Tuesday, October 18, 2022 |
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Support & Celebrate the Greater Kitsap Chamber
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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Show your support of the Greater Kitsap Chamber and join today!
If you're already an active member of the Chamber, we encourage you to invite a friend to our next Chamber luncheon to see if the Chamber can serve their business here in Kitsap County. Share with them a few of the reasons to join the Greater Kitsap Chamber:
Connectivity
We initiate more business-to-business commerce and more opportunities for networking and connecting local professionals than is available through most other local organizations.
Networking
Make face-to-face connections and enhance your presence in the community by serving on a committee, attending or sponsoring a chamber event, or coming to our monthly luncheons.
Credibility
Research points out that consumers are 63% more likely to buy goods and services in the future from a company that they believe is a member of the local Chamber of Commerce.
Advocacy
We are the voice of business, advocating for business at the local, state, and federal levels of government.
Leadership
Laying the foundation for our future. Providing members with the tools and knowledge needed to take on leadership roles.
Visibility
We assist businesses with an online presence and get your name known through sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Our Visitors Centers in Silverdale and Bremerton cater to 20,000 visitors each year.
In-the-Know
We keep you connected and informed through online content and social media such as The Community Connection e-newsletter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Referrals
Every day, your local chamber receives calls from individuals and businesses looking for potential service providers and area information. If you’re a member, you’re referred; if you’re not, you’re not.
Community Events
Major community events like the Armed Forces Day Festival, Whaling Days, the Silverdale @ Sunset Concert Series and Blackberry Festival require a big effort which brings tourist dollars to our region, creates goodwill and promotes our community.
Civic-Mindedness
You are part of a group of business professionals who care about their community, how it works and where it’s going. Just by being a member shows your support of these community efforts.
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GKC Inaugural Business Awards Gala
Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:00 pm
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Join the Greater Kitsap Chamber for our Inaugural Business Awards Gala celebrating individuals and businesses around the Greater Kitsap region on Thursday, November 17th at 6:00 pm. Become a sponsor or advertising partner to elevate your business' presence at this community-wide event. Sponsorship opportunities vary. To learn more or to secure your sponsorship or advertising space now, please contact the Chamber! |
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Columbia Sportswear Factory Store
Friday, October 28, 2022, 9:00 am
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Join us as we celebrate the opening of Silverdale's newest addition, Columbia Sportswear Factory Store on Friday, October 28, 2022. Enjoy light refreshments, remarks by the Chamber and Kitsap County Commissioner Rob Gelder, opening weekend specials and more. |
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Sign Up to Participate:
Downtown Bremerton's Trick-or-Treat Street
Monday, October 31, 2022, 4:00 - 6:30 pm
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The Downtown Bremerton Association and Greater Kitsap Chamber are partnering to present the 24th Annual Trick or Treat Street on October 31st. Parts of 4th and Pacific will be shut down in downtown to create a safe area for all the little ghouls and goblins out for fun this Halloween. Trick-or-Treating will be provided by participating downtown businesses and vendors. Free parking is available at the garage at Washington and 4th.
If your business is located downtown and would like to participate, please contact the Chamber here.
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Renew your membership today to ensure your place as a Charter Member of the Greater Kitsap Chamber! Questions about when to renew or how to upgrade your membership? Contact Irene now!
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New Members - Welcome to the Chamber! |
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Chamber Members Honored as
Finalists in AWB's Annual Salute
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Safe Boats International and Swire Coca-Cola have been chosen as finalists for the Association of Washington Business' annual salute to top employers in Washington for 2022. Winners will be named at the AWB Gala in Tacoma. Congratulations to our Chamber members for this recognition!
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Open House Offered
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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Come Celebrate with Nothing Bundt Cakes
October 24-29, 2022
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CKSD Community Forums
Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 6:00 pm
Wednesday, October 26, 2022, 12:00 pm
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Leadership Kitsap Seeks Nominations
Nominations Due November 18, 2022
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Rice Fergus Miller Architecture |
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Chamber members for more than 25 years, Rice Fergus Miller Architecture is a quintessential Kitsap business located in the heart of downtown Bremerton. Rice Fergus Miller is the professional partnership of Steve Rice, Dave Fergus, Greg Belding, and Jennifer Fleming, begun in Bremerton in 1987.
For over three decades, Rice Fergus Miller has been committed to performing meaningful work that builds and strengthens community. Housed in a reclaimed Sears auto service center that is one of the most energy-efficient buildings in the United States, we blend the personal aspirations of our 50 team members with a vision for sustainable communities.
