Comment: Chamber marks first year of building a Greater Everett

Published 1:30 am Saturday, January 3, 2026

By Wendy Poischbeg / For The Herald

On Jan. 1, 2026, the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce turned one.

I have been thinking about that date a lot, not just as a milestone to celebrate ourselves, but as a reminder of what Everett businesses asked for when we relaunched. They wanted a Chamber that showed up consistently, brought people together with intention and helped businesses get answers when the day-to-day gets messy.

In our first year, 250 businesses joined as members. That still stops me in my tracks because membership is a choice. Nobody has extra time. Nobody has money to waste. Businesses joined because they were looking for meaningful connections and a real edge.

I always say people do business with those they know, like and trust. If you do not know someone, you do not get the chance to like them. Trust takes time, and it takes proximity. The Chamber’s job is to create the space for that, again and again, until it becomes a community people can rely on.

That is what year one looked like in practice.

We engaged with at least 3,072 businesses across Everett, and provided 214.5 hours of technical assistance. We supported 15 ribbon- cuttings, the kind of moments that tell you investment is real and people are taking risks on this city. We welcomed 3,266 attendees across Chamber events and programs, and we tackled 16 advocacy issues that matter to employers trying to operate, hire, grow and stay open.

We also built visibility that individual small businesses cannot always buy on their own. Our online membership directory saw 20,811 visits. We secured more than $130,000 in in-kind media value to help tell Everett’s business story.

A big priority was earning trust with Everett’s Hispanic business community. That meant showing up in person and building relationships one conversation at a time. Our outreach includedmore than 70 direct contacts, with visits to shops, restaurants and service providers. We shifted toward practical trainings hosted at Hispanic-owned venues so owners could ask questions in a comfortable setting. We also brought in partners such as the Snohomish County Health District for a permits session, and we continued building bilingual tools and checklists that help owners navigate licensing, permitting and next-step resources with confidence.

If you came to a Women’s Professional Network gathering, a Business Forum, a Building and Trades mixer, or the Building Bridges Summit, you felt the point of it. You were in a curated room of opportunity. That phrase can sound big until you experience it. It is the contractor who finally meets the lender who understands their seasonality. It is the new business owner who learns they are not alone. It is the employer who finds a partner, a vendor, a customer or a friend.

Networking gets dismissed sometimes, especially by people who have never needed it. For most business owners, your network is your net worth. Relationships open doors faster than cold emails ever will. They also make the hard days easier. This Chamber exists to build those relationships with purpose.

We learned a few things along the way.

First, trust is built face-to-face. Social media helps, email helps, but nothing replaces a handshake and a real conversation.

Second, outreach matters as much as events. Some businesses cannot attend a luncheon at noon. They still deserve support, and they still have barriers we can help solve.

Third, businesses are operating on thin margins. They need practical value. They need an advocate who understands the friction points that slow down growth.

That brings me to year two.

Advocacy remains the pillar of what we offer. In 2026, we are going to focus hard on permitting, including local construction timelines, occupancy hurdles, and health district barriers that keep projects from moving forward. When it is easier to open, expand and hire in Everett, our whole community benefits.

We are also building our programming around what Everett’s business landscape is telling us. After a deep dive into Everett business license data, we see that healthcare and construction account for over 70% of Everett’s business licenses. That is why we we’ll bolster our Trades and Healthcare Industry Roundtables with quarterly convenings, designed to surface real issues, share solutions, and connect businesses to the partners who can help.

We are also planning a 2026 outbound leadership mission to Phoenix. It will be a working trip, focused on learning from another region, bringing home ideas that fit Everett, and building stronger relationships across our public, private, and nonprofit leaders.

And we are preparing to launch an Everett tourism and business attraction campaign to highlight the assets that make this city a smart place to visit, invest, build, and grow.

If you own a business in Everett or Snohomish County, I hope you will join us. Membership gives you a place to connect with the right people, stay informed on what’s happening locally, and have a real voice in the conversations that shape how business gets done here.

Visit EverettChamber.org and come be part of what we are building next.

Wendy Poischbeg is chief executive officer for the Greater Everett Chamber of Commerce.