Klc biz 4 15

Business ConnectionK e l s o L o n g v i e w C h a m b e r o f C o m m e r c e

Volume 7, No. 4 April 2015

By Bill Marcum CEO – Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce

Nearly two years ago I was talk-ing with several

board members about the Leadership Academy that was presented by local business leaders through the Kelso Longview Chamber and how could we possibly get it started again. One of the discussions that came out of those talks was the need for a series of classes on boardmanship – the role of those who sit in those positions.

The Academy as part of their curricu-

lum had a section on the expectations of being on a nonprofit board, but since the Academy had not had a class in several years many thought this was an essen-tial missing part for our lo-cal nonprofit organizations and for the local citizens and business people who will be called on to serve

on their board of directors.

Every year new board members join the boards of these groups and experi-enced board members serve their term limits and exit. Our goal would be to make sure those new board members

CEO’s Message

Please see Boot Camp, page 2

Every Monday7 a.m.

Legislative Briefing BreakfastRed Lion Hotel

WednesdayApril 1 – 7:30 a.m.

Education Foundation CommitteeCanterbury Park

1335 3rd Ave., Longview

ThursdayApril 2 – 12:30 p.m.

Ribbon CuttingGlamstruck

1314 Commerce Ave., Longview

FridayApril 3 – 7:30 a.m.

Boot CampProtecting Your Image (Social Media)

LCC Heritage Room – Admin Bldg.

April 6-10Kelso & Longview School Spring Break

ThursdayApril 9 – 7:30 a.m.

Ambassador CommitteeCanterbury Park

1335 3rd Ave., Longview

TuesdayApril 14 – Noon

Board of DirectorsLongview Country Club

41 Country Club Dr., Longview

April 14 – 5:30 p.m.Business After Hours

Banda’s Bouquets1414 Commerce Ave., Longview

ThursdayApril 16 – 6 p.m.

Lower Columbia ProfessionalsSip Dip-n-Doodle

Mill City Grill1260 Commerce Ave., Longview

FridayApril 17 – 7:30 a.m.

Boot CampProtecting Your Business

LCC Heritage Room – Admin. Bldg.

Calendar

Building strong board

leadership

2

Kelso Longview Business Connection April 2015

are educated in boardmanship basics.

In September I started working on the 2015 Boot Camp Se-ries. I knew I wanted to do one of the sessions on business se-curity, one on boardmanship and one on retail. I began talking to local board members from various nonprofit organizations and found that it was going to take more research and some arm-twisting to make this six-class session a reality. That be-ing said, I decided to offer the business security in the first session and boardmanship in the second to give me more time to set the class agenda and find speakers.

Well, a lot has happened in the past few months and I think now more than ever this opportunity to learn more about serving on a board and its responsibilities to the organization, the community and those placed in these positions are very important. The Chamber has more than 50 nonprofit mem-bers each with their own board to help manage their organiza-tion. It is important to know the role of the board versus the roll of the executive director or the CEO. How does the board handle conflict? How do they work as a team? Oh, no! I’m now the president of the board, how do I facilitate the meetings?

And what are Robert’s Rules of Order? How do we as a board plan for the future of the organization both strategically and for succession of the board and staff? And, last, but certainly not least, what is your responsibility and accountability for the financial health of the organization as a board member, to the people who donate to the organization, and according to the legal system?

I started talking to potential speakers in January, secured all the speakers by the end of February, and had my first six reg-istered Boot Campers for the boardmanship series by March 2. Today, I have six organizations and 19 people on the list to attend and I have only advertised it one time in an e-blast to members. We can take about 30 total in the Heritage Room at the Lower Columbia College Administration Building, so don’t hesitate to get signed up.

The classes start May 8 and continue each Friday morning 7:30 to 9 a.m. through June 12. The full class schedule is on page 3. If you are interested, please contact us right away or go to our website, www.kelsolongviewchamber.org, and secure your three spots in the class for $100.

Boot Camp, from page 1

Diane Craft, PresidentKoelsch Senior Communities

Julie Rinard, President ElectCommunity Home Health & Hospice

Lance Welch, Vice President PeaceHealth

Joel Hanson, Past PresidentKLOG/KUKN/The Wave

Neil Zick, TreasurerTwin City Bank

Michael Claxton, Legal CounselWalstead Mertsching

Chris Bailey Lower Columbia College

Clayton J. Bartness, DCLongview Chiropractic Clinic Ken Botero Longview City Council

Bob Crisman Gallery of Diamonds

Linda DiLemboThree Rivers Mall

Wendy Hutchinson Millennium Bulk Terminals

Michael JulianKelso Theater Pub

Bianca LemmonsCowlitz County Title Company

Frank PanarraFoster Farms

Tom Rozwod NORPAC/Weyerhaeuser

Ted SpragueCowlitz Economic Development Council

Steve TaylorKelso City Manager

Dennis WeberCowlitz County Commissioner

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors

Sign up… Bring

your bookkeeper,

your manager,

your spouse -

no extra charge!

Limit 25 per Camp Session!

BOOT CAMP2015 Small Business

Friday Mornings ★ Lower Columbia College7:30 am - 9 am ★ Heritage Room at LCC - Admin. Bldg.

SAFETY & SECURITY Six Pack

RETAILINGsix pack

www.kelsolongviewchamber.org

BONUS Boot Camp

NO Charge if YOU have attended at least one Six Pack !

Fri., Oct. 23 Critical Thinking and Problem

Solving - Utilize your own think tank to solve Critical issues. Facilitator:

Chris Bailey, President Lower Columbia College

Chamber Members $100 per Six Pack or $25 per CampNon-Chamber Members $160 per Six Pack or $35 per Camp

May 8 Role of the Board vs. the CEO Facilitated by Rick Winsman

May 15 Financial Accountability. Facilitated by Scott Davis, CPA, Davis and Associates

May 22 Handling Conflict. Facilitated by Jennifer Leach, WSU Extension Faculty and President of the Longview School Board.

May 29 Working as a Team. Facilitated by Frank McShane, Cascade Networks

June 5 Facilitating and Leading Meetings Facilitated by Terry McLaughlin, Cowlitz County Assessor

June 12 Strategic and Succession Planning. Facilitated by Erin Brown, Executive Director LCC Foundation

BOARDMANSHIP six pack

Register Online Today!

Six Pack - $100 Member Price $160 Non-Member Price

Register Online Today!

360-423-8400

25 maximum per Camp Session

March 6 Workplace Violence, Safety and the Police. Facilitator: Andy Hamilton, Kelso Police Chief.

March 13 Fraud Prevention, Internal and External. Facilitator: David Futcher, Futcher-Henry, CPA

March 20 Technology, Computers and Data Security. Facilitator: Jayson Rogen, Techalytix

March 27 Employee Theft and Theft from Business. Facilitator: Andy Hamilton, Kelso Police Chief

April 3 Protecting Your Image (Social Media). Facilitator: TBA

April 10 No Class – Spring Break

April 17 Protecting your Business Facilitator: Bob Beal, State Farm Insurance

Sept. 11 What does your window and your store say to customers? Talking about window dis-plays, store displays, signage in the store, dust on the items, poor lighting etc. Facilitator: TBA

Sept. 18 Employee Training – are your employees trained to help the customer or just ring up a sale? Facilitator: TBA

Sept. 25 Purchasing Strategies – Do you have a plan? Facilitator: TBA

Oct. 2 Pricing Strategies – Cowlitz County

Oct. 9 Promotion Strategies – Advertising: mail, radio, online, print. Facilitator: TBA

Oct. 16 Online Sales? Facebook? How to get in the game! Facilitator: TBA

Tools You Can Use to Help Your Business

Immediately!!