Rice Fergus Miller is on a mission to deliver projects that support a better quality of life. Good reputations are gained over time and we are proud to have earned client endorsement for our commitment to excellent service and great design.
In 2022, Rice Fergus Miller celebrates 35 years in business and six years as a Certified B Corp. We are one of a handful of design firms (and the only architect in Washington!) certified as a B Corporation. This designation recognizes for-profit organizations that meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.
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275 Fifth Street, Suite 100 | Bremerton, WA 98337 | (360) 377-8773 |
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Public Comment Period Open for
Growth Management Needs
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The Growth Management Act (GMA) directs local governments to “plan for and accommodate housing affordable to all economic segments of the population of the state.” It requires local governments to include an inventory and analysis of these projected needs in the housing element of their comprehensive plans, as well as projected needs for permanent supportive housing, emergency housing and emergency shelters.
Commerce must provide projections of housing needs, broken down into the categories of moderate, low, very low and extremely low-income housing needs. The department will also provide need projections for permanent supportive housing and emergency housing/emergency shelters.
To be consistent with the GMA framework, the housing data uses Office of Financial Management (OFM) projections of future populations for every county of the state. Commerce will provide housing need projections at the county level. Each county, and the cities within it, will then work together to determine how those future needs are allocated among their respective jurisdictions.
The draft projection methodology and draft housing need numbers are available for public comment through November 11. Commerce will review and consider comments to develop the final projected housing need numbers and methodology in conjunction with the upcoming release of 2022 OFM population projections.
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Eggs & Issues: WA State Rep - Position 2
Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 8:00 am
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LOCATION CHANGE
October Luncheon at Kitsap Golf & Country Club
Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 11:30 am
(please note this is one week early!)
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Don't forget to bring a prize giveaway for our luncheon raffle!
Proceeds from each month's luncheon benefit the
Chamber Scholarship Fund for students in the Greater Kitsap Area.
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Member Education & Training Resources |
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Managing Mixed Age Teams:
Managing & Retaining Highly Qualified Talent
Tuesday, October 18, 2022, 10:00 am
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Business leaders agree that age diversity is good for business; however, ageism in the hiring process remains stubbornly high. While over 70% of employers want to build age-friendly workplaces, over 95% of those polled don’t know how. A key component of age-inclusive workplaces is management practices that welcome workers of all ages, but the reality is that most people managers are overloaded with hitting performance metrics and meeting demanding deadlines. In moments of stress, urgency and uncertainty, bias can creep in – often unconsciously. Join University of Miami Leadership Professor Megan Gerhardt and AARP Sr. Advisor Heather Tinsley-Fix as they share strategies and best practices to managing mixed aged teams and retaining highly qualified talent. |
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CEO to CEO: Creating the New Hiring Pipeline
Thursday, October 20, 2022, 8:30 am
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In today's competitive job market, finding and retaining top talent is more critical than ever. Companies can't rely on traditional methods like job postings and employee referrals anymore.
Employers now must be proactive in recruiting efforts and engage in purposeful talent development. Coupled with the rise and importance of diversity, finding new ways to develop talent and meet the diversity goals will require new approaches to build quality candidate pipelines.
Learn how two programs from the University of Washington can offer employers a unique opportunity to communicate their diversity initiatives and grow candidate pipelines and pools.
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Women's Financial Power:
Spend, Invest and Give Like It Matters
Thursday, October 20, 2022, 5:30 pm
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Today, less than 2% of donations go to nonprofits that specifically focus on women and girls, and the statistics for businesses aren’t much better. Approximately 2.6% of venture capital is invested in women-owned businesses, and businesses with women of color CEOs receive less than 1%.
So how can we close these wealth gaps? It’s time for sisters to do it for themselves.
Join Radha Friedman, Laura Clise, and Michelle Shireen Muri to learn about how women can harness their collective power and change the way we give, invest, and shop to create a more equitable future.
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Business News & Resources |
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Department of Commerce's Flex Fund Program Extended through March 2023 |
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The Small Business Flex Fund launched last year as part of a pandemic recovery program. The Fund currently has nearly $45 million in available loans for eligible small businesses, and they have extended application deadlines through March 2023 so that more business owners can take advantage of this unique public-private partnership.
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Washington Business Taxes Continue
to Exceed National Average
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The Washington Research Council recently reported that Washington State businesses deliver nearly half of the state and local tax revenues, bearing much of the state’s tax burden. Washington’s business taxes are the 9th highest per employee.
Sales tax was the largest source of tax revenue from Washington businesses in FY 2020, with businesses paying $6.4 billion. This accounted for 27.2% of the state and local business tax revenue, while nationally, other states’ sales tax accounted for 21.5% on average.
