Wednesday, September 9, 2026 | |
Nominations Closing Soon!
Recognize your favorite business, nonprofit, and
festival or event with a nomination today
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Help us recognize the businesses, nonprofits, and events that make Kitsap an incredible place to live, work, and do business!
Each year, more than 300 business and community leaders from across Kitsap County and the region come together for the Greater Kitsap Chamber’s Annual Business Awards Gala — the biggest night of the year for Kitsap’s business community. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the organizations and events that are making an impact, strengthening our communities, and helping Kitsap thrive.
Know a business, nonprofit, or festival/event that deserves to be recognized? Nominate them today and help us celebrate the best of Kitsap!
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Chamber: Off the Clock
Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 5:05pm
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September Membership Luncheon
Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 11:00am
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The future of Kitsap’s workforce starts in our classrooms.
Join us for our next Chamber Luncheon, a State of Education in Kitsap, featuring leaders from the Bremerton School District, Central Kitsap School District, and Olympic College. Hear updates on what’s happening across our local education systems, the opportunities and challenges ahead, and how schools are preparing students for their next steps.
For our business community, these conversations matter. The work happening in our schools today directly impacts workforce readiness, our future talent pipeline, and the ability of local employers to find the skilled people they need to grow and succeed.
Come learn what’s happening in education - and what it means for the businesses and workforce that keep Kitsap’s economy strong and resilient.
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Rise & Thrive:
Business Essentials & Networking
Friday, September 18, 2026, 9:00am
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Start Strong, Finish Smart:
Preparing for Q4 & Year-End
Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 2:00pm
| Gain the tools and insights needed to prepare your business for year-end success. Learn how to evaluate your financial performance, clean up and organize your books, and create a strategic plan to help your business thrive in the coming year. | |
Secure You Spot in the Greater Kitsap
Chamber's Destination Guide
| The Greater Kitsap Chamber & Visitor Center Destination Guide is our premier promotional piece. The guide is the first resource visitors will use when looking for attractions and planning trips to the area. Participation in the Destination Guide has terrific advantages. Distribution includes 7,500 printed copies placed in prime locations to assist in driving traffic to our advertisers. Our digital GoGuide® allows your business exposure potential to reach thousands more customers. Your advertisement in the digital GoGuide® will be linked to your website, giving readers one-click access to your business. | | |
Accessible Healthcare with NICE
Business Health Trust Has You Covered
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You don’t have to wait for renewal.
A lot of employers assume benefits can only change at one specific time of year, but that’s not accurate.
If your current plan is causing frustration, summer is a smart time to ask questions. Maybe employees are struggling to find care. Maybe costs are up. Through our chamber’s partnership with Business Health Trust, members can review options, compare plans, and see whether a better fit is available now.
Many BHT medical plans include Nice Healthcare, which gives employees a simple first stop for care at $0. Same-day access for many needs, support for real-life health questions, and guidance on next steps can help employees avoid delays and keep moving.
🔗 Webpage Link: https://businesshealthtrust.com/products/nice-healthcare/
Questions? Contact BHT!
(425) 201-1972
nice@businesshealthtrust.com
Not a BHT member? Are you ready to build a better benefits package?
Visit bhtquote.com to learn more and get a free quote.
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Renew your membership today to ensure your benefits as a member of the Greater Kitsap Chamber! Questions about when to renew or how to upgrade your membership? Need a new membership window cling or digital badge? Contact us now!
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Missed a previous edition of the Chamber's Community Connections?
View all the past issues on our website HERE.
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CKFR Station 56 Celebration & Open House
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 11:00am
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Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue invites the community for the Station 56 Re-Opening Celebration and Open House.
Originally built in 1998, Station 56 has been thoughtfully remodeled as part of CKFR’s Capital Facilities Plan and Bond Program. Community members are invited to tour the updated facility, meet firefighters, staff + leaders and learn how these investments are helping ensure reliable emergency services for years to come.
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Habitat for Humanity of Kitsap County
Hearts for Housing Fundraising Breakfast
Wednesday, September 30, 2026, 8:00am
| This event is free to attend and open to all who want to learn more about our work. Guests will have an opportunity to make a donation during the program to help us build safe, affordable housing for local families. | |
The Kitsap History Museum Presents:
An Afternoon with Tim Ryan & Family
Sunday, October 4, 2026, 2:00pm
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The Kitsap History Museum and the Olympic College Foundation invite you to join us for an inspiring afternoon with Tim Ryan and members of the Ryan family as they share stories of building businesses, giving back to the community, and the experiences that have shaped Kitsap County over the years.
