Business Directory | Join | Login | 509-525-0850 Join Us Your Membership Focus Areas News & Events About Us SBDC BLOG Chamber Events Thank You Thank you for attending the 2021 Walla Walla Business Summit, Presented by Pacific Power. We are committed to offering valuable benefits for our members and business community in the area of educational resources and professional development. Special thank you to all of our Summit Sponsors, Presenters, and Partners who contributed to another successful year. Recorded sessions are available below. Welcome & Opening Session Hosted by Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce & Pacific Power Join us as we kick-off the 2021 Business Summit! Join participants for a sneak peak of the week and line-up of break-out sessions. Get the chance to introduce your business and win giveaways/raffles. View Here Session 1 | Business Resiliency Presented by Keith Davis, WSBDC Having well-conceived business plan is critical to the success of a new business. It should be just as clear that a business resiliency plan will be critical to the sustainability and success of your business. Every business will face an unexpected disruption at some point and shared struggles with COVID-19. The planning you do now can mean the difference in how quickly—or whether—your business recovers. View Here Session 2 | Digital Marketing & Best Practices for Email Campaigns Presented by Erica Walter, Erica Walter Writes Join Erica Walter as she presents the best practices for email marketing. Learn how to increase customer value through digital marketing channels like email and social media. Discover the importance of creating a compelling brand message and how to build marketing automation programs that nurture customers along their ideal journey with your brand. View Here Session 3 | Making the Most of Your Chamber Membership Presented by the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce Whether you’ve been a long-time member or just joined, the Walla Walla Valley Chamber offers many benefits for your business. We offer comprehensive resources – ranging from multiple resources and opportunities to training programs – that can help take your business to the next level. Discover how the ‘member portal’ and ‘business directory’ can help your business visibility and improve connections. View Here Session 4 | Maximizing Value: Corporate Benefits as a Long-Term Tool for Success Presented by Petersen Hastings & PayneWest Insurance As our economy begins to shift back to pre-pandemic levels, employers are facing growing competitive pressure to provide benefits that not only retain current employees, but also attract new, high performing employees. PayneWest and Petersen Hastings provide their insights on how employee health and retirement plan benefits can be leveraged by business owners to both gain and remain competitive in this ever changing post-pandemic job market View Here Session 5 | Fraud Prevention & How to Safeguard your Business Presented by Nikki Geiszler & Susan Thompson, Banner Bank Fraud has become a constant, dangerous, and exceptionally costly problem for businesses and organizations. This session will explore current fraud trends, detection and prevention for your business. Learn how to create an anti-fraud strategy and outline methods to help your business stay protected. View Here Session 6 | MYTHS of Fitness, Creating a Balanced Lifestyle Presented by Theresa Peasley, Independent Wellness Consultant Can a healthy lifestyle improve your capabilities and stress at work? We live in a world of information with an overwhelming amount of content and accessibility. With health and fitness, it can be hard to decipher what information is accurate and current. In this presentation, we will focus on common Health and Fitness Myths, how they get formed, and what we can do to correct them. We will answer questions such as, " Is Running Good for my Knees?" "When and how should I stretch?" "Should I take a protein shake before I workout?" We will answer these questions and many more! View Here Keynote Session | Peak Performance Culture- The Little Things That Great Organizations Do Presented by Dave Mitchell, The Leadership Difference View Here 2020 Annual Community Awards The Annual Community Awards Banquet has been celebrating Walla Walla Valley’s citizens, organizations, and businesses for 138 years. Each year, we honor our Hometown Heroes who work tirelessly to ensure we have access to the best quality of life possible. Hometown Hero Awards include; Educator of the Year: Presented by Gesa Credit Union, Law Enforcement Officer of the Year: Presented by Community Bank, and Outstanding Firefighter of the Year. Walla Walla University, Whitman College and Walla Walla Community College also recognize their outstanding individuals within their communities. The full video series can be viewed below. Congratulations to our 2020 recipients! Hometown Hero Awards Educator of the Year-Presented by Gesa Credit Union Cathy Mebes, College Place High School View Full Video Here View list of final nominees here. Law Enforcement Officer of the Year-Presented by Community Bank Trooper Tanner Dennison, Washington State Patrol View Full Video Here Firefighter