At its previous meeting, the Greater Bothell Chamber of Commerce heard Bothell City Manager Bob Stowe present his annual State of the City speech.
On Jan. 22, Bothell chamber members gathered once more, this time to hear the state of, well, themselves.
The theme of the group’s latest general meeting was, in fact, the state of the chamber.
Incorporated in 2004, the group now has some 275 member businesses, according to chamber Operations Manager Brittany Beck.
Beck stated that increasing its visibility, updating the group’s Web site and generating a regular newsletter were among the chamber’s goals for 2008.
According to Beck, a new version of the chamber Web site was set to go live the same day she made her comments. She later said the Web site received just over 53,000 hits per month on average between December 2007 and April 2008.
Beck added the numbers went up dramatically after the chamber published its 2008 Guide to Goods and Services, made available to all Bothell residents through delivery within the Bothell-Kenmore Reporter. Web visitors increased to approximately 73,800 per month, dropping somewhat to roughly 62,000 per month between June and September 2008.
Talking about the chamber’s newsletter, Beck said the missive is e-mailed to members every other week. She added experts apparently believe to be a success any electronic newsletter actually opened and viewed by at least 25 percent of those receiving it.
In the case of the Bothell chamber newsletter, some 42 percent of recipients actually open the content.
The chamber consists of eight committees and the chairs of several outlined their respective activities. Owner of Alexa’s on Main, Leigh Hendersen, acts as chair of the downtown action committee. Perhaps most notably, Hendersen said that a partnership between the chamber and the city could result in 40 new downtown parking spaces.
Hendersen also said her committee is working to create new events and activities aimed at drawing visitors to the downtown area.
Other committees produced efforts such as the “Buy Bothell” campaign, which provided local shoppers with packets of coupons for local businesses and small gifts such as chocolates, Beck said. The chamber regularly sponsors meetings, networking opportunities and special events, such as a fund-raiser at Bothell’s Country Village and an annual “Ladies Night Out.”
One other highlight of the meeting included the presentation by chamber Chairman Dale Amundsen of a $3,800 donation to Lee Harper, director of the Northshore Senior Center where the state of the chamber event was held.
