Tourism director knows Camano’s hidden gems

Karen Daum gazes out her work window on Camano Island and sees cattle grazing in a nearby field.

Idyllic.

Serene.

But Daum knows better than anyone that the island is far from sedate. There is much more to reveal than clams at low tide. Though visitors driving to the state park don’t see an Aurora Avenue array of come-hither business signs, the island is bursting with hidden companies, artists colonies and entrepreneurs held together by a civic organization.

Daum has been director of tourism and operations for the Camano Island Chamber of Commerce for about four years. She serves on the Island County 2% Joint Tourism Committee and does other volunteer work.

She isn’t new to the island. In the 1960s, her parents bought vacation property at Lost Lake. They tent camped for years, slept in a trailer and finally built a cabin.

She graduated from West Seattle High School in 1972, then attended Highline and South Seattle community colleges.

When her folks got older, she said, they built a home at Camaloch. Her mother, Eileen, died in 2003, and her father, Bill Hooper, today lives in a condominium in Stanwood.

“I learned to drive on Camano,” Daum said, laughing. “Back when there were no cars on the roads.”

When her husband, Gary Daum, worked as a graphic artist and illustrator for The Boeing Co. in Everett in 1998, the couple found a home on three acres near Madrona on Camano. With 20 years of experience in the printing and publishing field, Karen Daum was a good fit for the chamber job.

In the Camano membership application and renewal packet, members and potential joiners read that they will be able to network and socialize with other business owners, use a bulk mail permit, display brochures at the Visitor’s Center at Terry’s Corner, be listed on the chamber Web site (www.camanoisland.org) and post special sales and promotions on the chamber e-newsletter.

Events come along as regularly as high tide, with an annual chowder and chili feed, car show, golf tournament, studio and home tours and the 55+ Community Resource Fair planned for 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. March 27 at the Camano Senior and Community Center, 606 Arrowhead Road.

There will be guest speakers throughout the day, including keynote speaker Barry Meyers, an elder law attorney. Visit with folks from AARP, Social Security, Senior Services of Island and Snohomish County, Lifeline, the Department of Social and Health Services and many others.

Gary Daum, who illustrated “Wide Awakes, Invincibles &Smokestackers,” a book about turn-of-the-century baseball in northwest Washington by Anacortes author David Larson, created a whimsical poster for the Resource Fair.

Karla Jacks is the executive director at the Camano Senior and Community Center.

“Karen has collaborated with the Camano Senior and Community Center in many ways,” Jacks said. “She is collaborating with the center on our 55+ Community Resource Fair and also the 2nd Annual Women’s Expo on April 24th.”

Daum makes sure the needs of chamber membership are met and that visitors and new arrivals have plenty of resources to get acquainted with the island, Jacks said.

“The Camano Chamber of Commerce is a great resource for us,” Jacks said. “I feel that Karen Daum has been a huge asset to both our chamber and our island community.”

Being connected to other island businesses is important for Larry and Susan Weston at Beach Cabin Getaway; Andrew and Samantha Egloff at Blue Moon Beach House Bed and Breakfast; Randie Stephens at Stephens Accounting &Tax Preparation Services; William Rawls at My Home From The Sky Aerial Photographs; Dan Koffman at Koffman Studio, Gallery and Gardens; Jared McGuire at Top Notch Carpet Cleaning; Island Baptist Church; Maren Anderson with Sawtooth Trucking and Excavating; Brent Grennell with Bigfoot Lock Service and Rudy Gladsjo with Norsky Septic Pumping and Cleaning.

“It’s important for a chamber to be visible,” Daum said.

Especially if more than 150 members don’t all have road signs.

Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451, oharran@heraldnet.com

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