Chamber Chat

It’s time once again for our monthly Chamber Chat column, written by Lauren Cohen, Co-Owner of San Juan Canvas & Chamber Board President…

Here comes summer and with the season come the visitors. The summer season is a really fun and energetic time on our island. It is a time to show off all that is exceptional about this special place. All of us in business know how exhausting the two or three months of tourists and summer residents can be so I always like to keep this historic quote in mind during our six sometimes seven day work weeks:

A customer is the most important visitor on our premises, he is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us an opportunity to do so. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

All of us at the Chamber of Commerce wish our entire business community a successful and prosperous summer season. We encourage our members to let us know if we can help promote anything you are doing and please be sure that we have rack cards or brochures in the visitor’s center for the many thousands of guests that come through during the season.

Congratulations Graduates!
The Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Staff would like to congratulate our 2016 graduates from all of our wonderful schools. We wish you all the very best as you head into the next chapter of your lives.

Andria Rhine, Darlene Nixon, Janie Ogle, Paula West, Yvonne Buijs-Mancuso, Debbie Pigman, Margaret Thorson, Dona Reed – Contributed photos

Studio Tour Kicks Off Summer
Congratulations to all of the artists participating in the Artist’s Studio Tour this year. The incredibly beautiful weather seems to have brought out a lot of visitors and locals too. I wish I could have gotten to all of the venues but I was fortunate enough to visit a few. It is a fantastic island event and all of us at the Chamber of Commerce hope it was a great success for all involved.

Debbie Dardanelli and Yvonne Swanberg at the June Social – Contributed photo

June Chamber Social
Thank you to Debbie Dardanelli of Girlfriends Consignment and Yvonne Swanberg of San Juan Vineyards for hosting the June Member Social. It was a lovely evening at Debbie’s cute shop where she served great appetizers. Fantastic gold medal wines were provided by San Juan Vineyards and greatly enjoyed by all. Did you know there is a great selection of men’s tropical shirts? Are you looking for a cute new outfit for the summer? Visit Girlfriends Consignment at 210 Nichols. Do you need to stock up on some excellent wines for all of your summer house guests? Visit San Juan Vineyards at 3136 Roche Harbor Road.

New Members
We would like to welcome some new members to the Chamber of Commerce who joined recently. Some new businesses and some familiar. We are happy to have them join in as part of our cohesive community of merchants. Be sure to visit.

• My RC Vision- Debbie Staehlin & Heather Easley
  Specializing in RC Helicopters, parts and repair
  378-6775 or [email protected]
  135 Spring Street (next to the Chamber of Commerce)
• Electrolysis San Juan- Danielle Wheeler
  Exclusive provider of this permanent hair removal treatment. Danielle is a certified electrologist.
  298-4068 or [email protected] or
  818 Mullis suite 6
• Rock Island Communications- Dan Burke
  Provider of fast and reliable internet and phone services via a state-of-the-art fiber network.
  378-5884 or [email protected] or www.rockisland.com
  345 Court Street
• The Tour San Juan Island – Julie Corey
  New land based San Juan Island Tour. Partnering with San Juan Transit, Julie, a trained naturalist will lead you on a 4 hour tour of our beautiful island.
  378-7895 or [email protected] or thetoursanjuanisland.com
• 468 Communications- Tim Fry
  Creator of our new 468 Insider App for visitors. 468 Communications also helps organizations be more present with their communities through storytelling and practical use of technology.
  206-660-4321 or [email protected] or www.468communications.com

Featured Member
Congratulations to Be Chic Boutique and owner Kim Wickman for being selected as our Featured Member of the Month for June. Kim took over at Be Chic four years ago this summer and has loved every minute of it. Her shop reflects her own excellent taste and provides a little something for everyone, men and women, locals and visitors. Be sure to visit Kim at 125 Spring Street. They are open 7 days a week.

Independence Day
The 4th of July is a wild and crazy day on San Juan Island and this year is shaping up to be the biggest one yet. Thanks to our very generous sponsors, Kings Market and The Town of Friday Harbor, our parade and fireworks will be better than ever. These events that are beloved, participated in and attended by our island community and tourists alike need community support to happen. Keep an eye out for an upcoming mailer asking for your support to continue these great traditions.

Until next month. Be sure to check our events calendar often for all of the fun and interesting events that go on all summer long. Also keep an eye out for new businesses opening which will be celebrated with ribbon cuttings sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce and Town of Friday Harbor.

Happy summer to our island business community.

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