4

By Joelle Wilson Special Projects – Cowlitz Economic Development Council

The City of Kelso and Cowlitz County were both recipients of grant money dispersed by the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) this month.

In Kelso, the $50,000 CERB grant will pay for about half of a master planning study to determine the feasibility of develop-ing the 600-acre Anchor Point property into a heavy industrial park. The study would also determine the potential for a ma-rine terminal at the property, located at the confluence of the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers.

“This could be an economic game-changer for a community that has struggled with high poverty rates and anemic growth for decades,” said Kelso City Manager Steve Taylor.

“The Anchor Point property is the only available heavy in-dustrial site within the city. Development of an industrial park that builds upon the region’s manufacturing and import/export clusters holds the potential for billion dollar capital investments and significant family wage job creation in Kelso.”

The study will analyze the market po-tential for industrial uses on the site, delineate the utility and transportation access facilities required to support those uses and determine the scope of the environmental entitlements to per-mit heavy industrial and marine uses. Additionally, the effort will include an inventory and marketing analysis for the remaining industrial property located within the Kelso city limits along the Talley Way/13th Avenue corridor.

“The City is pleased by the encouragement and investment from CERB to evaluate the potential of developing an attractive site bordering the Columbia River and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline, with I-5 access nearby into a heavy indus-trial park,” Taylor said.

Cowlitz County was awarded $37,500 in CERB grant mon-ies to help fund the Mt. Solo Landfill Redevelopment Planning Study. This feasibility study evaluates the removal of the waste as an option to re-establish the compliance of the landfill. Ben-efit to the community would come through repurposing the landfill as land for industrial development.

One condition for the grants is the ability to provide matching funds for the projects. In Kelso, CERB funds are matched by $50,000 in local resources, while Cowlitz County guaranteed a $12,500 match.

“The two grant proposals were unanimously approved by the Statewide CERB Board. We supported the grants and look for-ward to working on both projects,” said Ted Sprague, president of the Cowlitz Economic Development Council.

CERB Chair Steve Anderson said, “Targeted local investment in public facilities is essential to building a foundation for suc-cessful and sustainable economic growth. Our mission through CERB is to help local governments finance their vision of the future.”

Cowlitz Economic Development Council

Grant money eyed as a community economic game-changer

Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce Team

Bill Marcum, CEOKaren Sisson, Project ManagerAmy Hallock, Bookkeeper

Kelso Longview Business Connection is published monthly by the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce. 105 N. Minor Road • Kelso, WA 98626 • 360-423-8400

To advertise, call Bill Marcum, 360-423-8400 or e-mail [email protected] Deadline: 20th of each month.

SIP DIP-N-DOODLE

Fundraiser

Thursday April 16th, 6:00 PM Artist Led Session by Katie Crowe includes a canvas with paint and brushes supplied

for your use. Appetizers from Mill City Grill for your enjoyment and (1) drink

Ticket .

Cost: $35 ($20 donated to the Lower Columbia Professionals Scholarship Fund)

Only 30 spots available

Location: Mill City Grill 1260 Commerce Ave Longview

Hosted By:

LOWER COLUMBIA PROFESSIONALS PRESENTS:

6


By Julia MaglioneCommunications Manager – Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council

Would it be cost-effective and beneficial to your business if you could hire new employees and during the first few months, when they’re still learning their job, recoup 50 percent of their salary?

Would you be willing to hire a good candidate that was miss-ing an industry certification, if she could obtain the certification at no cost to your business?

Those are the goals behind WorkSource’s On-the-Job Training program (OJT): make hiring new employees cost-effective and easy for your business and help you hire the right person and train them to meet your company’s needs.

Employers that have participated in the OJT program have found it helps reduce the costs of hiring and training a new em-ployee and also increases employee retention.

WorkSource will work with you to find potential job candi-dates and partially reimburse you, up to $5,000, for the trainee’s salary as they learn skills customized to your business. Reim-bursement depends on the type of job and extent of training needed. To be eligible, contact WorkSource before you hire an applicant.

Your company may also qualify for tax credits for hiring cer-tain job candidates, such as veterans.

Over the past year, 44 companies in Southwest Washington have received more than $143,000 through the OJT program to improve the skills of approximately 65 new hires. For many companies, training is a major expense and getting reimbursed for 50 percent of the trainee’s wages, while the employee be-comes proficient, is a huge benefit for the company.

In addition, WorkSource staff is available for ongoing consult-ing during the training.

Companies looking for permanent new hires can contact Don-na Hughes at WorkSource Kelso at 360-578-4259 or [email protected].

Individuals looking for jobs should contact WorkSource Kelso at 360-577-2250 or stop in at 305 S. Pacific Ave., Kelso, to learn about no-cost programs that will help them gain the necessary skills to be competitive in today’s job market.

Julia Maglione is communications

manager at the SWWDC. She can be reached at [email protected] or 360-567-3176.

Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council

Help available for businesses to hire and pay for trainees

Jerry Petrick Business Advisor 1946 SW 3rd Ave Longview, WA 98632 360.578.5449 [email protected]

DATE: April 2nd 2015

TIME: 7:30 A.M. – 10:00 A.M.

LOCATION: Lower Columbia College Heritage Conference Room, Admin Bldg.

FEE: NO COST

On October of 2015, Visa and MasterCard will mandate EMV chip card capabilities for face to face transactions.

Let us tell you how EMV can apply to you and your business.

Real World Tools and tips you can use to diagnose and address the issues and opportunities in YOUR business.

Who Should Attend: Business owners who accept credit cards face to face and senior management responsible for financial management and profitability of their businesses.

Panelists: Brad Reitzenstein, Regional Director, US Bank; Todd Holm, Payment Solutions Consultant, US Bank; Denise Ferner, District Manager, US Bank, Jerry Petrick, MBA and Certified Business Advisor, Small Business Development Center

TO REGISTER: http://wsbdc.org/event/emv-smart-chip-cards/

Last day to register: Friday March 29th, 2013

FORMAT: SBA’s funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions or services. SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a non-discriminatory basis and available to individuals with disabilities.

A continental breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m. with the session starting at 7:45 a.m. Parking permits will be sent via e-mail to those pre-registered.

Best Business Practice Series Presents:

8


Startup success in three columns - plan your actions before a crisisBy Jerry D. Petrick Certified Business Adviser

After working with hundreds of new business owners, I’ve be-come absolutely convinced that certain crucial decisions need to be made prior to startup. By answering two key questions prior to startup, you are forced to do your homework in order to rec-ognize what are reasonable performance standards for new busi-ness. Once that is done, you then decide what to do if your busi-ness doesn’t perform to your predetermined minimum level.

What Are Your Non-Negotiables?Think of your business as an entity that is in a relationship with

you, the individual. In any healthy relationship, there are certain non-negotiables – deal breakers if you will. You enter this rela-tionship with your business and contribute your time, money, energy, and emotion. In turn, you expect your business to give something back to you. That return should not only be what you expect, but when you expect it. Perhaps the business will pay you what you feel you are worth, but it won’t do so for 10 years out. Is this something that you are willing to accept?

Under What Circumstances Will You Cease Operations?Those who go into business are generally optimists. Many times,

they feel by just asking this question, it increases the probability that they will face this situation. To the contrary, by considering this question early on, the power of this “worse case” scenario is taken away. If the business gives you certain predetermined sig-nals, you then know it is time to unwind the business and exit. By knowing exactly what these signals are in advance, the hand-wringing and the sleepless nights are minimized. Deciding in advance when it makes sense to close it down, you avoid the slip-pery slope of pouring more money and time into a business that has clearly indicated it is unworthy of further investment.

