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Chamber considers 2010 Olympics

“It’s a loud, unified local voice that can make things happen,” Gordon Rogers of the Whatcom Council of Governments told members of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce at their annual general meeting. Rogers talked about opportunities springing from the 2010 Winter Olympics, he talked about ferries and he talked about transportation alternatives, but the bottom line was always the same ­ don’t expect to just have it handed to you.

At the November 12 meeting, Rogers was the keynote speaker on an agenda that highlighted renewed efforts to market the Point through a more active chamber of commerce. “This past year has been a bit different ­ we sort of cut back on a lot of programs,” said acting president Louise Mugar, who took over following the resignation of Art Wilkowski in September. Chamber lunches will be resuming, she said, the chamber has a new website and the board is working on ways to draw attention to Point Roberts businesses. “This is a new year and one of the things we’ll be looking at is marketing the Point. People are coming and we need to get our act together.”

Rogers said if the Point, and the rest of the state, wanted to cash in on the 2010 Olympics it would take vigorous marketing and focused planning efforts. “They did a wonderful job but they did it all north of the border,” he said of the Vancouver 2010 bid committee and planning for everything from training facilities to transportation. “The maps stopped at the border and so did the discussion. That’s important for people to know in this region. It’s not just going to come along with the tide. If you want a piece of the Olympic action you’re going to have to pursue it. Really hard.”

Mugar asked if a North Puget Sound ferry feasibility study now being drafted by the Council of Governments through a federal grant would include Point Roberts, Rogers appeared doubtful but didn’t rule the idea out.

Special recognition awards presented during the meeting were given to Darrell and Lucille Neyens of Point Roberts Auto Freight for the longest recorded continued chamber membership (estimated at 30 years); to Davea Fisher for her contribution to the community with events for Friends of the Library, Dollars for Scholars and the Point Roberts Historical Society; to Brian Canfield of the Point Roberts Pioneer Project for their success in bringing the Aydon Wellness Clinic from dream to reality; and to Ginger Porter and Pam Oakley for their efforts in putting together the 4th of July parade and activities.

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