Archive for the ‘Hilary Parker’ Category
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Likely if you’re plugged into the business community, you’re aware of the Leadership programs in Skagit and Whatcom counties. Participants in these nine-month programs culminate their learning experiences with a community service project that aids a local nonprofit.
In the few years since the programs began, a number of groups have benefitted from the work of the leadership teams. Recently, one Leadership Skagit (LS) team chose to support the Skagit Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services with a project to spruce up the organization’s “House of Hope” safe house. The Leadership Skagit team hosted two work parties in the spring that resulted in the renovation of seven bedrooms and common living areas in the house as well as an extensive remodel of a bathroom.
For the LS team, the project was not just about putting a fresh coat of paint on the shelter, but engaging the community and Skagit DV&SA Services in a new dialogue about how the agency supports the community and how the community can do likewise.
“Our ultimate goal is to foster long-term relationships between the businesses, business leaders of this community and the agency itself,” said Pamela Santangelo, one of the LS team members. Santangelo, of Burlington’s Computer Source, was joined in the group by Lynn Christofersen of Skagit County Community Action; Aldi Kllogjeri, Skagit State Bank; Isaac Nelson, Air Liquide; and Colleen Powell Port of Skagit.
The group raised more than $10,000 in monetary and in-kind donations for the project from businesses, community service groups and individuals. Among the many donors were Skagit State Bank, Air Liquide, Pat Rimmer Tire Center and a number of Skagit County Rotary groups.
In celebration of all the work, another member of the business community, Johnny Carino’s Italian in Burlington is hosting a dinner for the volunteers and supporters at the end of the month. It’s also an opportunity for those interested in becoming an on-going volunteer with the agency to learn more about the organization and how you can help. The dinner is on Thursday, Aug. 26, from 5-7 p.m. For further details or to RSVP for the event, contact Pamela Santangelo at Pamela@thefreshperspective.com.
Tags: Skagit County
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Monday, July 12th, 2010
Armed with a renewed vision and fortified mission, the Northwest Economic Council (NWEC) is on the offensive when it comes to economic development.
I sat down with NWEC board President Bruce MacCormack last month to talk about the organization’s new direction.
Formerly the Bellingham/Whatcom Economic Development Council, the organization changed its name and its leadership, and has emerged from a phase of reorganization re-energized to help grow business from within the county’s borders as well as attracting companies from further afield.
“We knew we had to rediscover ourselves and what our position was in this community,” MacCormack said. To that end, the organization commissioned a county-wide survey to understand the needs of business.
“People wanted someone to step up and create an economic strategic plan for the county,” he relates, which is now under way.
As Whatcom County’s recognized ADO (associate development organization), developing a “regional economic strategy” plan is part of NWEC’s duties. The plan involves the cities, county, port and utilities as well as other stakeholders and is set to be unveiled at the first of next year, MacCormack said.
As an economic development entity, the top priorities of the council are maintaining jobs, creating new jobs, helping small business and startups prosper and survive, and helping companies get funding, MacCormack said. He sees a lot of the economic development being generated by small- and mid-sized companies, rather than the big guys.
“A huge percentage of the way the economy is going to re-grow is through small business,” he said.
In that vein, MacCormack is most excited about the NWEC’s business accelerator program, the Innovation Resource Center (IRC). The IRC just received a $99,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to fund the endeavor, which aims to help grow and mentor startup businesses.
Businesses selected for the IRC will not only share bricks-and-mortar infrastructure, but will have access to educational, government and business resources such as training, funding and mentoring.
“The attraction will be to come together and grow themselves in a safe environment,” MacCormack said. While most startups will be local businesses, they may also hail from other counties, states or Canadian businesses hoping to get a foothold in the United States, he added.
MacCormack predicts government funding for startups will become less prevalent, and hopes the private sector will step in to help drive economic development. “You’re going to see less emphasis on government funding in the future and more emphasis on private sector intervention,” he said, pointing to both Skagit County and Spokane as areas where the private sector is greatly involved economic development.
“We’ve somehow got to encourage greater participation by private business,” MacCormack said. And he doesn’t mean only on a financial level, but business leaders using their experience to coach new and growing small businesses.
Business leaders can engage with NWEC in a number of ways, including joining the membership organization, volunteering for a committee or advisory team, or simply sharing experience and opinions with the group. To learn more, visit www.nwecon.org.
NWEC searches for new leader
The Northwest Economic Council’s executive director for the last four years, Nancy Jordan, stepped down from the position in early July. NWEC Board Chairman Bruce MacCormack said a search is under way for a senior executive who will oversee the IRC, NWEC Foundation, the strategic economic plan and other organizational initiatives.
Tags: Economy, Whatcom County
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Wednesday, June 16th, 2010
I had the opportunity to attend the Bellingham YWCA’s 16th annual leadership breakfast earlier this month. Every year, and despite the recent economic conditions, the organization does an admirable job of filling the ballroom at the Lakeway Inn with friends of the YWCA. This year was no exception, with 325 in attendance from all sectors of the community – business, local government, academia and the community at large.
