Happy May Day! It had been a while since I thought about the true significance of May Day so I turned to the all-knowing Google and Wikipedia for a refresher and to my amazement.........."May Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday". Step two: Verify my ancient school knowledge/memory and Google "Is the USA in the northern hemisphere?" Sure enough of course it is! When did we forget this wonderful ancient public holiday? :) Thank goodness for the blessing of sunshine and warmth.......I guess I will take that and call it good.

What an amazing first for Beaverton and our YEA! program on April 16th - our Investor Panel. Please take a few minutes to read the YEA! section and find out the results. Our investors gave out over $6,000 and amazing offers of mentorship to 9 outstanding emerging youth leaders and entrepreneurs. Just click on YEA! in the "In this issue" box just on the left hand side of your screen to go directly to that section of our eNews.

   JOIN THE TEAM!
A Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce Initiative

Our Business Walk date is set! May 15th from 8:30am - 1:00pm. We will meet at 8:30am and hit the streets at 9. Come back together at 12 and we'll make sure you have a lovely lunch to refuel for your afternoon. We need more volunteers. 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. I am excited to share that we have over 50 volunteers signed up but need more! 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!

Leadership Beaverton  2014 is ready to graduate on May 14. It's been a fantastic year and we'd love to invite to share in the fun at Koeber's Carpets from 5pm - 7pm. Wine and amazing goodies from Ava's and great company of course. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about our Leadership program - come and see if it is something for you! Read more at our website. 

 $20 - please RSVP online or call 503.644.0123.

Please read and participate in their Class Project too - An animal sanctuary at Monika's House for the Domestic Violence Resource Center.  

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: June 5th, 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:

TIDBIT: direct*CONNECT has passed a major mile stone! More than $1,000,000 documented in exchanged business in just under 12 months! 

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)  

Business Before Hours -May 14th, 7:45am - 9:00am Beaverton Family Chiropractic, Dr. Dan Miller
Must RSVP to Jean Sneed EMAIL or call 503.644.0123. SPACE IS LIMITED

Special Event -

Leadership Beaverton  2014 is ready to graduate on May 14. It's been a fantastic year and we'd love to invite to share in the fun at Koeber's Carpets from 5pm - 7pm. Wine and amazing goodies from Ava's and great company of course. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about our Leadership program - come and see if it is something for you! Read more at our website. 

$20 - please RSVP online or call 503.644.0123.

IMPACT*Beaverton's Business Walk - May 15th, 2014 from 8:30am - 1pm. Email Lorraine if you are interested in volunteering. Box lunch and oodles of appreciation included!

  

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.

CHAMBER EVENTS

Back by popular demand are our many wonderful events!

2nd Annual Business Community Expo - Saturday, July 19, 2014

Expose your business to thousands of customers by participating in this event. Held at City Park during the Beaverton Farmers Market, this trade show will be a great way to showcase your product and/or service. Visit our website for more information and how to sign up and be a sponsor. 

Rooftop Hullabaloo Returns!! - Saturday, August 2, 2014

You made this event a major success in 2013 that we had to bring it back for another year. Join us at the top of the parking structure at The Round for a celebration of Beaverton Businesses. Is your company celebrating a milestone anniversary? Let us showcase you at the event. Want to be a part of the event? Sponsorship starts at $150. Email Michelle for more information.

Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Scramble - Friday, October 3, 2014

This long running event is so much fun we have to keep it going! We have upped our game this year with some great give-aways. Join us by being a sponsor, donating a raffle prize (golf related please) and by playing in the scramble. We already have a handful of teams signed up so space is going fast. You can even register online! View our golf page for all the information you need. You can always contact Michelle as well.

Beaverton Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Auction - November, 2014

2014 is the year of change and we are providing you the opportunity to do all your Christmas shopping from your desk or the comfort of your home. Our online auction is so popular that our 2014 Holiday Auction will be 100% online. Find out how you can get involved by contacting Evelyn.  

The Chamber provides many sponsorship opportunities for you to get exposure for your brand. You can view our full sponsorship brochure at Beaverton Chamber 2014 Sponsorship Brochure