GUEST COLUMN
October is a very busy month for the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce. As you are reading this, our Military Affairs Committee is at the Pavilion hosting the Kitsap Military Fall Festival. The event is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and is designed to showcase the products, services, resources and more available to service members and their families while stationed in Kitsap County. Orders to commands located in Kitsap are highly sought after and part of the reason is the great quality of life our community offers as well as the welcoming spirit of community members.
The chamber’s Military Affairs Committee is a strong and vital committee, working with area commands toward creating a great quality of life. Being a part of this process is as simple as being a chamber member.
The chamber is celebrating Homecoming all this month. We are still looking for nominations of businesses that are getting into the spirit by decorating or offering special “Homecoming” promotions. If you know of someone doing either, please give us a call. There’s a chamber membership up for grabs for the best example of Homecoming spirit.
Don’t forget to save the date for Oct. 25 as the chamber hosts its own Homecoming dance at the Silverdale Beach Hotel. It promises to be an evening of great fun and the public is invited!
A recent decision by the county commissioners removed previously “earmarked” allocations of lodging tax dollars to two specific groups. Apparently a factor in this decision was to make it easier for other groups to be considered in the process. 25 percent of the lodging tax dollars are being set aside for performing arts groups. If you are involved with, a patron of, or just enjoy community theater and other performing arts activities located in Silverdale/Central Kitsap, please encourage your group to apply for a portion of these dollars. Previously, these dollars have been granted for promotion and marketing as well as capital improvements like roofs and HVAC systems. Rationale for the previous disbursements has been as simple as “it gives tourists something to do once they are here.” CSTOCK, Kitsap Forest Theater and other non-profit performing arts groups should be making application for these dollars. With more than 300 hotel rooms in Silverdale paying into the lodging tax process, there is no reason performing arts in Central Kitsap shouldn’t benefit. Check the county Web site for information on the application process.
As always you are invited to attend our monthly luncheon, this month our featured speaker will be James Luna from the Washington State Department of Corrections, speaking on their Inmate Transition program “9-5 Beats Ten to Life.” The lunch is at 11:30 a.m. Oct. 29 at the Silverdale Beach Hotel. Advanced reservations are required for this luncheon.
If you want more information about what’s going on at the chamber, you can subscribe to our weekly e-mail newsletter by sending a note to subscribe@silverdalechamber.com. If you have questions about anything in this article, call us at (360) 692-6800.
Darla Murker is the executive director of the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce. She appears the third Saturday of the month in the CK Reporter.
