july 2008

STANDING OUT

Even before 2008’s political advertisinglaunched we were inundated with two tothree thousand messages a day. Turningoff the TV won’t make it go away. It’s onthe radio, in the newspaper, on yourcomputer, in your mailbox, on signs,clothing…even this newsletter.The bigger the crowd of advertisers,the louder the noise, the harder to hearand the less people care about the mes

sages being sent. The competition is lessother companies and more the noise,itself. In sanity’s self-defense, our earsare closing.Monday, July 14th, Sara Nelson, CreativeDirector for Pasco design/marketing rmSara Nelson Design, Ltd., will address thechamber’s monthly luncheon meeting onStanding Out—nding ways to be heardamidst visual and aural pollution.Don’t forget to RSVP for the luncheonmeeting by phone at 547-9755 or viae-mail: info@pascochamber.org.

What can the Chamber do for You?

Nelson

Most people join the chamber toincrease revenue via networking.Too many read the newsletter, attendoccasional meetings, then wonder whyrevenue never rises and whether themembership was worth the money.How should chamber membership be“worked” to see a return on the invest

ment? Here are suggestions from thosewho have made it work over the years…

Complete and return a NewMember Profile or MembershipUpdate Form,

as appropriate.

Thatway you’ll know what’s going on at thechamber and the chamber can contactyou if they need to refer poten

tial business.

Provide a digital com-pany logo and/or digi-tal photo of your business and/or your-self.

And smile for the camera! Wouldyou rather deal with a smiler or scowler?(Potential customers feel the same!)

Join a Committee.

It is work andthere’s a lot to go around. But you willget to know people faster working on aproject than sharing a lunch table oncea month. And getting to know people ISnetworking.

Bring business cards and mar-keting/promotional materialsto chamber functions.

Say helloto Chamber staff members. Heck, thereare only two of them! Make sure theyknow your name and business. You’d besurprised how often they are asked, “Doyou know anyone who…?”

Attend the luncheon meetingsevery second Monday of themonth.

And bring a guest. You prob

ably owe someone lunch anyway…

Attend a networking event

andbring those business cards!

Follow up events with phonecalls or handwrittennotes.

If you can’t bringyourself to do that, thene-mail. But more personalis better.

Put an insert into thechamber newsletter.

Nearly 1,000 of those goout every month and it’s the best valuein town for business-to-business adver

tising: 1,000 8.5” x 11” full-color glossyadvertisements (two-sided, if you like)for a couple of hundred bucks plusprinting…If that list sounds like work, it is. But asmall business owner’s life is mostly workanyway—so invest some of it into mak

ing all the other hours more protable.

H e l l o !

M y name is...

T h e re s a

I am happy to announce that the Cham

ber’s new website is online. Our goal hasbeen for the Chamber to communicatewith the “big wide world” via a qualityweb page. And now we do—with thehelp of chamber member

Bright WebMarketing.

Having a World Wide Web presenceis important. Many prospective home-owners and business owners looking torelocate begin their search online. Oftenthat search begins at a chamber of commerce web site. That’s why thePasco Chamber’s board decided todevelop a site that serves as a “frontdoor” to Pasco. Now you can look to

www.pascochamber.org

for currentevents and local news.I would like to express my gratitudeto Craig Sutton and his staff for theirexcellent development work.Keeping with the theme of “communicat

ing our presence,” I would like to remindyou to use this newsletter to let thecommunity know about important eventsor milestones related to your business.In doing so you let others know thatyour business is developing to betterserve them. And that is always a goodmessage to send.Have a great and protable July!

COMMUNICATING OUR PRESENCE:

THE CHAMBER WEBSITE & NEWSLETTER

Darrick Dietrich, PresidentPasco Chamber of Commerce

Darrick

Members wishing to contribute to this column can email news to info@pascochamber.org

WORTH MENTIONING

Holiday Inn Express Hotel &Suites

received the 2008 Bestof Pasco award in the lodgingcategory by the U.S. LocalBusiness Association.

In-Home Medical

has achieved the Award of Accredita

tion from the Healthcare QualityAssociation on Accreditation for itsTri-Cities, Moses Lake and Pendletonstores.

