· Meetings Week
of December 10
Tukwila Government and Community Affairs
Wednesday, December 5
12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
Ambassador Committee Meeting
Tuesday, December 11
8:00 am - 9:00 am
Chamber Office
Highway 99 Action Committee Meeting
Tuesday, December 11
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Tukwila Community Center
December's meeting is the Holiday Potluck! Contact Dianna at the Chamber to
sign-up to bring something yummy!
· Meetings Week
of December 17
SeaTac Business Committee
Meeting Canceled.
December Membership Luncheon and Bazaar
Friday, December 14
11:30 am - 1:30 pm
Seattle Airport Marriott
3201 S. 176th St, SeaTac
Cost is $20 pre-paid or $25 at the door
December Networking Breakfast
Wednesday, December 19
7:00 am - 9:00 am
DoubleTree Seattle Airport
Cost is $17 pre-paid or $20 at the door
From the Chairman
The holiday
season is upon us and soon 2008 will be knocking on our doors! This is a great
time of year to take the opportunity to reflect on everything we have
accomplished at the Chamber this year.
This year has been full of wonderful events, informational meetings, great new
members and plenty of old friends. We signed on __ new members this year and
have sustained an impressive retention rate with our existing members. We
hosted a variety of fun gatherings, including very successful Networking
Breakfasts and Membership Luncheons, the 2007 Get-Away Golf Tournament, and the
2007 A·C·E Awards. We also launched our 2007 Dining Guide, which was a great
success. We were very involved with the 2007 Burien Independence Day Parade,
the Highway 99 Action Committee, and the South Sound Coalition. We also worked
to reach out to businesses through the SeaTac Business Outreach Program.
In January, incoming Chamber Chairman Mike Hansen will take over and will send
his greetings each month. I have truly enjoyed the opportunity to reach out to
you every month and serve you as Chairman - thank you for your support.
Happy Holidays!
· Eighth Annual Holiday Gift Bazaar and Holiday Luncheon
Enjoy the
enchanting sounds of the Cascade View Elementary School's choir at this year's
Holiday Luncheon and Gift Bazaar. There will be plenty of fun, games,
networking and seasonal items for all!
Mark your calendars and join the Chamber to celebrate the Holiday Season!
Friday, December 14th at the Seattle Marriott Hotel - SeaTac, 3201 S. 176th
Street. The cost is $20 pre-paid or $25 at the door. To register, contact the
Chamber at 206.575.1633 or register online at www.swkcc.org and click into the
Chamber Calendar for reservations.
Also, the Chamber is looking for members who have holiday crafts or gift
products to display and sell at the Holiday Bazaar that will accompany the
luncheon. The Bazaar is a great opportunity for individuals or companies to
sell holiday gift items. Display tables are free as a courtesy to our members
and member employees or family members. Participants are asked to provide one
gift as a door prize. If you are interested in more information about this
unique opportunity, please contact Dianna Gearhiser at the Chamber
206.575.1633.
Patha, Incorporated -
Sponsor for the December Holiday Luncheon and Bazaar
Camille Patha
with Patha, Incorporated is the sponsor of the festive Holiday Luncheon and
Bazaar.
Camille is a responsible, long-term businesswoman who owns properties in SeaTac
and Des Moines. She has been involved in commercial real estate and the
multiple housing industries for many years.
In addition to her properties and business, Camille is busy with Chamber
business! She holds the Chamber position of Vice Chairwoman of SeaTac, is a
member of the Board of the Southwest King County Chamber and is a past
President of Southcenter Rotary. Camille is also a renowned artist whose work
has been commissioned all over the state of Washington as well as British
Columbia. Exhibition locations include sites throughout Western Washington,
California, Oregon, Milan, Italy and Osaka, Japan.
· Chamber Office Holiday Hours
The Chamber
office will be closed in observance of Christmas.
Monday, December 24: Office Closed
Tuesday, December 25: Office Closed
Monday, December 31: Office Closed at Noon
Tuesday, January 1: Office Closed
Happy Holidays!
· 2007 A·C·E Awards Winners: Achievement · Community · Excellence
Congratulations
to the Southwest King County Businesses of the Year. The Awards ceremony at the
Embassy Suites in Tukwila was a smashing success with fun had by all in
attendance.
2007 Large Employer Business Excellence
Alaska Airlines
2007 Small Employer Business Excellence
State Farm Insurance - Vickie Bergquist
2007 Beautification Award
Southcenter Square
2007 Large Employer Non-Profit/Humanitarian Excellence
Lutheran Community Services
2007 Chairman's Choice
Port of Seattle
Thanks also to our sponsors of the 2007 A·C·E Awards:
Major Sponsors
Baker Commodities, Inc.
Cox Financial L.L.C.
