December 28, 2009 How's Business Newsletter

We wish you and yours a very Happy, Abundant and Prosperous New Year. We look forward to bringing you all the good business news of 2010, each week, right here in the How's Business newsletter. Thanks very much for reading.

With newspapers around the country experiencing very difficult times leading to layoffs, cutbacks and closures, the Inlander in Spokane is celebrating overall sales growth in 2009 over 2008, making this the Inlander's best year in the company's history! The weekly newspaper has also seen consistent growth in both circulation and readership levels for all their publications, which include InHealthNW Magazine, Annual Manual magazine, Snow News for Ski the NW Rockies and several other annual products. The Inlander newspaper was started in October of 1993; and currently more than160,000 people in the inland northwest read it every week.

There are still good seats left for the 2010 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships. You can still get tickets for all of the 23 events. Ticket prices start at $15, and there are nine different events priced at $20 or less, so there's something for every budget. Every ticket sold in December and early January will put the event closer to beating the 2007 record. Individual ticket and ticket package information is available online at www.spokane2010.com by calling 1-888-SK8-2010, or to save ticketing fees they can be purchased at the Spokane Arena Box Office. BUY TICKETS NOW FOR THIS IMPORTANT EVENT AND HELP SPOKANE BREAK THE U.S. FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS ATTENDANCE RECORD AGAIN IN 2010!

Spokane's big New Year's Celebration, First Night, is coming up Thursday. First Night organizers have worked all year long to bring lots of new exciting things to the Inland Northwest for the 9th Annual First Night Spokane; Five Party Zones, A Fantastic Variety Show , The Snowboard Rail Jam and a great Prize Drawing are just a few of things you have to look forward to. Buttons for this year's event are on sale at the following locations:

• All Spokane area Zip Trip Stores
• River Park Square-Concierge
• Aunties Book Store
• Bergman Luggage
• Spokane Visitors Bureau
• Mountain West Bank
• Paul Mitchell-The School Spokane

Cost is $12 prior to the event, $15 the day of the event. Kids get in free when accompanied by button. Everything you want to know about this year's event is available to you at firstnightspokane.org.

The Hagadone Marine Group was recently named #35 in the Boating Industry's Top 100 dealers in North America. The group consists of the Resort Boat Shop and the Yacht Club Sales and Service companies as well as three marinas on Lake Coeur d'Alene: Boardwalk Marina, Blackwell Island Marina and the Silver Beach Marina. From boat rentals at the Boardwalk Marina to complete wooden boat restoration at The Resort Boat Shop to the top fiberglass boats on the lake at the Yacht Club, the Hagadone Marine Group provides all regional boaters with unmatched customer service, factory-trained and fully certified technicians, the largest service department in the area, and the best boats and yachts on the water. Yacht Club Sales and Service sells Carver and Marquis yachts and Cobalt, Regal and Malibu boats. The website is hagadonemarine.com.

Numerica Credit Union recently promoted Deanna Ervin to the branch manager position for Spokane's South Hill branch, at 2202 East 29th. She has 11 years of experience with Numerica as a teller, member service representative, supervisor and most recently as the member service center manager. Ervin, a lifelong resident of the Spokane Valley and an East Valley High School graduate, is currently working toward completion of a degree in business management and will graduate from Western CUNA (Credit Union National Association) Management School in July of 2010.

Spend News Years Day at the MAC's First Day event, 10am to 6pm on Friday, January 1st and enjoy live music, magic shows and museum cruising. There's something fun for the whole family at the Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. 1st. Magician Dick Frost, 10am-noon, bubble illusionist Jarom Watts, noon-2pm, flautist Robins Song, 2-4pm, and The Mystic Dream Dance Company, a traditional belly dance troupe, 4-6pm. Admission is FREE to museum members and First Night button wearers/$5-7 regular admission. Phone 509-456-3931 for more information.

More jobs for Spokane next year! Fairchild Air Force Base will begin over $54 million in construction projects in 2010 and is looking to add another $14.2 million for a new headquarters for the 92ndAir Refueling Wing and the 141st Air National Guard. New projects include an $11 million support complex for the Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) program, $7.4 million in dormitory renovations, $28 million replacement fitness center, $3.6 million for upgrades to the Officers Club and $4.1 million to construct a maintenance facility for refueling vehicles.

