During the Monday, June 15, Battle Ground City Council meeting, two officials from the Greater Vancouver Chamber delivered a presentation highlighting the regional chamber of commerce’s role in the North Clark County community.
The Greater Vancouver Chamber includes more than 1,000 members, all businesses, including many from Battle Ground, such as Wolf Industries and Tapani Inc., community investors such as Maddox Industrial Transformer and Riverview Bank, Battle Ground Cinema and many others. The chamber assists local entrepreneurs, nonprofits, corporations and students with resources to better their chances of success.
“We have businesses here in Battle Ground and all around the region with our sole focus on supporting and advocating and educating the business community,” said Chief Operating Officer Janet Kenefsky.
Kenefsky told the council that Battle Ground is a place of opportunity.
“You have a robust business community,” she said. “Yes, we consider it a bedroom community, but there are over 700 businesses that are here in Battle Ground.”
The Greater Vancouver Chamber highlighted that it is striving to promote a more robust workforce in Battle Ground. Kenefsky detailed that the economy of Battle Ground is primarily driven by small business, personal services, construction/trades, healthcare and local-serving businesses.
“We take a look at how can we fill that pipeline of the businesses that come in and then we see some businesses leave,” Kenefsky said. “We want to make sure we understand why they are leaving. Our goal is retention. We want to make sure they stay and they’re thriving 5, 10, 20 years into the future.”
Kenefsky highlighted that the chamber is approaching its one year anniversary since launching the Battle Ground Executive Dialogue, a business leadership initiative designed to bring together local executives and industry leaders to discuss trends, challenges and opportunities affecting the city’s business community.
According to the presentation to the Battle Ground City Council, the program aims to strengthen the collaboration among business leaders while serving as a resource for the city, county and state officials by providing informed perspectives on policies that impact local businesses.
The initiative also focuses on promoting economic growth through advocacy for business-friendly policies, infrastructure improvements and workforce development efforts. A slide in the presentation also states the executive dialogue will introduce participants to economic data, policy discussions and industry insights to support strategic decision-making while encouraging collaboration among businesses across multiple sectors.
Organizers hope the program will help drive innovation, investment and long-term economic development in Battle Ground.
Kenefsky also highlighted the commute to Battle Ground, not just from the city toward neighboring economic hubs. She said Battle Ground businesses generate roughly 9,800 commuters ages 16 and over, including nearly 7,500 in-county residents and over 350 out-of-county residents. Nearly 1,600 workforce commuters have a 30- to 34-minute commute to the city.
Kenefsky added that nearly 100 employees of Battle Ground businesses commute via public transportation to and from work.
“In addition to being a regional chamber, we also have a single focus as a business-to-business chamber,” said John McDonagh, CEO of the regional chamber of commerce, at the beginning of the presentation. “So, Visit Vancouver is responsible for the tourism in our market. The Columbia River Economic Development Council has the responsibility to recruit employers to the marketplace. The responsibility of the Greater Vancouver Chamber throughout the region is the viability and sustainability of the business community.”
The Greater Vancouver Chamber also offers a merchant program, dubbed “Spend It Local,” which currently has over 12,000 certificates sold with an average value of $110. The local gift card program includes over 50 merchants in seven Clark County cities with $220,000 in redemptions and $88,000 in circulation.
The regional chamber also promotes the future of the workforce through internships. The chamber also promotes youth activities such as the national Civics Bee. Kenefsky said Battle Ground ends up being the No. 1 producer of youths who sign up and participate in the program in the area.
The chamber also hosts “Lemonade Day.”
“This is where youth ages 6 years old to 16 learn how to build their own businesses for the first time,” Kenefsky said, “and they come out and they celebrate and open their businesses to over 14,000 people that come out to support them and show what business community is really like. Three-hundred-fifty kids populated the parks and others were out throughout the community, not just selling lemonade, but selling their wares and really figuring out what it is to be a business owner.”
To learn more about the Greater Vancouver Chamber, visit vancouverusa.com.