Keynote speaker for the event was political and communications strategist Cathy Allen, founder of Seattle-based The Connections Group. Her topic: “How to be a 21st Century Suffragette.”
Allen, who has worked to get women elected throughout the world, including the Middle East, knows a thing or two about mobilizing folks to get out and vote, and many of her observations regarding energizing the younger generation to be politically active can apply to business as well.
No longer is mentoring a simple informational interview and a few job leads, notes Allen, but a true partnership. Hire, respect and give young workers a genuine opportunity to make a difference in your organization, she suggests.
Also realize the younger generation doesn’t necessarily want to be tied to a long-term commitment, such as becoming a member of Rotary, but prefers finite time commitments such as working on a specific volunteer project.
I think Allen’s comments ring true. Young people are great at multi-tasking and using technology to their advantage. They may do things differently than older generations, but given the proper expectations, they can get the job done.
I’ve found a lot of personal satisfaction in the mentoring relationships I’ve had with WWU students. Their knowledge and skills benefitted the magazine, and in turn their experiences here helped in their future job searches.
Whether running a business or nonprofit, establishing a partnership with younger generations can bring a new ideas and a burst of energy into your organization.
Tags: Bellingham, nonprofits
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Tuesday, May 25th, 2010
Last week Dr. Julie Hansen, an economics professor at Western Washington University, spoke to a group at the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County’s Housing Outlook and Construction Economic seminar. Hansen is the editor of the Whatcom County Real Estate Research Report, which is out this week. She gave an overview of the current housing market at the state level, then zeroed in on specifics to Whatcom County and Bellingham.
“In our region we relied on internal migration for our growth,” Hansen explained, adding that the national recession has stifled the flow of migration from one state to another as people simply can’t afford to move.
Yet, “we’re clearly in a better position than other areas,” Hansen said, noting other regions around the country. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t feeling the pinch of the recession, she admits. Housing recovery is “still very fragile,” and will take a turnaround in high unemployment and foreclosures to really see the market recover.
Perennially listed as overvalued on lists such as the one from IHS Global Insight, which cited 21.4 percent of Bellingham/Whatcom homes overvalued in fourth quarter of 2009, the area is still a lower-cost alternative to Seattle or Vancouver, B.C., Hansen said.
The “why” to this phenomenon could lie in several factors, Hansen said. Possibilities include a city climate “above average in terms of its anti-growth policies” or the impact of a stronger Canadian dollar, among others. A spillover effect from housing prices in California may also be a factor, she said.
Realtor Mike Kent, who attended the seminar, added that it has a lot to do with how buyers perceive the value of the area. “People here are willing to pay more of their income for a higher quality of life,” he said.
Members of the audience brought a number of questions to Hansen on varying topics. Here’s a sampling of the discussion:
• Shifting preferences: Will younger homeowners continue to “drive to qualify” for an affordable home in the county, or will they be wooed by the idea of urban living? While living downtown may appeal to Generation Y, Hansen feels their views may change as their family situation does. “Are people going to want to raise kids in condos?” she asks. One builder in the audience remarked that he is seeing many young families migrate to the Ferndale area.
• On the waterfront: How will Bellingham’s waterfront redevelopment affect us? Hansen notes that now is the prime time for boomers to be buying a second home, not necessarily in the approximately 10 years it will take for development to be realized. “One of my concerns is that we’re not going to recover fast enough to capture that (market).”
Tags: Bellingham, real estate, Whatcom County
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Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
Sometimes it’s worthwhile to take a step back and re-examine our online strategy. Do you have a Web site you’re proud of? Do you really know why you’re tweeting? Is someone in your organization heading the social media charge?
If you don’t know the answers to these questions, it is high time to take that step back and look at your company’s strategy, advised James Burnes, founder of Project Brilliant and a speaker at last week’s Social Media Conference NW.
Burnes noted that many companies are either entering the social media milieu as an experiment or without a solid strategy – or both.
“We are fighting against everyone to understand how social media fits into our company,” he said.
Instead, he suggests pulling the entire team together to create a strategy that gets everyone moving in the same direction.
Here are his nine tips in developing a strategy:
- What are your goals? Make them measurable.
- Who is your audience? Each audience has a different need.
- Understand your audience’s segmentation. Each audience has segments with their own needs and personality.
- What does your audience want?
- Where do they go (online)? This will help you define what social media spaces to inhabit.
- Who is your talent? Identify the person(s) who will champion social media. Start with the executive team.
- What are your milestones or key activities? Here’s where you can start to develop tactics that leverage social media to promote your business.
- How will mobile accessibility to social media impact your business? Keep in mind that it’s predicted more than half the cellular phones sold in 2011 will be smartphones.
- Do you need your own social media platform? This won’t be the case for every business, but if a community doesn’t exist around your industry you may consider creating your own.
Once this strategy is in place, treat it as a living document likely to require revision. Schedule reviews to make sure you’re staying on course.
