SUMMERSBDC Ribbon Cutting CGCC Building 1 12:15pm Membership Meeting 3:30pm TDACC 17 ... Lodging Report (June) 2015 2016 % of Occupancy 80.1% 86.1% Residential Building Permits 2015

August 2016Inside This Issue

Resources 2

Economic Indicators 3

New Members / Welcomes 4

Upcoming Ribbon Cuttings 4

A Word From the Board 5

Soap Box Derby 6

Business Tools 7

Networking & Events 8

Chamber Shout Outs 9

Business of the Month 10

Upcoming Events 11

0.4558

Route 30 Soap Box Derby September 10 & 11th

FUNSUMMER

IN

THE DALLESNeon Classic Cruise August 12Show in The Shade Car Show August 13Dallesport Drag Races August 14

Dufur Threshing Bee August 13 & 14Wasco County Fair August 18-21

Farm-2-Fork August 27

Bones, Beans & Brews September 10

Gorge Country Radio’s Free Community Concert September 17

The Dalles Country Club Fairway Follies August 27

Arts in the Park August 20

404 West 2nd St. The Dalles, OR 2 541-296-2231

Mission Statement

“To prov ide va lue

to our members through

advocacy and leadersh ip ,

p r o m o t i n g a v i g o r o u s

e c o n o m i c c l i m a t e f o r

b u s i n e s s , c o m m u n i t y,

tour ism, and educat ion .”

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley

107 Russell

Senate Office Building

Washington D.C. 20510

www.merkley.senate.gov

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden

223 Dirksen

Senate Office Building


Phone 202.224.5244

[email protected]

www.wyden.senate.gov

U.S. Representative Greg Walden

1282 Rayburn

House Office Building


Phone 202.225.6730

www.walden.house.gov

Oregon Governor Kate Brown

160 State Capitol

Salem, OR 97301-4047

Phone 503.378.4582

Fax 503.378.6827

www.governor.oregon.gov

Oregon Senator Ted Ferrioli

900 Court St NE S-323

Salem, OR 97301

Phone 503.986.1950

[email protected]

OR Representative Dist. 59 John Huffman

900 Court St NE H-476

Salem, OR 97301

Phone 503.986.1459

[email protected]

Oregon Senator Bill Hansell

900 Court St. NE, S-423

Salem, OR 97301

Phone: 503-986-1729

[email protected]

OR Representative Greg Smith

900 Court St. NE, H-482

Salem, OR 97301

Phone: 503-986-1457

[email protected]

Chamber Staff

Lisa Farquharson President/CEO

E-mail: [email protected]

Tiffany Hardin Marketing & Communications Coordinator


Camille Terry Membership & Events Coordinator


Paula Webb Office Manager


Michelle Harmon Tourism Coordinator


Mary Caldwell Accounting


2016 Board of DirectorsChairman - Nan Wimmers - Columbia Gorge Real Estate,

[email protected] 541.296.5500

Chairman-Elect - Mindy McHale - Hire Electric Inc.

[email protected], 541.296.5574

Vice-Chairman - Carol Friend - Friend & Reagan, PC,


Past Chairman - Charla Fraley - Rivermark Community Credit Union,


Secretary - Addie Case - Cousins' Country Inn,


Treasurer - Fritz Ellett- Ellett’s Green Ridge Tree Farm,


Directors

Kim Johnson/Renken Farms, [email protected], 541.296.3024

Dean Dollarhide/State Farm Insurance, [email protected], 541.298.3276

Dave Adams/Adams Design Center; [email protected], 541.296.0074

Dan Manciu/Haystack Broadcasting, [email protected], 541.296.9102

Marty Hutchinson/Oregon Cherry Growers, [email protected], 541.288.6752

Tina Springsted/Columbia Gorge Title, [email protected], 541.370.1293

John Newcomer/Google, [email protected]

Sherry DuFault/Independent Consultant, [email protected]

