The A’s of Housing It is fair to say that our housing policy in this community has failed. Housing prices have increased almost 20% nationwide since the pandemic started, and many of the negative issues identified in our own community are related to housing — or to the lack thereof. Bellingham residents have repeatedly [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
2021 Whatcom County Business Political Forum Thursday, October 14, 2021 Starting at 5:30PM Every year we hear from the candidates for City, County, and Port offices. We partnered with Associated General Contractors (AGC), the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County (BIAWC), and the Whatcom County Association of Realtors (WCAR) to produce this event. Click Here [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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?” [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
June 9, 2021 This past year or so has been tough. We need to remember to enjoy life and smile as much as possible. With the recent rumors the border will be reopening to vaccinated persons, there were a number of emails on the topic. One that made me smile included this: “Will the Border [...]
116 years later, the message remains the same Hanging on the wall of my office is an article from the Aug. 26, 1905, issue of The Puget Sound American, a short-lived newspaper that was published from 1904 to 1906 right here in Whatcom County. Titled “Knocking against city becomes a disease,” the article claimed — [...]
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 [...]
2021 Economic Forecast & Profile In March 2021 as part of our annual Chamber Speaker Series sponsored by Puget Sound Energy, we hosted the WWU Center for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) to provide our 2021 Annual Economic Forecast. Dr Hart Hodges and James McCafferty spend 75 minutes with us discussing the nuances and data [...]
An open letter to our elected officials and our community ... A Business Case for 1590 As a chamber of commerce, we are not usually the first organization to support a tax, especially a new tax and one that could be a burden to businesses (as a collector in this scenario). In fact, I could [...]
Toast of the Town: Celebration of Community Resiliency Released: April 26, 2021 Toast of the Town: A Celebration of Community Resiliency video #15. Each year we award our Lifetime Achievement Award to a local community member who continuously contributed to our region. In the year of a pandemic, it is fitting to recognize Sue Sharpe [...]
One of my favorite publications of the year is from our friends at the League of Women Voters of Bellingham-Whatcom County. Each year they produce this great directory. It is provides contact and other important information of our county's government agencies and elected officials. Most of the time it is produced as a printed guide; [...]
Chamber convenes leaders to plan for the return of events It’s been a year without events in Whatcom County. More than 12 months ago, state and local governments began restricting local business and event operations to slow the spread of COVID-19. Aside from sporadic virtual gatherings, the county event industry has practically ceased to exist. [...]
In late November, Guy Occhiogrosso, President/CEO of the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce was named to the 2020 40 Under 40 for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). The honor was announced in the association’s quarterly publication, Chamber Executive Magazine. The annual recognition program showcases 40 of the industry’s top emerging leaders who [...]