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Nonprofit News & Resources |
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The Greater Kitsap Chamber is proud to be one of only five Chambers statewide selected to partner with the Nonprofit Association of Washington (NAWA) to bring education and resources to nonprofits in Western Washington. Stay tuned to this section of our weekly newsletter for education, resources and more for our nonprofit community. To learn more about NAWA, please visit their website here.
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Putting Nonprofits First
How NAWA can help organizations learn, advocate, and collaborate to make a real difference.
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Join Virtual Meetings this Fall
for Kitsap's Comprehensive Plan
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Discussions focus on land use, economic development, housing, environmental and climate change, transportation, capital facilities, Silverdale Regional Center
A series of virtual public meetings is underway this fall to provide a forum for discussion of Kitsap County's update to the Comprehensive Plan, a guide addressing population and job growth, environmental protection and infrastructure improvements and how these will impact our communities and livelihoods.
Each meeting begins at 6 p.m. on the following dates:
- Wednesday, Oct. 19 – Silverdale Regional Center
- Tuesday, Oct. 25 – Transportation and Capital Facilities
Go to the project website at kcowa.us/compplan for more information and links to join these virtual meetings. If you missed a past meeting, recordings are available at this website.
Each meeting includes a presentation and then attendees can choose to join interactive break-out groups to share their thoughts on issues and opportunities in Kitsap related to the topic of the evening. These may be shared verbally, through facilitated discussion or written in the chat option of the Zoom meeting.
For more information about the update, please visit the project website at kcowa.us/compplan. This site is updated regularly with upcoming public meetings, interactive surveys, policy questions, story maps on planning concepts, draft documents and other informational materials.
If you have any specific questions, please send them to compplan@kitsap.gov or call Kitsap1 at (360) 337-5777 and ask for Planning and Environmental Programs.
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COVID-19 Updates & Resources |
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End of COVID-19 Emergency Orders
Will Not Include HELSA
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Governor Jay Inslee has announced plans to lift the COVID-19 state of emergency on October 31. Although Washington state emergency orders are ending, the coronavirus remains a workplace reality, and employers need to take precautions to prevent the spread of the virus.
What will not be ending on October 31 are the Health Emergency Labor Standards Act (HELSA) requirements. These will remain in effect until the US President rescinds his declaration of the public health emergency. The current presidential emergency declaration will expire on March 1, 2023, although the President may decide to continue it at that time.
HELSA requirements include:
- Frontline workers who contract COVID-19 are entitled to workers’ compensation wage replacement and medical benefits under a rebuttable presumption that exposure to disease occurred on the job. And under another state law, healthcare workers are also entitled to these benefits.
- Employers with 50 or more employees must report COVID-19 outbreaks to L&I within 24 hours by calling 1-800-4-BESAFE (1-800-423-7233).
- Employers must notify employees of COVID-19 exposures at work.
- Non-healthcare employers must notify staff and others at the workplace of potential exposure to COVID-19 within one business day.
- Healthcare facilities must notify staff and others at the workplace about high-risk exposures within 24 hours.
- Employers are prohibited from discriminating against high-risk employees for seeking accommodations for COVID-19.
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Updated Boosters Expanded
to People Ages 5 and Older
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The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and other healthcare providers will soon begin offering Omicron variant-targeted bivalent booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines to people ages 5 and older, following guidance and recommendations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup.
“This is another step forward to a healthier tomorrow for everyone in Washington state,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, Secretary of Health. “The more people who are eligible for COVID-19 boosters, the better protection we can provide to our communities.
DOH’s updated COVID-19 booster dose recommendations are as follows:
- People ages 5 and older who have completed a primary vaccine can receive the Pfizer-BioNTech bivalent booster at least two months after their most recent dose. These doses are scheduled to begin arriving in provider offices the week of October 17th.
- People ages 6 and older who have completed a primary vaccine series can receive the Moderna bivalent booster at least two months after their most recent dose. Providers who already have an inventory of Moderna can begin administering these doses immediately.
- Children ages 6 months to 4 years remain eligible for the primary, monovalent COVID-19 vaccine series from both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna and are not currently authorized for any COVID-19 booster doses.
As with previous vaccine and booster rollouts, the CDC will provide states with weekly allocations, building each state’s inventory levels over time. DOH urges the public to remain patient as we expect initial demand to exceed availability, resolving in the following weeks.