Three Columns to ClarityHere’s a straightforward way

to determine what you will give, what you expect back from your business, and what you will do if the business doesn’t meet your ex-pectations. Start by making three columns on a sheet.

1. Label the first column “Investment” – this is what you are willing to give to your business and over what time period. For example, you may list a willingness to invest $100,000 of savings and $400,000 of borrowed funds over the first six months. In ad-dition, you are willing to invest 80 hours weekly, 52 weeks a year for the entire first year of operation.

2. The heading of the second column is “Minimum Expecta-tions”. This is where you list your minimum expectations of what the business will give back to you over that same time period. Maybe something like the ability to make payroll and pay all the expenses, but not necessarily paying yourself a salary yet.

3. Finally, label the third column “Action”. This is what you will do if the business does not return to you your minimum expecta-tions in Column 2. Will you invest more money? (If so, where will this money come from)? Will you hire another person? Will you get help from someone else? Will you close the doors of the busi-ness and regroup? Whatever you decide, you are doing this from the most clear-headed perspective you will have which is when you are not in the midst of the situation. If you reach that time frame and your business isn’t holding up its end of the relation-ship bargain, you know what must be done.

One caveat: To be meaningful, Column 2 should not be per-formed in a vacuum. You want to get as much good input as you

Business Toolbox

Please see Petrick, page 9


9

Petrick, from page 8

can. If you were a beginning music student, wouldn’t you want someone to tell you that the expectation of writing your first con-certo after one year of lessons is unreasonable? If there are others in this same industry whose opinions you value, ask about the rea-sonableness of your expectations. Run your expectations by your business and financial advisers. Run your expectations by an ac-countant who has experience in the particular industry you are en-tering. You want to have complete confidence that your minimum expectations are achievable.

Doubtlessly, there will be those who will say they created suc-cessful businesses and never did any of this. Good for them. How-ever, numerous times I have stood by and watched incredulously as owners in the throes of emotional meltdown pour money they don’t have into a faltering business that is beyond salvation. Try

out this simple three column technique and free your energy to focus on the good realizing you have already considered the bad and the ugly, and the last two aren’t nearly as scary as you originally thought.

This article is being used with permission from Asbury Lockett, Cer-tified Business Adviser, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Shoreline Community College. To follow up on the tools discussed in this article contact Jerry Petrick, MBA, CGBP, SPHR, PMP and Certified Business Adviser with the Washington State University SBDC in Longview. Petrick provides no-cost, confidential business advisory services by appointment. He can be reached via e-mail [email protected]

Your Locally Owned and Operated

Community Bank

There’s a Difference.

• Checking, Savings and CDs• Business Loans• Construction Loans• SBA Loans

729 Vandercook Way, Longview

(360) 414-4101www.twincitybank.com

10


By Bill Fashing Executive Director – Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments

The Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (CW-COG) is a regional planning agency organized under Washing-ton State RCW 36.64.080 to serve general and special purpose governments in the region. CWCOG’s function is to serve our communities by providing a regional forum to address issues of mutual interest and concern and by providing an array of tech-nical services to solve problems. The mission is to efficiently utilize resources, so as to yield long-term benefits that enhance the quality of life for the communities and region.

Since 1961, CWCOG has provided our members with cus-tomized planning services. As a planning team, CWCOG staff brings many years of knowledge and experience to the table. Our diverse educational backgrounds encompass most project demands, including:

• Land use planning• Natural and cultural resource management • Community and rural development• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)• Transportation planning• Economic development planning CWCOG provides Geographic Information Services (GIS)

beyond simply creating maps. CWCOG staff can provide re-search assistance to members, the public, the media and busi-nesses for many types of data and analysis. With a full com-plement of hardware, software, data and training, we have the ability to create, interpret and present data in many ways that display spatial relationships, patterns and trends. The CWCOG is the designated Census Bureau for the region. We specialize in using GIS as a tool for performing or supporting:

• Data acquisition and analysis• Land use planning and build out analysis• Transportation planning and improvements• Utility location and characteristics• Identifying environmentally sensitive lands

• Economic development analy-sis

• Special GIS mapping projects The COG strives to work as a

partner to assist others with plan-ning and implementation of a va-riety of projects. I welcome your calls should you have questions on the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments.

Council serves to address issues and help solve problems

Council of Governments

We look forward to handling your next real estate transaction.

1159 14th Avenue, Longview, WA 98632 ■ Phone: 360.423.5330 ■ www.cowlitztitle.com

Our Escrow Team…Why Our Service is the Difference!

■ Title Insurance■ Escrow Service■ Residential & Commercial■ 1031 Exchange■ Locally Owned

Since 1982, Cowlitz County Title has been the trusted company the community turns to when buying, selling or refinancing a property.

Whether you needtitle, escrow orproperty searchinformation, come

in for our exceptionalservice. Leave with the secure confidence that your real estate investment is properly insured and protected.

Bianca Lemmons VP/Manager/LPO

Deanna Cornelison Escrow Closer

Kristy Norman Escrow Assistant

Melinda Gottfryd Escrow Assistant/Typist

Linda Comley Escrow Closer/LPO

Leah Stanley Escrow Assistant

Theresa Campbell Order Desk/Receptionist

A li‘l bit of paradise 2015 is right around the corner!

Event co-chairs Kristen Amrine and Rhonda Sandrettó and their committee are hard at work planning for the May 1st charity care fundraiser. A li‘l bit of paradise: Mexican fiesta is scheduled for Friday, May 1, 2015 at the Cowlitz Regional Expo Center.

This year’s entertainment will be provided by Portland’s finest mariachi band, Mariachi Viva Mexico and taking the stage later in the evening will be our area’s own King Brothers Band.

Don’t miss out on the various activities taking place throughout the night. Purchase a mystery gift, take a free photo with your friends or win a trip to Mexico by participating in Heads or Tails. Then, after you visit the specialty drink or tequila tasting bars, make sure you get your hands on a raffle ticket to win the beautiful Mexican sunset inspired 1.5 carat pendant donated by The Gallery of Diamonds.

Of course, what’s a party without a purpose? Our Mexican fiesta is designed with purpose in mind. Last year, Community spent nearly $680,000 in charity care. Charity care ensures grief support, financial support and program support to our families. Come learn about the charity care program and have fun while supporting Community’s mission to ensure charity care to our communities!

You are invited to participate as a sponsor, host a table, purchase tickets or make a gift if you are unable to attend. To do so, please visit www.chhh.org/paradise or call Makayla Walters at 360.414.5465.

Come Ready to Party with Purpose!

Dianne Benefiel

C&R Tractor and Landscape

Robert A. Chace, CPA, ABV

CHHH Hospice Support Group

Collins Architectural Group, P.S.

Columbia Bank

Cowlitz County Title

Fall Fishing Group

Family of Janice J. King

Fibre Federal Credit Union

The Gallery of Diamonds

Homecare Homebase

Johnson, Bixby & Associates, LLC

Kelso Rotary

KLOG-KUKN-101.5 The Wave

Life Works/Linens

Dr. and Mrs. Larry McRae

Medline

Norco Medical

David and Leslie Orr

Harold Taylor

Twin City Bank

Westby Associates, Inc.

The Winterleaf Group, LLC

Thank you to our major supporters:

Are you lonely?

12


By Chuck Nau Retail Consultant and Sales and Management Trainer Murray & Nau, Inc.

In a recent visit to a general manager’s office the following framed question hung prominently on her wall…

Are You Lonely? Hold a Meeting!You can see people, draw organizational charts, feel

important, impress your colleagues, eat donuts. All on company time!