Moderated by David Nelson, editor of the Kitsap Sun, the conversation will feature Tim Ryan alongside family members Alanna Imbach (Vibe Coworks), Peter Crabtree (Crabtree Kitchen & Bar and ChocMo Chocolatier & Café), Dan Ryan (Tim Ryan Construction), Kelly Sullivan (Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe), and Chung Nguyen (Chung's Teriyaki). Together, they'll reflect on family, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the lasting connections that have influenced generations in Kitsap.
Whether you've lived here your whole life or are simply interested in the people behind some of Kitsap's best-known businesses and organizations, this promises to be an afternoon filled with stories, insight, and conversation.
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Chamber Night Out @ Ocean5
Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 5:00pm
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Join the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce for Chamber Night Out at Ocean 5 for a fun night of bowling and brunch bites from Table 47's new brunch menu! Chamber members from across the region will be in attendance, making this a great opportunity to expand your network and build new connections.
Tickets are $10 for Chamber members and $20 for non-members. Space is limited, so register today!
*For GKC Members, use the promo code "GKCmember" when registering to get the member rate.
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Leadership Kitsap Premier Institute Presents: Who's Running You?
Grow Your Leadership from the Inside Out
Thursday, October 15, 2026
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We all have default habits that shape how we think, respond, and lead, but what if you had more choice in how you show up?
Join Doug Nathan on October 15 for Who’s Running You?, a four-hour interactive LKPI workshop that takes a deeper look at the Inner Team Dialogue framework. Through the Inner Team Assessment and guided exercises, you’ll explore the patterns influencing your leadership and learn practical ways to lead with greater intention, adaptability, and effectiveness.
Whether you’re leading a team, an organization, or simply looking to grow in how you show up as a leader, this workshop is an opportunity to better understand what’s driving you and how to take the lead.
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Changing Faces, Changing Places
Share your business news today
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Has your team recently welcomed a new hire, celebrated a promotion, or marked a retirement? Kitsap Business magazine's Changing Faces, Changing Places section highlights the people powering our local business community. Chamber members are invited to share their staff updates for inclusion in an upcoming issue.
Send your announcements to news@kitsapbusiness.com and let us help you recognize the faces behind your success.
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The Greater Kitsap Chamber is honored to announce our Member of the Quarter: Honeybee Horticulture! Since 2023, Mariah Mendez and her team have created unique, elegant, and creative floral and charcuterie designs for occasions ranging from weddings and corporate events to Chamber: Off the Clock gatherings. We are excited to recognize Mariah and Honeybee Horticulture for their creativity, community involvement, and dedication to helping people connect through memorable experiences across Kitsap and beyond.
Fostering Business Connections Through Charcuterie
The Chamber regularly uses Honeybee Horticulture’s services at our Chamber: Off the Clock after-hours networking events. Mariah not only provides a selection of delicious, fresh food, but intentionally designs a spread for each Off the Clock location. These spreads serve as much more than refreshments. They become natural gathering points where attendees connect, start conversations, and build new business relationships.
Elevating Events Across Kitsap and Beyond
Honeybee Horticulture strives to create celebrations that feel effortless, intentional, and fully experienced. Through planning and coordination services, floral design & installations, and luxury charcuterie catering, they remove the stress of hiring multiple vendors and ensure there are no gaps in an event’s vision. They proudly serve clients throughout Kitsap County and across the Puget Sound region.
Celebrations Designed with Intention
Intentionality is at the heart of Honeybee Horticulture’s philosophy, whether that be crafting a charcuterie spread or a flower arrangement that reflects a specific individual, event, or venue. Mariah and her team excel at creating meaningful experiences that reflect an event’s unique identity.
Whether you're planning a wedding, corporate event, or community celebration, Honeybee Horticulture brings creativity, intentionality, and professionalism to every detail. We are proud to recognize Mariah and her team as our Member of the Quarter and encourage you to check out their services!
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2026 Eggs & Issues Candidate Forum
September 22, 2026, 8:00am
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Join us for the Chamber’s Eggs & Issues Candidate Forums at the Cloverleaf Bar and Grill, a long-standing tradition started by the Bremerton Chamber over 25 years ago. Open to the public; breakfast available for purchase.
Questions? Contact the Chamber at (360) 692-6800.