To make a vaccine or booster appointment, visit VaccinateWA.org, or call the COVID-19 Information Hotline at 833-VAX-HELP. Language assistance is available. Those individuals with further questions are encouraged to visit DOH’s COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions webpage or talk to their trusted healthcare provider.
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Masks & COVID Testing Kits Available
Free at the Greater Kitsap Chamber & Visitor Center
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The Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management provides local businesses with free KN95 masks and COVID testing kits. Pick up your supply at either Greater Kitsap Chamber's offices today. |
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COVID-19 Vaccine & Testing Resources |
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Kitsap County Health District is now posting a regularly updated list of COVID-19 vaccine providers in Kitsap County. This list can be found here.
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Congressional Pinning Ceremony
Wednesday, October 19, 2022, 5:30 pm
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Everyone is invited to join U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer, Kitsap County Commissioners and the Kitsap County Veterans Advisory Board at a special Congressional pinning ceremony for veterans of the Vietnam era at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19 at the Kitsap County Administration Building, 619 Division Street, Port Orchard.
At the ceremony, Rep. Kilmer will present a commemorative pin to Veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces at any time between November 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of duty location.
Community members are welcome and encouraged to attend to show their support for their friends and neighbors who served during the Vietnam era.
The creation of a commemorative pin was originally passed by Congress and signed into law to thank and honor Vietnam Veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice on behalf of the nation. No distinction is made between Veterans who served in-country, in-theater, or who were stationed elsewhere during the Vietnam War period. All were called to serve and none could self-determine where they were stationed. A spouse or next of kin may claim a pin on behalf of a deceased, eligible Veteran.
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RotaryFest: Pints for Polio
Thursday, October 20, 2022, 5:00 - 9:00 pm
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Your Guide for Clean Air
Wildfires Creating Unhealthy Air for Washingtonians
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1st Annual Brunch for Breast Cancer
Friday, October 21, 2022, 10:30 am
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Kitsap Employers Veterans Day Job Fair
Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm
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WorkSource Kitsap is inviting the community to join them for a job fair on November 9th at their location on Randall Way in Silverdale. The event will exclusively exhibit Kitsap County's small and medium-sized businesses, with the first hour reserved for veterans, active-duty military job seekers and their families. |
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3120 NW Randall Way
Silverdale, WA 98383
(360) 516-1001
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Admiral Theatre Presents:
Forever Young
Friday, October 21, 2022, 7:30 pm
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Forever Young follows one unforgettable group of friends as they discover the greatest hits of all time! Set in a music-filled suburban basement, this unbelievable heartfelt true story is guaranteed to take you back to the first time you pushed play, tuned in, and set the needle down.
Featuring songs by; Billy Joel, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Huey Lewis & The News, Styx, Queen, Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Brooks & Dunn, The Black Crows, Bon Jovi, and many more, this multi-award-winning production is jam-packed with powerhouse vocals, dynamite choreography, and one sensational true story that is guaranteed to make you feel…FOREVER YOUNG.
The Admiral Theatre’s 2022-2023 Spotlight Series is generously sponsored by Sheila & Charles Hart.
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WA-Made Indie Film Now at the Roxy Theatre
Now thru October 27, 2022, 7:00 pm daily
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Day (Night) Trip from Central Kitsap:
Haunted Heronswood
October 21 & 22, 2022, 5:00 - 9:00 pm
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It’s back! Everyone’s favorite Halloween celebration returns this October. Join us for our freaky festival of fun with scary scenes, a pumpkin parade and food and drink under the tent. Kids in costume can take the trick or treat trail for free candy, while the illuminated Woodland Garden will host a terrifying tour of Halloween horrors (well, not too terrifying). Our popular Tribal Tales are back in the garden with the first character appearing in early September and a new arrival each week until the Haunted Heronswood weekend. Tickets available at the gate. |
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Bremerton WestSound Symphony Presents:
Gilded Age Americana
Saturday, October 22, 2022, 7:30 pm
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Witch Perfect at The Roxy Theatre
Saturday, October 29, 2022, 7:00 pm
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Stay in the know with what's happening for events
in Central Kitsap by checking out and liking the
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Have something to share? CLICK HERE to submit stories and
events for Tuesday's Community Connections!
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David Emmons
President/CEO
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Irene Moyer
VP, Membership & Strategic Communications
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Joe Barboza
Operations Manager
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Brenda Kelley
Tourism Coordinator
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Bremerton Office (360) 479-3579 | 4th & Pacific Downtown Bremerton
Silverdale Office (360) 692-6800 | Kitsap Mall next to Macy's
PO Box 1218 Silverdale WA 98383
If you need assistance, please contact us directly.
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