A Brief History of the South Lake Union
Chamber of Commerce
March 2006
Rotarian and South Lake Union resident, Jason McKinney, meets with business neighbors to discuss neighborhood issues and the formation of the new Lake Union Rotary Club. Many of the businesses mentioned that they were in need of a local business advocate.
April 2006 – Received help and advice from the University District Chamber of Commerce (Teresa Lord Hugel) on incorporating as a 501 (c)(6). Local business leaders including representatives from Vulcan, Inc. (Phil Fujii, Trammell Crow/CB Richard Ellis (Greg Maturi) and US Bank (Kris Gjylameti) worked toward organizing an introductory meeting.
June 20th 2006
First introductory meeting attended by representatives of:
- Marriott Residence Inn, Shannon Swanson Myers
- Outdoor & More, Steve Hess
- Athletic Awards Company, Monty Holmes
- CBRE/Trammell Crow Company, Craig Maturi
- Center For Wooden Boats, Betsy Davis
- Far Fetched/Cloud 9, Nick Tensen
- Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Lee Schoentrup
- Seattle Parks Foundation, Kimberly Bowen
- Shamrock Design, Ryan Murphy
- UW Medicine at South Lake Union, Helen Powell
- Vulcan, Phil Fujii
- Howard S. Wright Constructors, John Bullwinkel
- Funhouse, Robert Kuckelburg
- Infinity Restaurant Group, Brian Petoletti
- Marriott Residence Inn, Elisa Anglin
- Pande Cameron, Brad Andonian
- Slo Joe's BBQ, Bob Sessler
- Small Changes Wholesale Distribution, Shari Basom
- South Lake Union Discovery Center, Laura Nielsen
- Steamer Virginia V Foundation, Mike Foley
- Waldron and Company, Norman Sigler
July to September 2006
First general monthly meeting at UW Medical with special guest MOHAI. The South Lake Union Chamber of Commerce is Officially incorporated with the Secretary of State as a 501 (c)(6) non-profit business association on September 26, 2006. Special thanks to Ed Emerick (University District Chamber of Commerce Board Member), McCune Godfrey and Emerick.
- Original Board Members whose signatures accompanied the Articles of Incorporation:
- Shari Bason, Small Changes Wholesale Distribution
- Jeffrey Behn, US Bank
- Betsy Davis, The Center for Wooden Boats
- Phil Fujii, Vulcan, Inc.
- Monty Holmes, Athletic Awards
- Jimmy LeMert, Patrick's Fly Shop
- Craig Maturi, Trammell Crow Company
- Ryan Murphy, Shamrock Design
- Brian, Petoletti, Schwartz Brothers
- Helen Powell, UW Medicine at South Lake Union
- Nicholas Tensen, Far Fetched Import Furniture
- Jason McKinney, Resident, Organizing Director, Incorporator
October 2006 to January 2007
The Chamber is awarded a $750 matching grant from the City of Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods for first marketing materials. The grant was written by board member, Betsy Davis of the Center for Wooden Boats. The marketing committee organized the first networking event at the SLU Discovery Center thanks to Pearl Leung of Vulcan, Inc.
February 2006 through April 2007
Marketing committee generates and open RFP (request for proposal) for the Chamber's logo and letterhead design paid for by the $750 matching grant. Our April 24th 2007 Launch Event was held at Rock Salt Restaurant to a sold out crowd. Officially merged with members of Chamber predecessor - SLUNET.
May 2007 to January 2008
The all volunteer Chamber grew from a handful of paid members to over 100. We were awarded our first $10,000 marketing grant from the City of Seattle's Office of Economic Development. Volunteers begin a coordinated community outreach program including referrals and door-to-door outreach.
The Chamber begins hosting booths at the SLU Block Party, Lake Union Festival and the Emerald City Car Show (2006). SLU Chamber Board President, Rebecca Partman, Real Time Productions (2007 through 2008), successfully fights to re-include, "work with neighborhood businesses to support economic development" as a strategy in the updated Neighborhood Plan.
The SLU Chamber and the Cascade People's Center contracts with King County to perform work on the South Lake Union In Motion program to support the use of alternative forms of transportation. In January 2008, the Board approves the hiring of Jason McKinney, resident, as the Chamber's first paid staffer.
2008
View Current Board Members. A second $10,000 grant is awarded to the Chamber from the Office of Economic Development to support an educational workshop series to support the needs (surveyed) of the membership and businesses at large. The Chamber Web site is upgraded to include a function database. Our electronic newsletter doubles its readership to cover nearly 1000 business leaders, employees, residents and individuals interested in the South Lake Union area.
2009
Our Chamber workshops were completed in May 2009. Topics included:
- Marketing 101
- Build Your Audience
- Your Print Materials Say a Lot About You
- The Web Makeover Show
Attendance exceeds expectations.
The Chamber is awarded our third $10,000 Office of Economic Development Grant. This time the money goes to help fund the Cascade Farmer's Market featuring Pike Place Market Express. Farmer's Markets act as economic multipliers in Seattle neighborhoods.