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SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ SATURDAY, AUGUST 12, 2017
BUSINESS BEAT
541-997-3128
290 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439
www.FlorenceChamber.com
www.facebook.com/fl orenceoregon
www.twitter.com/FlorenceOrCoast
August 12, 2017
Welcome to the Chamber!
NEW PREMIER PARTNER
Regency Florence
1951 21st St. 541-997-8436
Short Stay Rehabilitation and Long
Term Care Facility
www.regency-pacifi c.com/
NEW BUSINESS MEMBERS
All in 1 Tech solutions
Florence Area 541-590-2170
Computer Repair, Tech Support, Web,
Logo, & Graphic Design
www.allin1tech.com
Daniel Harkens Enterprises
159 Florentine Ave. 541-991-0064
Website, Tech Support, DJ Services
Lane Community College – Small Business
Development Center
101 W. 10th Ave. #304, Eugene
541-463-6200
Small Business Support, Management
Programs, Workshops and Classes
www.LaneSBDC.com
Novelli’s Crab Shack
1498 Bay St. (on the dock) 541-639-7689
“From our boat to your table.” Live &
cooked crab, crab chowder & seafood.
2016-2017
Corporate
Underwriters
Driftwood Shores Resort
The Korando Dental Group
Three Rivers Casino Resort
TR Hunter Real Estate
Distinguished
Sponsors
101 Things to Do Magazine
Banner Bank
Bi-Mart
all year for two weeks of harvest. We either
made it or we didn’t, talk about pressure. Our
summertime here in Florence is very similar.
Many of our businesses bring in the lion’s share
of their revenue for the whole year in these
summer months. Th en, they spend it for the
next 9 months all over town.
Th e Chamber Visitors Center had over
2,000 people through the doors visiting in July
and the new website is up and performing with
thousands of hits a month. (If you haven’t,
check it out at FlorenceChamber.com. I think
you’re going to love it!) Th e Visitors Center art
exhibits are expanding the visitor experience,
we have amazing sand dunes AND we have
wonderful art galleries. Guests are seeing
Florence in a whole new light – and it’s good
for business!
Did you know the Chamber is in the
solution business? We help our visitors fi nd
what they’re looking for and we help our
members generate new business. People come
in and click on because they are looking for
something; a restaurant, hotel, activity, realtor,
and everything in between. Th e Chamber
refers them to its members. One referral
could pay for a business’ yearly membership
investment (now available for $20 a month).
If your business isn’t a member, what are you
missing out on? New customers, business
resources, and connections; not to mention
supporting the Florence community.
Th e Chamber recently polled its members,
the results have been very helpful in our WHY.
Why do we do what we do? We do it to make
our community stronger. More resources mean
more opportunities to help people, to hire new
employees, to expand businesses. Sustainable
economic health is good for our community.
Just think, if it weren’t for the $127.6
MILLION DOLLARS that tourism generates
in our small community, we wouldn’t have near
the services, restaurants, and shopping we do.
So let’s add a little sugar to the lemon and enjoy
our visitors, appreciate their patronage, and
welcome them back soon. Th e Florence Area
Chamber of Commerce cares and it shows.
our preferences and decide what is most rel-
evant to us, then deliver it in a fashion that we
can utilize it. Facebook, Google and hundreds
of other soft ware companies have found suc-
cess with their business model because of their
By Bobby Jensen Jr.
Chamber Board Member ability to do it so well. Th e awesomeness is in
the connection. Th ere are over 1.1 zettabytes of
Th e internet is the information being transferred over the inter-
source of more infor- net every year and I know because Google just
mation than any library told me so when I did a search. Th is ability to
ever created. We as obtain information is changing the world and
humans are recording how we do business. With this change comes
more content and in- opportunity; as well as pitfalls. Many tradi-
formation, than we re- tional business models are now failing. A cab
corded entirely and col- company just fi ve years ago was a great business
lectively everywhere prior to 2006, in one day! model with plenty of opportunity for growth.
Th ere is so much out there to search through Any one of us could have been living comfort-
that we need programs just to help us navigate ably running a taxi business. But then one day
through it all. Th at’s where search engines and Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp (founders
social media sites come into play. Th ey take of Uber) decided to take not new but exist-
ing technologies and simply change how we
interacted with it. Th ey created an application
that could turn anyone with a car and internet
connected device into a Taxi. Your taxi busi-
ness is now earning half of what it used to fi ve
years ago and it’s declining more rapidly daily.
Look at what online movie streaming did to the
video rental stores. Are you going to be Netfl ix
or Blockbuster? What we need to do is stop for
a moment and take a look at how and what we
are doing in our organizations. Is there a way
we can use the new technologies to make what
we’re currently doing much easier, better, faster
or less expensive? Be the early adopter who ac-
cepts change and then like a puzzle piece, search
for where it fi ts in your current operations. Th e
opportunity or detriment of change is based on
your attitude when it arrives. Do you welcome
it and look for positive applications or do you
fi ght it until you can’t any longer.
From the Director’s Desk
By Bettina Hannigan
Chamber Executive Director
“Make hay while
the sun shines!”