Lisa Rundell/Washington Federal, [email protected], 541.298.5585

Ex Officio Directors

Scott Hege - Wasco County, [email protected], 541.506.2524

David Griffith - Port of The Dalles, [email protected], 541.296.2271

Julie Krueger - City of The Dalles, [email protected], 541.296.5481

How To Contact Your Elected Officials…

DIAMOND INVESTOR

GOOGLEPLATINUM INVESTORMID COLUMBIA MEDICAL CENTER

FRED MEYER

GOLD INVESTOR HIRE ELECTRIC

SILVER INVESTORBROWN ROOFING

CITY OF THE DALLES

COLUMBIA GORGE COMMUNITY

COLLEGE

COLUMBIA STATE BANK

DISCOVER RENTALS

FRED MEYER

GREATER OREGON

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

INSITU

LA CABANA BISTRO

RIVERMARK COMMUNITY

CREDIT UNION

SPRINGLEAF FINANCIAL

THE SPRINGS AT MILL CREEK

UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD

WASHINGTON FEDERAL

Resources

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1

On the Air with Gorge Country Media

7:00am

Y102, 103.1, KLCK 1400

2

Googlefest 10-5 Ft. Dalles

Readiness Center

3 4

Government Affairs

7-8am

5

On the Air with Randy Haines & Tiffany

93.5fm 8:00am EVERY FRIDAY!

6

7 8

Food, art and Wine committee meeting

8am TDACC

9

Marketing Committee Meeting

10am Riverenza

Event Committee Meeting

12pm Montiras

10

Thirsty Woman Ribbon Cutting

904 2nd Ave. Mosier

5pm

11

Government Affairs

7-8am

12 13

14 15

Chamber on the Air

8:35 KIHR Mark Bailey

10:10 KODL Al Wynn

16

S&E Transport Ribbon Cutting

714 E 1st St. 8:15am

SBDC Ribbon Cutting

CGCC Building 1

12:15pm

Membership Meeting

3:30pm TDACC

17

Ambassador Meeting

7:00am TDACC

Ship Focus Group

10:00am TDACC

18

Government Affairs

7-8am

Cycle Focus Group

12:00pm TDACC

Business After Hours

Crestline Construction

5-7pm

19 20

21 22

Food, art and Wine committee meeting

8am TDACC

23 24

History and Heritage

Group meeting

8:00am TDACC

John and Jean Thomas Children’s Wing

Ribbon Cutting

722 Court St. 12:00pm

25

Government Affairs

7-8am

Oregon Food Bank

Ribbon Cutting

2121 Dry Hollow Rd. 8:30am

26 27

Farm 2 Fork

Dahle Orchard

4:00pm

28 29 30

Coffee Connecton

Opportunity Connecri-ons / The 506 Gallery

7:30am - 8:30am

31

August 2016


Chamber Business Statistics June 2016 Chamber Walk-In Count 522 Incoming Phone Calls 360Facebook Impressions 67,975 Email 397 Relocation Packets 2Brochures to Ships 674

Local Tourism Counts June 2016Columbia Gorge Discovery Center 4,513Maryhill Museum of Art 4,991 Old St. Peter’s Landmark 832Wonderworks Children’s Museum 811 School District Museum 28 The Dalles Wasco County Library 13,202 Sunshine Mill -TD Farmers’ Market 2903 Rorick House - Lodging Report (June) 2015 2016 % of Occupancy 80.1% 86.1%

Residential Building Permits 2015 2016

New Construction 3 5 Additions 2 5 Alterations 7 5 Construction Value $731,944 $2,969,191.14 Commercial Building Permits 2015 2016

New Construction 1 25 Alterations 5 9 Additions 0 0 Construction Value $139,265 $,236,885.92 Source: Building Code Service Department

Wasco County Labor Force June 2015 June 2016 Labor Force Status Civilian Labor Force 18,428 17,708 Unemployment Rate Seasonally Adj. 5.5 4.7

