Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce

12/05/2023

Congratulations to Love INC for winning 1st place in the motorized category in the 73rd Annual Santa Parade!

12/05/2023

12/05/2023

After early morning rainfall, the skies cleared up just in time on Saturday morning for approximately 2,500 attendees to line North Market Boulevard in downtown Chehalis for the Centralia-Chehalis …

12/04/2023

Congratulations!

12/04/2023

Coming up this Saturday!

December Newsletter🎄 - https://mailchi.mp/3fa1db2081bc/septembernewsletter-13698836

12/03/2023

We had a wonderful turnout at our 73rd Annual Santa Parade! Here are a few of the highlights!

12/01/2023

Ribbon Cutting coming up next week!

11/30/2023

11/30/2023

Please give a warm welcome to one of our newest members, Affordable Lawn Care, LLC!

11/30/2023

Here is the Santa Parade Route!

11/28/2023

Join us on the 21st as we celebrate our Business After Hours at The Station LC Coffee Co. See you there!

11/28/2023

Exciting news from Port of Chehalis!

We have some exciting news! The Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative is moving from the Port of Olympia to the Chehalis Industrial & Business Park! This new location will serve both as a warehouse and distribution point for the Southwest Washington Food Hub program and will provide some space for the Southwest Washington Grain Project, too.

The Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative is an ongoing effort to provide produce distribution services to local farmers and growers in our area. Currently, there are about 40 agricultural members in the cooperative between Lewis, Grays, Thurston, Pierce counties. With a central distribution location for the cooperative, local farmers around the region are able to focus solely on growing and producing, while the co-op focuses on distribution to local institutions and others through their Multi-Farm Box program.

The Multi-Farm Box program provides farm-fresh produce boxes with items sourced from multiple farms as opposed to community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs from individual farms.

The Food Hub Program, which previously operated in a warehouse space in Tumwater distributes farm boxes for workplace wellness programs, sells produce and meat through the US Department of Agriculture, and is also able to sell farm fresh produce to school districts around the region, too.

Jake Fay of the Northwest Agriculture Business Center (NABC) tells us that the warehouse and distribution space was made possible by grant funding awarded by the US Department of Agriculture History, for which the NABC partnered to help gain the necessary support for the project.

With the NABC dedicated to supporting value-added opportunities in the agricultural sector for producers and processors, that means the NABC is able to help local and regional projects with grant writing, feasibility studies, and act as a liaison between government entities to help projects like the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative become established.

With the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative — and the new location here in Chehalis — the hope is that the cooperative should be self-sufficient and able to hire their own staff within the next 3-5 years. In the meantime, the NABC will act as the interim director for the ongoing project.

“As the cooperative is becoming more established, we’re able to move into something bigger,” says Jake Fay of the NABC, speaking of the new McBride Court location in Chehalis.

Fay tells us that the new space will have a walk-in cooler and space where produce will be boxed up before being distributed to pick-up points in the area.

Fay also explained that moving to the Chehalis Business & Industrial Park will allow the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative to attempt to expand its Food Hub program into more of southwest Washington, specifically the Longview and Kelso areas.

“The Port of Chehalis is a wonderful location for so many things,” said Fay of the new space.

As far as the Southwest Washington Grain Project goes, about ten of the 40 total grower cooperative producers grow barley and wheat. With the decline in agriculture seen in Lewis County over the past 30 years, the NABC is continuing to support the conversion of available agricultural land over to wheat and barley. This year, the NABC will pay out more than $1,000,000 in producer payments to their grain-producing members. The additional space at the new warehouse location will provide additional storage for the growing Southwest Washington Grain Project.

While the Southwest Washington Food Hub program primarily focuses on bulk distribution, residents and consumers can sign up for the Multi-Farm Box program, which provides a CSA-style box of produce from multiple members of the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative, by visiting the program website here: https://swwafoodhub.com/multi-farm-box/

Pickup points include the Doty Store, Nature Nurture Farmacy and Shona’s Food Company in downtown Chehalis, among other locations in Thurston County. Consumers choose a local pickup point when they sign up for the 10-week program for $350 or $35 / week.

Learn more about the Southwest Washington Growers Cooperative here: https://swwafoodhub.com/sw-wa-growers-co-op/

Jake Fay of the NABC said that he would like to thank the Port of Chehalis, the Washington Farm Bureau, Washington State University, and the Economic Alliance of Lewis County for their continued partnership in these and other projects around the Lewis County area.

11/28/2023

Join us on the 12th to celebrate Minuteman Press!

11/27/2023

Thank you to our Parade Sponsors! Great NorthWest Federal Credit Union is the official sponsor.

11/27/2023

It’s an “Aloha Christmas” this year for the 73rd Annual Christmas Parade in Chehalis! The Grand Marshall is Terry Harris whose family’s “Fantastic Aloha Family & Friends” float will kick things off on Saturday, December 2, at 11 am in downtown Chehalis.

