2017 was an exciting year for the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and we have some exciting events and news for 2018. We are a chamber made up of small and local businesses who contribute to the vitality and health of this amazing neighborhood and we strive for our work to reflect that. Our goal is, as always, to help foster a vibrant Capitol Hill and we believe strongly that the outreach and advocacy we do to help keep our businesses strong, unique, and dynamic help Capitol Hill stay such a special place. This will be my second year as Board chair and I want to express to you how personal this work is to me. I've been a resident of the neighborhood since 2006 but I'm also a small business owner (Board & Vellum Architecture and Design up on 15th Avenue East). I walk the streets of this neighborhood every day and I know first-hand the challenges we all face as businesses. I know that a strong local chamber is an important and collective voice for our neighborhood and I couldn't be prouder of the work we are doing.

 

Your membership dollars make up approximately 25 percent of our budget and we use these funds for networking events, promotional activities, advertising and advocacy.  

 

Here are a just few examples of how we put your membership dollars to good use over the past year:

In addition to all our chamber work, we continue to make progress on the formation of a neighborhood wide Business Improvement Area (BIA). As part of our 2020 plan, we remain committed to a strong BIA for the neighborhood to fund not only obvious things like street cleaning, but also marketing dollars for specific neighborhoods, resources for community events, additional safety patrols, and staffing to coordinate help for our community members in need. As part of this process, the Chamber has brought on a new manager for this outreach, Jack Sorensen, who will be leading this effort. Sierra Hansen has moved into a role coordinating the current Broadway Business Improvement Area on behalf of the Chamber. Mel Burchett has moved into a role as Director of External Relations and Operations and is always available to help with any chamber questions you might have.

 

Our board remains a great cross-section of this neighborhood and this year we welcomed Liz Elkins from Poquitos and Bruce Riveland from Seattle Central College to our board. Tracy Taylor from Elliot Bay Books not only remains on our board but will be serving on Mayor Durkan's recently announced Small Business Advisory Council. This will be an important voice for th

e many small businesses on Capitol Hill to have a voice down at City Hall.

 

2018 will be another year of change for Seattle and it is our commitment as a chamber, and as a board, to help guide that change in a way that keeps our neighborhood businesses strong and uniquely Capitol Hill. If there is anything we can do, please feel to reach out.

 

Here is to a fantastic 2018. Cheers!

 

Jeff Pelletier

Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce Board Chair

State of the Hill is the biggest and best social event of the year for our members!  

We look forward to this event each year, and invite chamber members, local businesses, and Capitol Hill residents to gather to hear the State of the Hill address and celebrate all things Capitol Hill over local fare and cocktails. 

A few folks on the hill are using a new staff messaging tool that replaces texting & email called MyBiz.

Ada's Technical Books,  restaurant NUE, and  Nuflours are all using it on a daily basis and have found that it reduces the back and forth of email and keeps the entire team accountable. 

MyBiz is built by Townsquared, the free business community that a lot of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce members are using. Townsquared is offering it to the Capitol Hill Chamber members for FREE in the hope to learn ways to make the product even more valuable for you. Downloaded the app here: https://l.townsqd.com/invite