SR 167 Coalition Questions Pierce County Candidates About Transportation Package

Tim Thompson, project consultant for the SR 167 Completion Coalition, moderated the Washington State Legislative Candidate Forum on Transportation Tuesday evening at the University of Washington Tacoma campus.

Thompson, along with coalition board members, asked various transportation questions of the 23 candidates that were present.  The coalition asked the candidates their opinion on the likelihood of a transportation package in the 2015 legislative session and what each candidate might suggest the coalition do in the coming months to assist legislators in getting them to a yes vote.  While some candidates suggested that the coalition continue their current advocacy efforts, others proposed a more grassroots approach with voters and chamber members.

To learn more about local congressional and legislative candidates, be sure to attend our upcoming Candidate Forums:

• August 8th, 10th Congressional District & 25th Legislative District
• October 10th, 31st Legislative District

Our local forums provide chamber members with an opportunity to ask questions of candidates in their respective districts about issues impacting their businesses.  For more information on our Chamber Forums and how you can register for these events, visit our website at www.puyallupsumnerchamber.com.

A big thank you to our local business representatives who also attended the event:  Carlene Joseph, Harborstone Credit Union, Gary Kemmer, STAC Inc., Thomas Bolt, SeaTac Packaging Manufacturing Corporation, Bob Bailey, Southern Wine and Spirits of Washington, and Jim Nyberg and Scott Jones, Newland Communities.  It is critical that our legislators know how important the completion of SR 167 is to our region and your business presence at these forums has an impact on their decision making.

2015 U.S. Open Stats: 235,000 Tickets, $142 Million Economic Impact

Hunter George, Pierce County Director of Communications, visited the So. Hill Rotary club on Thursday to give an update about the preparations Pierce County is currently working on for the  2015 U.S. Open.  In this photo Hunter explains that 235,000 tickets will be sold for the event, our region will see more than $142 million in economic impact and 64% of the fans who attend will be from out of town.  It is estimated that the U.S. Open will draw 2,000 credentialed media, and an audience of 100+ million in 180 countries.  5,000 volunteers signed up so quickly that in 36 hours it crashed the servers. 

The USGA is also planning a booth at the Washington State Fair this year in the Fair Museum Building with a display will be based on two books, Great Moments of the U.S. Open, and America's St. Andrews, so be sure to stop in and check the booth out.

Our Chamber co-presented with Hunter to talk about local preparations currently in process for the U.S. Open.  The cities of Puyallup and Sumner are working together to create hospitality strategies for the 7,000 cars that will be parking at the Washington State Fairgrounds parking lots.  Our regional goal is to ensure that visitors have a great time while attending this  international event at Chambers Bay and will want to return to Pierce County.

Watch for details about our December 12th monthly luncheon where USGA representative, Danny Sink, will once again be our guest speaker with an update about their preparations for the U.S. Open.

A big thanks to Hunter for coming to Puyallup and So. Hill Rotary and for including our Chamber in his regional update.   And if you missed the Chambers Bay promo spot that aired during the 3rd quarter of the Seahawks-49ers Championship game, check out the video below.   

http://pctv.s3.amazonaws.com/FOXUSOpenChambersBayFlyover.mp4

2015 Goodguys Cars Show Gallery

I spent a good portion of Saturday at the Goodguys show at the Fairgrounds.  While I can't say which one was my favorite, these are the ones that caught my eye.  There's still one more day of the car show and it's definitely worth going to.  A big congratulations to Betsy, Daniel and Drew for another great car event.  Looking forward to seeing you all next year.

Goodguys Car Show Back in Puyallup at the Fairgrounds

The Goodguys Car Show is back in town for the 28th year this weekend.  With all the muscle cars and hot rods on Meridian, its understandable that folks keep looking for Fonzie and Ralph Malph among the automotive treasurers.  

The show runs Friday the 25th from 8am to 5pm, Saturday the 26th from 8am to 8pm and Sunday the 27th from 8am to 3pm.  There are more than 2,500 registered cars and estimated attendance this year is up from 30,000 to somewhere between 45,000 and 50,000 people.  If you advertised in our Chamber Directory, Visitor Guide or map, your business is being promoted at the show.  

Hope to see you at the show!

Model A Nat'l Convention at Fairgrounds Generates $350,000+ in Local Business.

Check out this banner one of the Model A attendees

Puyallup and the Washington State Fairgrounds welcomed more than 500 Model A cars and their owners this past week for their National Model A Ford Convention.  Though the convention was not open to the public, these car owners booked hotel rooms in Puyallup, Sumner and Tacoma and motored around the region and dined at local restaurants for more than seven days.  All told, the group booked 1,255 room nights and spent more than $350,000 at local businesses.  Organizers worked with local tourism organizations including our Chamber of Commerce who distributed 500 welcome bags with local member business information urging attendees to shop, eat, sleep and play in the region.  

Our Chamber is currently partnering with the Good Guys car show organizers to provide more than 2,500 welcome bags to the registered car owners.  If you have questions about how you can market to local visitors at future events like the Good Guys car show, contact Cathryn Lewis at the chamber at 253.845.6755 or membership@puyallupsumnerchamber.com.  

Congratulations to Bob Rezba and Terry Bontrager for a successful Model A convention.  We hope your group will come back and see us again sometime.

Co-Chairs Bob Rezba and Terry Bontrager worked with
Puyallup Sumner Chamber and Tacoma Regional Convention
and Visitor Bureau for 2 years prior to the national convention.

Shuttle bus on fairgrounds delivered attendees to various
featured events on the grounds.  You can even see a corner
of one of our lime green chamber welcome bags that were
distributed to attendees. 

Brian Carlson gives a snappy presentation about
authentic men's hats of the Model A era.

Wake Ups and Funballz at Anthem.

Brain Reynolds, owner of Anthem Beverage & Bistro,
welcomes the Chamber to his newly renovated restaurant.

This week kicked off our first Wake Up weekly networking at Anthem Beverage and Bistro in downtown Puyallup.  New member Funballz NW, LLC, brought one of their inflatable ballz to see up close and Ambassador Michelle Supke couldn't pass up an opportunity to try one on.  I see a Bumper Blue Review coming soon so all of our ambassadors can try one on for size. 

Check out the t-shirt Dana Nuber from Cascade Christian is wearing.  We all love blue, Dana.  Especially when you're wearing it!  See you all next Thursday at Anthem and a BIG THANKS to Brian Reynolds for hosting our Wake Ups.