Forums are every Tuesday morning beginning September 22nd and running through October 27th.
| Business & Professional Development Committee | | Member Education & Training Resources | | |
SCORE: Etiquette Mistakes
Killing Your Credibility
Thursday, September 10, 2026, 11:00am
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In this comprehensive, candid, high-energy session, we’ll uncover the common etiquette mistakes that quietly sabotage your credibility—and what to do instead. From ghosting and no-shows to accountability and appearance, you’ll learn the basics that should be obvious … but clearly aren’t.
Whether you’re a freelancer, small business owner, or up-and-coming entrepreneur, these practical tips will help you earn trust, gain respect, and show up like the pro you are.
Faculty: Julie Cortés. Copywriter by day. Freelance Rockstar by night. Julie Cortés lives, breathes, teaches, speaks, and coaches on all things creative self-employment. She’s run her own business for more than 25 years, is the founder of The Freelance Exchange of KC, and created a much-needed college-level course, Freelancing 101, for the KC Art Institute, where she taught as an adjunct professor for several years. Awarded dozens of times over for her work, leadership, volunteerism, and community involvement, she’s regularly sought out for business coaching, media interviews, and speaking engagements. Julie is loving life, living out her passion for helping creative freelancers and solopreneurs succeed.
Registration Fee: $10
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SBDC: Holiday Marketing Strategies
for Small Businesses
Monday, September 14, 2026, 3:00pm
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Free 3-part training series to help small businesses boost holiday marketing, increase sales, and build lasting customer relationships.
Holiday Ready: Holiday Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses
The Stanwood Commerce Alliance, in partnership with the Washington Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and the City of Stanwood, is proud to present Holiday Ready: Holiday Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses—a FREE three-part business training series designed to help local businesses prepare for the busiest shopping season of the year.
Each workshop will take place from 3:00–4:30 PM at the Stanwood Library. Attend one workshop or join us for all three!
September 14: Holiday Marketing Strategies to Increase Customer Traffic
Speaker: Shannon Saylor | Vivify Business Coaching
The holiday season brings countless opportunities to connect with new and returning customers through community events, seasonal promotions, and local partnerships. This workshop will help small business owners develop a holiday marketing strategy that increases visibility and drives customer traffic.
Registration Fee: FREE
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Matchstick Lab: How to Lead
Your Business Without Burning Out
Tuesday, September 15, 2026, 9:00am
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Feeling stretched too thin?
Learn how to lead, delegate, and build a business that doesn’t burn you out.
This Firebrand Action Lab focuses on the challenge that sits underneath all of it:
How do you lead your business—and yourself—without burning out?
Many entrepreneurs struggle with the same realities:
- Feeling overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done
- Holding onto too much instead of delegating effectively
- Managing people while still doing the work
- Building systems that actually support how they operate day-to-day
This half-day working session brings entrepreneurs together to tackle these challenges in real time. It’s a working session—not a lecture. Come ready to engage, share, and make real progress in your business.
Participants will work through real leadership and operational challenges alongside peers, experienced mentors, and practical tools, including ways that emerging AI tools can support delegation, organization, and decision-making.
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SHRM West Sound: October Lunch & Learn Inclusionary Leadership in Action
Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 11:45am
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Business News & Resources | | |
GKC Hosts WA Hospitality Regional Meeting
Thursday, October 1, 2026, 10:00am
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The Greater Kitsap Chamber is pleased to host the Washington Hospitality Association in their annual outreach efforts this fall. Each fall, the Government Affairs team at Washington Hospitality embarks on a statewide journey to connect with members and nonmembers alike, gaining valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing the hospitality industry.
Seating is limited, so reserve your space today!
| | The Greater Kitsap Chamber is proud to serve as a resource partner with the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries. Stay tuned to this section quarterly for education, resources and more from L&I. | | Check Equal Pay Compliance for Free | | |
L&I offers free, customized consultations to help employers understand the impact the Equal Pay and Opportunities Act might have on their organization and employment practices, and provide an evaluation of possible risks.
The Equal Pay and Opportunities Act includes things like:
- Equal pay and career advancement opportunities
- Open wage discussions
- Wage and salary history privacy
- Disclosing salary range
- And more!
To request a consultation, complete this request form. You can also call the Employment Standards Program at 360-902-6625.
| | Nonprofit News & Resources | |
Grant Oversight: Why Strong Compliance
May No Longer Be Enough
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Published on NonprofitPRO.com
Photo Credit: Getty Images by Rapeepong Puttakumwong
For nonprofit leaders keeping an eye on federal actions in the grants community, recent developments have suggested a move away from the traditional compliance-based model toward an approach that gives greater weight to performance and results. Federal funders may expect more than clean, documented compliance from grantees.