11/25/2023

In an interview earlier this month, Daryl Lund, Robin Ronnell and Shakara Ryan each spoke of the new Minuteman Press store at the Lewis County Mall the way a wide-eyed, experimental scientist would describe a brand new laboratory.

11/25/2023

Join us on the 8th to celebrate the ribbon cutting for Good Buzz Brewing!! There will be a Jenga Tournament after the ribbon cutting with merchandise as well as in-store gift cards given out to winners!

This is a family-friendly event. Even though alcohol will be present, there will be a section for families to participate, so bring your friends! We look forward to seeing you there! 🐝

11/24/2023

We hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving! We had 18 bikes, and 4 trikes to give out to the community the night before thanksgiving! Here are some highlights of the wonderful event!

Huge shout out to Lucky Eagle Casino, as well as Walmart for providing the bikes! 🚲

11/23/2023

Wishing you a Thanksgiving filled with warmth, joy, and the company of loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving from the Centralia-Chehalis Chamber of Commerce. 🍂🦃

11/23/2023

We got people lining up! Black Friday bags tonight at 5pm bikes! Backpacks! Turkeys! Limited amount! Cars lined up around the mall! See you soon!

11/22/2023

Black Friday Bag Giveaway is tonight! This is a drive-up event starting at 5pm and going until all bags are gone! 🤩
Location:📍 Lewis County Mall - 151 NE Hampe Way, Chehalis, WA 98532

Goodies from:
Backpacks and Bikes Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel
Bags Chris Forespring - State Farm Agency
Bikes Walmart Chehalis
Turkeys UNFI
20%-25% Savings Coupon from Jockey
Book brochure Book N Brush
15% Discount Blue Skies Drones
Promotional brochure Community Mediation Center
10% off Coupon Pendleton Woolen Mills
Gift Guide 's Brewing - NW Sausage & Deli
Nutcracker Ballet Announcement Southwest Washington Dance Center
Store Brochure Centralia Outlets
Pencils, lanyards, and tricycles The Chronicle
Promotional cards and Lindt chocolate @ Practical Home Services
Coupon Book Experience Chehalis
Promotional items Health and Hope Medical Outreach
Coupon Book Centralia Downtown Association
Notepad Minuteman Press Chehalis
Promotional item/sticker St. Timothy Episcopal Church, Chehalis, WA
$20 off coupon Columbia Sportswear
Promotional item/keychain Lewis County Tennis Association
Floss/toothbrush Ash & Roberts DDS
Water Bottles Althauser Rayan Abbarno, LLP
Frisbee The Power Shop
Stickers/Sunglasses - Robert Cox at Centralia College

11/21/2023

Black Friday bag giveaway this Wednesday at Lewis County Mall starting at 5pm and going until all bags are handed out!

We have bags with lots of goodies, look for a post tomorrow!

Backpacks and Bikes from Lucky Eagle Casino & Hotel
Bags from Chris Forespring - State Farm Agency
Bikes from Walmart Chehalis
Turkeys from Unfi

To name a few of the what is in the goodies bag!

11/18/2023

Access to books is accessing the world. Every year we put up a tree with paper ornaments with dollar amounts on them. These special ornaments represent dollar donations for our many school libraries. Select a school and a dollar amount you would like to support. That money will be put on their account for their future book purchases. This is a easy and meaningful way to help youngsters in our community.

11/17/2023

Come celebrate the reopening of The Station by LC Coffee! You can find them at 120 S Tower Ave!

11/17/2023

Community Partner Spotlight:

You could always use another pair of shoes! Win the gift certificate donated by Brunswig’s Shoes at our Nutcracker Raffle and you can chose from a variety of styles while supporting a local business!

Stop in and see Eric at 525 N Market Blvd in downtown Chehalis.

11/16/2023

We had such a wonderful time celebrating La Quinta’s ribbon cutting! Thank you all for such a great turn out!

11/15/2023

This Friday!

11/14/2023

We've had a lot of celebrations and wanted to share some photos of the Greene Health Services Ribbon Cutting that took place October 24. Owner and practitioner Luke Greene -- shown cutting the ribbon -- is a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) who specializes in Veteran services, trauma-informed care, congenital behavior, and motivational therapy. His office is located at 409 S. Market -- across the street from Chehalis Pharmacy. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Chamber and the community!

11/14/2023

We had a wonderful time celebrating Bigfoot Treasure’s ribbon cutting!

You can find their location at 548 N Market Blvd, Chehalis. Come on by!

11/14/2023

The Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting at Bigfoot Treasure. Located at 548 N Market Blvd in downtown Chehalis!

11/14/2023

We are cancelling Turkey Bowl this Thursday for business after hours. Thank you for understanding!

Next business after hours: Ugly sweater contest, The Station, Thursday, December 21, 5 - 7 pm, we look forward to seeing everyone there!

11/14/2023

Another great ribbon cutting coming soon!

11/13/2023

Don't forget to mark your calendars for the 2024 Centralia-Chehalis Chamber Banquet, on Friday, January 19th! ❄️

11/13/2023