Wednesday, October 16, 2024

Support Your Local Chamber Day

The Greater Kitsap Chamber is proud to be a Catalyst for change, a Convener of leaders, and above all, a Champion for business. You can show your support for the Chamber in many ways - invite a new business to a luncheon, recruit a new member, or even sponsor an event. Your investment comes right back to the community through business resources, education, local and regional connections, advocacy efforts locally and in Olympia, and so much more. We're proud to represent nearly 600 businesses in Kitsap County and beyond and we look forward to our continued work together!

Get Your Tickets Now for the

2024 Business Awards Gala

Sponsorships Still Available for Gala

Elevate your business or organization at this annual gathering of who's who in Kitsap business!

Interested in elevating your business' exposure in the community? Looking to put your name on this year's Gala? Looking to bring a table-full of attendees? We have sponsorships available for all sizes of businesses across all industries that will provide a level of elevation in the Greater Kitsap business community like no other event. Interested in sponsoring or purchasing an ad in the Gala program? Contact Events Coordinator, Tiffany Diamond, to secure your sponsorship or ad space today!

Chamber Night @ Seattle Sounders

Saturday, October 19, 2024

October Membership Luncheon

Wednesday, October 23, 2024, 11:00 am

We're so excited to welcome Bittina Sheen, Co-Owner of Away With Words Book Shop in Poulsbo, and Social Media Manager for Windermere Real Estate, where she has also served as a business blogger and email marketing coordinator. As a small-business owner and marketing professional, Bittina understands the need to do all the marketing and advertising things for her business, but how do we actually do all the things? Learn tips from this busy professional on how to get things done, support your own small business, (run a film festival), and still make time to connect with loved ones. An insightful Chamber luncheon you won't want to miss!

This month's luncheon will be held at the Kitsap Golf & Tennis Club.

Chamber launches new benefit in partnership with Crunch Fitness!

We are so excited to announce this new wellness opportunity for our business community: beginning August 2024, members of the Greater Kitsap Chamber and their employees can now enjoy discounted gym memberships at Crunch Fitness in Silverdale. For more information on how to redeem this benefit, contact Irene at the Chamber. Special thanks to General Manager, Haaken Larsen, for bringing this opportunity to our membership!

It’s time to get the most out of your insurance.

With Business Health Trust, you’ll have access to:

• More choices – more than 80 medical plans from the most respected carriers in the state
• More value – all plans come with mental health and virtual care coverage, plus innovative ancillary benefits to suit your needs
• More support – with concierge level customer service and comprehensive plan administration
• More savings – enjoy discounts on transit, IT & HR support, plus savings on dining, shopping, travel and more
• More peace of mind – we’ve got you covered!

Before you renew this year, be sure to benchmark your benefits with BHT – and see for yourself how BHT has helped over 1,000 businesses with their employee benefits.

Ready to build your benefits plan? Email quote@businesshealthtrust.com to learn more and get a free quote. 

Kitsap Women's Summit Calling for Speakers

Deadline to submit is November 14th

The planning committee for the Kitsap Women’s Summit (KWS) is seeking emerging and seasoned presenters: keynotes and panelists for the Spring 2025 event, to speak on topics highly relevant to women. Our theme this year: Imagine. Empower. Rise.

Imagine the possibilities when women rise together with empowered voices, uplifting others, to create a collective force for change. To learn more and submit your speaker application, please visit https://forms.office.com/r/4v5ysAaSTL.

The Kitsap Women’s Summit is an annual half-day gathering curated for women by women. Women from all industries and walks of life come together for conversation, community, and personal and professional development, with the collective purpose of amplifying female voices and experiences in Greater Kitsap. Presented by the Greater Kitsap Chamber and Leadership Kitsap.

All-Inclusive Kitsap Halloween Bash

Saturday, October 26, 2024

Get Your Insurance Quote Now from BHT

Bremerton Foodline

Open House & Ribbon Cutting

Friday, October 18, 2024, 6:00 pm

Mark Your Calendar: Friday, November 15th

Mystic Mvmnt Celebrates 5 Years

Unique Experience Custom Embroidery

www.uniqueexperience1.com

Advocacy Committee

Join us Next Week: Eggs & Issues

Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 8:00 am

Join us on October 22nd as we welcome candidates for Kitsap County Commissioner, Districts 1 & 2 for our final forum of this election season. Hear from these community leaders on what their plans are right here in Kitsap as they work to earn your vote for Kitsap County Commissioner.