Timothy McCall

hasobtained a minorityownership position in

NetworkTask.com

Huli Huli Hawaiian Grill

is now open from11 am - 9 pm daily at 2226 W. Court Street.It is managed by

Haiminh Loc.Henry Johnson,

manager and broker of Clark Jennings &Associates, recently retired after 23 years with the company.

Sonic Drive-In

was namedColumbia Industries’ BusinessPartner of the Year.

River News and Gifts

hasopened at the Pasco Airport.

Dr. Richard Cummins

has been selected as the newPresident of

Columbia Basin College.

He replaces

LeeThornton

who retired after serving 13 yearsas President.

Ed Ray

Conover Insurance

and

RayFamily Farms, LLC

will be the GrandMarshal of Pasco’s Grand Ol’ 4th Parade.Wheco Fleet Services has been renamed

Fatboys Fleet Services

Toyota of Tri-Cities

received Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.’sPresident’s Award for outstanding sales and service.

Clover Island Inn

was honored as the Downtown Businessof the Year by the Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership.

In-Home Medical

AROUND TOWN

4TH OF JULY ACTIVITIESJuly 3 |

7:15 pm | GESA Stadium

Dust Devils GameJuly 3 |

9:30 pm | TRAC

Outdoor Movie: “American Grafti”July 4 |

7:00 am - Noon

Kiwanis Pancake BreakfastJuly 4 |

10:00 - 11:30 am | Memorial Park

Grand Ol’ 4th Parade

July 4 |

8 am - 9 pm | TRAC

Independence Day Car ShowJuly 4 |

6:00 pm | Outside, in front of TRAC

Sock Hop

, music by Retreads

July 4 |

7:30 - 10:00 pm | GESA Stadium

Entertainment, Miss Tri-Cities contestantsand reworks displayJuly 5

| 7:00 am - 3:30 pm | TRAC

Independence Day Car ShowPreston Premium Wines

presents

VinoNotte

each Friday evening through August.Vino Notte features live music from7 pm - 9 pm on the deck if the weather islovely, or indoors if not. Wine is sold bythe bottle or by the glass and a limited menuof hors d’oeuvres and desserts is available.

No cover charge. No age restriction. No outsidefood or beverage. Winery is open til 10 pm.

Lamb Weston

presents the

2008

Columbia Cup

, July 25 - 27. . . the world’sfastest boats, exciting on-the-water en

tertainment, fun shoreline activities andmore. The

Benton & Franklin PUDs andPaul Parrish, Ltd.

are sponsoring a

specialneeds viewing areaat the Columbia CupHydro Races

for disabled persons and onecaretaker. The booth is on the east end of thebleachers. Dial-a-ride can deliver you to thebooth and parking is just around the corner.

Tri-City Dust Devils

play 15 home gamesin July at

Gesa Stadium.

Get your tickets on

line at: www.tricity.dustdevils.baseball.com.There will be

a reworks display eachSaturday night!The 17th Annual

Lourdes Classic Golf Tournament

will be held July 11 atCanyon Lakes Golf Course. Call 546-2301to register your team.

Members wishing to contribute to this column can email news to info@pascochamber.org

Events | Activities | F un things to do

Building Bridges Networking is joint project of theTri-Cities Hispanic and Pasco Chambers of Commerce.

Thank you to the sponsors of the first event:

Ray Family, LLC | Edward Jones – Ryan BraultStudio 64 | Pasco Red Lion

Mark your calendar for the next Building Bridges:

July 9 | 8:00 am | Riverside Room at Clover Island Inn

To sponsor an upcoming event and/or to RSVP call: 547-9755

MembershipPlaques

In keeping with theChamber’s new iden

tity, new membershipplaques have beenmade.New members receivea complimentarymembership plaque.(If you are a newmember and have notreceived your plaque,please contact theChamber).If you are a long-timemember and wouldlike to replace yourplaque, they are avail

able for purchase.Please contact thePasco Chamber formore details.There is only one reason for being late to any eventyou are attending. The one reason for being late is alow priority for the event. That is the primary reason for beingtardy and I can prove it. If I were to offer you $100,000 toenter the next event sixty minutes early, would you be late?Not on your life! You would have stayed at the event all nightso you would not miss the deadline. I have good news! Thisis not like the gaming tables in Las Vegas because there is norisk. Every event you attend is lled with a multitude of busi

ness opportunities for you.

What is the real reason people are always late?

Q A

LITTLE MIRACLE #12