September 17th 2011 - Elma Chamber Of Commerce
Northwest Junior Rodeo Finals come to Elma!

September 17th and 18th the Grays Harbor Fair and Event Center will play host to the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association Finals. Rodeo performances begin at 6 PM on Friday evening and 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday.  Public admission and parking is free.
 
The Northwest Junior Rodeo Association features some of the best young rodeo talent in Washington State and is not that different from any professional rodeo circuit. Over 200 contestants and their families travel Washington State from April until October competing at rodeos from Sumas on the Canadian border to Long Beach in the south, hoping to qualify for this finals rodeo. Along the way, adult volunteers help the cowboys and cowgirls learn the skills necessary to compete and win. They also learn the cowboy way and the love of a sport that is truly American.

You’ll see bareback riding, bull riding, team roping, breakaway roping, barrel racing, goat tying, pole bending, dummy roping, and other events at both performances on Saturday and Sunday plus a whole lot more, including “World Famous Wyatt Grahn” the youngest, working rodeo clown and bull fighter in the West.

Many of the contestants you will see are competing concurrently in the NJRA, High School rodeo, and some of the amateur rodeo circuits here in Washington including the Northwest Professional Rodeo Association and many of the barrel racing and team roping associations across the state.

From the littlest barrel racer to the champion bull rider, the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association contestants bring big hearts and the cowboy spirit to every arena they compete in. Come see why the motto of the Northwest Junior Rodeo Association is:  “where the best begin”!  For further information contact 360-273-2727.

December 22nd, 2010 - Elma Chamber Of Commerce

Grays Harbor Wine & Seafood Festival

Contact:  Elma Chamber of Commerce
Email:  debbie@elmachamber.org
Ph. 360-482-3055        

Elma Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 4th Annual Grays Harbor Wine & Seafood Festival, January 22, 2011, inside the Grays Harbor Fair & Event Center Pavilion.  The festival features wine tasting, wine sales, food booths, gift & merchandise booths and live entertainment throughout the day.  Hours are noon – 9:00 p.m.  Admission is $5 in advance or $8 at the door.  You must be 21 years of age or older to attend.  Tickets are available beginning January 1st at Les Schwab Tire Centers in Grays Harbor and West Olympia or from any Elma Chamber of Commerce Board member.
 
Don’t miss out on special packages of wine tasting script and commemorative wine glasses while glass supplies last.  Participating Wineries include: Stinas Cellars, Scatter Creek Winery, Hansen & Hansen, Widgeon Hill Winery, Waving Tree Winery, Heymann Whinery Etc., Westport Winery, Challenger Ridge Vineyards, Hoodsport Winery, Madsen Family Winery, Eagle Haven Winery, Mt. St. Helens Winery, Birchfield Winery, Bateaux Cellars, Chandler Reach Vineyards and Masquerade Wine Company.

    Entertainment kicks off at noon with TWISTED WHISTLE, An acoustic American fusion band comprised of 4 talented artists from Portland, Oregon.  Together they combine hints of jazz, folk, bluegrass, hip hop, soul and Americana to create a danceable age friendly, high energy experience to any event.

From 2:30 – 4:30 enjoy the ELMA HIGH SCHOOL JAZZ BAND featuring great jazz music from our local, young Grays Harbor musicians under the direction of their band instructor, Brad McNeil.

At 5:00 p.m. SIDEWAYS REIGN takes the stage, a group comprised of musicians from Union, Washington, who blend an interesting variety of rock, blues, folk and even some funk.  Recently back from a U.S. tour, this up-and-coming Indie band has a popular playlist of all original music.

To close out the night from 7:30 to 10:00 THE VARMINTS return to the festival this year to perform favorite classis rock hits from the 60’s & 70’s up through today’s contemporary rock.

Thanks to Elma Microtel Inn & Suites, Rich Hartman 5 Star Motors, Grays Harbor Radio, Jodesha Broadcasting, Grays Harbor Tourism and the City of Elma for sponsoring this event.

November 29, 2010 - Elma Chamber of Commerce

Visit Santa in Elma on December 11 and 15 and get those priceless holiday pictures.  Elma Chamber of Commerce and Elma Feed & Farm Supply are sponsoring Pictures with Santa.  Bring your kids and pets to Elma Feed & Farm Supply Store, 424 N. 2nd Street on Saturday, December 11, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and Wednesday, December 15, 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.  Digital pictures are $5 each and can include as many people or pets you want in the picture.  For additional information call the Elma Chamber of Commerce 482-3055.

Nov. 1, 2010  - NewWood to restart former Boise Cascade plant; plans to hire 150 people-

ELMA, Wash. – A match made in heaven – between an idle factory and an eager entrepreneur who saw its promise – will bring 150 jobs and a state-of-the-art “green” company to Satsop Development Park in Southwest Washington.

NewWood Corporation just signed the paperwork to purchase and re-open the 275,000-square-foot-manufacturing complex on 15 acres, formerly owned and operated by Boise Cascade. NewWood Corporation is the parent company to NewWood Manufacturing Inc., which will manufacture a unique wood-plastic composite utility board material, “Polyply,” to be used in products such as fruit bins, pallets, fencing, concrete forms and engineered flooring.