Tags: social media
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Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Zip! Zap! Zoom! And away we go!
This zipping and zooming is the first exercise Galen Emanuele introduces improv newbies to when they venture into one of his BizProv classes at Bellingham’s Upfront Theatre.
“BizProv” is an eight-week class designed to give businesspeople new techniques for communicating and thinking on their feet.
Each hour-long session includes games and exercises to get participants thinking about their interactions with others and what effective communication looks like – all while getting to act a little, well, goofy.
Emanuele is an improv instructor, performer at the UpFront and the theater’s sales and marketing director, a position he started last year.
The sales and marketing position didn’t exist at the theater, so he made a pitch to create one. The job combines his sales and marketing acumen from working at a local business publication and his passion for improv. “This is what I’m good at and what I love,” he said.
The focus on marketing the theater has worked. Bookings for private parties are at an all-time high, and new programs such as BizProv have proven successful. A focus on giving back to the community is another priority. Most recently the Upfront players put on a show to raise funds for Whatcom Middle School after it was gutted by a fire. The effort raised $7,500.
I had the chance to experience BizProv for myself in November when Emanuele hosted a free workshop for folks to check it out. Most of us there weren’t quite sure what we were getting ourselves into, but the embarrassment level was close to nil.
Emanuele says that he seen greater confidence develop within the participants of BizProv’s inaugural class as they learn that in supporting the other guy, “ultimately it makes you look good.”
It’s also about trusting one’s spontaneous side, and learning not to censor our ideas, he notes. “We still have access to the creativity we had as kids.”
Want to check out BizProv for yourself? A free workshop is schedule for Tuesday, Feb. 23, from 10-11 a.m. at the Upfront. Spaces are limited so call to reserve a spot, 360.733.8855.
The new session of BizProv classes start March 2. Classes are an hour every Tuesday for eight weeks from 7:30-8:30 a.m. The cost is $100.
Tags: Bellingham, business
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Friday, December 11th, 2009
We’re on the eve of a new year, and for most of us we’re welcoming a fresh start after what’s been a challenging year for the economy. A group of Whatcom and Skagit county business leaders and government representatives gathered at the Bellingham Golf & Country Club on Dec. 8 in the hopes of hearing some good news regarding 2010.
U.S. Bank’s annual Economic Forecast Breakfast was the occasion for the gathering – an event that saw its 20th anniversary this year. Returning to moderate the panel is Dean Emeritus and Professor of Economics from Western Washington University (WWU), Dennis Murphy. Panel members were WWU’s Director for the Center for Economic and Business Research Hart Hodges, Chief Economist for the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation Christopher Lawless, Editor Emeritus of Marple’s Northwest Business Letter Michael Parks and former U.S. Bank Economist for the Western Region John Mitchell.
Economics is the dismal science (who can argue after this year?), but the presenters have kept business and government leaders coming back each year by providing a framework to understand the economy, some predictions for the year ahead, and usually a few lines of poetry to boot.
“It’s Over, But the World Changed,” was the title of this year’s event. Here are a few quick highlights:
• Hart Hodges, speaking on Whatcom County’s economy, said not to count on job growth in 2010, with growth remaining below state and national levels
• Chris Lawless from British Columbia suggests we watch what happens come July 1 when the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) goes into effect. It will bring retail sales tax into the double digits, which may drive Canadians south of the border to shop.
• Michael Parks says there really isn’t anywhere to go but up for the state economy. But, don’t expect real job growth for another couple of years. Parks predicts it may be 2012 of 2013 before we get back to pre-recession job levels.
• John Mitchell warns that the third quarter numbers may be inflated by stimulus dollars, including Cash for Clunkers and the first-time homebuyers tax credit. It remains to be seen what subsequent quarters will bring.
Moderator Murphy, as is tradition, posed two questions to the panelists to get their predictions for the upcoming year. This year asked what the inflation rate and the federal funds rate will be a year from now. Panelists predicted an inflation rate of 1.5 percent to more than 2 percent, and a funds rate of .25 to .75.
Want more? You can get all the speakers’ presentations online at http://www.cbe.wwu.edu/cebr/usbank.asp.
Tags: business news, Whatcom County
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Friday, December 11th, 2009
Hello, and welcome to the NWBM Online blog. If you’ve happened to find us from out in the blogosphere and not through our new website, nwbmonline.com, here’s a brief introduction of who we are.
Northwest Business Monthly is a magazine based in Bellingham, Wash. Our coverage area is northwestern Washington – Whatcom, Skagit, Island and San Juan Counties. We cover our regional industries, profile businesses and the people who run them, including our Executive Lifestyle home feature, and provide columns on sales & marketing, finance, HR issues and more.
Our blog will feature posts from myself, the managing editor, our publisher Tony Larson and select business people from throughout our region. We hope to drive conversation about issues that matter to the business community. Stop by often to check out the latest hot topic.
Best,
Hilary Parker
Managing Editor
NWBM
Tags: business news, Island County, Northwest Washington, San Juan County, Skagit County, Whatcom County
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