Armstrong Fitness Grand Opening

A big welcome to Armstrong Fitness and their staff to the Puyallup Sumner business community.  Located next to the Best Western Premier Plaza and Denny's restaurant, Armstrong Fitness celebrated their grand opening and ribbon cutting on Tuesday night with a crowd of more than 300 people.  Opening their doors with more than 800 memberships, the ribbon cutting was a huge success.  

Armstrong Fitness partnered with several of chamber members, including them in the community celebration.  Businesses like Minute Man Press, Design Dog Media, Cascade Regional Blood Services, Funballz NW, Communities in Schools and more, all gathered to join in the celebration.  Owner, Morgan Armstrong, welcomed the crowd, introduced his staff and encouraged everyone to sign up for a membership at the 30,000+ sq ft facility.

If you haven't been to their new location, you should go and ask for a tour.  There are personal trainers, exercise classes and training equipment galore.

A big thank you to Armstrong Fitness for allowing us to be part of their celebration and welcome to the Puyallup Sumner business community.

New MultiCare CEO Meets Community at Luncheon

Glenn Kasman, President of East Pierce Region at MultiCare Health System, Inc., and Chamber Board member, introduces William "Bill" Robertson, the new CEO of MultiCare Health System at a recent Community Leaders luncheon.  

Earlier this spring, Robertson became the leader of the largest private employer in the South Sound region with more than 11,500 employees.  Since taking the role of CEO, he has been reaching out to employees and communities to introduce himself and the new corporate mission adopted by MultiCare - "Partnering for a Healing and Healthy Future."  In his presentation he shares information about the reality of change coming to heath care, and conveys his enthusiasm for the positive outcomes he believes will be implemented for delivery of health services resulting from said change.

He also talked about his penchant for Fair scones during his 20 hours at the Washington State Fair this year.  On behalf of the Puyallup Sumner Chamber of Commerce, welcome to the community Mr. Robertson.  

Mark Your Calendars: U.S. Open Catering Event Oct 28th at the Old Cannery

Doggy Day Care at Business After Hours

Dexter the Dog and Mike Lynch, from Sumner Veterinary Hospital welcomed Chamber members to their doggy play area last Thursday for our October Business After Hours.  Members brought their four legged friends, some with Halloween costumes, and toured the facilities to learn more about one of our local businesses.  And while our members enjoyed networking, the on site doggy day care kept the four legged guests entertained as well.

If you haven't been to the Sumner Vet, not only do they have 24 hour emergency critical care, they have boarding facilities, pet grooming, medical, dental and surgical pet services, and a training and agility center.  Guests to the BAH event were treated to a generous food and beverage buffet and some really great prizes after answering some SVH trivia questions.

A big thank you to Dr. Wendt and the staff at Sumner Veterinary Hospital for hosting a fun evening for our Chamber members.  If you haven't been there, stop in and say hi and ask for a tour of the facility.  Your pets will love it.

 

Korean Delegation Visits Washington State Fair

The Washington State Fair hosted international visitors this past month when a Korean delegation arrived to tour the fairgrounds and visit with Fair CEO and board of directors.  Though most of our communities see the Fair activities and administration as an important part of our local agricultural history and a venue for more than two million visitors a year, international festival and event organizers are extremely interested in the Washington State Fair because it is a privately held entity which is not funded publicly, and instead contributes to the public coffers more than two million dollars in taxes annually.

The Korean delegation included a professor who is also the President of International Festivals and Events, a mayor and a congresswoman.  In addition to meeting Fair CEO, Kent Hojem, and Board of Directors, the delegation was able to tour the fairgrounds and meet with Fair management to ask questions about operations.  Our Chamber also had an opportunity to speak to the delegation about the Fair's impact on local communities.  

As part of our interaction with the delegation we presented gifts to them which included Mt. Rainier Coffee Company products, Old Cannery Fudge and rhubarb pie from Berryland Cafe.  The Washington State Fair also provided gifts and hosted a breakfast with scones.  They chuckled when told that our Chamber is hoping that scones and rhubarb pie will be served at the 2015 U.S. Open.