Enjoy a limited breakfast selection available for purchase at the Cloverleaf.

We'll see you Tuesday morning at 8:00 am! Doors open for breakfast at 7:00 am.

Business & Professional Development Committee

SCORE: Increase Your Website

Sales & Leads Using SEO

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:00 am

Are you struggling to get website traffic that converts into sales and leads? Learn how to increase your website's organic (free) traffic from Google today!

What you will learn from attending this workshop:

• How to use SEO to create a bursting pipeline of leads/sales
• How to ethically hijack your competitors Google SEO traffic
• How to rank your website on Google using SEO strategies that work
• Stop spending money on ads!

Workshop Fee: FREE

SCORE: Marketing Tips for a

Winning Holiday Season

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 12:00 pm

With the holidays accounting for such a large portion of your sales, it's important to be prepared to capture your customer's attention and those crucial year-end sales. However, there are a lot of holiday promotions out there and it can be difficult to get your customer's attention. During this one-hour webinar, you'll learn tips and actionable steps to stand out from the crowd with a holiday marketing plan that leverages the channels that matter most to your business.

Workshop Fee: FREE

Kitsap Community Foundation: Estate Planning

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:00 am

Estate Planning 101: Protecting the people, pets and causes you love

Kitsap Universalist Unitarian Fellowship

4418 Perry Ave, Bremerton

During this complimentary session, you will learn about:

• Estate Planning and why it's important;
• Four estate planning documents everyone should have;
• Wills – Maintaining control of your assets during your lifetime;
• Trusts – Save on taxes while passing down assets;
• Donor-Advised Funds – Donate, get an immediate tax benefit, support causes on your timeline;
• Life Insurance – Protecting your beneficiaries and supporting your favorite causes tax-free
• FreeWill.com/kitsapfoundation – Creating your will for free in just 20 minutes

You are welcome (and encouraged) to bring guests and advisors. 

Seating is limited. Please RSVP by clicking the button below or call 360.698.3622. 

KEDA Fall Forum

Thursday, October 24, 2024, 2:00 pm

WHA: Toolkit of the Month

Lodging Excellence Handbook

Courtesy of the Washington Hospitality Association

Some lodging operators have a small business background and assume they have a thorough understanding of state laws and regulations. Or some operators from other states open a lodging property in Washington and assume (incorrectly) the laws and rules in their state are the same. Not fully understanding Washington’s unique labor laws and regulations can lead to costly compliance violations.

The Lodging Excellence Handbook is intended to get lodging operators started on the right path to understanding Washington state laws and regulations on employee rights and employee safety to assist them in avoiding costly citations from L&I.

Courtesy of FastCompany.com

• What should I do if I'm being left out because I'm older than my coworkers?
• Job interviews are changing. Here are five strategies to ace the skills-based interview
• 5 mistakes you might be making in a negotiation
• This is how you deal with a toxic employee when you're a manager

Courtesy of entrepreneur.com

• 3 steps you can't miss when growing your business
• How to unlock your leadership potential with identity play and experimentation

L&I Resources

The Greater Kitsap Chamber is proud to serve as a resource partner with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Stay tuned to this section quarterly for education, resources and more from L&I.

Minimum Wage Increase Leads

to Other Changes for 2025

Adjustments to minimum wage also mean updates to the 2025 minimum salary thresholds for overtime exempt employees, the minimum pay for rideshare drivers, and non-compete clauses:



• Minimum salary thresholds for overtime exempt employees
• Changes how much executive, administrative, professional workers, computer professionals, and outside salespeople must earn in salary to be exempt from overtime requirements.
• For small employers (1-50) in 2025, the minimum salary threshold is $69,305.60/annually
• For large employers (50+) in 2025, the minimum salary threshold is $77,968.80/annually
• Minimum pay for rideshare drivers
• Minimum pay for drivers for rideshare companies such as Lyft and Uber is one of the new rights and protections granted to these drivers 
• For trips within Seattle in 2025, drivers must earn least $0.68 per passenger platform minute and $1.59 per passenger platform mile, or $5.95, whichever is greater.
• For trips outside of Seattle in 2025, drivers must earn at least $0.39 per passenger platform minute and $1.34 per passenger platform mile, or $3.45, whichever is greater. 
• Non-compete clauses
• Non-compete agreements typically prevent an employee or independent contractor from working for a competitor or starting a similar business while employed or after leaving their current job.
• Earnings must meet a minimum threshold for non-compete agreements to be legal in Washington.
• For employees in 2025, the threshold will be $123,394.17
• For independent contractors, the 2025 threshold will be $308,485.43.

