up big. The narrative falls seamlessly into place.

Laila Ghambari now moves on to represent the United States of America at the 2014 World Barista Championship in Rimini, Italy. This event begins on June 9th. We’ll be there covering the event live in partnership with World Coffee Events.

Sprudge.com’s coverage of the 2014 United States Barista Championship has been made possible by direct support from Cafe Imports and The Wilbur Curtis Company. Our 2014 barista competition coverage around the world is underwritten by our friends and partners at Nuova Simonelli.

WSDOT SR167 Bridge Replacement Project Update

The preconstruction meeting for the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) SR167 bridge replacement project took place on Thursday, April 17th. Construction is scheduled to commence on May 1st and is broken into three stages:

· Stage one will include the relocation of the steel truss bridge to the east, to be used as the detour route, while the new bridge is being built. Stage one is scheduled to run from May 1st through August 1st, with the bridge scheduled to be moved at the end of July.

· Stage two - construction of the new bridge - will take place August 1st through July 1st.

· Stage three will include elimination of the detour alignment and removal of the old steel bridge to the unused WSDOT SR17 right-of-way for storage.

Signage will be installed directing those who have questions and/or concerns to a 1-800 number or the WSDOT project specific web site.

YMCA Groundbreaking in Sumner

Barb Bitetto, Jan Sanford (stand-in) Cindi Hochstatter, Sumner Council, Dave Enslow, Sumner Mayor,
Kathy Hayden, Sumner Council, and Senator Pam Roach all wield gold shovels for the groundbreaking.

Monday, April 28th was a great sunny day in Sumner as the public gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking for the Gordon Family YMCA slated to open in the summer of 2015.  The Sumner High School marching band welcomed residents and local electeds with peppy toe tapping enthusiasm which set the tone for a fun event as people came together to celebrate a seven year journey of planning for a community gathering place in Sumner.  

The event provided an opportunity for Bob Eckund, President and CEO of YMCA Pierce and Kitsap Counties, and board member of the Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce, to thank the City of Sumner for their partnership on the project, as well as Larry Gordon and his family for their generosity in helping to make a community vision a reality.  Charter memberships and  engraved bricks are available now for purchase at the following links:

Charter Membership information: http://www.ymcapkc.org/become-charter-member/

Engrave a brick information: http://www.ymcapkc.org/give-to-gordon-family-ymca/
Forms for charter memberships and bricks: https://www.ymcapkc.org/membership_charter.php

Bob Ecklund and Michele LaRue, YMCA of Pierce and Kits

Larry Gordon, Julana and Kyle Hardtke, contractors and architects all spoke at the event on Monday.

Lana Hoover, Barb Bitetto, Bob Ecklund, Cindi Hochstatter
and Jan Sanford

Cool Ribbon Cutting at Subzero Ice Cream and Yogurt

Congratulations to Manuel and Abegeil Napoleon on the recent opening of their new business, Subzero Ice Cream and Yogurt on So. Hill near the Mall.  The Napoleon's hosted a Chamber  Ribbon Cutting last week and we were pleasantly surprised to see over 20 employees at their new location. Mayor John Knutsen, Councilman Tom Swanson, Central Pierce Fire Chief Keith Wright and many of our board members and ambassadors all joined in the celebration welcoming Subzero to the Puyallup Sumner business community.   We all watched employees as they demonstrated how liquid nitrogen can be harnessed to freeze fresh ingredients into ice cream.  Not only does the process keep children entertained with billows of non-toxic nitrogen "smoke", but they discuss concepts such as the elemental properties of nitrogen, gas laws, the Leidenfrost Effect, and other things that we normally don't talk about at Chamber ribbon cuttings. 

If you get a chance, stop by and try some of their ice cream and make your own flavor creation. Word of caution......When you choose your chill factor and ice cream consistency, be careful of the "tongue numbing" level, because they're not kidding.   

A big Chamber welcome to the Napoleon's from the Puyallup Sumner business community and a big thank you to the mayor, council, fire chief, our board members and all of our ambassadors in blue who stopped in to say hi.

Subzero Ice Cream, 4102 So. Meridian, Puyallup, WA, 253.219.1128.

 

Impressive After Hours at Impressive Signs & Graphics

It was standing room only last Thursday when Chamber members stopped at Impressive Signs and Graphics on East Main Street in Puyallup for our April Business After Hours event.  It was a home town version of a golf event with a Happy Gilmore theme and guests arrived in all manner of golfing attire.  Owner, Craig Sorenson, was the consummate host sponsoring over 25 door prizes and partnering with fellow chamber members like Jarrett Tomal from Parliament Distillery to serve much needed food and beverages after a busy work week.  And though the golf cart races were rained out, a good time was had by all who attended.  It was a great way to relax at the end of the day and take a tour of the business property to see what advertising projects were in process.

A big thank you to Craig and all the "Impressive" crew for hosting a fun event.  And if any of our local chamber members have advertising projects they need done, big or small, stationery or mobile, be sure and call Impressive Signs and Graphics.  

 

 

 

Impressive Signs and Graphics to Host Business After Hours

Thursday April 17th, Craig Sorenson, owner of Impressive Signs and Graphics, is inviting all chamber members to attend a Business After Hours event at his business location on East Main in Puyallup.  This is not the first time Craig has hosted a fun Chamber event and he's really outdone himself with a Happy Gilmore theme in honor of the U.S. Open which will be coming to Pierce County in June of 2015.  Keeping with the golf theme, Craig will be coordinating golf cart races (check out the golf cart advertising wrap Impressive Signs & Graphics did for the Chamber) as well as an indoor putting green.  There will be great prizes and appetizers and adult beverages for everyone, plus he's partnered with other local businesses like Mt. Rainier Coffee Company and Parliment Distillery so you won't want to miss this event.

If you haven't been to Impressive Signs and Graphics, come and see their "impressive" selection of neon signs, retro advertising and fun marketing samples that he can create for indoor or outdoor advertising for our Chamber businesses.  They are located across from the Shaw Road overpass intersection on East Main.  We'll see you there on Thursday evening.