EVERETT — Economic Alliance Snohomish County, formed earlier this year by the merger of the former Economic Development Council and the Everett and South Snohomish County chambers of commerce, is morphing into the county’s leading economic development and business networking association
at fast-track speed.
On Aug. 24 on the rooftop StratoDeck at the Future of Flight and Boeing Tour center, EASC has planned a major summer networking and roll-out event for the new group.
“We want to have a large audience because it’s a very important event for the EASC, a forum to talk about the new structure and our new business lines,” EASC President and CEO Troy McClelland said.
In the meantime, combining the area’s three largest business groups into one entity is moving faster than anticipated, although there are “still a lot of moving parts to deal with,” he told the SCBJ.
The first break came when the EASC’s merger application, submitted in early May to the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, was approved May 18 instead of in July as anticipated, he said.
“The application moved much more quickly than we expected, maybe because we worked very hard to make sure our application document was correct and met all the state requirements,” McClelland said. “That was good news that moved us into our formation effort for the new organization.”
He said the major work currently is focused on consolidating the financial documents and procedures of all three organizations “so we’re operating from a single set of financials.”
At the same time, there’s a big push to align the new organization to its new focuses and ways of functioning, he said.
“We’re in the process of having everyone indicate what part of their organization and programs they want to continue in moving forward,” he said. “We have created a business plan that’s now in use and we’ll flesh that out as we continue the process of merging. Right now, we’re a bit ahead of schedule. We still have the three staffs in place but everyone essentially has dropped their position titles so we can develop new ones over the next 30 to 60 days.”
Notable changes evident in the business community include a new EASC logo, developed by Dykeman, an Everett architectural and branding business whose Visual Marketing design team developed a contemporary identity, stationery package and branding standards.
“Working with the Dykeman team was a fabulous experience — creative, professional and flexible. They delivered a great product — a brand and identity that we are very proud of and will be a vital tool and catalyst in launching Economic Alliance Snohomish County,” McClelland wrote at www.dykeman.net. “The new brand identity reflects the partnership approach and process used by EASC to help businesses grow throughout Snohomish County.”
Already, events such as a June 28 networking meeting at the Port of Everett, annual golf tournaments and a guided trip to China that were previously individual functions of each organization are being folded into the Economic Alliance Snohomish County brand, he said.
“We know we need to not be overcome by the many things there are to do but to keep focused all the time on our most important strategic goals,” McClelland said. “We refocused our opportunities and stripped out some things that people didn’t see as much value in as before and put more focus on areas like resource development and long-term economic development, which are already getting more attention. We have some great opportunities and we’re focusing on them.”
EASC also is tackling the challenge of realigning its communications channels.
“In a world of electronic media, this is even more complex than it used to be, aligning the communications channels and having them work simply for everyone,” he said. “We expect it to be more efficient and we’ve made really big steps there. We feel it’s getting better every day.”
In July, workups of EASC’s new Web site, combining the best of the services and activities of all three groups into a simplified site, will emerge as www.economicalliancesc.org, according to communications director Ryan Crowther.
Overall, the merger has gone well, McClelland said.
“We’ve had strong retention of existing members and continue to have interest from new members, including many individuals,” he said.
Essentially, he said, EASC wants to continue being in the community and wants to let people know “it’s a big tent and there’s room for everyone.”
Even in the midst of forming the new EASC, however, McClelland has made time to make appearances at community groups including chambers of commerce around the county. He was in Lake Stevens recently and plans visits in Arlington, Granite Falls, Marysville and elsewhere in coming weeks.
“We want to let them know who we are and what we’re doing and that there is a place in our new model with room for each and every one of them,” McClelland said.
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