‘They’re amazing’

MOSES LAKE — Incoming Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Kim Pope had some things to say about the town’s growth Tuesday night. 

“Moses Lake is growing,” said Pope, the executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin. “We have more businesses coming to town than in — I don’t even want to say this — the 40-plus years that I’ve lived here.” 

The occasion was the chamber’s 83rd annual meeting, held in the Commercial Building at the Grant County Fairgrounds. Enzo’s catered the dinner, which featured chicken piccata, zucchini au gratin and penne alla vodka. The room was filled with tables reserved for one sponsor and decorated by another, some with fall themes, others in ways that reflected their businesses. Attendees were given three votes on a People’s Choice Award for the best-decorated table. REC Silicon took the prize for the second year in a row, with an elaborately constructed setup that included a working fountain. Coldwell Banker Tomlinson Ranch & Home was the runner-up and Moses Lake Distillery and Spurstride took home third place. 

“The best businesspeople in Moses Lake come out and decorate a table,” said Anne Fisher, branch manager for Guild Mortgage and past chamber president. “It’s a big ask, because there’s no way it costs less than $200. Mine cost about $900 to decorate a table. But with a smile on my face, because it’s for the chamber … and our chamber is incredible.” 

There were also three tables set aside and decorated with tractors, reserved for the inductees into the Moses Lake Ag Hall of Fame and their families. Charles Schwab and Tony Garro were present, and Richard DeBeaumont, who passed away in August, was inducted posthumously. 

The chamber honored a few of its own members as well. Alan Heroux explained the chamber’s ambassador program. 

“We handle everything that needs to be done in the chamber,” Heroux said. “We set things up, we break things down. We do registration, we do bartending. We are (Chamber President and CEO Debbie Doran-Martinez’s) slave labor. I am the chief slave labor. My title is Ambassador General, which sounds super cool, but really, what I do is just recording volunteers to make sure that everybody shows up when they need to be where they need to be.” 

Two ambassadors, Kathy Mitchell and Terri Riley-Brown, were honored for long and dedicated service. 

“I have been an ambassador for over 20 years,” Heroux said. “There were a couple of ladies who were ambassadors at that time and I asked them on the phone how long they’d been ambassadors and they couldn’t tell me.” 

Steve Crapson of Crapson Insurance Agency was named Ambassador of the Year, voted on by his fellow chamber ambassadors. 

Outgoing Board Chair Jason Avila took the microphone next, to announce the Chairman’s Award. 

“(This year’s winner) is a strong supporter of our chamber and many other organizations in our community,” Avila said. “They consistently participate professionally and personally in our community events and activities and strengthen our community. So we chose Group14. They’ve done tremendous things in our community in years past, and just recently they’ve helped out with out Boys and Girls club.” 

After the award winners were duly applauded, the new chamber board, both incoming and returning members, was introduced. Avila described a few of the chamber’s accomplishments over the last year. 

“Twenty ribbon cuttings, one groundbreaking, an exhibitor breakfast with over 444 served, rodeo slack practice for 250,” Avila said. “Our Senior Picnic had 700 in attendance, which now takes two buildings at the fairgrounds, and a Purple Party to kick off the Walk to End Alzheimer’s.” 

In the coming year, the chamber plans to have a business incubator with five suites available to rent, as well as housing the chamber office, Avila said. 

Once Avila had passed the ceremonial gavel to Pope, she spoke a bit about the chamber’s role in building the local workforce. 

“These (incoming) businesses generate jobs for local people,” Pope said. “In anticipation of that need, Big Bend Community College and (Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center) are developing curriculum to prepare our local students to meet the needs of these businesses. We want to build our own workforce to keep our economy strong right here. We all know the growth comes challenges, but … with the help of your chamber, we can connect with the people that can help make the changes... So thank you all for your dedication to our community. Each of you in this room deserves a round of applause for helping our town continue to grow and prosper.” 

“Having been the president for the chamber, I got a chance to go visit some local chambers and see how they ran and what they did,” Fisher said. “And what I understood was that communities much larger than ours don't have a chamber of commerce as active as ours, because people in this community believe in it. They're amazing.” 

    The Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s 83rd annual meeting filled the Commercial Building at the Grant County Fairgrounds Tuesday.
  

    Outgoing Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Board Chair Jason Avila passes the gavel and microphone to incoming Chair Kim Pope, left, as Chamber Director and President Debbie Doran-Martinez, right, looks on.
  

    REC Silicon won the People’s Choice award for the best-decorated table at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce annual meeting Tuesday.
  

    The board of directors,both incoming and returning, of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce is introduced at the chamber’s annual meeting Tuesday. From left: AJ Ascamilla, Platt Electric; Manuel Lopez, Michael’s On The Lake; Don Kersey, Group14; Roger Silva, Raybern Group; Alan Heroux, Realty Executives; Jeanette Ferguson, Danco Excavation; Jason Avila, Renew; Steven Brooks, Samaritan Healthcare; Dan Roach, Port of Moses Lake; Melissa Klitzke, Washington Trust Bank; and Kieth Siebert, Grant PUD. Not pictured: Rafelita Tijerina, Big Bend Community College; Brant Mayo, Grant County EDC; Darla Meise, NW AG.
  

    Enzo’s restaurant of Moses Lake catered the dinner for the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting Tuesday.