Meetings, the practical alternative to work!!Does some of this ring true for your staff meetings or sales

meetings?Meetings, whether for a small business or retailer, a service

organization, or for your company’s management or sales team, are major investments of time (yours and theirs) and money (salary, benefits...not to mention LOST selling time and revenue opportunities for your business, your staff, and you).

If you are a small business or retailer with less than 50 employees, consider instituting a regular and timely staff meeting to focus on positive goals and identify what needs to be accomplished during the day or work period ahead. Like-wise, follow up those staff meetings with a regular feedback session (e.g. monthly or quarterly) with ALL your employees, remembering that they ALSO represent the community! Identify the good, the bad, and the ugly and encourage sug-gestions and new ideas.

Even if you are a very small business, as small as three to five individuals, a structured meeting can be very helpful inasmuch as it helps your group develop focus and direction beyond what takes place during informal conversations, no matter how often they occur.

If you are part of a larger organization remember that in this age of the Internet, the sharing of information may no longer necessitate the need to call a meeting. Information sharing, in many cases, is accomplished more practically and in a more timely manner through your company’s e-mail system.

On the other hand, getting individuals together is a busi-ness necessity and a vital communication tool, particularly when a collaborative effort is needed. Regular meetings boost morale plus they help to teach, encourage and motivate (e.g.

T.E.a.M.) your staff.When was the last time you took

a serious look at your return on your use of your meeting time investment?

Let's briefly revisit and explore some old and new ideas to en-hance your staff or sales meetings.

First and foremost, the question ALWAYS needs to be asked – What will be the primary focus of your staff meetings? Problem solving? Communication? Training or ongoing T.E.a.M. development? Motivation? Opportunity for the staff to give and take, to ask questions, to challenge themselves, each other, and management...to collaborate? All of the afore-mentioned?

As you begin looking at the format and agenda of your meetings, consider this...they should be people focused NOT task focused. Be careful and work hard to keep ‘tasks’ out of your meetings – going through past special projects, identi-fying selling opportunities or promotion efforts, reviewing the competition’s collateral information in your market, all of these ‘tasks’ should ideally be done PRIOR to the meet-ing itself. Instead strive to help your team grow their selling skills; both collectively and individually, enhance their time management or decision-making process.

Just remember, one or all of your staff or sales meetings can-not cover ALL of them. It is important that you identify one or two areas of focus (e.g. training and motivation) that you will build your meeting around.

It is also important to remember to ask yourself, particularly with a sales staff, where is the teaching element in your sales staff meeting...what action steps need to happen?

Teaching element, you say? A good sales staff continues to grow, fine tune, and enhance their selling skills if they are al-lowed to practice...when does your TEAM practice and coach each other?

Before you begin, pause for a moment and reflect on the current status or structure of meetings at your business. Re-gardless of the size of your staff or sales team, the following elements consistently surface as benchmarks of a productive, fun(!), and rewarding meeting structure.

To help you get started, let’s briefly review some meeting Please see Nau, page 13

13


elements to enhance your meetings and increase the likelihood of you success.

• Scrap the so called traditional meeting agenda format, and much like your time management strategy where you have eliminated a ‘to-do’ list for an ‘action’ list, route through your staff, ideally a day or two PRIOR to your meeting, a list of ‘desired outcomes’ for your meeting.

• Consider these four areas of focus as you begin developing your meeting strategy and vision...

→ Status (Where are we? What do we want to move to? What do we want to move away from in relation to our team goals and vision?)

→ Sales Training (Topics that you have identified or sales team has requested to learn, fine tune, or en hance such as digital selling skills).

→ Sales Opportunities (Upcoming opportunities in your market, community, or within your business category...Don’t forget overlook changes or revisions to an existing market, community, or business category competitor or business.

→ Housekeeping (Items that need to be discussed for the good of your team. What decisions will you and your team make regarding others, both internally and externally?)

• Give your staff a warm welcome...celebrate, have fun at the beginning of your meeting to deflate some of the anxiety, stress, and discomfort.

• Outline your meeting vision for your staff. Articulate that your meetings will be people focused and NOT task focused. Encourage them to look for, embrace and enhance the ‘teach-ing moment’ in each of your meetings.

• Ask for their ideas and encourage their contributions for subsequent meetings.

• Expect the Best! Early on establish clear and consistent ex-pectations for each and every one of YOUR meetings, whether you are the leader or a participant. Expect the best and you will get the best!

• Ask for, encourage and support rotating leadership respon-sibilities for your meetings to help your team members grow and to encourage new ideas and input, as you coach them along.

• Don’t forget to follow up in writing...detailing decisions, next steps, assignments (responsibilities and accountabilities) and timeline.

• Later that day, or early the next morning, ask for and

encourage (again) feedback. How did we do in (yesterday’s) meeting, did we meet our outcomes, what did we do well, and what would we change if all things were the same?

Guard your meeting time judiciously and always, always, start on time and end when you said you would end, whether you have accomplished all that you had hoped to or not.

Starting and ending on time assures that everyone knows, un-derstands and respects that there is a beginning and an end...eliminating those out of control, “when will this end?” sessions!

One last point in closing. As you facilitate the meeting, keep things on track as you teach, encourage, and motivate (T.E.a.M.). Work to accomplish the primary focus of your meeting, don’t let that offbeat idea or creative suggestion get lost or derail your meeting. Instead build a ‘parking lot’...intro-duce to your staff the idea of a parking lot where you will park the idea, question, or inquiry until next meeting, allowing you time to research or further qualify it.

Good luck! I am confident that you will find this process fun, challenging and rewarding.

© Murray & Nau, Inc.Chuck Nau of Murray & Nau, Inc. is a retail consultant and

sales and management trainer. He has been a speaker for and conducted advertising and marketing workshops with retailers, chambers of commerce, community marketing groups, and retail organizations throughout North America. Based in Seattle, Nau is a 25-year veteran of advertising, sales, media and manage-ment, who knows and understands the everyday challenges of starting up, growing, and surviving in today’s ever changing retail climate.Comments and questions are welcome and may be directed to

Chuck via e-mail: [email protected] or at 425-603-0984.

Nau, from page 12

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Good TimesTrina and Doug Viuhkola of the Mill City Grill threw a fabulous Business After Hours party with food, good spirits and plenty of networking opportunities. Guest enjoyed items from the new wood fire menu, along with wine and beer from St. Helens Cellars, Capstone Cellars, and Five Dons’ Brewing. James “Bucky” Pottschmidt provided entertainment.

Business After Hours

See more photos on the Chamber’s Facebook page or click here.

Bob Crisman, Michealena Perry and Celeste Crisman enjoy the food and festivities. Perry, of Glamstruck, was the lucky winner of the beautiful grill given away by Mill City Grill.

Peter Bennett of Millennium Bulk Terminals was the winner of a fabulous gift certificate.

Business After HoursTuesday, April 14th ✿ 5:30 to 7:30pm

Largest home, gift s flower shop in area1414 Commerce Ave., Longview*

✿ 20% of the evening’s purchases will be donated to Altrusa of Cowlitz County

✿ Food ✿ Beer ✿ Wine ✿ Dessert ✿ Door Prizes

$15 in advance ✿ $20 at the doorRegister at www.kelsolongviewchamber.org

*Parking in the back - walk through Broadway Gallery.


16

Student success efforts at LCC bear fruitBy Chris Bailey President – Lower Columbia College

In 2011, Lower Columbia College received a generous grant from the College Spark Foundation to help us increase student success. Specifically, the grant provided LCC with the opportu-nity to join a national reform effort called Achieving the Dream, or ATD. ATD is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing community college completion rates, and is supported in part by the Lumina and Gates Foundations.

