Within the City of Bremerton, there are many individual business districts and neighborhoods that are truly the working invested heartbeat of our collective community.  In the past several years a quiet movement of groups has formed with an interest and an eye towards improvements within their individual areas.  Many have been operating for some time now and have been steadily gaining momentum.  Some examples of these areas are in Union Hill, Summit Avenue, Anderson Cove and downtown Bremerton.

These groups are made up of residents and business owners, looking to take back and rebrand their neighborhoods and or districts with the realization that the solutions to many of their issues lies within their own personal involvement and responsibility and not just with the “city” leadership to fix things for them.

The most recent and welcomed uprising is in the Charleston Business District. Thanks in part to one recently large hot button topic, somebody has lit quite a fire under this group.  They are organizing, they are working together and they are very vocal about it.  This is fantastic.

Charleston really is the “gateway” to Bremerton and it needs to start being treated as such. Charleston is a part of a critical economic support system that provides goods and services to members of a workforce that are employed by our biggest community partner, the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.  It is unfortunate that Charleston has also been on the receiving end of too many bad jokes and pithy comments for far too long.

The Historic Charleston Business District group is already working very hard to change how they are perceived by this community.  They have a Facebook page and just last week a full page ad for many of the Charleston businesses ran on the backside of this very publication.

Have you been to the Charleston district lately? Maybe you should.  Where else can you pick up printer supplies and a pink champagne cake?  How about a new piece of furniture for the coming holidays? Or, some really fantastic Mexican food?  Did you know you can get some really yummy gyros in Charleston? Looking to save money this holiday season, how about some beads or supplies from the art shops?  Need some cash?  Banks and ATM’s are just steps away for your convenience.

Most importantly, spend some time talking with the workers and owners of these local businesses.  They are your neighbors and friends. These individuals are investing today in the Bremerton of tomorrow and they need your patronage and support to keep their momentum going.

Welcome to the future of a better Bremerton.