Sometimes these old
adages really make
sense, as in dollars and
cents. Summertime
in Florence is haying
season and the fi elds
are full. I know
for many locals it’s
diffi cult due to traffi c
and busy stores, I
understand. Growing
up on my wheat farm working harvest was a
dirty business. Way, way back when I was a
kid, our combines and trucks didn’t have air
conditioning, temperatures were oft en well
over 100 degrees and all that blowing chaff
sticking to sweat soaked skin was pretty darned
uncomfortable to say the least. We worked
CHANGE - It’s good or
bad, you decide.
Th e Oregon State Chamber of Commerce
reports “In OSCC’s view, the commitment to
bipartisanship, particularly in the Senate, was
the defi ning theme of 2017. From the begin-
ning, Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Sa-
lem) committed the Senate to bipartisanship in
2017 that had the eff ect of derailing many par-
tisan issues that could have harmed sensitive
negotiations around balancing the budget and
passing a transportation funding plan.
Here’s what happened:
Business avoids a major tax increase
Very early in session, Senate Revenue
Chair Mark Hass (D-Beaverton) signaled his
desire to pass a major tax reform bill that would
replace Oregon’s corporate income tax with a
gross receipts tax. It would have created a gross
receipts tax on all businesses with $3 million or
more in Oregon sales and would have raised a
little less than $1 billion in additional revenue
for the upcoming 2017-19 budget. Chair Hass
abandoned his eff ort to pass HB 2830 in late
June when it became clear that there were no
Republican legislators willing to vote for the
bill. Th e House Leadership quickly responded
by passing a bill to increase taxes by $196 mil-
lion on small business. HB 2060 eliminated
the ‘small business tax cut’ passed by the 2013
legislature and passed by a bare majority in the
House. But the Senate did not follow suit. By
this time, the Senate had decided to balance the
budget without additional revenue.
Transportation funding package passes
against all odds
Prior to the 2017 legislative session, the
Legislative Assembly created the Joint Com-
mittee on Transportation Preservation and
Modernization (JTPM) to develop a transpor-
tation policy and funding package for intro-
duction during the 2017 session. Th eir work
product was embodied in HB 2017 which
threaded the needle – a 7-year, $5.3 billion
transportation funding plan which addressed
major maintenance and seismic needs, multi-
modal investment, traffi c congestion relief and
public transportation funding. Th e bill passed
both chambers in the last days of session with
bipartisan majorities.
Going forward … what we are watching for
• Will the balanced budget hold? Any signifi -
cant reversal of economic fortunes or fl uctu-
ation in revenues could wreak havoc on the
2017-19 bud-
get. Remem-
ber, the 2017-
19 budget was
balanced
on
the strength of
record high revenues.
• Th e 2017-19 budget may still yet be in trou-
ble. At least one lawmaker is preparing a
referendum on the hospital taxes and health
insurance premium taxes in HB 2391. A
statewide special election would be called in
January 2018 if enough signatures are gath-
ered to force an election.
• What will the public employee unions do on
taxes? Th ey are already collecting signatures
for a “Son of 97” gross receipts tax ballot
measure. But will they double down on a los-
ing 2016 eff ort and a failed attempt to raise
taxes in 2017?
• Will the bipartisan cooperation in the Oregon
Senate continue to hold? While the biparti-
san tone produced some meaningful out-
comes for the 2017 legislature, it also risks
causing some severe backlash among tradi-
tional democratic constituencies that want
more action on progressive policies.”
Th e Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
supports legislative advocacy on behalf of its
members. One of many chamber benefi ts. Find
out more at www.FlorenceChamber.com.
Your ticket to fun
Oregon Pacific Bank
PeaceHealth
Peace Harbor Medical Center
Sea Lion Caves
Shippin’ Shack
Siuslaw Signs & Graphics
Spruce Point Assisted Living
The Siuslaw News
Be sure to thank these
members for their
investment in our
community!
Chamber Aft er Hours with Western Lane Community Foundation.
Stop into our offi ce on Th ursday, September 7 for refreshments, and
visit with our Board members and Staff . Learn about the Foundation
mission and impact in western Lane County. Feel free to discuss
with any board member the wonderful contributions our donors
have made, allowing us to support local non-profi ts, schools and
students with grants and scholarships. Hear exciting news about the
growth of our managed funds to over $6 Million! Catering by 1285
Restobar. Event from 4-6pm. 491 Laurel Street West in Country
Corners.
YOUR LOCAL CHAMBER WANTS YOU. NOW.
Volunteers Needed
Call 541-997-3128
Visitors Center
Meet people from all over the world
by volunteering here.
Hot Rods • Show & Shine • Vendor Fair • Raffle Prizes
Be part of the excitement
Volunteer, Participate, Sponsor
Call Rosa @ 541-997-3128
Florence Area Chamber of Commerce
Fri • Sat • Sun
Lofy Construction
September
8, 9, 10
Fred Meyer Stores
Join Florence Regional
Arts Alliance (FRAA)
for food, drinks and
art as we host the
Florence
community
and FRAA members for
Chamber Business Aft er
Hours. Danny Weaver
will provide music and
our very own John
Leasure, Board member
extraordinaire, will paint during the event and raffl e off one of his
paintings. August 17 th from 5:30-7pm at 120 Maple Street in Old
Town.
October
6, 7, 8
Burns’s Riverside Chapel
Fri • Sat • Sun
Beachcomber Pub
Wine • Glass float Giveaway • Chowder
Fun
&
Rewarding
Rods N’ Rhodies
Car Show, Poker Walk, Raffle Sales,
Merchant Awards. Lots to do!