Port of Seattle
Westfield Southcenter
Silver Sponsors
Alaska Airlines
BBC Dodge
Bowman Investment Group
Cat's Eye Group
Highline Medical Center/Main Campus
Landmark on the Sound
Puget Sound Energy
Table Sponsors
Bonney-Watson Parker Chapel
Cascade E-Commerce Solutions, Inc.
Dollar Rent-A-Car
Highline Community College
Vickie Bergquist Insurance Agency
Bravo Sponsors
Bahama Breeze
Grief Inc.
Plato's Closet
· 2008 South Sound Coalition Legislative Breakfast
The South
Sound Chambers of Commerce Legislative Coalition Breakfast will be held Friday,
January 4, 2008 from 7:30 am to 9:00 am at Emerald Downs. The keynote speaker
will be Governor Christine Gregoire.
Tickets are $25 and the registration deadline is December 21, 2007. For more
information, contact Tom Pierson at 253.838.2605 or via email at
tomp@federalwaychamber.com.
· Business Showcase Featured at February Luncheon
The February
2008 Membership Luncheon, to take place at Rainier Golf and Country Club on
February 8, will feature the Annual Business Showcase at which your company can
set up an exhibit booth to inform attendees about your business. The Business
Showcase will run from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm.
The cost for participating is $85, which includes lunch for one person and a
six-foot table within the exhibit booth. The registration deadline is Tuesday,
January 22, 2008.
To register, please contact the Chamber office or download the registration
form - complete with event information – at www.swkcc.org.
· Lufthansa Airlines Announce New Non-Stop Service from Seattle to Frankfurt, Germany
On November
5th, the Port of Seattle announced the start of new daily international
non-stop service between Seattle and Frankfurt, Germany, beginning March 30,
2008.
"We have been courting Lufthansa for many years," said John
Creighton, Port of Seattle Commission President. "We are very pleased to
make this announcement as part of a united partnership with the Port of
Seattle, the Seattle Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the State of
Washington, who have all worked hard to bring about this important new service
from Lufthansa."
Lufthansa Airlines, the largest carrier of international passengers in the
world, will not only connect Seattle to Germany, but will provide passenger
with connections all over Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Asia, Africa and
India. Lufthansa's flight service between Seattle and Frankfurt will be aboard
a 221-seat Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
This is the third new international route announced by the Port of Seattle this
year. In 2007, AeroMexico began offering daily nonstop service to Mexico City
and Air France began offering daily nonstop service to Paris. The addition of
Lufthansa brings the total number of European service routes at Sea-Tac to
five: British Airways to London, Northwest Airlines to Amsterdam, SAS to
Copenhagen, Air France to Paris, and Lufthansa Airlines to Frankfurt. Other
international service from Sea-Tac includes six airlines serving Asia, two
serving Mexico, and four airlines providing service to Canada.
· Meet Your Ambassador!
Meet Steve
Emery, a member of the Chamber's Ambassador Committee!!
Steve has lived in the Seattle area for 39 years and has been with Primerica
since 1993. With Primerica, Steve handles personal finances and small business
retirement plans for his clients. He enjoys working with people, both in his
profession and within the Chamber.
A Chamber member since 2000, Steve has been actively involved in many aspects
of the Chamber including serving as Chairman of the Ambassador Committee in
2006 and on the Golf Committee for the past 3 years. This year, he is
co-chairing the Golf Committee with Carol Kolson and the two of them are
looking forward to the 2008 event.
Steve enjoys many aspects of the Chamber including the Networking Breakfasts
and Membership Luncheons. He finds it very valuable to be presented with
information about ongoing issues and new events in our area. He also enjoys
learning about improvements and developments in South King County through
various Chamber programs.
If you are thinking of becoming more involved within the Chamber, Steve thinks
the Ambassador Committee is an excellent place to start. Feel free to contact
the Chamber for more information on this Committee.
· November Student of the Month
17-year-old
Bryce Gustafson from Highline High School is our November Student of the Month.
Bryce is very active within the Business Department at Highline High School and
is currently enrolled in many business courses including an information
technology class, an advanced business studies class, and an economics course.
His academic achievements include his placement in four Advanced Placement
courses at Highline - English Language, Literature, Statistics and Calculus.
In addition to his scholastic endeavors, Bryce is involved in extra-curricular
activities at Highline. He is currently serving as Senior Class President and
FBLA Executive Vice-President. Additionally, he is a four-time golf letterman,
and a Link Crew leader. He was named 2007 Player of the Year for his golf team,
he is a two-time recipient of the Golf Coach's Award, and was Burien Rotary's
September 2007 Student of the Month.
In the future, Bryce plans on attending the University of Washington where he
would like to study Business Administration.
Congratulations, Bryce!
· December Students of the Month
Senior Spencer Wright is our December student of the month from Mount Rainier
High School.
