From Our Blog

Chambers and EDC Convene Legislative Wrap Up

By Matt Baide, Shelton-Mason County Journal Rep. Drew MacEwen and Dan Griffey and Sen. Tim Sheldon were hosted by the Shelton-Mason County Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Council, and the North Mason Chamber of Commerce for a legislative wrap up event at the Mason County Public Works building. Shelton Mayor Eric Onisko started the proceedings by thanking all three legislators for their support of the city and county. “We’ve been told for the last three sessions, don’t expect much Read more

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Chamber Seeks Employer Input on Labor Force with Three Minute Survey

In an effort to better understand the workforce challenges facing employers locally and across the nation, the Chamber is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to conduct a quick survey about labor force conditions across the country. Click Here to Take the Labor Force Survey Three minutes of your time makes all the difference! Employers have until Monday, March 28 to answer this quick survey. Thank you in advance for your input and participation. If you have any questions, Read more

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Awards Gala Tickets on Sale

Ticket sales opened to all Chamber members on Monday, March 14 and are reserved on a first come, first served basis. All reservations must be made through the online form below to accurately track reservations. If your reservation is received after the event is sold out, you will be added to a wait list. The Awards Gala will be on Friday, April 29 at the Skookum Creek Event Center. At this time, the venue is able to commit to just Read more

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Flower Baskets Fundraiser Begins

The hopeful, sunny days we’ve seen this spring seem to have many looking ahead to the summer season. The Chamber has already begun receiving phone calls and folks dropping by our office asking if the oversized flower baskets will be going up again this year. Yes! We aim to have them in place for Mother’s Day. You can call it small town class or curb appeal; we call it beautification. Whatever you call it, the bright blooms that adorn streets Read more

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Chamber Meets with Partners, Discusses Rural Development

The Chamber met with Congressman Derek Kilmer and U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Under Secretary Xochitl Torres Small during the duo’s tour of the Olympic Peninsula to visit with elected leaders and economic development professionals. The February 14 meeting was held at Little Creek Casino Resort and highlighted issues such as capacity and technical assistance; workforce housing and inventory limits; infrastructure serving residential and commercial purposes, childcare, and more. There was some conversation about opportunities to identify and seek Read more

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Drive Traffic to Your Website with SEO

Anyone with a website or business presence online can benefit from search engine optimization (SEO), the process of helping search engines find and display your site in search results. Hosted by Jason, one of Google’s internal SEO experts, this workshop gives a behind-the-scenes view into how Google approaches SEO for its own sites. Learn practical strategies to help drive traffic from Google Search to your site. The video is now available on-demand (registration required). SEO Resources:Google Ads Keyword PlannerGoogle TrendsGoogle Read more

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WA Cares Act Delayed 18 Months

The long-term WA Cares Act is delayed and premium collection won’t begin until July 2023. On January 27, Gov. Inslee signed bill 1732 to postpone collection of a new worker payroll tax for now. He says this pause allows the State to get the program right. Updated program information and guidance is available on the WA Cares website. For now, employers should: Stop withholding WA Cares premiums from employee earnings. Reimburse employees for WA Cares premiums within 120 days of Read more

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Chamber Board Convenes at Retreat

The Chamber staff and its Board of Trustees convened on January 31 at St. Andrew’s House in Union for a retreat to formalize board appointments and set priorities for the year. The cozy space and hospitality at the venue was ideal for the twenty Chamber leaders comprised of past and present Board members and staff. The group spend the day reflecting on prior year results and focusing upon the year ahead.  According to a survey of our membership, overall member Read more

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UPDATE: Supreme Court Halts Biden Policy Creating COVID-19 Vaccine or Test Rules for U.S. Businesses

Read full story from PBS here. Related statement from OSHA’s Emergency Temporary Standard (1/13/22) Remarks by President Joe Biden on the Supreme Court’s Decision OSHA’s Nationwide Vaccine Mandate on Hold (originally published 11/17/21) Employers with more than 100 nationwide workers were bracing for the impact of a federal mandate requiring vaccination or weekly COVID testing. On November 4, the Office of Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Administration’s Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS). Since then, a court order has temporarily Read more

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