Fourth celebration is finally paid for

For more than a century the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce has hosted the city’s Fourth of July celebration, including the annual parade and fireworks. As the community enjoyed the celebration this year, however, organizers worried how the balance sheet would play out at the end of the day. In a challenging economy, their concerns proved too real. A $15,000 deficit remained.

“In years past, breaking even has been the goal,” said Jim Hills, chamber president. “We almost always make that. This has been a tough year for all events the chamber does for the community, but the deficit of (this year’s) Fourth was really substantial.”

The chamber anticipated sponsors — including local businesses and community members — would be harder to come by, said Ron Clyborne, chairman of the Fourth of July committee. The chamber generally receives no funding from the city, he said.

“… It became apparent that companies that had traditionally helped to foot the bill were giving less, or were not in a position to give at all,” Clyborne said. “So the chamber made an appeal to the community at large by placing donation boxes around the city.”

The donation boxes helped some, but a wide gap remained.

“Once the Fourth of July had passed we were concerned about how we would continue to raise funds for an event that was past tense,” Clyborne said. “We were persistent, however, and although the Fourth of July committee normally takes a break until the following fall, we carried on. We started by sending out a message to all the Edmonds Chamber members that we still needed donations.”

Clyborne worked tirelessly, Hills said.

“The situation now is considerably different than it was six weeks ago,” Hills said.

Companies that made the largest donations in response to the appeal included PCC, which donated proceeds from their June Grillin’ and Chillin’ weekend barbecues, as well as Lynnwood Honda. The Edmonds Office of Windermere Real Estate more than doubled the size of their original sponsorship.

“I was surprised by the response,” said Carolyn LaFave, events manager for the chamber. “Members were willing to help after the fact, without earning the benefits from the investment normally afforded a commercial sponsor.”

Another boon came in the form of the Edmonds Police Department’s itemized bill for services required for the day.

“It was several thousand less than we had budgeted,” Hills said. “The police did not give less service and there was no gift. It was simply the way they administered the contract.” Other bills also came in less than budgeted, dropping additional funds to the bottom line, he added.

“At this point, it looks like the Fourth of July event will be in the black now,” said Clyborne, who added that the chamber will fold in proceeds from August’s Dave Stern Memorial Golf Classic to round donations up.