Moses Lake chamber officially opens new offices

MOSES LAKE — After a couple of years of wandering in the wilderness — well, working from home, actually — the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce finally has new office space on Broadway Avenue near downtown Moses Lake.

“This office came available, and it was remodeled, so we didn’t have to do anything to it,” said Debbie Doran-Martinez, owner of Cornfusion Gourmet Popcorn and the chamber’s executive director. “We could just move in and start operations.”

“And it has a great patio and a picture window out to one of our best assets, the lake,” Doran-Martinez added.

The chamber is leasing the space at 606 W. Broadway Ave., Suite C, formerly occupied and extensively remodeled by construction project managers Vanir in 2019. Doran-Martinez said the chamber would eventually like to own its office space, but for the time being, it’s good to have a physical space to do business in again.

“We do a lot of power rallying and collaboration here,” she said.

Doran-Martinez, who works with Marketing Director Lori Robbins, said the chamber works to bring people together to work on shared goals, like getting a new hospital built in Moses Lake. The chamber also follows proposed legislation in Olympia, tracks government regulation, and helps promote Moses Lake as a place to invest and visit.

“We are a catalyst for the community. We’re a convener of the people, and we are champions of ideas,” she said.

For example, Doran-Martinez said the chamber is closely following the progress of legislation that proposes to solve the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District’s ability to levy assessments on district residents to help maintain the quality of the water in the lake.

“There are so many bills that get put out every year, and now, there are about 1,000 that are active,” she said. “There’s a lot to track.

The new chamber offices at 606 W. Broadway Ave., Suite C, are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information, contact the chamber at moseslake.com or 509-765-7888.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.