News – Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals Announce 2026 Top 7 Under 40
Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals Announce 2026 Top 7 Under 40

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals Announce 2026 Top 7 Under 40

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals Announce 2026 Top 7 Under 40 Seven emerging leaders recognized for their professional accomplishments, community involvement and contributions to Whatcom County BELLINGHAM, WA – The Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals announce the 2026 winners of the Top 7 Under 40, an annual celebration of young professionals in Whatcom County. Awardees will be honored [...]

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Whatcom Young Professionals Announce 2026 Top 7 Under 40Clara Symmes2026-09-14T14:07:34-07:00

When the Forecast Becomes a Workplace Issue: Heat, Smoke, and Summer Safety

When the Forecast Becomes a Workplace Issue: Heat, Smoke, and Summer Safety Posted August 3, 2026 Summer in Washington brings longer days, busy schedules, outdoor events, construction season, tourism, agriculture, landscaping, deliveries, and plenty of reasons for businesses to be active outside. It can also bring heat, wildfire smoke, and rapidly changing conditions that affect [...]

When the Forecast Becomes a Workplace Issue: Heat, Smoke, and Summer Safetyguy2026-08-03T13:41:31-07:00

Blink, and Here We Are: Where Did the Time Go?

Blink, and Here We Are. Where Did the Time Go? Posted: December 5, 2025 "45." No, not that 45. I’m talking about an age. In less than a month, the oldest of the millennials will turn 45. As an elder millennial myself, this is the number staring back at me. Say what you will about [...]

Blink, and Here We Are: Where Did the Time Go?guy2025-12-05T13:40:50-08:00

A Penny for Your Thoughts: The City’s $10 Million Question (and a 0.1% Answer)

A Penny for Your Thoughts: The City’s $10 Million Question (and a 0.1% Answer) August 28, 2025 The City of Bellingham has recently floated the idea of a new sales tax — specifically, a 0.1% increase. Yes, that’s one-tenth of one percent. On paper, that means if you buy a $10 sandwich, you’d pay an [...]

A Penny for Your Thoughts: The City’s $10 Million Question (and a 0.1% Answer)guy2025-08-28T14:20:55-07:00

Employers Guide to Workers’ Rights: Join our Live Webinar!

Employers Guide to Workers’ Rights: Join our Live Webinar! Looking for a refresher on current workplace rights? Whether you are an employer, HR professional, or employee, understanding these rights and the latest compliance updates is essential to creating a fair and compliant workplace. We are excited to invite you to our upcoming live [...]

Employers Guide to Workers’ Rights: Join our Live Webinar!Lexi Parkhurst2025-03-17T12:47:55-07:00

Does your business have an Accident Prevention Program?

Does your Business have an Accident Prevention Program? Are you aware that Washington State requires every employer to create a written Accident Prevention Program (APP)? From small businesses, to logging or firefighters, having a safety program is a must! Fortunately, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries has a ton of [...]

Does your business have an Accident Prevention Program?Sarah Seeberger2024-08-05T13:56:54-07:00

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Relaunches Comprehensive Community Events Calendar

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Relaunches Comprehensive Community Events Calendar The Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce has announced the relaunch of WhatCALENDAR.com, a newly refreshed community events calendar that is intended to be a go-to resource for all events happening in Whatcom County. This free platform allows residents, visitors, event planners, businesses, [...]

Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Relaunches Comprehensive Community Events CalendarSarah Seeberger2024-08-01T11:56:43-07:00

No on Initiative 1 – a higher minimum wage

Vote No Again The proponents say this initiative is for affordability. We agree our community is not affordable for many of our residents. Unfortunately, the primary thing this initiative will do is simply make things more expensive – thus decreasing everyone’s affordability. If a higher minimum wage leads to affordability, we should already be affordable [...]

No on Initiative 1 – a higher minimum wageguy2023-10-30T21:59:16-07:00

Downtown Public Safety Solutions

Working Together for Additional Public Safety Solutions The Downtown Bellingham Partnership, in collaboration with the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and a group of community-minded leaders and business owners, are working together to encourage additional public safety solutions and investment in Downtown Bellingham. Since mid-2021, the Downtown Bellingham Partnership and the City of Bellingham [...]