Got a question or issue to be solved?

Call L&I's Small Business Liaisons for assistance.

Phone: 1-800-987-0145

Email: SmallBusiness@Lni.wa.gov | Negocios@Lni.wa.gov

Online: Lni.wa.gov/SmallBusiness

Nonprofit News & Resources

Create a Multigenerational Donor Base to Capitalize on the Historic Wealth Transfer

Published on NonProfitPRO.com, October 15, 2024

Photo: Getty Images by Luis Alvarez

We are in the midst of the largest wealth transfer in history. According to Cerulli, over the next 20 years, an estimated $84 trillion will be passed down from older generations. This shift in wealth presents a critical opportunity for nonprofits to actively re-examine their donor strategies and prepare to tap into new donor demographics. The up-and-coming generations set to inherit this wealth, millennials and Gen Zers, have demonstrated a strong commitment to social causes, acting as one of the most outspoken and engaged cohorts for social justice, equality and other causes that have both global and local impacts. 

Read the full article here

NAWA: Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 12:00 pm

Approaching nonprofit finance in a welcoming way, the Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits virtual workshop aims to help unlock your financial literacy. From key words and forms to understanding how everything fits together, you will increase your basic nonprofit finance knowledge.

This online course is free, thanks to support from the Washington Office of the Secretary of State.

National Estate Planning Week

October 21 - 27, 2024

The Kitsap Community Foundation recently offered a training session to local nonprofits around the subject of "Promoting Planned Giving to Your Donors and Volunteers." With October 21-27 being National Estate Planning Awareness Week, there will be collective chatter promoting estate planning. If you don’t yet have a plan to capitalize on the moment, you may want to put one together soon!

Wondering if all this is worth the effort? In less than a year, local nonprofits secured $4.6 million in bequest intentions from Kitsap folks using the FREE will writing service at www.freewill.com/kitsapfoundation. While the national average is that 8% of people include a bequest in their wills, through the www.freewill.com/kitsapfoundation portal 41% of people who created wills include bequests to nonprofits. 

In case you need more encouragement to promote National Estate Planning Awareness Week to your constituencies:

• Planned gifts often are 200-300x the size of annual gifts
• Once people name a nonprofit in their will, their annual giving triples! (In other words, one of the best things a nonprofit can do to increase their annual fund revenue is secure planned giving intentions)

Link to KCF's PowerPoint presentation on Planned Giving

Greater Kitsap News

Kitsap Ballots Mailed Tuesday

Check your mailboxes beginning today and vote now

Courtesy of Kitsap County

General Election 2024 ballots were scheduled to be mailed to all Kitsap County registered voters on Tuesday.

Voters will help elect candidates for federal, state and county offices, and a commissioner position in the Kitsap County Public Utility District. There is also one local measure and four statewide measures.

The county will have 27 drop boxes open for the election. The Local Voters’ Pamphlet and State Voters’ Pamphlet were mailed earlier and are available online at kitsap.gov/elections.

Paul Andrews, Kitsap County Auditor, is encouraging voters to get their ballots in as soon as possible. “It’s the best way for all of us to have a clearer picture on election night which candidates get elected and which measures pass or fail,” he said.



Ballots collected by Nov. 4 will most likely be included in the totals announced at 8:15 p.m. on Election Night, Nov. 5.

Kitsap County Elections recommends using ballot drop boxes to return ballots, but voters can also do so by mail without postage. Voters returning their ballots by mail should do so by Oct. 29, a week ahead of the election.

Online and mail registrations and address changes must be received by Oct. 28. After that day, residents needing to register to vote can do so in person at the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office, 619 Division Street in Port Orchard from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every weekday. Residents can also register to vote at one of three vote centers from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2 and Monday, Monday, Nov. 4. The vote centers will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 5.