NewWood is acquiring all of the equipment and technology assets from OfficeMax Inc., parent company of Boise Cascade, who owned the plant, which was never in commercial production and closed in 2006, due to corporate reorganization. NewWood has signed a 20-year lease with Satsop Development Park with two optional 10-year extensions.

While the plant will take about four months to be fully “recommissioned,” the hiring process will begin immediately. NewWood plans to hire 150 people from the area, said John Bowser, president and CEO of NewWood Corporation and NewWood Manufacturing Inc.

NewWood has scheduled an Open House for 11 a.m. Nov. 15 at the NewWood Plant at Satsop Development Park in Elma. In the meantime, job seekers can submit their resumes online at www.NewWoodCorp.com.

“We are looking for hardworking people in the areas of manufacturing, technology, research and development, quality assurance, maintenance, machine operation, as well as a few administrative staff,” Bowser said.

NewWood Vice President of Sales and Marketing Larry Potvin emphasized the company’s commitment to the Elma area, saying, “We are invested in this community and feel strongly about hiring locally and buying products from local businesses. We are committed to doing our part to help stimulate the local economy and are hoping to have a positive impact on the regional and state economy by partnering with Washington businesses.”

The manufacturing complex tucked away on Fuller Hill didn’t attract the attention of many people, but when Bowser came in August of 2007 to buy a part for another business, “It was love at first sight! It felt very comfortable to me. I understood the process and saw immediate market opportunities,” he said.

Bowser, the former CEO of Trespa, North America, a global manufacturer of high-pressure laminate products, is an entrepreneur. He has had success in commercial cabinets, mill work and composite panels as well as exterior wall cladding products for commercial applications.

“We are so pleased with the re-opening of this innovative manufacturing plant,” said Tami Garrow, CEO of the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority, which owns and manages the Park. “NewWood brings new hope and prosperity to our community and we are thrilled they are coming to Satsop.”

“NewWood is the latest in a series of great “recycling” projects here at Satsop – starting with the Park’s reincarnation from unfinished nuclear plant to professional business park,” said Garrow.  “Next came BMT-Northwest’s renovation of our former turbine building into a world-class steel fabrication facility, followed by the repurposing of the Park’s unused, oversized water pipes into a unique tunnel safety training facility that will increase workplace safety around the country.

“Satsop Development Park is a truly great place for re-inventing business because our legacy is all about recycling and renewal. What better place for a company that is breaking new ground in the 21st century wood and building products than here at the Park where entrepreneurship is embraced and encouraged,” said the Steve Poler, Satsop’s board chairman.

“We welcome the new jobs and new green building products that NewWood brings to our region. This company is a great fit for our Park, surrounded as we are by sustainable managed forestlands that we hope will someday attract more next-generation wood products companies,” Poler said.

Satsop Development Park is a 1,700-acre mixed-use business and technology park located in scenic Grays Harbor County in Southwest Washington just 30 minutes from Olympia and the I-5 corridor. It is home to more than 30 businesses, offers 440 acres of developed, pad-ready land and buildings supported by super-sized infrastructure and surrounded by 1,200 acres of sustainable managed forestland.
    The Park is managed by the Grays Harbor Public Development Authority, a public corporation whose mission is to create new jobs and investment for the region. More information on Satsop Development Park can be found at www.Satsop.com.

May 13, 2010 - Elma Chamber Of Commerce -

Elma’s City-Wide Garage Sales

Looking for Garage Sales!  Elma’s City-Wide Garage Sale will be held, July 16-18, in conjunction with downtown “Sizzlin’ Sidewalk Sales” and during the Brownfield Memorial Race taking place at Grays Harbor Raceway. 

Get on the official Elma Chamber Garage Sale Map for only $5.00.  Garage sales may be held any one or more days during the event time.  The Elma Chamber of Commerce will take care of the advertising and promotion.  Help make this a big event!

Deadline to get on the map is noon, July 13th, maps will be ready for distribution by July 14th.  Addresses within a three-mile radius are eligible to participate.

Email info@elmachamber.org or call 360-482-3055. 
 

April 26, 2010 - Satsop Devopment Park

Dr. Elson Floyd, Washington State University president, will tour Satsop Development Park and the Regional Education and Training Center (RETC) located there on Wednesday to learn more about the diverse training and education opportunities available at Satsop. For more information click here

April 23, 2010 - Satsop Devopment Park

SR 520 test pontoon construction finished and ‘a complete success’

    SATSOP – The construction of the test pontoon for the State Route 520 Bridge replacement is complete and a “complete success.”

    “We’ve learned a tremendous amount,” said Scott Ireland, Washington State Department of Transportation’s (WSDOT) project engineer for the project which occurred on seven acres at Satsop Development Park in eastern Grays Harbor County. For more information click here
 

April 14, 2010 - Satsop Devopment Park

Successful shipment from renovated barge slip
Will help Satsop Development Park, Brown-Minneapolis Tank-NW,
   
    SATSOP – The eight huge steel tanks that were successfully – and impressively – loaded and barged four at a time down the Chehalis River Tuesday and Wednesday open up a myriad of possibilities for fabricator Brown-Minneapolis Tank-Northwest as well as Satsop Development Park, which recently renovated its barge slip to make the shipment possible. For more information click here