Published April 2002

Arlington group works
to lure people downtown

By Kimberly Hilden
Herald Business Journal Assistant Editor

“Shop locally” is a common rallying cry of chambers of commerce, both nationally and locally. It’s heard in the big cities as well as the small towns. And it’s an issue the Greater Arlington Area Chamber of Commerce has been tackling.

“We try to do enough, have enough, things going on in town to keep people in town and shopping locally,” chamber President Kathi Cherrier said. “Over the last few years, that’s been our biggest push — and to promote Arlington and the area.”

With the city’s annexation of Smokey Point in 1999, promoting the area is even more important, she said, noting that some residents may “think they have to hit the freeway and go north and south to do their shopping when there’s a lot within a 4-mile radius of home.”

To get folks walking along Olympic Avenue, the Downtown Arlington Merchants, a chamber committee, holds two swap meets each year, one in the spring and one in the fall, as well as a June car show. The chamber also is involved in the organization of Fourth of July Frontier Days, the Arlington Festival Street Fair, the Avenue of Quilts and the city’s Christmas celebrations.

Added to that, the 42-year-old chamber holds an annual fund-raising golf tournament, barbecue and raffle to supplement funds raised through membership dues, the sale of advertisements in the local phone directory and the street fair.

That’s a lot of work, especially when there’s only one paid employee on staff to answer visitor inquiries and handle the books, but Cherrier said the volunteer efforts of the 146-member chamber and its board make it all happen.

“We have a lot of good people on the board,” she said, and much of the work is done through committees so that the load doesn’t fall “on any one person’s shoulders.”

Plus, other community groups add to the mix to promote and celebrate Arlington, she said.

For instance, the Rotary Club of Arlington sponsors the Great Stilly Duck Dash on the Fourth of July; the Stillaguamish Valley Pioneers group holds an annual picnic in August; and the Arlington Centennial Committee is currently putting together activities to celebrate the city’s 100th birthday in 2003.

“We’ll be involved in that in some shape or form,” Cherrier said, adding that the business community is always ready to support the community at large. “That’s what’s been neat for me,” she said. “Arlington is a good place to live and work. It’s a special little town.”

The chamber holds alternating breakfasts and lunches on the first Tuesday of the month at Weller’s Restaurant. For more information, call 360-435-3708 or visit online at www.arlington-chamber.com.

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