Deaconess Medical Center received a Gold Performance Achievement Award from the American College of Cardiology Foundation and the American Heart Association.

Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI), is accepting nominations for the 25th Annual 2010 AGORA Awards, recognizing outstanding businesses in the categories of small, medium, large and non-profit businesses in our region. In ancient Athens, the AGORA was the center of all business activity, the market place, hence the program name. This program recognizes those businesses in our community and region that exemplify leadership to support a strong economy and quality of life. Greater Spokane Incorporated directs much of its focus and activity to enhance the growth of existing business, and through that growth, the prosperity of the region. Each year, GSI solicits nominations from members, volunteers, business owners, and the general public. Nominees do not need to be members of Greater Spokane Incorporated. More than 100 businesses and organizations have been recipients of the AGORA Award for over a quarter century, and several thousand have been nominated and named as finalists. Nomination forms can be downloaded from our web site here or at www.greaterspokane.org and sent back by email to mmcneal@greaterspokane.org, by mail to: Attn: Greater Spokane Inc. AGORA Awards, 801 W Riverside, Suite 100, Spokane, WA 99201, or by fax at 509-747-0077. Nominations must be received by January 22nd at 4:00 p.m. Formal interviews will be conducted by the judges, who will select the winner of each category based on growth, marketing strategy, employee environment, customer service, response to adversity and contribution to the regional economy. Once a decision has been made on the four initial categories, the head judges select the winner of the C. Michael Archer Community Service and Entrepreneurial Spirit awards. All the finalists are eligible for these awards. The 2010 AGORA Awards will take place on Wednesday, June 2nd at The Davenport Hotel. For more information please visit the AGORA Awards page on our web site at http://www.greaterspokane.org/the-agora-awards.html.

David McKenzie has joined the staff of the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce as a Member Services Representative. He has been involved, as a member & volunteer with the Chamber for several years. His new email is david@spokanevalleychamber.org

Ric and Kathy Rocca have opened Jimmy Johns, a popular Midwest-based sandwich shop franchise, downtown at 124 South Wall. The restaurant, which is known for fresh daily ingredients and quick service, will employ 15 to 20 workers, mostly part time. The improvements to the 1,550 square foot space that used to house a Quiznos and D&B Trading Company, was completed by Baker Construction and Development Inc.

Lisa Sanborn, formerly a senior manager at Moss Adams LLP, has joined Inland Northwest Bank as a vice president and controller.

The Ronald McDonald House Charities Classic will feature Gonzaga University against Oklahoma University at the Spokane Arena at 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31. The Bulldogs, ranked 24th in the nation, have eight wins and three losses and take on the unranked Sooners, who are 8-4 and coming off a loss to University of Texas-El Paso. Tickets in the $65 price range are still available for this game and can be bought at the Spokane Arena box office or through Tickets West at http://www.ticketswest.com or 800-325-SEAT.

The 100 Year Anniversary of the Looff Carrousel will be celebrated with an exhibition of artifacts and artwork at the Chase Gallery, January 5th through February 26th, 2010. The Chase Gallery is located in City Hall at 808 W. Spokane Falls Blvd. in Spokane. An artist reception will be held on Friday, February 5th, 5 to 9 p.m. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Monday from 5:30 p.m. through the City Council meeting. The Art of the Carrousel will include artwork by Michael Gass, Nona Hengen, Betty Largent, Loraine Krank and Jessie Swanson. The exhibit will also display artifacts from the Looff Carrousel, including several antique horses and figures. Horses and horses under construction by Mark Blumhagen will also be exhibited. A history of the Carrousel will be displayed, and brochures will be available. Built in 1909, the Looff Carrousel located in Spokane's Riverfront Park is one of only 154 operating, hand-carved carrousels from the late 1800's and early 1900's. It is typically in the top 5, and has one of the highest numbers of riders of any carrousel. The Carrousel is on the National Register of Historic Places, and is considered to be the last operating carrousel created by Charles Looff.

The business thought of the week is from Edith Lovejoy Pierce: "We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Years Day."

Be sure to catch “How’s Business?” Friday mornings at 8:55 on KXLY News Radio 920 and Sunday mornings at 7:30 on KXLY TV News 4’s Good Morning Northwest Sunday.