Our Chamber appreciates the opportunity the Fair provided to promote our local businesses and communities, and we recognize their unique ability to draw international visitors to our region.  

Congressman Heck Learns Fisher Scone Business

The Washington State Fair and the Fisher Scone booth hosted Congressman Denny Heck for a 2014 tour of the fairgrounds and activities.  It was no surprise that Congressman Heck took to scone making like a pro, working side by side with veteran scone employees turning out the delicious biscuits and raspberry jam with a smile and good humor.  

Our Chamber appreciates our federal representative taking an interest in our local business activities and issues that impact our business communities.   However, he was undecided on which baked delicacy he liked the best, scones or rhubarb pie.  I totally understand.

U. S. Open Fair Booth Draws a Crowd And Serves Up Golf Enthusiasm

If you attended the Fair this year you may have noticed a new vendor booth and display in the Fair Museum focused on the upcoming U.S. Open.  Pierce County partnered with the Washington State Fair to sponsor a booth with event information and merchandise.  Our Chamber volunteered at the booth and had the opportunity to share with guests that the Fair parking lots have been chosen as one of the four major parking lots for the 2015 U.S. Open and will have capacity for 8,000 cars.  Parking is free for ticket holders, as are the shuttles to the Chambers Bay event course.  Great news for our chamber and local businesses in Puyallup and Sumner.

Don't miss our December 12th luncheon which will focus on the U.S. Open and current status of county event preparations.

SSCCLC Economic Prosperity Breakfast Features Chamber Businesses

The South Sound Chamber of Commerce Legislative Coalition 2014 Economic Prosperity Breakfast brought state legislators and local businesses together on September 24th at Emerald Downs.  The goal of the morning event was to deliver specific business impact stories to our electeds and local officials regarding transportation, education and workforce development, and minimum wage and economic prosperity.

A big thank you to Gary Kemmer, owner of Stac, Inc., and member of our Government Affairs committee, Charla Neuman, Neuman Navigations and Chamber Board Member, and Scott Roberts for their participation in the event.  Chamber member involvement in these business advocacy events really does make a difference.

Leadership Institute Interviews Underway

Sandy Maynard and Tana Hasart, our Leadership Institute facilitators, and our Leadership alumni volunteers have begun interviews for our 2014-2015 class which kicks off on October 16th with an opening retreat.  If you are interested in participating in this year's class, click here for the application and brochure with class curriculum, dates and information. 

Arista Pasta To Open This Week

 If you've been a loyal customer to Central Perk and have been wondering about what new business is moving into that space, meet Ben and Margaret Herreid, owners of our newest restaurant to downtown Puyallup.  

I had a chance to pop in and introduce myself and explain that our Chamber had gotten multiple calls in the last few weeks inquiring about the restaurant.  Since I saw the front doors open and the owners working on some of the remodeling and design work, I thought I'd stop in and say hi.  Ben explained that he had been a vendor selling Arista Pasta for the last several years at the Puyallup Main Street Farmer's Market and when he learned that Central Perk was leaving, he and his wife thought this would be a good location for a restaurant that featured their Arista Pasta products.  Visitors to the restaurant will be able to see the pasta being made at the counter.

Their October menu includes fried four cheese ravioli, maple and brandy roasted butternut squash soup, ravioli dishes with roasted pumpkin, mushroom madiera, and crab and shrimp, plus gnocchi, fresh sheet lasagna, and house made thick spaghetti.  They will also be serving local wine, ale and coffee.

Initially they plan to open at 11am for lunch and dinner service so be sure to stop in an say hi when you get a chance.  

Anthem Barista-Off Draws Evening Visitors To Downtown

We love local coffee shops here at the Chamber.  There are a lot of meetings and a lot of business done over a good cup of joe.  While at Anthem Coffee & Tea last Thursday morning for our weekly Wake Up! meeting I noticed this poster for TNTNW, or Thursday Night Throwdown Northwest.  New to me, I learned from Anthem owner, Bryan Reynolds, that at 7pm that evening Anthem would be the location for a regional "Barista-Off" to determine who makes the best cup of espresso.  Plus, Chamber member, David Morris, of Dillanos Coffee Roasters, would be one of the judges.  