We chose an ambitious set of initiatives when we joined ATD, including complete reform of our pre-college math and English pathways, and an institutional commitment to reducing financial barriers for students whenever and wherever possible.

In pre-college math, we reduced our curriculum by 25 percent by eliminating redundancies. We also split our courses into mod-ules, creating an opportunity for struggling students to reduce their credit load without dropping out of math entirely. Addition-ally, we changed our placement processes dramatically. We ad-opted better testing and test preparation tools, and signed agree-ments with all area high schools for students to place into college level math based on their achievement in high school math. We also integrated our testing tools with an online textbook, which saves most students hundreds of dollars.

The results have been spectacular so far. Not only is success in pre-college math courses increasing substantially, we have also cut our withdrawal rate in half over the last five years. Perhaps more significant is the fact that our pre-college students are doing better once they get to college level math. In fall 2014, 87 percent of our former pre-college math students earned a “C” or better in college level math. That’s an increase of 7 percent over the prior year, and a 13 percent increase from the year before that.

Overall, more students are getting to college level math. In fall 2014, LCC experienced a 36 percent increase in college level math enrollment. This is a reflection of improvements to our pre-college curriculum, but more importantly an indication that our alternative placement processes are working. Over the last five years, the proportion of recent high school graduates placing into college level math increased by 20 percentage points from

8 percent to 28 percent. We also devel-oped a new publication, “Preparing for College Math: A Roadmap for Success” to help area high school students and their families. To receive one or more printed copies of the publication, please contact Wendy Hall at [email protected].

Pre-college English reform efforts have also focused on moving people to col-lege level studies more quickly. Under the new placement model, students who are not ready for col-lege level English all start out in the same level. After eight weeks, LCC instructors evaluate each student individually to see if they are ready to progress to college level English. Although it isn’t necessarily the norm, we’ve had several students who tested at the lowest levels of pre-college English progress to college level in just one quarter due to the flexibility of the model. Success rates in pre-college English are beginning to rise, and students who move on to college level are doing significantly better than they have historically. In fall 2014, 81 percent of our former pre-college English students earned a “C” or better in college level English. That’s an increase of 13 percent over the prior year.

The fact that more students are succeeding at the college level after entering LCC under-prepared in math, English, or both is significant. Successful completion of college level English is a re-quirement for all programs at LCC, and completion of college level math is a requirement for most. The reduction of the math barrier in particular is critical to increasing our completion rate in the long run.

Keeping students with financial barriers in school is also part of our strategy to increase college completions. We recently part-nered with the LCC Foundation to create the Student Success Fund, an endowed fund that provides us with the opportunity to step in at that pivotal moment when we might lose a student. The fund is administered by our counseling staff, who work with students one-on-one every day and experience first-hand the

Lower Columbia College

Please see LCC, page 17

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LCC, from page 16challenges they face. Although emergency funds are fairly com-mon on college campuses, the development of an endowed fund to create ongoing and sustainable help for students that is man-aged by counseling staff is unique in the nation as far as we’ve been able to determine – and we have actively been trying to find another college doing this.

In addition to the Student Success Fund, we have also imple-mented a textbook rental program through the LCC Bookstore to help students alleviate some of the financial hardship students experience on that front. Rather than paying to own expensive textbooks that lose value over time, textbook rentals allow stu-dents to pay for the information just when they need it. The textbook rental program has saved LCC students more than $135,000 since it was implemented in September 2013.

This year, we are working hard to leverage federal, state and pri-vate funding to create a multi-tiered approach to help students who are struggling with paying for books, including the Student Success Fund as an option when other solutions don’t apply. Ad-ditionally, we are working on textbook voucher programs for students with delayed or incomplete funding, such as the GI Bill and other state and federal programs.

The cumulative impact of math and English reform, new finan-cial solutions, and other initiatives in play at LCC is measurable. One strong indicator of success is that student retention is in-creasing. Last year the proportion of students who started in the fall and were still here in the spring was 71.4 percent, a 10 per-cent increase from the year before. Since student retention is the best predictor we have for completion, we are confident that our reform efforts are paying off.

Completing college benefits individual students, but it’s also good for the community. According to the Bureau of Labor Sta-tistics, individuals with associate degrees earn 19 percent more on average than high school completers. Bachelor’s degree hold-ers earn 70 percent more on average than high school completers. LCC offers more than 27 associate degree programs, and through the Lower Columbia Regional University Center, 10 baccalaure-ate and one master’s degree program are now available locally. If you or someone you know could benefit from additional educa-tion, please call 360-442-2311 or visit www.lowercolumbia.edu today.

18


Kelso

Background on how the shelter startedBy Mayor David Futcher

Goodness knows we’ve all heard enough about the low-barrier shelter that opened in Kelso several months ago. But based on contacts I’ve had with citizens, misconceptions remain about the role that the city had in the opening of the facility.

Last year, the council was made aware of the interest that Chuck Hendrickson of Love Overwhelming had in establish-ing the low-barrier shelter. Because we had no specific rules relating to transitional housing, emergency shelters, or urban rest stops, staff feared we would be unable to regulate them effectively. After many meetings with citizen input and upon the recommendation of the planning commission, the council passed legislation that did the following:

• Restricted the locations of shelters

• Restricted the number of shelters that could exist

• Prohibited the use of drugs or alcohol at such facilities

Love Overwhelming chose to locate in a facility that had pre-viously been used by the Emergency Support Shelter. Because that facility had already been used as a shelter, there was noth-ing the council could do to have prevented its continuing use by Love Overwhelming. While you and I may see a difference in a women’s shelter and a low-barrier homeless shelter, legal counsel clearly indicated that the law would not.

The shelter has caused problems for first responders, neigh-bors, and others since opening in Kelso. They have also report-ed that they’re full of families that had no other place to turn, and have successfully placed quite a few folks in permanent housing. To his credit, Mr. Hendrickson has provided frequent updates to council about their improvement efforts.

I know there wasn’t anything we could do to stop the shelter. I don’t know if we’ll have options to curb it should the reported problems persist. For now, I’ll choose to hope that while they’re open, they can help some of our less fortunate meet their basic needs in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise.

Longview

New manager brings familiar vision to cityBy City Manager Dave Campbell

This is the first column I’ve written for the Chamber news-letter in my new capacity as

city manager. Undoubtedly there will be other opportunities to contribute in the coming months and years, and I would expect they will typically focus on City projects or processes of interest at that particular time. For this column; however, it’s probably appropriate that it be more about “me,” sort of, unfortunately.

I’ve worked for the City since the latter part of 2005, and dur-ing that time I’ve been involved with the Chamber in several ways and interacted with individual members on countless occasions. I hope the vast majority of those contacts have been proven to be helpful or positive ones, but I’m not so naïve to think that that’s been the case for everyone all the time.

Similarly, I hope the vast majority of your observations and experiences with other City staff and officials, and with the City as an organization, have also been positive – but I know that doesn’t happen a hundred percent of the time, either.

Whatever your impressions have been in the past, I want you to know that I will have high expectations and standards for how we work with the business community going forward. Among others, those expectations include timeliness, thor-oughness, and accuracy of responses; respect for differing opinions and the people that hold them; a willingness to con-sider different ways of doing things; and an overarching belief that we all want to make Longview a better place to live, work, and play, now and into the future. In those ways I share the same philosophy and values as my immediate predecessor, Bob Gregory – a man whom I now count as one of my mentors.

But I’m not Bob, and, depending on your perspective, we now have the opportunity either to continue good relationships, or to reset ones that have fallen short of that. I will always consider a great honor and a privilege to work for and with this commu-nity. Call me (360-442-5002) – let’s talk.