Spencer, an International Business student, is an active member of the French
Club where he served as Co-President from 2006-2007, and has been a member of
the French National Honor Society since 2006. On a recent trip to France with
Intercultural Student Experiences, Spencer was awarded $250 and was named
"Most Proficient French Speaker". Spencer is currently taking the
English and French Higher Level Exams for International Baccalaureate in 2008.
Spencer was a member of the Mount Rainier High School Environmental Club from
2006-2007. Additionally, during his sophomore and junior years of high school,
Spencer volunteered for Earth Corps, an inner-city restoration group acting to
eradicate invasive plant species and plant native tree species to create a
sustainable forest cover for the great Seattle area.
In addition to this, Spencer has also volunteered with the Puget Sound Blood
Center's Tukwila Office, and was named Student of the Year at Anacortes Middle
School in the 7th grade.
Spencer maintains a 3.7 GPA while working 20 hours per week at Anthony's
Homeport in Des Moines, a position he's held since April 2006.
Congratulations, Spencer!
Senior
Caitlyn Beardsley is our December student of the month from Seattle Christian
High School.
Caitlyn is an active student at Seattle Christian. She has taken a handful of
business courses, including a multi-media and web-design class as well as
serving as a Library Aide and working on the school yearbook staff.
With a 3.64 GPA, Caitlyn has been named a Scholar Athlete in all four of her
years at Seattle Christian and was a member of the National Honor Society both
last year and this year. She has lettered in Cross Country and Track for four
years and is a member of the Chamber Ensemble Choir. Once a week, Caitlyn
volunteers at the South Sound Dream Center and Highline Medical Center, and in
2006 she participated with a Katrina Relief Team in New Orleans. During tax
season, Caitlyn is employed at H&R Block.
In addition to this, Caitlyn enjoys graphic design, snowboarding, music lessons
- including piano, guitar and voice, sketching, painting and poetry.
In the future, she plans on attending a 4-year university to study Linguistics,
art or music. Or maybe all three.
Congratulations, Caitlyn!
· Burien - Citybeats
Lora Lake
Apartments - The City has reached an agreement with the King County Housing
Authority, King County, City of Seattle and the Port of Seattle that will allow
the remaining Lora Lake Apartments to serve as an affordable housing complex.
The City and Port (which owns the property) had expected that the apartments
would be demolished under a long-standing agreement with the Housing Authority.
The City Council felt the property was too close to the third runway at Sea-Tac
Airport for residential uses and wanted to use the property for
airport-compatible commercial development. Under the new agreement, the Housing
Authority will purchase the property and the County will buy additional land
adjacent to the apartments. The City will receive a total of $1 million from
the Housing Authority and County for the Transit Oriented Development planned
for a site at SW 148th Street and 4th Avenue SW.
Creek Restoration- Dozens of volunteers participated in a stream
restoration project in Burien on October 26 and 27. The workers, including City
Councilmembers as well as students from Highline High School science classes,
helped restore a 300-foot stretch of Miller Creek. Volunteers planted native
trees and pulled out blackberry roots. The stream restoration project kicked
off a new effort to protect area streams. Through a partnership of local
governments, a basin steward has been appointed to serve as a resource for
citizens who want to improve native vegetation along the creeks, decrease
storm-water runoff from their property, and reduce storm-water pollution. The
basin stewardship program will also create more opportunities for people to
volunteer to restore the streams.
Community Recreation Center Survey - The City is conducting a survey to
learn how citizens feel about supporting a bond measure to build a new
community recreation center. The proposed facility would replace the existing
Burien Community Center, currently situated in an old, rundown former school
building. The proposed new facility would include an indoor walking-jogging
track, a recreation swimming pool, fitness rooms, a senior center, rooms for
preschoolers and teens, a gymnasium, banquet hall/community room, and meeting
rooms/classrooms. The facility would be approximately 66,000 square feet and is
estimated to cost approximately $35 million. The funding measure would go
before voters next fall and would be the first bond measure ever put to the
voters by the City of Burien.
Hotel Development - Alliance Property Group, Inc., and Wasatch Advantage
Group, LLC, have been selected by the City Council as the best qualified
developers for a proposed multi-story hotel/commercial development on a
City-owned site at SW 150th Street and 2nd Avenue S. Development of a hotel in
the downtown area will complement other planned development and has been a
major City objective for years. City leaders believe that downtown Burien, with
its proximity to Sea-Tac Airport and major freeways, plus its frequent transit
service, is an ideal location for a new hotel/conference center.
