The seas looked rocky as the Fremont Chamber launched into 2005, from a purely administrative point of view at least. However, a glance back shows that, as always, a little rough water can't stop us!

The Chamber gave financial and organizational support to several, many brand-new, events in 2005. They included the Head of the Lake Rowing Regatta, Moisture Festival, Outdoor Cinema, and Music in the Sculpture Garden. Trick-or-Treat involved over 100 area businesses that benefited from the Chamber's beneficence. Our own Oktoberfest fundraiser saw record attendance partly to a much anticipated urban carnival as well as an inventive Dog Day Afternoon that welcomed our four-legged friends.

Chamber volunteers staged a 2nd annual Lenin Lighting to kick off our holiday season. The grassroots of this event lie so shallow they barely touch ground, and yet we've ensnared a dedicated and enthusiastic following. We spent a year dissecting the 1st Lenin Lighting at monthly Board meeting debates on billing and costs overruns, and still volunteers found the tenacity and dedication to put on a second holiday event that outshone even the red glow of Lenin's lights.

Tireless volunteers struggled to get the Walking Guide printed at the start of the year. The Board bet on our ability to distribute 35,000 issues of the 2005 edition and thanks to focused volunteer efforts we ended up with a deficit of guides. When it came time to publish the 2006 edition the task felt just as huge. Volunteers accomplished the job on-time and on-budget and the Board felt no reservations about printing 50,000 copies this time around. Distribution has improved dramatically since refurbishment and redistribution of 8 Hysterical Markers. We also loaned 4 Markers to the Seattle Department of Transportation for dissemination of information about the Fremont Bridge Approach Project.

Each month of the year the Chamber hosted a general membership meeting. Less confusing than our hectic monthly Board meetings, these often feature an invited speaker. Grace Crunican, Seattle Department of Transportation Director came once as did Norm Proctor, Small Business Administration Regional Administrator. We heard all the candidates for City Council at our annual Picnic in the Park (for which we had welcomed sun) and we forwent speechifying and seriousness to Ride The Ducks (at which we had sun, and water fights). We provided interesting topics like a private tour of Fremont Studios, the Bridge approach and circulation, 'Making Events Work for Small Business', the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club, the Monorail plan, taxes and parking. Members asked for more opportunities to discuss security issues, and the Chamber provided. The single after hours event at Brouwer's Café caused a clamor for more. Our Christmas Party featured our annual awards presentation, an accordion player, Santa (who enjoyed our Lenin Lighting so much he came back) and tours of Theo Chocolate's factory.

When it came to the business of running the Chamber, we had a setback with the change of office administrator mid-year. Under examination, we discovered our computer held not one but 12 separate copies of our database which explained previous problems locating member information. In 2005 we added 22 brand-new members and 136 renewed members.

We survived the year intact thanks to office administrators who came from our ranks of Board Members, and who probably should have known better, but still saw to the phone, e-mail and postal dispatches, sent letters and tended the mundane daily tasks necessary in a dynamic and wide-ranging organization. We've organized an Oversight Committee, designed to assist our contract administrative volunteers. Our office moved (including all our stuff) to a shared space at 908 North 34th Street with the City of Seattle Neighborhood Service Center. Then half the shared space went unexpectedly dark as we said goodbye to Service Center coordinator Antoinette Meier and late in the year welcomed Yun Pitre. Mid-year we submitted a grant application for funding an Executive Director. We didn't get the funds which leaves important decisions open as to what we want for office management, and how to fund it.

The Chamber continued to contract a public relations firm to generate and monitor exposure of Fremont in the media. We also kept a high profile on the World Wide Web by maintaining our relationship with a dedicated Web Master. In addition, said Web Master sent out Fremont Chamber Notes, timely notices and important information distributed by e-mail, to interested subscribers.

The Chamber continued its primary work to present member businesses, and other interested citizens, with opportunities. When Starbucks sent a squadron of volunteers to clean and plant Ship Canal Park, 27 businesses responded with Thank You gifts. Businesses donated gifts to musicians who gave their time to make Music in the Sculpture Garden a success. We also promoted a forum on Neighborhood Business District Revitalization, the Fremont Library re-opening, renovations to the Wallingford Boys & Girls Club, the B.F. Day Elementary School fundraising auction, naming of Fremont Peak Park and the Fremont First Friday Art Walk through our monthly newsletter and our website.

Throughout the year we do Chamber business that can take time to reap rewards, like this past year's renaming of the roadway under the Aurora Bridge to Troll Avenue. We supported fundraising for the Empty Space Theatre at year's start only to say good-bye at year's end when they gained the opportunity to relocate to Seattle University. This past year we wrote letters supporting inquiry into creation of a joint Fremont/Wallingford Community Center. We explored, through discussion and letters of support, the creation of dumpster free alleys only to have the project combust.

Members attended exhausting meetings on the design of a Residential Parking Zone (RPZ). The design went to petition process, and we've heard not a confirmable syllable since. The Chamber fought a City plan for street parking pay stations. In the end we agreed to restrictions on street parking in the business district, while the City agreed to postpone pay stations discussions until after Bridge construction.

This isn't intended to say that the Chamber completed only what appears here and no more. Or that this exhaustive body of work came easy to volunteers who have businesses and lives of their own. However, from the shores of 2006, these items drew my eye and/or stuck in my (frankly) distorted memory. I find consideration of all we've accomplished makes it easier scan the horizon of the year ahead and not bail out before the ship leaves the shore.

Finally, we do make efforts to acknowledge amazing feats of generosity among our volunteers. We do this through the FREMONT CHAMBER AWARDS and in 2005 we presented -

Baron Von Fremeister - Bill Blau
The Great Communicator - Art Brochet
Music in the Sculpture Garden Guru - John Nordstrand
Good Friend of Fremont - Paul Nordstrand
Classy Act - Retrofit of a Dog Food Factory - Scott Jonas
We Love Chocolate! - Joe Whinney
The Fast Suzie Award - Ed Devine
Dog Day Award - Phil Megenhardt and Bold Hat Productions
Secretary Extraordinaire - Marcia Hower
Moisture Festival Benefactor - Mike Hale
Banker of the Year - Ellen Sas
Genius of the Computer - Michael Rains
Fremont Neighbor of the Year - Dic Selin
Honorary Executive Director - Ed Murray

The 2005 Jim Daly "Press On Regardless" Award went to
PIP Printing, for 23 years of persistent printing of our newsletter

The 2005 Big Bertha Award
for the person who takes charge and takes action went to
Liz Nordstrand

Awards well earned and gratefully given by a business community who won thanks to the generous service of many sparkling volunteers.
THANK YOU ALL!

   February 2006