July-EDC-Newsletter-1 - Pacific County Economic Development

Vital Statistics
Latest (May) Pacific County Unemployment: 8.4% Steady
New Business Licenses YTD: 54
Sales Tax Distributions through June: $1,155,958
Lodging Tax Distributions through June: $354,270
Minding the Store
Harmony
Soapworks

Diana Thompson
& John Adams, owners

Ocean Park

Established 1997,
in Ocean Park since 1999

No. of employees: 1 FT, 1 PT

Key product: Handmade soap

Key demographic: Export
market (Japan), local niche
Christy Marrs cuts a block of soap down to size.
D
iana Thompson and John Adams came up smelling sweet after getting into
the soap business in the mid-1990s.
Harmony Soapworks started in 1997 and moved to the Peninsula in 1999.
“When we were in Portland I had this real urge to have my own business and stop
working for somebody else,” Diana said. “[We] looked at businesses to buy and got
involved in the small business program at Clackamas Community College.”
The “Greenhouse Class” helped them focus in on the type of businesses that might
work for the couple.
John adds: “I can’t tell you how many things we looked at Continued on back page
Quarterly
941
Quarterly
Forms due July 31
941 – L&I – ESD
— Etc.
Don’t forget; you know
they won’t
Meeting schedule:
EDC South:
Noon, Aug. 6: To be determined
EDC North:
8 a.m., Aug. 3, Chen’s Restaurant
TAC/PCOG:
TAC, 10:30; PCOG, 1 p.m.; Aug. 26,
County Courthouse Annex
Pacific County Economic Development Council
211 Commercial St. • Raymond, WA 98577
360.875.9330 • 360.642.9330
Director’s Dispatch
By Paul Philpot
Greetings, EDC members.
As your EDC staff, Mike and I
are excited to offer a revamped
newsletter. It’s been a while
since we’ve had one, but it’s
important for us to have a way
to communicate with you.
Here are the highlights of the
past few months:
 We have worked with
Grays Harbor College to
produce the 2015 Exporting
Series. We have held three
sessions already. The next
session is Sept. 22 with
Stephanie Scott from Procurement Technical Assistance Center.
 The Pacific Council of Governments continues to invest in infrastructure.
 All four area ports have
projects in the works. Business has been brisk at the
Port of Willapa Harbor; the
Port of Ilwaco continues to
improve its infrastructure.
The Port of Chinook is
working on a new boat
hoist; and the Port of Peninsula is installing an ice
machine to serve the shellfish industry.
As everyone knows, hospitality season is in full swing. Members report positive trends.
The shoreline master program is important to all county
residents. We would encourage
you to become and stay informed.
Please check back here in our
next edition for a brief recap.
To receive a paper copy of the newsletter, please call
(360) 642-9330 or (360) 875-9330
or email [email protected]
for business opportunities, but
lodgings.
we had a real good, trusted
“This has become so popubusiness adviser who was our
lar that we sometimes have
instructor in the small business
to make soap especially for
class, and it got to the point
guest bars,” she said.
with him that we would call him
The couple also have a
and say, ‘Hey, we’ve got someside business called Soap
thing, we got something we’d
Impressions, making custom
like to bounce off you,’ and his
stamps.
reply would be, ‘What kind of
These range from simple
dead cat are you dragging in this
designs to political messages
time?’” They considered win— whatever the customer
dow film design, twice-baked
wants, Diana said.
potatoes and several franchises.
Harmony products can be
A man in the small business
found throughout Pacific
class with them had a soap
County in shops and museJohn Adams shrink wraps a bar of
business and wanted to get out. shaving soap.
ums. Some feature labels
The couple took him up on an
sporting familiar scenes ininvitation to watch the soap-making process,
cluding the Northwest Carriage Museum and the
and it took off from there.
Pacific County Historical Society.
While their product is available online and in
Harmony makes custom soap for a lavender
