To celebrate ‘Support Your Local Chamber of Commerce Day’ that took place on Wednesday, October 21st, 2020 the staff at Greater Grays Harbor each shared the functions of our organization, how we support the community, membership benefits and other reasons why it’s important to support your local chamber.
- Grant Jones, Director of Business Development
- “I’m especially proud of the work we do to provide counseling and support to our local businesses. We’ve provided one-on-one assistance to nearly 300 Grays Harbor businesses this year, including member and non-member businesses. This assistance includes help navigating the many COVID-19 relief programs, implementation of the governor’s phased reopening plan, and many other topics. Your membership is a direct investment in the overall health of the local business community. Thank you!”
- Derek Schlaht, Director of Member Services
- “Greater Grays Harbor is, in my opinion, the best resource for connecting with businesses and professionals. We pride ourselves in taking the time to build meaningful, lasting connections. One of my main goals is to be able to provide our members with the resources they need to thrive. As a new business, it is important to have a network you can rely on to give you the confidence and peace of mind to be able to focus on the things that need more of your attention. When partnering with us, you are also partnering with each of our 330 member businesses!”
- Kelsey Norvell, Marketing Coordinator
- “Chambers of Commerce are dedicated and committed to promoting their geographic location. Greater Grays Harbor works to grow the travel and tourism industry as it directly benefits the prosperity of the Washington Coast. I do this by operating the Facebook and Instagram pages, @DiscoverGraysHarbor, and the tourism section of our website (www.graysharbor.org/visit) where I promote our area’s wonderful local businesses, hotels, restaurants, attractions, things to do, original blogs, local events and much more to encourage visitors to spend time in beautiful Grays Harbor County.”
- Candie Gleason, CFO
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- “The Aberdeen Chamber started as the Aberdeen Trade Board in 1890. In 1892 the name was changed to the Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce and was one of the first chambers in the US. The Hoquiam Commercial Club also started in 1890. They performed chamber duties until a name change to the Hoquiam Chamber of Commerce in 1915. These two chambers merged in 1962 to become the Grays Harbor Chamber of Commerce up until January 1, 2012 when they merged with the Grays Harbor Economic Development Council to become what is now Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. I have been with the organization for 24 years, and I truly enjoy working to help all businesses in Grays Harbor succeed!”
- Lynnette Buffington, CEO
- “Today marks the close of Support Your Local Chamber Week and we hope you enjoyed hearing what the GGHI team values about the work we do. As an incorporated model that serves as both a Chamber of Commerce and an Economic Development Council we have the benefit of working to build a strong local economy by supporting businesses of all sizes as well as those exploring Grays Harbor for their next location. We are all driven by the mission to serve current and future businesses to make Grays Harbor a vibrant place to live, work and play.”