It was a good thing I arrived a half hour early so I could find a seat to take photos and order dinner.  Because at 7pm, there were over 100 people in the coffee shop, and I only knew four of them. I have never been to Anthem that I didn't recognize over 60% of the people there. It was five and six deep at the espresso counter as the contest began so I watched the overhead video of the contest on two big screens in the coffee shop.  

When I left at 8:30, the contest was in full swing, it was dark out and the doors were open to the sidewalks to let in fresh air.  Kudos to Bryan and Janie Reynolds for creating a community business that provides evening service, welcomes visitors from outside our community, and provides fun entertainment after hours.  This Chamber lady smiled all the way back to her car thinking about how downtown business owners make Puyallup a great place to live, work and play.

Puyallup VW Grand Opening

If you missed the Grand Opening of the new Harnish Family Puyallup Volkswagen dealership on August 28th, you missed a great event.  Puyallup Volkswagen celebrated with prizes, great deals on cars, games, music, prizes and good food.  Congratulations to the Harnish Auto Family on their new dealership.

Chamber Fair Booth Sees 17,000+ Visitors

The 2014 Chamber Fair Booth was the most successful ever as members generously donated their time and resources to support this business advocacy program.  More than 17,000 visitors stopped by our booth for a variety of reasons.  Some wanted to "Spin The Wheel" to answer trivia questions to win a prize which included rhubarb taffy, dog leashes, sun glasses, tooth brushing kits and battery operated toothbrushes for kids, piggy banks, apple shaped stress balls, and lots of pens.  We gave away:

• 1,000 bags and cinch saks with chamber member information and coupons;
• 2,000+ rhubarb pie recipe cards
• 5,000 Visitor Guides
• 2,000 Chamber Directories
• 2,000+ Maps
• 8,500 local information brochures in Certified Rack
• 800-900 Scones vs Rhubarb Pie photos
• 350 new Facebook likes
• 300 Pierce Transit and Sound Transit queries
• 130 international visitors

A BIG thank you to the Washington State Fair for allowing our Chamber to host a booth that allows our members to provide community information to visitors highlighting why Puyallup and Sumner are such great places to live, work and play.

And a special thank you to our Chamber members who volunteered and sponsored the booth.  

Puyallup Smiles Dentistry * Apple Physical Therapy * Heritage Bank * Columbia Bank * Sumner Veterinary * Minuteman Press *  Comcast Business * Act 1 Theatre Productions * Cascade Regional Blood Services * Pierce College * Signdog Media * NW Funballz * 36ixty * Cruise Planners * Law Offices of Bryana M. Cross * Edward Jones * Dickey's Barbecue Pit

Spin the Wheel reinforces city and fair brands

Member volunteers have opportunities to interact with visitors and potential customers

Chamber members like Helmut and Inge Reider stop by to say hi.

Rita Wells from Cascade Regional Blood Services volunteered to
ask trivia questions and hand out prizes.

Two visitors stop for photo op.

Sumner Rotary President, Barb Bitetto, stops in to help
with flower arranging.  Big thank you to Craig Mattson from Northwest
Christian School for donating all the gorgeous flowers.  Our booth looked Fabulous!

Dexter the Dog, from Sumner Vet took me seriously when I
commented I needed to have my head checked.

Stacy from Design Dog was a big hit
with our young visitors.

Ambassador, CC Lucas, models one of our new
Chamber cinch saks we gave away to visitors.

Carol Wolf, our Chamber Tourism Concierge, was hard at work
at our Fair Booth handing out visitor information.

Stacy at Design Dog liked the screen display of all the
#sconesvspie photos that were posted on facebook and instagram.

Even our youngest visitors liked the cinch sacks.

Two visitors stopped by that traveled by Sound Transit to the Fair.
They told us that taking the Sounder was the "only" way to travel to the Fair.

Welcome back to Cheryl Mamiya, now with Edward Jones, who
volunteered the last weekend and livened up the place.