Non Farm Payroll EmploymentTotal Non-farm 10,440 10,710 Trade Transportation & Utilities 1,950 1,970 Leisure and Hospitality 1,440 1,500

GovernmentFederal Government 290 290

State Government 380 390

Local Government 1,670 1,670 Source: Oregon Employment Department

Economic Impacts

Chamber of Commerce Visitors

JuneStates: Idaho, Oklahoma, Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Washington, California, Georgia, New Hampshire, Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico, Alabama, Massachusetts, Arizona, Texas, Iowa, North Dakota, North Carolina, New York, Maryland

Countries: New Zealand, Canada, Tasmania, Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany

Website Statistics

June Total Page Views 20,905

Most Viewed Pages

Events, Events Calendar, Attractions, Annual Events


Ribbon CuingsThe Thirsty Woman

Aug. 10th - 5:15pm

904 2nd Ave., Mosier, OR

S&E Transport

Aug. 16th - 8:15am

714 E 1st St., The Dalles, OR

CGCC SBDC - New oice Aug. 16th - 12:15pm

400 E Scenic Drive, Bldg. 1

The Dalles, OR

John and Jean Thomas Children’s Wing

Aug. 24 - 12:00pm

722 Court St., The Dalles, OR

Oregon Food Bank

Aug. 25th - 8:30am

2121 Dry Hollow Rd., The Dalles, OR

New MembersKeller Williams Sunset Corridor

2418 E 17th St.The Dalles, OR 97058

(503) 930-8880

Insitu118 East Columbia River Way

Bingen, WA 98605

JD Audio2937 East 2nd St., Unit #8

The Dalles, OR 97058(541) 340-0037

La Cabana Bistro400 E. 2nd St. ,

he Dalles, Oregon

Welcome to The Chamber!

Joyous Mouthful Personal Chef Service

www.joyousmouthful.com

Darcy Long Curtiss - Northwestern Mutual

541-980-7184

he Dalles Transit Center802 Chenowith Loop Rd., he Dalles, OR


A

New Membership Advertising

Opportunity

We value you as our member and are always looking for ways to improve your exposure.

We have added a business card holder to the wall next to our brochure rack. We would like to invite

you to display your business card here.

PLEASE NOTE: his is on a irst come irst serve basis. It will be your responsibility to maintain your

cards on the wall.

A Word From The Board

Summer is in full swing – I hope you’re enjoying some fun adventures in this beautiful weather! We have so many great events and gatherings coming up, here are just a few added to my calendar.

In just a couple weeks, the City

of The Dalles Summer Celebration is sure to be a fun family time starting Friday evening, August 12th, with the Neon Cruise in downtown The Dalles. On Saturday, August 13th, join the Mid-Columbia Car Club for Show in the Shade at Sorosis Park. Saturday evening brings the Neon Classic Weekend concert at Lewis and Clark Festival Park featuring three bands: Stone in Love, The Sceptre Brothers and Ants in the Kitchen. (Don’t forget your tickets, available at The Dalles Chamber or on-line at www.thedalleschamber.com.) The weekend wraps up on Sunday, August 14th, with the Dallesport Drags.

Saturday, August 20th, offers a full day at the Arts in

the Park Festival. Come to City Park and enjoy live music, local artists, craft vendors, food vendors and an art gallery. Something fun for the whole family!

Sure to be great fun, come see the 1st Annual Soapbox

Derby on September 10-11. The Aluminum Man

Triathlon & Duathlon is held Saturday, September 10th, at Riverfront Park. Bones, Beans & Brews, at Route 30 Bottles and Brews, is sure to offer great food, beverages, and entertainment.

Last, but certainly not least, Chamber Members are invited to the Annual Chamber Member BBQ. All Chamber members, employees and family are welcome to enjoy fresh-off-the-grill hamburgers (grilled by your Chamber Board of Directors) along with salads and side dishes from local caterers and restaurants. Join us on the tree-shaded lawn at the Chamber, September 22nd, from 5-7 pm.

http://www.thedalleschamber.com

http://www.thedalleschamber.com


Soap Box Derby

The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with Oregon Soap Box Derby Club and present the first annual Route 30 Soap Box Derby.The “Acorn” qualifier race will take place September 10th and 11th on Court Street between 3rd

and 6th streets in The Dalles. This race will bring families from Oregon, Washington, California and Idaho into The Dalles for the weekend.