While beneficial program outcomes have always been the ultimate goal of federal financial assistance, there appears to be a more deliberate effort to rebalance grants management and oversight so that compliance remains important but is not the only measure of success.
Nonprofits that receive grants may also need to show evidence that grant-supported activities are meeting the award’s stated objectives, producing results and remaining aligned with the agency's current priorities.
Read more here
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Nonprofit Housing Formerly Homeless
in Kitsap Neighborhoods Closes
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Published in the Kitsap Sun, Sept. 4, 2026
Kitsap Homes of Compassion, a nonprofit founded in 2017 that helped place individuals who were homeless into residential homes across the county the past decade, will abruptly close, its board announced on Friday, Sept. 4.
Around 50 people are now housed through KHOC programs, two sources confirmed to the Kitsap Sun, including some who are veterans. Several social service providers, including Kitsap County's Human Services division, Kitsap Community Resources, Bremerton Housing Authority, St. Vincent de Paul, the city of Poulsbo and Kitsap Mental Health Services, started working together in August to help find housing solutions for current residents, and potentially keeping some in their rentals.
Read the full article here
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Kitsap League of Women Voters
Got Questions for Local Candidates?
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Farm Supper @ The Resort at Port Ludlow
Every Wednesday Starting September 2nd
| Taste the Olympic Peninsula one plate at a time with The Fireside’s weekly Farm Suppers, a prix fixe dinner celebrating local farmers, fisheries and foragers. Each Wednesday highlights ingredients from producers across the region, from Chimacum Valley Dairy and Red Dog Farm to Finnriver and Mystery Bay Farm. | | |
Clearwater Casino Presents:
Chicago Tribute Authority - Chicago Tribute
Friday, September 11, 2026, 8:30pm
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Abbagraphs - Abba Tribute
Saturday, September 12, 8:30pm
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Matthew Morrison Presents Show Up
Admiral Theatre Bremerton
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 7:30pm
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Matthew Morrison is a versatile actor who is recognized for his work on-stage and on-screen. He has been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
Morrison made his debut on Broadway in “Footloose” but his big break came when he was cast as heartthrob Link Larkin in the hit “Hairspray.” Morrison was later nominated for a Tony Award for his role in “The Light in the Piazza,” and received a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for “10 Million Miles.” He also starred in the Tony-winning revival of “South Pacific” at Lincoln Center Theater in New York. He also starred as “J.M Barrie” in the musical “Finding Neverland.” Morrison received two Drama Desk nominations for his role, and won the category of Favorite Actor in a Musical in the Broadway.com Audience Awards.
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Concerts at Port Gamble
Flagship Romance & The Rough & Tumble
Saturday, September 12, 2026, 7:00pm
| | Join us on a magical September evening at the enchanting Port Gamble Theater, as the stage lights come alive with the soul-stirring sounds of Flagship Romance and The Rough & Tumble on September 12, 2026, at 7:00 PM. As sunsets meet sea breezes, this unforgettable alternative folk duo, Flagship Romance, promises to captivate your heart and soul. Married musicians Shawn Fisher and Jordyn Jackson deliver an extraordinary performance filled with breathtaking harmonies, inspired songwriting, and an electrifying chemistry rarely seen in the music world. | |
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The Ultimate Doors: Tribute to The Doors
Admiral Theatre Bremerton
Friday, October 2, 2026
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The Ultimate Doors has long been celebrated as one of the most authentic and powerful Doors tribute bands in the country. Described by fans and critics as “uncannily true to the original” and “the closest you’ll get to seeing The Doors live today,” the band has built its reputation on delivering a raw, electrifying, and immersive experience that captures the spirit of Jim Morrison and The Doors with uncanny accuracy.
What sets The Ultimate Doors apart is their obsessive attention to authenticity. From the period-correct instruments and vintage gear that recreate The Doors’ unmistakable tones, to the styling, stage presence, and energy that mirror the original band, every detail is crafted to transport audiences back to 1968. The four musicians of The Ultimate Doors combine to create a sound so faithful that fans often remark they feel as though they’re at a real Doors concert. It’s not just a tribute….it’s a time machine.
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Port Gamble Ghost Conference
November 6 - November 8, 2026
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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 our weekly Community Connections!
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Office (360) 479-3579 | 705 Pacific Avenue in Downtown Bremerton
Silverdale Office (360) 692-6800 | Kitsap Mall
PO Box 1218 Silverdale WA 98383
If you need assistance, please contact us directly.
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