October E-Newsletter

President's Message

Dear Chamber Members,

Fall is in the air, marking the end of a long and beautiful summer, but leading into a welcome time of change . It has been with great pleasure that I have been able to serve in the Presidential capacity for this chamber. Together, with all other Board Members, we will continue to transition our chamber into a fine-tuned organization within our community. We should all look forward to the upcoming challenges and opportunities that arise. I am very proud of the role this chamber plays in supporting local businesses and the entire Kodiak community.

Fall also marks the beginning of a very busy season for the Chamber. Our Annual Meeting and Recognition Dinner will be taking place on October 12th at the Kodiak Harbor Convention Center. The dinner is a great time for the Chamber members to come together and network while we reflect on the past year, honoring and celebrating the accomplishments of our members. We also take time at the dinner to look forward and acknowledge our new leadership in the future board members.

Our Chamber is totally funded by memberships, key investors, and our events. We are committed to being accountable to our members, our key investors, and our community. Kodiak is a great place to live, work, and play. The mission of the Chamber is to promote development of a strong and diverse economy for the Kodiak region through active leadership and opportunities for member involvement. Strong and diverse communities are the ones where businesses want to locate and where people want to reside. I have enjoyed working with everyone who is associated with this chamber, and wish another successful year to all local businesses.

Our upcoming programs and events include: The Annual Chamber Meeting & Recognition Dinner, Ballot Measure 1 Informational Meeting on October 16th, gubernatorial fisheries debate on October 22nd, Business After Hours at the Kodiak Senior Center on October 26th, and Downtown Trick-or-Treat on the 31st. Then, planning for Comfish, We Applaud You Dinner, and Crabfest will begin in earnest!

Lastly, thank you to everyone that has supported me, the chamber, and the community in the last year. To be successful, we need you! Find a committee or program that interests you and volunteer. Take advantage of the opportunity to network and join us to help the Chamber and our community.

Quyanaa - Thank You

Stacey Simmons

President

Our Sponsors

Member Spotlight: Arctic Chiropractic & Physical Health

If you haven't visited Arctic Chiropractic & Physical Medicine recently, you'll be astounded by all the changes! The clinic has been beautifully renovated, and offers multiple treatment areas. Dr. Chris Twiford has dedicated his time and efforts to expanding the services and technologies available to serve the Kodiak Community.

No waiting for the lengthy X-Ray process here! In the last two weeks, a state of the art X-Ray machine has been delivered and is now up and running. With modern on-site X-Ray services you'll be able to spend less time waiting and instead be on the road recovery!

Additionally, physical therapy services are now available. The Arctic Chiropractic team recently welcomed Dr. Kate Smith to the practice. Dr. Kate comes to Kodiak from Florida with four years of Physical Therapy experience. She has seen both in-patient and out-patient rehabilitation, and is ready to share her skills with the Kodiak Community.

Offering chiropractic care, physical therapy, and massage therapy, Arctic Chiropractic & Physical Medicine is focused on optimum patient care. They strive to improve the spinal health and overall health of each of their patients of all ages. They believe in sharing their knowledge, so after a thorough initial consultation process, they will work to diagnose and treat your pain in detail.

As Readers Choice winner of the Best Doctor in Kodiak, and Best Massage Therapist (Michelle), it's easy to see that Dr. Twiford's has built a patient-centric team that the Kodiak Community is happy to have.

Make your next massage therapy appointment with Carolyn or Michelle, two skilled Licensed Massage Therapists, Dr. Kate Smith for your physical therapy needs, or Dr. Chris Twiford for your spinal health chiropractic adjustments through their website or by calling (907) 512-0809.

By: Sarah Phillips (Community Relations Director)

Reserve Your Seat Today!

Don't miss out on this year's fun filled Annual Dinner, reserve your seats today!

Call the Chamber at (907) 486-5557 or e-mail [email protected] or Stop by the Chamber Office.

Individual Tickets:$45.00

Couples: $80.00

Table: $380

Kodiak Historical Society & Baranov Museum Host Business After Hours

The light rain didn't hamper the September 27th Kodiak Historical Society & Baranov Museum Business After Hours. The museum was teeming with excitement and fun during their Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours! Chamber members, locals within the community, and a few tourists were all in attendance.

