By Barbara de Michele and Jean Cerar
The Issaquah Chamber of Commerce is such a vital part of life in our town that it may come as a surprise to learn that the very existence of the Chamber was once in doubt. The year was 1984, and the Chamber had come to a crossroads, having virtually no money in the bank and with one shoebox holding the entire membership data base.
Recently, Suzanne Suther and Georgia Megow reminisced about the “blind faith” that turned the Issaquah Chamber into a local and regional player. Suther served as chamber executive director from 1984 to her retirement in 2008. Megow served as the chamber’s administrative assistant from 1985 to 1992.
In 1984, business and tourist functions were scattered all over town. The chamber office, such as it was, occupied a back room at Bob Catterall’s real estate office on Gilman Boulevard near the current Pogacha’s. The visitor’s center was located in a small Front Street storefront, and the Salmon Days office was located above the old bicycle shop at the corner of Front and Alder.
“At the time,” noted Megow, “downtown merchants saw Salmon Days as more of a nuisance than an asset, and tourism wasn’t viewed favorably. We had one volunteer at the visitor center who would actually tell people not to visit Issaquah!”
A number of factors spurred the business community into revitalizing the chamber. Regional experts were projecting unprecedented growth. Tourism was gaining advocates. And, when Dorothy Knitter, the volunteer director for Salmon Days, proposed moving Salmon Days to Gilman Boulevard based on complaints from downtown merchants, she forced a fierce communitywide dialogue about the future of business in Issaquah.
“Someone called a meeting and people jammed into the Salmon Days office to talk about the proposed move, and about the direction we were all going,” said Suther.
A few weeks later, Knitter, a neighbor of Suther’s, mentioned that the chamber was looking for its first paid executive director.
“I thought I might as well throw my hat in the ring,” said Suther.
With a background in merchandising, tourism, and business development, previous service as a chamber board member, and strong local ties, Suther was the perfect choice to lead the faltering organization.
“Blind faith is a marvelous thing,” said Suther about being offered the position.
Added Megow, “We had a strong sense of optimism because we didn’t know any different.”
The official chamber office was a modular housing unit outfitted with a desk, a chair, a lamp and a manual typewriter. “Okay Suzie, make a chamber,” chamber president Jack Porter told Suther on the first day.
Megow, who was hired shortly after Suther, recalls her introduction to chamber record-keeping.
“Ernie Newman handed me a shoebox with the names of everyone who had ever been a member.” And, said Suther, “When you looked through the box, you could see that people hadn’t paid their chamber dues for years. Businesses knew the chamber was in trouble, and didn’t want to join because they didn’t know what would happen to their money.”
Despite the obstacles, the chamber began making progress. The board developed a vision statement and a business plan. Suther and Megow mailed statements asking for past dues. New board members came into the fold. From fewer than 40 members, the Chamber grew to 100, then 200 members.
In 1985, local residents were debating the fate of the Pickering Field skyport (north of the freeway on the current location of the Pickering Place), and heading for a fall vote to determine the future of this Issaquah landmark.
“The debate was as strong as the SE Bypass debate became in the ’90s,” said Suther.
Even though the chamber had never before held summer meetings, Suther scheduled one, and put together a panel of community leaders with differing opinions about the skyport. The forum lunch drew 127 attendees, the largest in its history at that time.
“It was a block-buster experience,” said Suther. “And it underlined the whole concept of building bridges of understanding within the community. There was no shortage of opinions. People talked about it for days. It established the chamber as a player.”
In short order, the chamber became the community leader on another controversial matter: the proposed location of a King County incinerator on the hills overlooking downtown Issaquah where The Highlands stand today. The “Kick Ash” campaign energized the entire community and eventually stopped King County’s proposal. With each new success, chamber membership grew.
While Suther was executive director, the Alexander House, an historic homestead now located on Gilman Boulevard, became the chamber office, and chamber operations were combined with Salmon Days and the Visitors Center. But that, as they say, is a story for another day.
According to Matt Bott, the current chamber executive director, the Issaquah Chamber of Commerce currently has 458 members, whose names are definitely not kept in a shoebox.
