At the end of another revitalized and impactful year for our organization, we wanted to take this moment to recap the 2023 efforts of Chamber team (staff, volunteers, board, and members) and to personally say thank you for your support in helping the Chamber be able to:
Create Connections:
- Communicate weekly with 1000’s of members and residents via this email newsletter, and social media posts.
- Introduce 110,000+ visitors to local attractions and businesses through our Island Ambassador program.
- Introduce 100’s of members face-to-face at monthly After Hours mixer events.
- Provide confidential advice, support, and advocacy for our 500 active members.
Build Community:
- Inform the Island about relevant decisions being made and issues that affect us all at the City, County, State and Federal levels
- Relaunch the Bainbridge Business Awards for a sold-out crowd at Pleasant Beach Village in April (with voting from all our active members).
- Increase Grand Old 4th attendance to more than 18,000 locals and visitors, and prominently showcase our members at the island’s biggest annual event.
Effectively Advocate:
- Support the creation of new affordable workforce housing by local partners including Housing Resources Bainbridge, Helpline House, Bethany Lutheran Church, and more.
- Help Kitsap Transit better communicate consumer and workforce transportation options (until 7pm on weekdays), consider new bus stops/routes, and add Sunday Service (coming next month!).
- Successfully reform COBI’s Waste Reduction Ordinance – to have the City prove home compostable items are effective, affordable, and available before requiring their use, and get the 25c Disposable Cup Fee repealed entirely.
- Partner with hotel, inn, and short-term rental owners to engage with the City in the creation of fair and equitable regulation for local lodging establishments.
- Begin working with BHS’s Career Technical Education department to better connect our community’s youth with a wider diversity of career opportunities.
- Bring a new crosswalk to Winslow Way, making Bainbridge a safer place for locals and visitors while improving the flow of pedestrians around downtown.
In short, the Chamber team has spent 2023 working hard to expand our services and activities so we can help our members and our community in more ways than ever before – head on over to the Chamber News homepage to learn more about this year’s efforts.
Here’s to a great 2024 – we can’t wait to announce our new initiatives for this new year!