several stores, they sell thousands of bars of soap farm using ingredients provided by the farm.
to a Japanese company with exacting standards. Other products made by employee Christy Marrs
Cutting the bars to exact sizes leaves a lot of look good enough to eat (but don’t).
trimmings that could be money down the drain.
Want your own soap label or would you like
Thompson and Adams instead found a new
to carry Harmony Soapworks products in your
market for the trimmings as guest soaps at local store? Call Diana or John at 360-665-0102.
2015 Membership list
42nd Street Café
Active Enterprises
Adrift Inn & Spa; Discovery Coast
Inn
Alber Seafoods
Andrew Monson, Attorney
Anita’s Café
ARK Plumbing Services
Arthur Strand Insurance
B.T. Wilson Construction
Baker & Son Construction
Bank of the Pacific
Bay Center Mariculture
beachdog.com Inc.
Beacon Charters & RV Park
Bell Buoy Crab Inc.
BJ & R Inc.
Blue Crab Graphics
Boreas Bed & Breakfast
Bud's Lumber
Chinook Coffee
Chinook Marine
City of Ilwaco
City of Long Beach
City of South Bend
Coast Seafoods
Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum
Colvin's Quality Inspections
CresComm WiFi
Cutler Management
Davis Real Estate
Dennis Company
Dilk Tire Factory
Discovery Coast Real Estate
Don Nisbett Art Gallery
Ekone Oyster Company
Elizabeth Penoyer, Attorney
First American Title
Fosse Farms
Funland
Grays Harbor College
Great Northwest Federal Credit Union
Harborview Motel, Northern Oyster
Harmony Soapworks
Hawk's Superior Rock
Heavenly Memories
Heidi's Inn
Key Environmental Solutions LLC
Lead To Results
Lighthouse Oceanfront Resort
Lighthouse Realty
Long Beach Commercial Security
Lost Roo Inc.
Marsalee's Thai Food
Marsh's Free Museum
Michael S. Turner, Attorney
Mike Swanson Realty
Mike's Computer Repair
Naselle Rock & Asphalt
Northwest Ins. & Financial Services
Ocean Park Area Chamber of Commerce
Oman & Son
Pacific Co. Historical Society & Museum
Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Found.
Pacific County PUD No. 2
Pacific Eye Clinic
Pacific Realty
Pacific Salmon Charters
Pacific Transit
Peninsula Pharmacies
Peninsula Sanitation Service
Pioneer Grocery
Pioneer Market & Deli
Pitchwood Alehouse & Inn
Port of Chinook
Port of Ilwaco
Port of Peninsula
Powell, Seiler & Co.
Raymond Federal Bank
River's End Campground
Security State Bank
Shane Resorts (Ocean Park Resort)
Sid's Supermarket
Slater's Diner
South Bend Pharmacy
South Bend Products
Sunset Air
The Depot Restaurant
Weyerhaeuser
Willapa Harbor Chamber
Willapa Harbor Health & Rehab.
World Kite Museum
Bridgewater Logging
Chen's Restaurant
Chris Johnson Crane Service
Coastal Communit Action Program
Corner Café
Doc's Tavern
Enterprise For Equity
Foxglove Enterprises
Greater Grays Harbor
Hanner Enterprises
Harbor Saw & Supply
Hurley's Buffalo Studio
Ilwaco Fisherman's Cove
Ilwaco Landing, LLC
Jack's Country Store
Long Beach Cranberry Growers Assoc.
Mill Creek Nursery
Oceanside Animal Clinic
Pacific County Title
Seaquest Motel
Shelburne Inn
Sportsman's Cannery
The Breakers
Timberland Regional Library
Membership
highlights:
The Port of Peninsula will
begin testing its new ice
machine soon as it gears
up to provide ice to the
shellfish industry.
The Adrift Hotel & Spa
was featured on KING 5
TV’s Best of Western
Washington.
Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish Co. is
in shrimp, whiting and
albacore seasons and is
buying substantially
more than it did last
year. Jessie’s expects to
complete renovations at
the South Bend plant in
August. The company has
also invested several
hundred thousand dollars to upgrade
wastewater treatment at
Ilwaco in response to
odor concerns.
Robert C Rockett of R&S
Financial in Raymond has
been named a member
of the 2015 Chairman’s
Club of Manhattan Insurance Group. Bob is one of
the top 10 producers for
Western United Life Assurance Company and
will be awarded a trip to
Prague, Czech Republic,
and Berlin, Germany.
Share the news!
Personnel promotions,
production highlights,
physical plant upgrades
or anything you’d like to
publicize. Call 360-6429330, 360-875-9330 or
email
[email protected].