There will be numerous family activities adjacent to the race, such as the Zucchini 500 (a spinoff of pine box derby racing, using zucchinis from our local abun-dance of the vegetable this time of year) and art activ-ities from The Dalles Art Center. Families are encour-aged to check out the local fare at The Dalles Farmer’s Market taking place in the city park just a block away, or explore our Historic Downtown. While there, they may catch a glimpse of the 28th Annual Aluminum Man Triathlon, hear some local music from City of The Dalles Summer Celebration, or catch some great local food at Route 30’s Bones, Beans & Brews.

Although we have been able to partner and pool our resources, we are still in need of a few things to accommodate our guests: electricity, security, a sound system, porta-potties, t-shirts and a whole slew of used tires and volunteers.

Sponsorship opportunities are available, the levels of monetary donation are:

• Stock Sponsor for $100

o Complementary vendor space on 4th Streeto Business/Organization recognized during

announcementso Space available for banners

• Super Stock Sponsor for $250


announcementso Space available for bannerso Square website ad on TDACC website for 3

months

• Master Sponsor for $500


announcementso Space available for bannerso Square website ad on TDACC website for 6

months

There are many opportunities for In-Kind Sponsorship also. We will need:

• used tires• someone willing to print and sell t-shirts/

stickers• a sound system with wireless mics

Volunteer Needs:• Set up and tear down of tents, tires, Zucchini

500 track• Lifters to help put SBD cars on the trailers to

return to the start line, 10am to 5pm both days• Clean up and break down• Truck to go to Goldendale and pick up the

Zucchini 500 track, store and return track• 2 Emcees for start and finish line• Workers for the Zucchini 500 races• A truck to pick up used tires and return them

after the races

We would like to invite car, motorcycle and other vehi-cle clubs to join us. There will be streets blocked off for your group to gather, show off your vehicles and talk to the racers about your vehicles.We are also looking for a food and beverage vendor. Vendors must be open and available by 7am both days.

ROUTE 30Soap B�

30

The Dalles


A note from CGCC Small Business Development Center

confident we would live up to that value statement if we were better prepared.

That took us to the next process improvement. We prepped much more ingredients. This went beyond just making more product. We had a real small kitchen and so we showed up early to reorganzie our work station to make our most needed ingredients close at hand. Often referred to as “mise en place,” we put together a better assembly line to get orders prepared quicker. We also improved how we labeled and sorted the backup ingredients in our refrigerator so our employees would know right away where to find something if we asked for help.

The final, and most important, step was to hold a “pre-shift” with our team members. As soon as they came in, we explained that this day was going to be much better. We talked about getting through the orders quicker, suggesting our signature items of sale and explained how to better deal with common issues that slowed us up the day before. Our employees shared their own ideas and we incorporated some of their suggestions into our plans.

We were fortunate that the next day’s sales were higher than the day before. Our team felt as if we had half the amount of customers. In reality, we had the same number of orders, but we were just much more prepared. By no means was it a perfect day, but it was a huge relief and it certainly lifted our spirits.

For all businesses, every day offers an opportunity for process improvement. Often referred to as “lean” principles, this simply revolves around providing a message of value, improving organizational systems and engaging in communication with your team. Most often, business improvement results from incremental enhancements. Think about what you can do tomorrow that will make a difference in the value you add to your customers.