Downtown Public Safety Solutionsguy2023-05-24T13:11:45-07:00

Why “Yes for Kids”

Why "Yes for Kids" October 12, 2022 You may have seen our name as a supporter of the Healthy Children's Fund (Prop 5) to be on the ballot in November. Yes, you read that correctly. As an organization that values efficient and effective government with smart taxation, it may be a bit surprising to see [...]

Why “Yes for Kids”guy2022-10-12T15:01:32-07:00

Travel COVID Testing Needs to go says Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Surrey Board of Trade

Travel COVID Testing Needs to go says Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Surrey Board of Trade Nov 8th, 2021 at 12:55 pm The Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Surrey Board of Trade are urging the Canadian government to immediately eliminate requirements for fully vaccinated Canadians to produce a negative COVID-19 molecular test [...]

Travel COVID Testing Needs to go says Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and Surrey Board of Tradeguy2021-11-08T13:17:00-08:00

The six organizational values that define the Bellingham Regional Chamber

The six values that define the Bellingham Regional Chamber You can learn a lot about an organization by what it is committed to and how it conducts its business. For the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, the first is simple. We are committed to you, the members of the Whatcom County community. The chamber has [...]

The six organizational values that define the Bellingham Regional Chamberguy2021-11-05T13:50:27-07:00

2021 Top 7 Under 40 Young Professionals Announced and Celebration Planned

2021 Top 7 Under 40 Young Professionals Announced and Celebration Planned It is that time of the year again when we celebrate our young professionals in our region. Our annual Top 7 Under 40 Whatcom Young Professionals celebration is right around the corner. This year we have the honor of recognizing seven amazing professionals doing [...]

2021 Top 7 Under 40 Young Professionals Announced and Celebration PlannedSchantell Porter2021-10-26T10:08:50-07:00

Chamber Welcomes Schantell Hummel

Chamber Welcomes Schantell Hummel Here at the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, we’re all about connecting and getting to know the people who make up our community. We’d love it if you could get to know us as well. Schantell Hummel is our newest teammate here at the Chamber. She was hired in August as [...]

Chamber Welcomes Schantell Hummelguy2021-10-19T11:02:04-07:00

Vote No on Initiative #4

Vote "NO" on Initiative #4 As reported before, the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has officially opposed Initiative #1 and #4. There are reasons to be concerned about all four. We decided to focus on these two with extra attention on #4. Business & Organization Sign On Letter As part of our [...]

Vote No on Initiative #4guy2021-10-21T12:52:55-07:00

Action Alert: Initiatives on the ballot this fall

Action Alert: Initiatives on the ballot this fall On the ballot for City of Bellingham voters this fall are four initiatives that could greatly impact our business community. Generally, the initiatives cover landlord/tenant law, policing technology, labor unions and worker pay. The Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has voted to officially oppose [...]

Action Alert: Initiatives on the ballot this fallguy2021-10-05T12:40:54-07:00

You only have one chance to make a good … community

You only have one chance to make a good ... community Growing up in Louisiana, my dad had a couple go-to #dadjokes that he would unleash with unbridled abandon. One of them — and one of my favorites — showcases the sense of place of Southwest Louisiana: Q: “What is the loneliest river in Louisiana?” [...]

You only have one chance to make a good … communityBellinghamPR2021-10-05T12:40:54-07:00

Five ways you can leverage your chamber membership

Five ways you can leverage your chamber membership Business leaders like to have reasons for doing things. Whatever we do, we like to base it on value: What value will I bring to this effort, and what will I get out of it? Being a member of a chamber of commerce is no different. Whether [...]

Five ways you can leverage your chamber membershipguy2021-10-05T12:40:54-07:00

A business case for investment in child care

A business case for investment in child care June 16, 2021 I was invited recently to be a panelist for a talk put on by the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County as part of the group’s Coffee Chat program. This particular dialogue was on child care — and, more specifically, on how access to child care [...]

A business case for investment in child careguy2021-10-05T12:40:54-07:00

We need resilience, not just recovery

We need resilience, not just recovery By Guy Occhiogrosso, president/CEO, Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce As I write this article, we are in the midst of our Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video series. As we conducted the interviews and produced the videos, I was inspired by the many people doing [...]

We need resilience, not just recoveryguy2021-10-05T12:40:55-07:00

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