Published November 2000

Business Briefs

EDC lunch set for Nov. 27
The Snohomish County Economic Development Council’s Economic Update luncheon has been scheduled for Nov. 27 at the Mill Creek Golf & Country Club, sponsored by Providence General Medical Center, ATL-Advanced Technology Labs and WiredZone.

During the luncheon, EDC President Deborah Knutson will announce the recipient of the “President's Award” to a community leader who has shown commitment and support for economic development. The luncheon also will be the kickoff event for the EDC’s new strategic initiatives for 2001-2005.

Dr. Lee Hartwell, President and Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and a University of Washington professor of genetics, will be the keynote speaker this year.

Pied Piper founder
to speak at B&PW meeting
Brenda Stonecipher, founder and director of Pied Piper Productions in Everett, will be the guest speaker at the November Greater Port Gardner Bay Business & Professional Women’s meeting. She will discuss “Women in Productions,” past, present and future, as well as talking about her own company.

The meeting will be Nov. 27 at The Flying Pig, 2929 Colby Ave., Everett. Dinner, networking and the business meeting will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The program begins at 7:15 p.m.

Tourism spending rises,
county moves into 3rd place
Travel spending in Washington state reached the $10 billion mark in 1999, according to the Washington state Department of Trade and Economic Development, with Snohomish County moving up from fourth to third among the state’s communities in visitor spending. With only King and Pierce counties attracting more tourism dollars, Snohomish County moved ahead of Spokane County for the first time.

Visitors to Snohomish County spent $519.7 million, supporting 9,590 jobs in the tourism and hospitality industry, with a payroll of $151.7 million. Local taxes benefited in 1999 from $8.5 million in tourism spending, while the state gained $35.5 million. Tourism’s impact in the county included $150.8 million spent in restaurants, $95.2 million in retail stores, $90.5 million for transportation, $89.3 million for recreation, $58.2 million to hotels and motels and $35.7 million to grocery stores.

County tourism bureau
sweeps state awards
The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau swept the Georgie awards at the state Tourism Conference last month, with Executive Director Sandy Ward named Tourism Professional of the Year.

Also, the bureau was honored in three categories — Best of the Best Industry Award, won for the bureau’s off-season, Internet-based reservations programs; Best Niche Marketing Campaign; and Best Tour Planner’s Guide.

Intermec creates group
to focus on wireless products
Intermec Technologies Corp. recently formed a new business group to focus more attention on its wireless products and technology.

Gregory Smith, previously vice president of technology and programs for Intermec’s Systems and Solutions Division, will lead the new group. The change means all of the company’s wireless engineering, marketing and production resources are based in Everett.

Smith said the change will help the company explore new markets for its products, which include handheld computers and computer terminals that can be used for inventory control and supply chain management.

Lynnwood company honored
for pollution prevention
Aldercrest Auto Rebuild of Lynnwood was honored by Gov. Gary Locke recently for business practices that protect natural resources. The business was among nine firms and two government facilities presented with an Award for Achievement in Pollution Prevention.

Networking group sets Tuesday meetings
The Sno-King Networkers, a chapter of Business Network International, has changed its meeting time and location. The group now meets at 7:15 a.m. Tuesdays at Coco’s Family Restaurant in Edmonds, 7929 Lake Ballinger Way. For more information, call Bonita Jorgenson at 425-806-1761.

QuickBooks class set
The accounting firm of Toyer & Associates will conduct a class on QuickBooks software from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 14 in the community room at Cascade Bank, 2828 Colby Ave., Everett. The cost is $119. To register, call 425-258-3432 or e-mail debbie@toyercpa.com.

Biotech firms team up
Rosetta Informatics Inc. and Sangamo BioSciences Inc. executives recently announced that they plan to use their complementary technologies to study certain genes or proteins that may be candidates for new drugs.

Rosetta, with facilities in Kirkland and Bothell, is combining information technology and genomics to create new ways to speed up the drug discovery process. Sangamo, which is developing proteins aimed at regulating cell function, is based in Richmond, Calif.

Builders Exchange
awarded state contract
The Builders Exchange of Washington Inc., an Everett-based company that provides construction plans to contractors, subcontractors and others via the Internet, recently was awarded the Washington state contract for posting plans on the Internet with FastBid, company President Cheri French said. Political subdivisions and nonprofit organizations on the Office of State Procurement’s Cooperative Member List can use this contract, she said.

For information on the Builders Exchange, call French at 425-258-1303 or visit the company’s Web site, www.bxwa.com.

Business association lists
voting records online
The Association of Washington Business has assembled a record of how Washington legislators voted on issues important to businesses during the 1999-2000 biennium. The information is available on the association’s Web site, www.awb.org.

NorthWest Telco’s charter
expands service area
Northwest Telco Credit Union has received a new charter from the state of Washington, allowing it to expand its membership base to all people who live, work or worship in all of Snohomish or Skagit counties. Previously, the credit union only could take members who were residents of certain Snohomish County communities, most of them north of Everett.

Career Resource Center opens in Marysville
The Career Resource Center has opened at the Marysville Goodwill store, 9315 N. State Ave. The center’s services are free for anyone hunting for work, considering a new career or wanting to participate in job readiness workshops. For more information about the center, call 360-657-4058.

Applications available
for tourism-project funding
Snohomish County is taking applications from public and private agencies seeking money for cultural and tourism-generating projects.

The money is part of hotel/motel tax money collected in the county. Applications are available at the county’s Department of Planning and Development Services, 3130 Rockefeller Ave., Everett. Applications are due by 5 p.m. Nov. 21. For details, call Brent Lambert, 425-388-3263 or 800-562-4367, Ext. 3263.

Chevrolet dealer receives
award for sales, service
Roy Robinson Chevrolet of Marysville has received a 2000 Circle of Excellence Award from Winnebago Industries Inc. The award recognizes performance in sales, marketing and customer service.

County fall, winter
event calendar available
The Snohomish County Tourism Bureau’s 2000-2001 Fall-Winter Calendar of Events is now available. The calendar, which features fairs, festivals, music, museums and more, covers events from October 2000 to March 2001.

For a free copy, visit a chamber of commerce, visitor information center or public library, or call 425-348-5802 for a local location. A calendar also can be ordered online at the Tourism Bureau’s Web site, www.snohomish.org.

EdCC receives grants
for certification training
A program in computer networking for low-income students and an online Case Management certificate will be developed at Edmonds Community College with $243,415 in grants just awarded through the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

A Basic Information Technology Networking certificate will be offered by the college’s Business & Technology Center. For eligibility and enrollment information, call Sandy Riopelle at 425-640-1361.

The second grant, to develop an online version of the Case Management certificate program, will expand the existing classroom-based training the college offers for WorkFirst and other public and community services employees. Program coordinator Paul Ancona can be reached at 425-640-1605.

Records center opens Lynnwood facility
The File Box, an independent records center that stores and maintains business, legal and medical records for businesses and medical clinics, has opened a warehouse at 21231 66th Ave. W. in Lynnwood to provide secure storage, retrieval, refiling, delivery and pick-up of customer’s active and inactive records.

Based in downtown Seattle, The File Box also has offices in Mountlake Terrace and Edmonds.

For more information about The File Box, call owner Beryl Moon at 206-328-5688 or visit the company’s Web site, www.fileboxseattle.com.

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