Message from the CEO, September 2020
Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. (GGHI) welcomes you back from a glorious Labor Day Weekend. We hope that you enjoyed the weather and time to relax. If you were open and welcoming customers, we imagine you were busy and thriving with the holiday crowds.
While the seemingly endless crowds of visitors continue to flow into our county and visit our establishments, we know that many of our businesses continue to struggle. The COVID-19 related economic shutdown continues to negatively impact our local economy and GGHI is committed to implementing diverse strategies to aid in our regional recovery.
Starting this September 10th, the Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. Business Relief Grant will open for applicants. Funded by Federal CARES Act funds a pool of $151,227 is available to businesses and economic development organizations to include local chambers, business associations, direct marketing organizations and tourism bureaus in Grays Harbor County. Details on eligibility and grant details can be found on our COVID-19 Resources webpage. The Greater Grays Harbor, Inc. Business Relief Grant is open to all businesses in Grays Harbor County and we encourage them to consider applying if they meet the eligibility standards.
In addition to helping our local businesses navigate the relief options and distributing funds we know that our local enterprises want to attract new customers and remind existing customers the value of buying local. We recently launched a “Say YES to Local” Sign Campaign that provided promotional signage to interested businesses at no cost. The signs are very popular and are being distributed throughout the entire county to promote the value of buying local and to highlight that our economy is open for business. If you’d like to reserve a sign please complete the online form that can be found on our website. Signs are available for as long as supplies last. We are also providing the PDF version of the sign in our September Harbor Insider and in our blog here if you would like to make multiple copies for your place of business.
For the eight weeks that I have been in this role I continue to be impressed by the motivation and commitment so many of our leaders have to this region. There is an aspirational vision of what Grays Harbor County can achieve and I am excited to be part of that enthusiastic effort. In August I sat down with the Daily World and discussed the opportunities that the pandemic might provide. The opportunity to do something new and innovative. The opportunity to turn a weakness into a strength. Most importantly, the opportunity to prosper. Regardless of the size of the opportunity I challenge us all to find the potential in our businesses, our families, and our community in which to believe and invest.