19


State of Education

Educating the CommunityThe Chamber’s State of Education Quarterly Luncheon drew a large crowd at the Cowlitz Regional Conference Center March 19. The event was a great opportunity for those who participated to get up to speed about the challenges and wonderful things happening in our local school districts and at Lower Columbia College, and to hear about what leadership is doing to enhance education in our communities.

Kelso Schools Superintendent Glenn Gelbrich addressed those

gathered. He was joined Greg Kirsch, Longview Schools

Superintendent, and Lower Columbia College President

Chris Bailey.

20


Libraries expand borrowing servicesBy Chris Skaugset Director – Longview Public Library

In this month’s column I would like to make you aware of many new, and I think, exciting things that have happened or will happen at the Longview Library beginning in April. Beginning April 1 a pilot recipro-cal borrowing project will begin between the Longview and Kelso public libraries. What that means is that if you have a li-brary card, in good standing, at one library you will be able to go to the other library, present your card, show proof of address, fill out a short application and receive a card from the other library. Both libraries will evaluate the project after a year and either continue the program on a longer-term basis or end it.

Next, if you are a property owner in Longview, and don’t reside there, or are a Longview business owner you can now get a card as well. If you are a property owner you’ll just need to show us proof of the property ownership, ID, and fill out an application to get your card. If you are a business owner you will need to show your current Longview business license, ID, and fill out an application and get a card issued in the name of the business.

Some other changes that we have made include eliminating the age restriction (i.e. signing or printing your name on the card) to receive a library card. We hope this will not only encourage parents to bring their younger children in to get cards but also allow us in the future to work with new parents on getting their children cards as soon as possible as well as attend the programming that we have for children of all ages. We will also be raising our maximum total fine amount that you can have on your library card, and still be able to check out materials, from $5 to $10. In honor of the library’s birthday in April, as well as National Library Week, we will offer an amnesty day on Monday, April 27. Any material returned to the library on that day will not accrue any fines. So if you have some-thing lying around that you know should go back to the library but for whatever reason you haven’t brought it back, please bring it back that day and you will not be charged any overdue charges, and we get something back to share with everyone.

We will also be unveiling a new library card, though we don’t have

an exact date on that yet. The card will be a hard plastic with the library’s new logo. The card will also come with a key ring card as well.

We have two exciting Northwest Voices events taking place in April as well. First, on Monday, April 13, bestselling author Peter Heller will be here at the library at 7 p.m. for a reading and book signing. And, on Monday, April 27, Washington Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen will be here for two events. The first is a writing workshop at Lower Columbia College (LCC) from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and the second will be a reading with special guest, and retired LCC instructor and poet Joseph Green at 7 p.m. at the library.

Finally, we have recently added several new online databases to the existing complement that includes Consumer Reports, the Auto Repair Center, Reference USA, and ProQuest. You now have access to Student Resources in Context, Price It Antiques and Collectibles, Books and Authors, the Small Business Resource Center, and the Health and Wellness Resource Center. Student Resources helps stu-dents find information on a wide range of information including topics, people, places and events. Price It gives searchers a resource to discover the potential value of an antique or collectible. Books and Authors is a tool to help readers discover the next book, se-ries, or author that might be for them. The Small Business Resource Center will help the budding entrepreneur get all the information they need to start their own business. Finally, the Health and Well-ness Resource Center gives access to an enormous amount of in-formation on health and wellness. Access to these, and all of our databases, is available in the library and from home via the library’s website, www.longviewlibrary.org. To access this information from home you will need your library card number (located on the back of your library card) and a pin number (it should be the last four digits of your phone number). Once you’ve reached the library’s website, go down the page and under the heading Resources click on the link that says Online Databases. Then go down the page and click on either the alphabetical list to see them all, or choose by topic. When you click on the database you want to access, you will be asked for your library card number and pin. Please contact the library at 360-442-5300 if you need more information, or if you have any problems logging on to any of the databases.

So, come visit your Longview Public Library and see what you can do/accomplish/experience/learn today.

Mind Your Own Business (at the Library)

21


Ambassador of the Month

KLOG, KUKN and 101.5 The Wave General Manager John Paul has been named the Kelso Longview Chamber of Com-merce Ambassador of the Month for March.

Paul is a 27-year radio veteran, who got his start in broadcast-ing at KLOG when he was 13 years old. He left Longview in 1995 and programmed radio stations in Indiana, Buffalo, New York, and Portland, Ore. He also spent 12 years with CBS Radio and was the vice president/programming at Westwood One Ra-dio Networks in Denver, Colo., where he oversaw the program-ming of more than 2,000 radio stations across the country. Paul moved back to Longview with his wife to be closer to family and raise their two young children in his hometown.

Chamber Ambassadors, known as The Red Coats, are an in-

tegral part of the Chamber of Com-merce. The Ambassador team is made up of active Chamber volun-teers whose responsibilities include meeting and greeting at Chamber events, welcoming new members and assisting at ribbon cuttings and com-munity events. Ambassadors juggle busy professional careers while making time to assist the Chamber at a variety of events year long.If you would be interested in wearing a red coat and representing

the Chamber, contact CEO Bill Marcum at the Chamber office.

Local radio general manager picks up Chamber honor for March

MarchJohn Paul

KLOG, KUKN, 101.5 The Wave

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• Complex Litigation• Formation, Reorganization, and Dissolution• Labor/Employment Issues• Mergers and Aquisitions• Purchases and Sales• Succession Planning

22


Business Association with opportunities to promote trade through Chamber socials, special events and committee participation.

• Annual Meeting and Banquet• Networking Events• Committee Participation• Business Contacts• Quarterly Membership

Meetings• Civic Representation• Monthly Business After Hours

Business Services include marketing for your business, refer-rals and access to Chamber publications and research data.

• Mailing Labels• Membership Window Decals• Member Referrals• Ribbon Cutting• Website Links• Member to Member Discounts• Membership Directory• Tax Deduction• Newsletter• Business Card Display• Use of Chamber Logo

Representation through action committees, Candidate Fo-rums and up-to-date Action Alerts.

• Legislative Representation

• Issues Tracking and Information

• Task Forces

• Candidate Forums

• Legislative Update Breakfast

• Demographics Publication

PackagesBasic Membership Package – $275 or $26 per month.Bronze Membership Package – $500 or $46.66 per month.Silver Membership Package – $1,000 or $86.33 per month.Gold Membership Package – $2,500 or $211.33 per month.Platinum Membership Package – $5,000 or $416.66 per

month.Diamond Club Membership Package – $10,000 or $834 per

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Celebrate new Chamber members with us* Isagenix* Life Flight Network* Real Living, The Real Estate Group* Five Dons’ Brewing, LLC* Kristi’s Custom Sweets* Glamstruck, LLC* American Cancer Society

Welcome New Members

Join today! Call 360-423-8400

Chamber membership has its privileges

23


Ribbon Cuttings

Building a FutureA large crowd was on hand March 25 to welcome Habitat for Humanity Cowlitz County to their new offices located next door the Habitat for Humanity Store at 1323 S. 13th Ave., Kelso. Thank you for the warm open house!

OpeningDoorsAnother big crowd turned out March 26 to welcome Area Agency on Aging & Disabilities of Southwest Washington into the Chamber.

24


Welcome Back!

