Greetings! 

Have you been to the Chamber's Facebook page of late? We have crossed the landmark of 2000+ fans and that is great news. We use that platform, along with others, to promote you - our members. I encourage you to take a few minutes and see how this works. From sharing your page posts to posting Coffee Connection testimonials, we keep information fresh and engaging daily. If you are a gold member and above, you can directly post to our page. That is huge as many of our members can benefit from our large fan base and their news feeds.

Our Business Walk date is set! May 15th from 8:30am - 1:30pm. Thanks so much to those of you that initially responded to my message a couple issues ago. Our planning team is diligently working to put the details together and will be sharing in short order.

We will need a minimum of 100 volunteers (paired in teams of 2 or 3) to reach 500+ Beaverton businesses in 4 hours. 67% of business leave a community because "we thought no one cared". We are going to make sure Beaverton business knows WE CARE! We will target 5 concentrated areas and stop in with a 3-question survey - short, sweet and informative. If you can help, please email me and I will add you to our growing list. This is a great opportunity for you to engage in directly helping your business community stay strong and grow - benefiting your bottom line!

If you have other ideas, please let us know!

Finish your week strongly and productively.

Lorraine Clarno, President/CEO, ACE
Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce
503.350.2006 

Our Business Advocacy Council focuses on issues that directly impact businesses that most owners/managers do not have time to stay on top of but count on the Chamber to do so and be their voice.

Your BAC voted unanimously to support the following up for vote May, 2014

We support the Beaverton School District Bond Measure  

The Beaverton School Board authorized the District to place a $680 million School Bond on the May 20, 2014 ballot. 

Since 2006, Beaverton School District's enrollment has increased by more than 2,600 students.  District enrollment now exceeds 39,400. According to District facilities planning information, four of the five comprehensive high schools are near or over 100% capacity. There are a number of elementary schools near or over capacity. Enrollment projections by Portland State University Population Center and District project that 5,400 additional students will enroll in Beaverton schools by 2025.

The $680,000,000 bond would address repairs, provide new capacity, modernize and renovate all facilities, improve safety and replace outdated learning technology, curriculum and equipment over a projected eight-year period. 

Due to retiring previous bonds, this measure is expected to result in no increase in the District's existing overall bond tax rate of $2.11 per $1,000 of assessed value for a projected eight years.

We support the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Replacement Operation Levy.

The levy would:

Retain 42 current firefighter medics hired since 2000. These firefighters ensure every crew has enough personnel to provide fast, safe, and effective response to fires, and immediate life-saving care at medical incidents and
rescue situations.

Add up to 44 firefighter medics, apparatus, and contribute to the construction of new stations. Increases in 9-1-1 calls and traffic are creating demands on our current network of stations. Our community is also growing older. This can prompt more calls and result in longer time on scene as crews provide care to patients. The levy would provide additional resources throughout the district to better ensure fast and effective response.

Estimated cost:
The replacement levy has a rate of 45¢ per $1,000 of assessed value, a 20¢ increase over the current rate. For a typical home with an assessed value of $230,000, this would result in a total cost of $104 (a $46 increase) in 2015. It would appear for the first time on the November 2015 property tax bill.  

NEXT MEETING: May 1, 2014.   7:30 - 8:30am  

We meet monthly on the first Thursday at 7:30am - 8:30am in our down stairs conference room. Feel free to contact Lorraine if you have any questions. We'd love to have you.  

All Business Advocacy Council Meetings are open to all members (appointed or not!). If you "get" the connection between monitoring regulations, ensuring business has input at the table on issues such as transportation, taxation and more...you should come and participate. All ideas and opinions are welcome.  

Full Calendar of Events - What's happening this week? - Chamber Calendar Click

Member Events Calendar Click

Weekly BUSINESS BUILDING Features:

Tuesdays -

direct*CONNECT (7:30am - 8:30am, Chamber Suite 140)

direct*CONNECT (12:00 - 1:00pm, Chamber, Suite 140)

Thursdays -

Sales Tune Ups (7:30 - 8:30am, Chamber, Suite 140)

direct*CONNECT (12:00 - 1:00pm, Chamber lobby conference room)  

  

ACH Payments

Sign up to have your renewal automatically withdrawn from your account. Membership starts at only $27.08 per month! Contact Michelle or Kelly for more information.

Interest Groups

Chamber members that play together do business together. Do you have an interest that you would love to invite other Chamber members to (scrapbooking, golfing, hiking, chess, etc.)? Talk to me about spreading the word so other members can join in the fun.

2nd Annual Western Themed Auction and Dinner

Saturday, April 5, 2014 from 5:30PM to 10:30PM at the NIKE Tiger Woods Event Center

Dust off your cowboy boots and hats for this western themed event. Proceeds from the auction help fund PAL programs for kids. Sign up online at PAL Tickets. Look for Michelle at the event.