· SeaTac - CityBeats
Human
Service Partnership: The newly formed "SeaTac Exchange" is a group of
concerned residents, service providers, faith based and school district
representatives, and the City of SeaTac. The City's Human Services Coordinator
will work collaboratively with this new group to support youth and families in
need. The goal is to address multiple needs within our community and schools
together by leveraging dollars, manpower, and a common direction. Possible
projects include: fieldtrip support, holiday assistance, finding organizations
to adopt each elementary school in SeaTac, and neighborhood enhancement. This
group is a replication of a successful model being used in Federal Way and
Tukwila.
City and Seattle City Light Prepare for Next Power Outage: SeaTac staff
have met with Seattle City Light (SCL) leaders on Wednesday evening to discuss
the shortcomings of our responses to the Hanukah Eve Windstorm in 2006, and the
improvements that have been made. SCL also provided our enhanced contact
information to be used in the event of an outage.
· Tukwila - CityBeats
Revised
Business License Fees In October, the Tukwila City Council adopted a new City
business license fee schedule. Under this new schedule, some businesses will
notice an increase. The new fees range from $50 to $300 depending on the number
of employees. The previous fees had not been increased since their adoption in
1980. The new fee schedule is still based on the number of employees (both
full- and part-time) at the Tukwila location, and a separate fee category has
been added for home occupations businesses.
Business license renewal forms will be mailed during the first week of December
to all currently licensed Tukwila businesses. All 2007 City business licenses
will expire on December 31 and by law must be renewed no later than January 31.
Beginning February 1, 2008, penalty fees will be assessed for businesses that
have not submitted their renewal form and fee to the City Clerk's office. More
information is available at www.ci.tukwila.wa.us or by calling 206-433-1854.
Tukwila's Turning 100! Join us in counting down the days until Tukwila's
Centennial Kickoff Event on Tuesday, January 8, 2008. Visit www.Tukwila100.com
to learn more about Tukwila and to download important forms and event
applications. There's still time to organize your own Centennial community
event or join the growing list of sponsors and partners needed to make this
celebration a success! To participate or learn more about these opportunities,
email us at info@tukwila100.com.
Holiday Adopt-A-Family Program Are you looking for an employee team
building activity? Are you in the spirit of giving? Each holiday season Tukwila
Parks and Recreation organizes a holiday giving program with names of local
children and families in need. This program relies on generous citizens who are
interested in "adopting" the children or families and purchasing new
gift items for them. If you or your business would like to share in the spirit
of giving, please contact Shannon Fisher at 206-768-2822, or by emailing to
sfisher@ci.tukwila.wa.us. By participating in this program, you can truly make
a difference in the life of a local, less fortunate child.
The City is Coming to Cable TV Tukwila is proud to announce its new
government access channel. Available through Comcast, Tukwila's city channel 21
will bring information about our local government's activities, meetings,
special events, programs and services to the community. Tune in to Tukwila 21,
and watch us grow! In times of emergency, be sure to tune in to this channel
for specific information on emergency procedures.
· Education Corner
Highline
School Board Members Retire: Superintendent John Welch hosted a
retirement reception for three outgoing school board members; Phyllis Byers,
Matt Pina, and Tom Slattery. Together, the three have served the district and
the Highline community for 32 years!
Members of the community, staff, and students came forth to pay tribute to the
accomplishments and leadership of the these board members. A bittersweet event,
the stories had the gathering laughing and then minutes later, all choked-up,
as person after person told of the sacrifice, passion, and strength of Tom,
Phyllis, and Matt.
The outgoing board members will attend their final board meeting on December 12
as the new members are sworn in. Hopefully, we will continue to have the
benefit of the leadership of this group in other capacities in the community.
They truly have served us all well.
· New Members
Northwest
Clinic of Chiropractic PLLC
19655 1st Ave S., #205
Normandy Park, WA 98148
858.366.3350
Chiropractors
State Farm Insurance, Brenda Kulju
525 Strander Blvd.
Tukwila, WA 98188
206.575.1300
Insurance/Brokers
Sound Community Bank
10200 E. Marginal Way
Seattle, WA 98168
1.800.458.5585
Banks & Financial Institutions
· Renewing Members
RENEWED
MEMBERS
The Southwest King County Chamber extends its gratitude to renewing members for
their continued support.
1-5 Years
AAA Victory Vending, Inc.
Castle Bridge Winery
Church By the Side of the Road
Highline Water District
Horizon Ford, Inc.
Midway Sewer District
Plato's Closet
Qdoba Mexican Grill
Rainier Golf & Country Club
RHS Enterprises
Washington CEO
6-10 Years
Goodwill
Made In Washington
Outback Steakhouse
11-15 Years
Fidelity Associates
Nakamura USA, Inc.
16-20 Years
Highline Hand Therapy
20- 25 Years
Global Advantage, LLC DBA Seko
Highline Public Schools
SRO
26 - 30 Years
Highline Medical Center
41 Years - Highline Medical Center
48 Years - Jorstad Jewelers