*American Medical Response*Beacon Hill Sewer District*Cascade Title Company*CCS*City of Kelso*City of Longview*Comcast Spotlight*Costco Wholesale*Cowlitz County*Cowlitz County CASA*Cowlitz County P.U.D.*Cowlitz County Title Company*Cowlitz Wahkiakum Council of Governments*David E. Houten, DDS*Diamond Showcase*Document Management Archives*Dorothy Bain Hanson*Emerald Kalama Chemical*Express Employment Professionals*Freddy’s Just for The Halibut*Gordon Sondker*Interwest Benefit Consultants*KapStone*Koelsch Senior Communities*L.G. Isaacson Company*Longview Memorial Park, Funeral Home & Crematory*Lower Columbia College*Miller Paint*Onthemark Associates*Pacific Tech Construction, Inc.*Port of Longview*Rodman Realty, Inc.*Steel Painters/Railco

*Swanson Bark & Wood Products, Inc.*The Golden Palace*The Red Hat*Three Rivers Eye Care*Walstead Mertsching, PS*Watkins Tractor & Supply Co.*Acupuncture Northwest*Budget Blinds of Longview*Columbia Bank*Columbia Funeral Service*Columbia River Carpet One*Columbia River Mill Outlet*Compendium Consulting*Continental Investors Services, Inc.*Cowlitz County Guidance Association*DeFrancisco Lampitt and Brado PS*DSU Peterbilt*Estetica Day Spa*Fire Mountain Grill & Summerland Catering Services*G L Booth – JG Davis & Associates*Green Hills Crematory – Cascade NW Funeral Chapel*Kay Green*Signature Transport, Inc.*State Farm Insurance – Scott Fischer*Teague’s Interiors*Diamond Residential*Applied Application*Broderick Gallery*American Legion*Coleman Cellular*Port of Woodland

OUR LATEST RENEWING MEMBERS*Advanced Dental Services*All Out Sewer & Drain Services*Baker Lumber Company*Brusco Tug and Barge*Carl’s Towing Service & Repair*Carlson’s Heating & Air Conditioning*Cascade Natural Gas Corporation*Coldwell Banker Bain*Cole’s Appliance Repair*Comfort Inn*Community Home Health & Hospice*Cowlitz Credit Union*Cutright Wholesale Plumbing Supply*Family Health Center*Industrial Packing*Interiors Plus*Life Works*Longview Housing Authority*Longview Orthopedic Associates*Longview Public Schools*McDonald’s of Longview*Pacific Fibre Products*Nipp & Tuck*Paperback Galore*Rush Insurance/Financial Services*Schlecht Construction*Somerset Retirement Home and Assisted Living*T.C.’s RV and Mini Storage*United Finance*Viking Automatic Sprinkler Company*Wasser & Winters Company*William (BJ) R. Boatsman*Errand Girl*American Family Kari-Ann Botero*Guild Mortgage

We at the Kelso Longview Chamber of Commerce would like to give a SHOUT OUT and a big THANK YOU to the following loyal members

for renewing their partnership with us.

26


PeaceHealth

Americans are living longer and that means they are in the workforce longer. While an aging workforce brings a trusted and experienced labor pool, it also brings the related health issues that accompany an aging population, such as arthritis and joint pain.

It is estimated that more than 1 million Americans have a hip or knee replacement each year. As an aging population stays in the workforce longer and obesity rates continue to climb, demand for total knee replacement surgery is expected to exceed 3 million by the year 2030 – up from 600,000 in 2009 according to a study published in the Journal of Bone and Joint

Surgery (JBJS).

Researchers in the study found that for the average patient undergoing knee replacement surgery, the expense of surgery is offset by indirect savings of nearly $40,000. This translates to an average lifetime societal benefit of $10,000 to $30,000.

Joint replacement surgery can relieve physical and financial pain

For class information or to register, visitwww.peacehealth.org/healthy-youor call 360-636-4846.

Thinking about Joint ReplacementPresented by William Turner, MDTuesday, April 21, 6-7 p.m. Pacific Surgical Institute

Wellness Classes

Please see PeaceHealth, page 27

27


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Most of the societal savings come from the patient's ability to maintain employment and increase earnings over a longer time in the workforce. The study also found benefits from fewer missed worked days and lower disability payments.

Joint replacement, done on patients at the appropriate time, adds tremendous value to their lives again. It gets them back to work sooner and improves their quality of life and productiv-ity. That’s good news for both employees and employers.

The other good news is top-rated joint replacement services are available locally, right in our community. The Joint Re-placement Center at PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center is part of the Marshall Steele program along with more than 80 hospitals nationwide. Our program rates in the top 5 per-cent of hospitals in the program for average length of stay; 96

percent of patients are discharged directly home rather than to a rehabilitation facility. We also rate at 90 percent in patient satisfaction scores, 23 points higher than average for Washing-ton state hospitals.

Other benefits of our local joint replacement program include a multi-disciplinary team of outstanding surgeons, therapists and other caregivers for each patient and access to the latest technology and equipment, plus a unique “buddy system” ap-proach. Patients heal better and faster after joint replacement though the support of other patients going through the joint replacement process.

As a part of our community, we encourage local support of business and hope, when you need joint replacement or other health services, you’ll support those in your local community and keep all our resources close to home.

PeaceHealth, from page 26

28


Building Bridges

Business ExposureThank you exhibitors, sponsors and all those who attended the Chamber’s Building Bridges Business Showcase and Expo March 4! We packed the Cowlitz County Regional Conference Center. It was a full day of building partnerships between local businesses and judging from the pictures, having a great time doing so.

It was a great opportunity to mingle and spread the word about your buisness, just like Kathy Kyllonen of Northwest Continuum Care Center (above) and Dino Doozer of the Dino Doozer Foundation who gave Karinsa Holme-Solo a warm hug (left).

29


Building Bridges

Laura Yoder and Chester Vegas (the monkey) of The

Real Living Real Estate Group spent their time making contacts, while

the Twin City Bank crew of Teri Leo, Judy Bartlett, Dina Buchanan and Cliff

Rubert celebrated with basket winner Ashley

Stevens from KapStone.

30


In the News

Longview hires longtime assistant to fill its city manager position

The City of Longview announced it has se-lected Dave Campbell from five finalists as its city manager.

Campbell has been the assistant city manager since 2005, and has also been serving in a dual position as parks and recreation director since 2012.

Prior to coming to Longview, he was the city manager for the City of Chehalis for more than 17 years. Campbell was with the City of Springfield, Ore., for seven years, first as an administrative analyst, and then assistant city manager for almost four years, also serving as interim city manager for a time during his tenure there. Early in his career he was a management assistant for the City of Phoenix, Ariz. He has a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, and a master of public administration degree from Indiana University.

Campbell will replace Bob Gregory, who retired December 31, 2014, after nearly a decade as citymanager.

For more information, please see Campbell's column on page 18.

The Arc of Cowlitz County walk meant to honor all with respect and dignity Join The Arc of Cowlitz County at Lake Sacajawea for its third annual Walk for Respect April 4. This walk is to honor individuals with and without disabilities and support their full inclusion in the community.

Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Lion's Club picnic shelter and the walk starts at 10.

For information call 360-425-5494.

Commissioners support belief that a better fit for the Port on the horizon

A year ago this month, the Port of Longview and Haven Energy Terminals LLC (Haven) signed a one-year option agreement, in which the Port agreed to negotiate only with Haven and to evaluate the feasibility of a propane and butane export terminal at the Port. The option was not an agreement to build the facility; rather, it es-tablished the beginning of an evaluation and negotiation process

that has now ended.Recently, with a 3-0 vote, the Port of Longview Commissioners

voted unanimously to not sign the Haven lease agreement and other related documents. The decision came after several Port Commission meetings, and after the Port had received hundreds of e-mails and considered an equal number of comments from the community about the proposed project.

