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4 MacGregor “The Plaid Books” 2009 Economic Metrics key goal of the chamber’s Economic A Development division last year was to assemble a quarterly metric for membership use. The intent: a tool that could isolate specific areas of the local economy and provide a snapshot of our economic health. Two of the key areas of this metric—taxable retail sales and hotel/motel tax receipts—are delayed by the state’s Department of Revenue by two months. As such, we have just recently received final numbers. Please find below a brief synopsis. Sales & Use Tax Payments to the City of Anacortes declined materially to $2.6M in 2009. This was down from $3.2M in 2008 (-19%) and from $3.6M in 2007 (-28%). Based on industry data through the first nine months of 2009, we know that the bulk of this decline centered around boat sales and construction activity. Hotel/Motel Taxes—a good proxy for hotel stays—declined incrementally to $231K in 2009. This was down from $239K in 2008 (-3%) and from $245K in 2007 (-6%). Say Yellow to the Future 17869 SR 536 • Mount Vernon, WA 98273 USA • (360) 336-6171 • Fax (360) 428-3052 www.yellowbook.com Good News for the Trestle Star Bar & Epicure raised $5000 at Havana Nights for the Trestle Fundraiser—congratulations, and thanks! NAVIGATING THE FUTURE A Resource and Information Fair for Seniors Friday, September 10th 11:30 am to 3:30 pm Retirement... Where Life Begins! Home Sales declined to 208 in 2009. This was down from 243 in 2008 (-14%) and from 334 in 2007 (-38%). Interestingly in the second half of last year, the number of sales actually increased by 17% (127 vs 108 in 2008), a sign that this key indicator may be turning around. Note: this also reflects the reality of lower pricing, with the average selling price declining over the second half of the year, from $411K in 2008 to $352K last year. Permitting Activity declined to 421 in 2009. This was down from 497 in 2008 (-15%) and from 742 in 2007 (-43%). Hang Glide Off Mt. Erie! A Business to Business Trade Show Thursday, April 15, 2010 4:00 pm to 8:30pm Van Zyverden Bulb Warehouse Port of Skagit County 12035 Higgins Airport Way Reserve your booth space or order your tickets today by calling 336-6114 or visit www.skagit.org. Don’t miss this perfect opportunity to become the “Talk of the Town.” Activity at the marina picked up from 2008. Transient Boat Nights—a measure of slip usage—increased to 11,616 last year. This was up from 10,298 in 2008 (+13%) and down from 12,511 in 2997 (-7%). Another measure—Boat Launches—were also up in 2009, increasing from 3,121 in 2008 to 3,417 last year (+9%). Consistently the data reflect gradual improvement over the last six months of 2009 yearover-year but remaining below 2007 levels. We will continue to provide quarterly updates as the information is received. D ue to popular demand, the chamber will be offering a special Business After Hours on April 1. One of our new members—Rick “Ripcord” Raponski of Almost Flawless Hanggliding—will be sponsoring a BAH event at the top of Mt. Erie. For those of you Steve Miller fans who have always wanted to “fly like an eagle,” don’t miss this unique opportunity to get a bird’s eye view of your chamber from at least a couple hundred feet up on your way off-island. Please RSVP to the chamber office (293-7911), as we need a valid list for insurance purposes.
Leadership Skagit Scholarship Tulip Festival The Anacortes Chamber of Commerce is committed through its board of directors to promoting effective leadership in our city. As such, the chamber has chosen to offer an annual scholarship to EDASC’s Leadership Skagit program. Each annual class forms Correction Last month we lauded our members who had won Best of Anacortes in the Anacortes American’s annual contest. However, sadly, we neglected to list some of those members. Please congratulate Randy’s Pier 61, Bellissima Ristorante and Anacortes Econo-Wash for being listed “Best of” in many categories! save the date President’s Luncheon – May 13: Grow Your Business with Confidence in 2010 Marketing can feel overwhelming and for many of us it’s not technically in our job description. The reality is we’re all marketing all the time, so you might as well learn how to make it as stress-free and high-impact as possible. You may be asking yourself some of these questions: • With so many marketing tools, both on and off-line, where should we invest our time and money? • Do we have an elevator pitch that really works? • Do we need to update our website and print materials? The answer is: it depends! Erica Mills Join us as we learn from presenter, Erica Mills, the founder and principal of Mills Communications Group, a Seattle-based marketing firm that makes marketing simple, effective and totally doable. Sponsored by in September and then continues for the next nine months, promoting leadership and networking skills. Scholarship procedures are as follows: • The chamber will cover the annual tuition cost to the Leadership Skagit program out of its general fund. Letters of interest are due to the chamber by April 30. • All chamber members are eligible to apply for the scholarship. • In accepting the scholarship, applicants agree to complete the program. Should they fail to do so, they agree to return funding to the chamber. Graduates will be invited to a full chamber board meeting to share their experience. Additional information is available through the chamber office @ 293-7911. T he 27th annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival will kick off April 1 and will last through the end of the month. At press time, it appeared that the tulips would be early this year, with a number of locations opening the last week of March. Of special interest in 2010: the World Tulip Summit, slated for April 13–15. This international event will be the first held in the United States since its reestablishment. The program will include such topics as the latest developments in the science and technology of tulips, gardening in the Pacific Northwest, and the migration of tulip farming to Western Washington. Summit delegates will include Tulip Festival goers and representatives from around the world and within the US. They will be encouraged to tour the various parts of the valley and to explore restaurants and shops. Hosting this event is a coup for the Tulip Festival, reinforcing local agriculture’s worldwide importance. 5
Page 1 and 2: THE ANACORTES COMMUNICATOR The News
Page 3: member profile TheBoatMinders.com M
Page 7 and 8: Spring Wine Festival Get your ticke

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