Published September 2001

Marysville Tulalip chamber to get new home thanks
to tribal contribution

By John Wolcott
Herald Business Journal Editor

The Tulalip Tribes' $100,000 "community impact" contribution to the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce will be used to foster tourism and small business development, chamber President/CEO Caldie Rogers said after the presentation was made at the chamber's July 27 membership meeting.

Each year, officials of the Tulalip Tribes present checks to county and city officials, as well as to business and service groups such as the chamber, as part of their commitment to share the Tulalips' casino gaming profits with the surrounding community.

"As in the past, $30,000 is dedicated to chamber operations," Rogers said. "It plays a key role in why this chamber has been able to avoid dues increases, keeping us affordable to the segment of our business community that needs us most — small business."

Most of the chamber's membership — 84 percent — has 10 or fewer employees, and 76 percent of the businesses among the 84 percent have fewer than five employees, she said. But this year's much larger Tulalip grant provides an additional $70,000 for development of a 3,600-square-foot regional center to house not only a permanent chamber headquarters but also a "premier Visitor Information Center and Small Business Center Outreach Office," Rogers said.

"It's quite a change for a chamber that has had several locations in the past eight years," she said.

The facility will be established in the Quil Ceda Village Business Park now under construction adjacent to I-5 between the 88th and 116th Street NE interchanges, she said, a site that is "dead center — north-and-south and east-and-west — of the two communities we serve (Marysville and the Tulalip Reservation)," she said.

Chamber plans for the new center include a high-quality information facility for visitors, meeting rooms for members and community service groups, plus a large chamber boardroom and conference center with high-tech teleconferencing capabilities for seminars, work-force training, receptions and public hearings, she said.

"With this facility, we anticipate enhanced economic development capabilities for the Marysville area and a greater ability to better meet the needs of our growing business community," Rogers said.

The Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce has begun a fund-raising campaign to finish the interior of the center. Each room will have its own price tag to cover the interior furnishings and technical equipment, with the name of the contributing sponsor prominently displayed on a marble plaque.

With several million visitors expected at Quil Ceda Village each year, once the new casino, two hotels, a water park, an amusement center and 120 outlet stores are completed sometime in 2004, Rogers expects room sponsors will enjoy long-term visibility with both residents and visitors.

Businesses or individuals interested in sponsoring a room in the new chamber facility can contact the staff at 360-659-7700.

Related: The Tulalip Tribes' plan of action includes hotels, retail and recreation

Related: Tulalips aim for a cooperative effort with area hotels

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