While acknowledging that Commissioners must weigh multiple factors in making their decision, Geir Kalhagen, Port Chief Execu-tive Officer, recommended that the Port consider the lease based on the economic benefits the Haven project would bring. “Based on the revenue it would bring to the Port and how we could le-verage this project as a stepping stone for future development, I recommended the Board of Commissioners consider the lease,” Kalhagen said.

“The CEO and senior management staff did an excellent job ne-gotiating financial terms for the Port,” said Port Commissioner Lou Johnson. However, the Port Commissioners decided not to enter into the lease agreement for several reasons, including that the project was better sited elsewhere and provide too few jobs to justify the risks presented.

“The Port is well positioned for growth,” said Port Commission President Bob Bagaason. “While the Commission doesn’t feel this particular project is a good fit, we’re confident additional opportu-nities are on the horizon.”

The one-year option expires on March 11, and the Port has no plans to extend it. “The Commissioners made a difficult decision today, and I respect that it was not easy for them,” Kalhagen said.

Grange hosting open public contest covering a variety of topic ranges

The public is invited to show off photos, arts and crafts, sewing, needlework, baking, canning and more at the Grange Contest on April 17-18.

The Grange Contest is open to Grangers, non-Grangers, and 4Her’s. The contest will be take place at Catlin Grange, 207 Shaw-nee Rd., Kelso.

The Lecturers department, which includes photos, arts and crafts, etc., for adults, youth, and juniors, will take place April 17. Entries need to be in by 9 a.m.

The Family Living department, which includes sewing, needle-Please see News, page 31

31


In the News

Free Energy Audit•Thermal Imaging

•Energy Tips

•Weatherization

To learn more or sign up visit:www.cowlitzpud.org/ee_audit.php

To learn more or sign up visit:www.cowlitzpud.org/ee_audit.php

work, baking, canning, etc., for adults, youth, and juniors, will take place April 18. Entries need to be in between 8:30 and 10 a.m.

Entries for Family Living may include items that were submitted in the 2014 Cowlitz County Fair up to current projects. Those who are unable to bring their entries in during the collection time can deliver them to Marjorie Willenberg, who will be collecting entries April 16 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Catlin Grange.

Questions concerning exact rules for Family Living can be direct-ed to Carol Brent at 360-423-5373 since there has been changes from last year. For a complete list of details of the contest you can go to http://www.wa-grange.org/ProgramHandbook2015.pdf.

PeaceHealth helps promote heart health with walk around Lake Sacajawea

Join PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center and the American Heart Association for a walk to inspire healthy behaviors and raise funds to help fight heart disease and stroke. The 5K (3.1 mile) Heart and Stroke Walk, presented by PeaceHealth, Sub-way and Red Canoe Credit Union, is set for May 9 at Lake Sacajawea. The festival opens at 8:30 a.m. The walk begins at 9:30. Registration is free go to http://portlandheartwalk.kin-tera.org/phsj for information or call 360-414-7600.

Free annual powwow set to take place May 16 at Kelso High School

The In Honor of Our Children 30th Annual Powwow is sched-

uled for May 16 from noon to 9 p.m. at Kelso High School, 1904 Allen St. Grand Entries will take place at 1 and 7 p.m. There will be a break from 5 to 6:30 p.m. This is a free event, open to the public.

The powwow will include drums, dancers, art and craft vendors and raffles.

For information contact Shelley Hamrick at 360-501-1655. Par-ticipants may contact Mike Brock at 360-425-0806 and vendors can reach Lois Sturdivant at 360-425-0906.

Information on these pages is provided from press releases and other information shared with the Chamber or local city websites.

Express can help you find, screen, test, hire, train & motivate employees.

360.414.1200 • www.expresspros.com

Spring into action with us!

Chamber April 2015 issue

News, from page 30

Facilitating Growth Through Leadership and Action

We are a membership based not-for-profit

organization. Join us today!

1452 Hudson St. • US Bank BuildingSuite 208 • Longview, WA

360.423.9921www.cowlitzedc.com

Resources•

Access•

Partnerships

32


LeeRoy Parcel Manager/LPO

[email protected]

Alison Peters Escrow Officer/LPO

[email protected]

Bonnie Woodruff Escrow Officer/LPO

[email protected]

Diane Kenneway Escrow Assistant

[email protected]

Dennis Bird Senior Title Officer

[email protected]

Connie Bjornstrom Receptionist/Typist

[email protected]

Lindsey McTimmonds Marketing/Recording

[email protected]

1425 Maple St. Longview, WA 98632360.425.2950

www.cascade-title.com

Save the Date!

2015 Pillars of Strength

and

Crystal Apple Awards

May 6, 2015Time and place to be announced.

By Michael JulianPresident – Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association

The Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association (KDRA) is proud to announce the dates for our annual Iron Horse Rally and Ride this summer. Join us on Saturday, August 29, along South Pacific Street in downtown Kelso. There will be a rally from noon to 8 p.m. with vendors, raffles, Best Bike show, music and more! Family, friends, and community supporters are all welcome as are vendors and participants.

Stay overnight in Kelso and we’ll have kickstands up at 10 a.m.

on Sunday, August 30, for the ride. This year’s route is a new one, but rest assured it was selected by local motorcycle enthusiasts to ensure a great time for all. Many people bring this families and pets to par-ticipate in this local Kelso tradi-tion, so please mark your calendars and watch for reminders. You can find out more on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/highlanderironhorse

Prepare to saddle up for the annual Iron Horse Rally and Ride

Kelso Downtown Revitalization Association

33


By Alice Dietz President – Longview Downtown Partnership

The extension of the Longview Downtown Streetscape will get under way in the second half of 2015 and it’s important to hear from the folks who experienced the first phase to give their input. Being involved in many projects, big and small, it’s important to hear the community’s opinion before the project begins. So of-ten the project leaders are told what they’ve done wrong after the chance for public opinion has been offered. Any small, local busi-ness can be affected by the Streetscape and it’s important to know how the Longview Downtown Partnership, the city and the project leaders can help ease the transition of the Streetscape project.

I will post in my monthly articles information on the opportu-nities to let your voice be heard in the direction the Streetscape

will go. If you haven’t had a chance to come check out the 1400 block of downtown, I encourage you to get downtown. It’s a huge improvement that will only get better once more and more blocks are developed. We will also keep www.myldp.org up-dated with meeting information and agendas.

Business Shout Out: Guse’s Coffee! 1208 Commerce Ave. Have you been in there lately? It’s under new management and the place is charm-ing! Not only is their coffee locally roasted, but also they have added unique gift ideas and created a wonderful atmosphere while con-tinuing to preserve one of downtown’s gems. Go check them out!

Leaders value public's Streetscape opinion

Longview Downtown Partnership

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Port of Kalama -Where business lives

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34


Lower Columbia Professionals

B-i-n-g-o Night!The Lower Columbia Professionals and friends had a crazy good time March 19 for the group’s Bingo Night and St. Patrick’s celebration. As always 100 percent of the proceeds went to the LCP Scholarship Fund to benefit local graduating seniors in Cowlitz County.

35


Chamber Connection

Radio Wow!Shirley and Leo Eagle Tsinnajinnie of the Dineh Nation invited listeners to the 30th Annual Powwow May 16 at Kelso High School.

Chris Wilks of Chrome Mobile Detailing talks about the importance of having your outdoor recreation vehicles detailed and ready for summer.

New Chamber members Martin Wegdahl and Brenda Melville of Isagenix talked about their products with Carey Mackey on air.

TUNE IN every WednesdayYour Chamber Connection

KEDO AM 1400 – 3 to 4 p.m.Contact the Chamber to

schedule YOUR 10-minute business spotlight

Stream live at www.threeriversradio.comLocal guest and current events

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