Djuna Davidson (Operations Manager), Margaret Greutert (Curator of Collections), and Natalie Trenery (Curator of Education) proudly hosted an evening filled with delicious homemade food, education, and opportunities. All attendees were treated to an exclusive behind the scenes tour of the Baranov Museum, learning about the many owners, history, and artifacts within. Also mentioned were the various membership and donation opportunities, including the ability to view photo archives not on display!

The Baranov Museum is nearing a closing period to support the renovation work and new exhibit displays that have been in the works for nearly a decade. The excitement for new exhibit displays from Djuna, Margaret, and Natalie was contagious, with all attendees anxious to revisit at the grand re-opening tentatively scheduled in April.

Giveaways ended the evening with multiple mystery raffle items from the Kodiak Historical Society and Baranov Museum. The lucky and very happy (see pictures) winners walked away with a bag filled with goodies! The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce also had the ever popular Split-the-Pot which supports their scholarship fund.

While the Business After Hours was one of the last chances to visit the museum before renovations, your very last chance to see the Baranov Museum is closing day on October 6th.

Don't miss out, be sure to check out the free admission day before they close! To make a donation supporting the Kodiak Historical Society and Baranov Museum , just click the donation jar.

By: Sarah Phillips (Community Relations Director)

Ballot Number 1, officially named “Alaska Ballot Measure 1 Salmon Habitat Protections and Permits Initiative (2018)” is an important yet controversial proposal for this year’s Alaska Voters. In an effort to assist voters in understanding this measure, the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce will host an Information Forum regarding the issue, Tuesday, October 16, 2018 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm at the Kodiak Island Borough Chamber. KMXT will be broadcasting live on public radio.

Representatives from both Stand for Salmon, a group supporting the measure and Stand for Alaska, a group opposing the measure, will have an equal time to present their views. This will be followed by a question and answer period with questions coming from audience members as well as questions prepared by radio and newspaper staffs. The Chamber would welcome any questions that its members or others in the community would like to provide to be considered for the question and answer period. Questions can be sent to the Chamber’s Executive Director, Frank Schiro at [email protected] . Deadline for submitting questions will be end of business on Wednesday, October 10, 2018.

Gubernatoria l Fisheries Debate

The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce will host this year’s Gubernatorial Fisheries Debate on Monday, October 22, 2018. The Debate will run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and it will be held at the Gerald C. Wilson Auditorium in Kodiak. This is the 27 ^th year the Chamber has hosted that debate.

To Date, Governor Walker and former U.S. Senator Mark Begich have confirmed their attendance for the debate. Former Alaska State Senator, Mike Dunleavy has yet to firmly commit to attending. If he does not appear, it will be the first time since 1991 that not all major candidates attended.

The content of this debate has always focused on the issues most important to the fishing-related industries on Kodiak Island and around the entire state of Alaska. To this end, local public radio, KMXT will be broadcasting the debate in Kodiak and throughout the Alaska Public Radio Network. The committee preparing the format and soliciting panelists is also asking any and all interested parties to submit relevant topics and even detailed questions to be considered for the debate. The chosen moderator is Rhonda McBride: KTVA Anchorage, Rural affairs reporter & host of “Frontiers”. This is the fishing community’s opportunity to be heard and hear the positions the gubernatorial candidates hold for their industry.

For more information about the debate, and to submit topics and questions, contact the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce at 907-486-5557 or email Executive Director, Frank Schiro, at [email protected].

To participate, please print the Downtown Trick-or-Treat Flyer and place in a window to indicate your participation to families.

We've Heard You & We're Taking Action

Many of our Chamber Members as well as the Kodiak Community have expressed the need for an all inclusive Community Calendar. We've heard you, and we're taking action!

In an effort to provide better exposure to each of our members, we are working to increase website traffic. To that end, the Community Calendar is now open to and free for all! The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with a flood of events coming to us from throughout the community. Our goal is to become the premier source of activity and event knowledge for both visitors and locals alike.

Please submit your any events or activities for an all encompassing Community Calendar to [email protected] .