Getting Better Every Day

Ever have that day in business where you got what you wished for and it turned into a nightmare? My wife and I experienced that when we had a small restaurant in upstate

New York. We had been open for a few months and sales weren’t quite at the level we hoped for. Then a local reporter wrote a nice feature on our place in his column. The day the article appeared, there was a line outside our door at lunch time. We started running out of key ingredients and we couldn’t keep up with the orders. We were stressed, our employees were frazzled and we made mistakes with orders. We really let our customers down and it is difficult to put in to words that helpless feeling you have when you are given a great opportunity and you fail to capitalize on the moment.

That evening, we had to put in some extra hours to clean up from that crazy day. We kept dwelling on all the things that went wrong at lunch. We were plagued by the thought that “you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.” That may be true, but we decided that all we could do is work for a better tomorrow. To make the next day better, we focused on three things.

1. Keep true to our message (value proposition)2. Improve our prep and organization 3. Communicate better with our team member

Our promise to customers was that we could offer healthier, fresh ingredients in our unique grilled wraps, with the same prompt service as the fast food joints in town. We got on social media and reiterated that message. We knew we were taking a chance to promote that after the disaster of the day before, but we were


September 9, 2016Trella Boone-Coy - CGCC Bldg. 2, Floor 3

7:00am-8:00am

Fun

Prizes

Networking

Thank you to Helping Hands Homecare and 4C’s Catering for hosting July’s Business

After Hours

Food

Networking & Events


Chamber Shout-Outs

We’re proud to announce that Oregon Cherry Growers is one of the irst agricultural cooperatives

in the world to earn the third-party B Corporation certiication in recognition of our environmentally responsible operations, progressive employment policies, quality products and community engagement. With this certiication, we join other like-minded businesses that share a desire to make a positive, sustainable impact in our communities. It’s an honor!

We would like to congratulate Troy Crowe, of Fairield Inn and Suites on receiving General Manager of the Year!

Oregon Food Bank, Polehn Farms and The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce invite you to join us for a ribbon cutting at Polehn Farms, 2121 Dry Hollow Road, The Dalles

on August 25th at 8:30 AM. The event celebrates a new dedicated truck that expands our abilities to quickly and efficiently move local donations to 16 food distribution organizations that provide food boxes, meals, backpacks, fresh produce and other supplemental food in Wasco, Hood River and Sherman counties.

Oregon Food Bank has been operating an inter-im regional food bank for this community since last November. We are actively engaged with local partners and community members in the development of a new regional food bank to serve the three county region in the future. This work is currently focused on identifying additional organizations that would benefit from receiv-ing food, expanding the quantity and variety of quality fresh produce distributed, and providing better services to donors in the region. Inquiries may be directed to Sharon Thornberry, Rural Communities Liaison, Oregon Food Bank, [email protected] or 541-609-8903.

he Pioneer Cemetery got some TLC from the National Guard during a drill weekend in mid-July, and the local unit plans to

“adopt” the historic site and care for it.With donated equipment from Home Depot, about 30 guardsmen spent four hours sprucing up the place.

We would like to thank the Guard for taking the time to clean up the grounds and make the cemetery accessible. We have a lot of historical tourism throughout he Dalles and this is a true gem.

Cecil, N. (2016, July 27). Guard adopts cemetery. he Dalles Chronicle, pp.A1,A5.

he Dalles Main Street presents Downtown Pub Crawl beneiting Wonderworks Chidren’s Museum. Sept.17 from 2pm-8pm

mailto:[email protected]


Business of The Month

his month we would like to

recognize Gary Denney Floor

Covering.

BusinessMonth

of theBusinessMonth

he small business of the month program is designed to recognize the dedication, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit displayed by small businesses within he Dalles. he goal of the monthly award is to highlight a small business and give them extra marketing exposure to aid in growing their business. We have asked Crestline Construction, as our Business of the Year, to select the Business of the Month.

he business will be selected based on overall customer service, their willingness to go above and beyond, and their overall impact in our community.