Vote Center locations:

• Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division Street, Port Orchard, WA 98366;
• Marvin Williams Recreation Center, 725 Park Avenue, Bremerton, WA 98337;
• Poulsbo Fire Station, 911 Liberty Road, Poulsbo, WA, 98370.

Ballots must be returned to one of the county’s drop boxes by 8 p.m. on Nov. 5, or postmarked that day or earlier.

More Kitsap election information is available at kitsap.gov/elections.

Great Shake Out

Thursday, October 17, 2024, 10:17 am

This year's International ShakeOut Day is October 17, when millions of people worldwide will participate in earthquake drills at work, school, or home!

At 10:17 a.m. (local time) on 10/17, you can join millions of people across the world practicing earthquake safety.



While we encourage participation with everyone, you can register your ShakeOut drill for any day of the year, and drill at a time of your choice. You can also include people in multiple locations through video conferencing.

Employability Career Fair

Thursday, October 17, 2024

Volunteers Needed for Old Town Work Party

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Masks Still Available

Free at the Greater Kitsap Chamber & Visitor Center

The Greater Kitsap Chamber still has some supplies available if your local business is in need of KN95 masks. Pick up your supply at both GKC locations today. Available while supplies last.

Can I still get COVID-19 tests?

You can order free, at-home COVID-19 tests from CovidTests.gov

Tests are available from many pharmacies and retailers. Healthcare providers can provide testing. If you test positive for COVID-19, follow CDC guidance. 

If you need tests for your organization, contact Kitsap Public Health at ready@kitsappublichealth.org or 360-728-2235.

OCT. 17 VACCINATION CLINIC

Join us from 2-6 p.m., Oct. 17 at 845 8th St. in Bremerton.

The clinic will offer: 

• COVID-19 vaccines
• Flu vaccines
• Childhood vaccines

Click here for more information.

Admiral Theatre: Nick Carter "Who I Am" Tour

Wednesday, October 16, 2024, 7:30 pm

Sparking his career at the age of 12, Nick Carter quickly became an international pop superstar as the youngest member of the iconic boy band, Backstreet Boys. With his boyish good looks and heartthrob status, Carter's 30-year entertainment journey has extended far beyond sold-out arenas, encompassing a diverse range of projects in television, film, philanthropy, and publishing.

In 2002, Carter ventured into a solo career with his debut album, Now or Never, released under Jive Records. It debuted impressively at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart and received Gold certification in the United States, Japan, and Canada. This marked the beginning of a successful solo journey, complementing his fame as a member of the Backstreet Boys. Since then, Carter has released two additional solo albums I’m Taking Off in 2012 followed by All American in 2016. Notably, his 2023 single "Hurts to Love You" became his most successful track, charting in seven different countries, topping the charts in the United States and charting number one in Canada.

Clearwater Casino Presents:

Sunday Girl - Blondie Tribute

Friday, October 18, 2024, 8:30 pm

BCT Presents: Caught in the Net

Final Weekend!

Fast forward and the plot thickens, or rather, tangles up like a pair of earphones in your pocket. In this sequel, the web of lies gets even stickier when John Smith's teenage kids from each family meet online and hit it off. Little do they know they share more than just common interests—they share a dad! John, with his trusty but dim-witted sidekick Stanley, dives headfirst into a sea of fibs and fabrications to keep his kids from discovering they're half-siblings. It's a comedic catastrophe of epic proportions that proves the internet really does bring people closer—maybe a bit too close for comfort.

Content Advisory: Adult situations, some humor based on outdated standards and mores. Features humorous and sometimes suggestive dialogue, but no strong or offensive language; deals with themes of bigamy, deception, and mistaken identity, all presented in a comedic and farcical manner; primarily situational and physical humor, with elements of slapstick and farce; mature themes related to bigamy and infidelity, handled with a light-hearted and comedic touch; comedic accidents and physical humor; some suggestive situations and innuendos—nothing explicit.

Port Gamble Theater: Harvey

Now thru October 27, 2024

Everyone is worried about Elwood P. Dowd’s relationship with his six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch friend. Why you say…well he happens to be an invisible rabbit.

Tiffany Diamond

Events Coordinator

tiffany@greaterkitsapchamber.com