Heck Of A Pancake Breakfast At the Old Cannery

Congressman Denny Heck spoke at our Government Affairs Meeting last Tuesday morning bright and early at the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse.  In addition to exhibiting his culinary skills with a griddle for our committee members and answering questions they had, Congressman Heck spoke about various federal issues including the Import-Export Bank, health care, the environment, housing and transportation, plus local military and VA issues.

Charla Neuman, our PSCC Government Affairs Chair, reported on the Washington DC trip she and several of our members recently attended, including conversations with federal agencies about transportation, environment and military.  She also advised that the South Sound Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coalition (SSCCLC) would be having candidates running for election speaking at their June meeting and that the issues committee is currently working on the SSCCLC 2015 Legislative Agenda.

A big thank you to Congressman Heck and Dave Radcliffe and Jackie Schaffer at the Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse for speaking and hosting such a fun event.  Our next couple of meetings will focus on scheduling candidate forums for the upcoming elections this year.  If you are interested in more information about what the Chamber is working on in our Government Affairs committee, contact our office for meeting times and dates.  253.845.6755.  All of our members are encouraged to attend and participate in our discussions.  There is no cost for attending the meetings and we'd love to hear from our members.

Leadership Institute Class Celebrates with Ed Hume

Congratulations to our Leadership Institute class of 2014 on their community Learning Garden Project. This year's class chose to create community gardens at four local elementary schools for their class project. It's a great example of our chamber's mission to cultivate leaders in our business community. A big thank you to our program facilitators, Sandy Maynard and Tana Hassart, for encouraging our participants to partner together with local resources to create a meaningful impact in our communities.

PCTV Crew films the ceremony as a Maple Lawn Elementary student

 reads a letter to Ed Hume.

Sumner Councilwoman, Cindi Hochstatter, and Carmen Palmer, City Communication Director
get a narrated tour of the gardens planted by the students.

Sumner City Administrator, John Galle, and Puyallup Director of Development Services, Tom Utterback, also receive student garden tours.

Puyallup City Manager, Bill McDonald, sits with Ed Hume and Tana Hassart to listen to the students talk about the impact of this year's community garden project.

Students from Maple Lawn Elementary and participants from this year's Leadership Institute Class pose with Ed Hume.

Derek Barry, one of this year's LI participants, shares his enthusiasm for Ed Hume seed packets at the class booth at Puyallup Main Street's Farmer's Market event.  

Each year our class participants seem to raise the bar for their class project and this year was no different.  Thanks to all our volunteers and businesses who supported this year's project.  What a great way to make a difference in our communities.

New Pierce Transit Puyallup Community Connector Route Added

Check out the new Puyallup Connector - Hill to Valley circulator bus. It has great local graphics and definitely grabs your attention.  Puyallup partnered with Pierce Transit tocreate a new route that includes So. Hill Mall, Pierce College, Good Samaritan Hospital through downtown and back again. 

The Chamber hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony this weekend at the Puyallup Main Street's Farmer's Market event to celebrate the start of the new route.  Councilman Steve Vermillion is seen here being interviewed for his leadership on bringing the proposed new route to the community in partnership with Pierce Transit.

Councilman Tom Swanson builds a cardboard bus likeness for his son, Henry, who is very interested in driving one himself.

Lynn Griffith, Pierce Transit CEO, attended the celebration in Pioneer Park to thank everyone who participated in project before wandering through the market.  She couldn't resist a souvenir  elephant ear for the road.  Welcome to Puyallup, Lynn, and thanks for your help with the project.

Intended to support Puyallup’s active summer season, from June 8 through September 27, 2014, The Puyallup Connector will run with 

30-minute frequency from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. to serve guests of Concerts in the Park. On Saturdays, service will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 6:00 p.m. to accommodate the Downtown Farmer’s Market schedule. From September 28, 2014 – June 6, 2015, the Puyallup Connector serves downtown Puyallup and South Hill, Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

For a route map and more information about the Puyallup Connector, visit Pierce Transit’s website at http://www.piercetransit.org/puyallup/.

New Section of Foothills Trail Opened at Pioneer and Shaw Rd

The Foothills Rails to Trails Coalition celebrated the completion of another section of trail at Pioneer and Shaw Road on May 31st with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Great turn out from our local Puyallup City Council Members, Sen. Bruce Dammeier, Rep. Dawn Morrell, various contractors, city officials and a plethora of Courtesy Patrol members from the Coalition. There was bright yellow everywhere and it isn't even daffodil season.

Foothills Rails to Trails Coalition President, Bill Hilton, addresses the crowd at the grand opening and declares this section of the trail to be named and dedicated to longtime trail advocate, John Ernest Berry III.

Congratulations, John, and thank you for your community advocacy. See you at the next council meeting!