We recently worked with Gary Denney Floor Covering to re-carpet several of our oices and our conference room. heir staf, especially Wendy and Marcus, were extremely knowledgeable and helpful throughout the entire process. hey assisted our Oice Manager, Lucy Johnson, with selection of the correct product for our use. hey helped select a design installation pattern that would keep our loors looking classy yet withstand the everyday arrival of dirt clumps that is the nature in our civil construction ield. Installation was planned and executed with eiciency and the end result is spectacular. In addition, we are also working with them on blinds for the overhead garage doors in our oice. Marcus has been so helpful with that process as well, and has come up with a creative solution to cover these large windows. We appreciate their guidance through both of these purchases, we highly recommend them to others and will deinitely use them again in the future. PS. Come see their delightful end products — new carpet and the new blinds — at our Business Ater Hours this month.


Upcoming Events

he second “Farm to Fork” dinner sponsored by he Dalles Area

Chamber of Commerce, Orchard Stroll Farm 2 Fork is being held on Saturday, August 27, 2016 and will feature the best of the best

in he Dalles.

Experience the farm-fresh food and wine of the eastern Columbia River Gorge including delectable local “goods” prepared by Local Renowned Chefs

Mark Linebarger and Tamara Hufman. his limited-ticket dinner will include a six course al fresco meal on the picturesque family-operated Dahle Orchards, each course paired with local wines from Maryhill

Winery, he Pines 1852, Sunshine Mill Winery, Analemma Wines, and Wy’East Vineyards.

Limited tickets are currently available online at thedalleschamber.com/event-farm-2-fork/ for $100

per person.

Route 30 Bottles and Brews presents: Bones, Beans &

Brews.he event will feature a Rib Cook-Of, Chili Cook-Of and Homebrew Competition. his is

a beneit for Tough Enough to Wear Pink.Sept. 10, 2016, 9:00am-9:00pm317 E 2nd St., he Dalles

Cruise he Gorge Classic Car Show

and Neon Classic Weekend!August 12 -August 14

Friday, August 12: 7pm Neon Cruise 2nd & 3rd Streets Featuring special guest, Dennis Gage of My Classic Car TV.

Saturday, August 13: 9am-4pm Show in the Shade Car ShowSorosis Park, cars must be registered to participate.Register at midcolumbiacarclub.org

7pm City of he Dalles Summer Celebration presents “he concert formerly known as... Neon Nights” Featuring Journey tribute band, “Stone in Love.” More information and tickets available at thedalleschamber.com.

Sunday, August 14:8am he return of the “Dallesport Drag Races”Columbia Gorge Regional Airport

9am Dufur hreshing Bee Car ShowDufur City Park - Dufur, Oregon

Farm Fork2

Wasco County Fair & RodeoAugust 18-21 Tygh Valley, Oregonhttp://co.wasco.or.us/county/visitors_fair.cfmFamily friendly music and entertainment all day long, two nights of exciting rodeo action, demolition derby excitement, and 4-H fun every day. Don’t forget to support our local youth with the Wasco County Youth Livestock Auction.

404 West 2nd Street • The Dalles, OR 97058

Affiliated with:• Associated Oregon Industries

• Oregon State Chamber of Commerce

• Oregon Festivals and Events Association

• Travel Oregon

• Columbia Gorge Visitors Association

• Oregon Tour & Travel Alliance

• Columbia Gorge Arts & Culture Alliance

• US Chamber of Commerce

• Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives

Business After Hours

Coffee Connections

Power Breakfast

August 18, 2016Crestline Construction

3600 Crates Way #100, he Dalles5:00pm - 7:00pm

August 30, 2016

Opportunity Connections506 Gallery

506 E 2nd St. he Dalles, OR7:30am - 8:30am

September 9, 2016Trella Boone-Coy

CGCC Bldg. 2 Floor 3

Yo-ProsYoPros Resumes in September

August Member focus

brought to you by:

Documents

SUMMERSBDC Ribbon Cutting CGCC Building 1 12:15pm Membership Meeting 3:30pm TDACC 17 ... Lodging Report (June) 2015 2016 % of Occupancy 80.1% 86.1% Residential Building Permits 2015