of the Year-Presented by WWV Chamber of Commerce Lieutenant Paramedic Chris Worden View Full Video Here Higher Education Awards for Community Service Whitman College 2020 Recipient Kynde Kiefel View Full Video Here Walla Walla University 2020 Recipient Doug Taylor View Full Video Here Walla Walla Community College 2020 Recipient Dr. Richard Middleton Kaplan View Full Video Here 2020 Business Awards Showcase, Presented by Baker Boyer The Walla Walla Valley Business Awards Showcase presented by Baker Boyer honors individuals and businesses for leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, sustainability, and contributions that make our community a great place to work and live. Awards include: Start-up Business of the Year, Business of the Year, Duane Wollmuth Catalyst Award, Agribusiness of the Year, Non-Profit Organization of the Year, Workforce Development, Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the Women in Business Woman of Influence Award. A committee of Chamber volunteers will evaluate the nominees based on the award criteria and select the winners. All information is confidential. SHOWCASE VIDEO SERIES This year, we will be releasing an eight-part video series featuring the nominees and winners for each award category. Videos will be released each week this month. Winner of Agribusiness of the Year: Presented by the WWV Chamber View Video Here! Winner of Business of the Year: Presented by Columbia REA View Video Here! Winner of the Duane Wollmuth Catalyst Award: Presented by PocketiNet View Video Here Winner of the Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award: Presented by Hayden Homes View Video Here Winner of the Start-up Business of the Year Award: Presented by the Washington Small Business Development Center View Video Here Winner of the Woman in Business-Woman of Influence Award: Presented by Academy Mortgage View Video Here Winner of the Workforce Development Award - Presented by the City of Walla Walla View Video Here Winner of the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award - Presented by the Port of Walla Walla View Video Here View Finalists Here 2020 Business Classic Golf Tournament Winners! Thank you to our players, sponsors, volunteers and business partners for your support and participation in our 2020 Business Classic Golf Tournament Presented by Columbia REA. View Tournament & Contest Winners Here Business After Hours Business After Hours events offer members and prospective members alike the chance to meet colleagues representing products and services in an engaging, unique atmosphere. Each BAH host or co-sponsor present to their guests an opportunity to converse with hundreds of business community members in a manner befitting what they themselves have to offer as a company, making each and every monthly event distinctive. Thoughtfully detailed venues, inspired fare, delicious drinks, non-profit donation opportunities, door prizes, and of course contacts galore await you! Women in Business Women in Business is a new initiative from the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce established for women in business who wish to build a strong network of women intent on inspiring one another to achieve individual potental; support each other in business endeavors; and create a legacy through mentorship. This quarterly lunch meeting series provides dynamic speakers along with a networking platform that inspires, educates, and empowers women to grow and succeed in business and leadership. We believe that we are stronger together, and that we can create significant change for ourselves, our workplace, and our community when we connect with other women‐in‐business, at all levels of our careers. Join us! Ribbon Cuttings Thank you for your interest in having the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce participate in your Ribbon Cutting. We want you to have a wonderful and successful experience so here are a few guidelines and suggestions we hope will help you plan for the event. Who can schedule a ribbon cutting? Any Chamber member in good standing may schedule a ribbon cutting. This ceremonial event is often used when a business has: Recently opened Moved to a new location Has been remodeled or has expanded its current location Is celebrating a milestone anniversary Is under new ownership/management Holiday and weekend ribbon cuttings have low attendance from the business community and chamber staff may not be available. We have found that the best time to schedule your ribbon cutting is Monday-Friday. Since Chamber ribbon cuttings are business to business events, we do not recommend you schedule your event on a weekend. Business members are best available at the end of the work day (4:00pm – 5:30pm). Additionally, the Chamber will not schedule the same day as other ribbon cuttings. The Chamber cannot guarantee the number of guests in attendance. Get In Touch! (509) 525-0850 29 East Sumach Street Walla Walla, Washington 99362 info@wwvchamber.com Monday-Friday 8:30a.m.-5:00p.m. (Pacific Time) Additional Resources FAQ Privacy policy Terms and conditions Stay Connected! Join our Email Newsletter © 2021 Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce. All Rights Reserved.