Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Benefit Program
This benefit program provides highly competitive group rates through contracts with the largest and most respected insurance carriers in the state of Washington. Benefits are offered to member companies from 2 to 149 employees.
- Competitive prices through “large group” buying power
- Ease of administration with consolidated service through Benefit Administration Company
- Comprehensive benefits for groups from 2 to 149 employees
- Discounted section 125 (flex plan) services
- COBRA administration
- Electronic fulfillment including plan booklets, summaries, and forms
- Wellness programs that can increase productivity and lower absenteeism,
- which can have a direct impact on the cost of providing healthcare benefits.
Get More Information About the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce Benefit Program
Providing Networking Opportunities
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce provides its members with frequent and valuable networking events. It’s true what they say: it’s not what you know but who you know. Get to know Skagit County by getting to know its people. Build business relationships and develop friendships with leaders of Skagit County!
- Quarterly Biz Buzz Networking Luncheons: Polish up your best elevator speech and come prepared to visit with 42 of the over 135 people who attend these events! This speed-networking meeting is a chance to showcase your business, promote an event, or highlight specials. Be sure to bring plenty of business cards and flyers!
- Business After Hours: Enjoy some fun social time with other chamber members at a local business! These events are held after the work day and are catered, with plenty of door-prizes to boot! This is a great chance to get to know other businesspeople and a local business in a relaxed atmosphere.
- Monthly Membership Luncheons: The fourth Wednesday of every month, the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce hosts a membership luncheon with a keynote speaker. Take time before and after the lunch to network with other chamber members. Learn something new from the informative program each month.
- Putts & Pints Million $ Golf Tournament: Sharpen your golf and networking skills! Whether you decide to come as a player, sponsor a hole or just come for the brewfest, this annual golf tournament is a great way to meet new people on a beautiful Skagit golf course! This August tournament is in conjunction with the Burlington Chamber of Commerce, so you can gain exposure to even more businesses in Skagit County. This event is a hole-in-one!
- Skagit Young Professionals: If you or an employee of yours is between the ages of 21 and 40, then don’t miss out on SYP! This group was created to provide networking opportunities for young professionals in our county so that they can build the relationships that will help them become the future leaders of our community. This is a great retention tool for talented young employees, and it’s a lot of fun, too!
- Chamber Committees: Join a Chamber Committee and meet lots of new people! Being involved in some of the great programs we have, including Tourism, Government Affairs, events like the Golf & Show, Ambassadors, and more!
Creating a Strong Local Economy
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce works year-round to improve the business climate in our area. We provide our members with numerous advertising and marketing opportunities so that you can keep customers coming back. The educational programs we design and promote help our members to do business better, and our workforce development programs ensure that our members will have qualified employees to keep business going.
- Advertising & Marketing: You can promote your business in many ways with the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce! Take out an ad in our Chamber Chat Newsletter, on our website, or in our business directory. Promote your event in the weekly e-newsletter for free, or insert a flyer into the monthly newsletter. Sponsor a hole at the annual Million Dollar Golf & Trade Show. For Skagit County, the Visitors’ Information Center keeps brochures for chamber members exclusively, and we refer thousands of people to chamber members annually. The possibilities are endless!
- Education: Sometimes it’s difficult to get away from your business for continuing education. That’s why the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce works to create educational opportunities for its chamber members. Join us for our monthly membership meetings, where you can stay informed on current business issues in our area, new legislation, candidates’ platforms, the local economy, and more! Take advantage of the exclusive Chamber webinars and online classes offered by the Chamber. Don’t forget to read your monthly Chamber Chat Newsletter and keep up to date with the weekly e-Chat.
- Work Readiness Credential: Do you ever wish there was a way to know if a prospective employee will show up to work on time or remember to politely address your customers? The Work Readiness Credential is an exam piloted in Mount Vernon to test job-seekers for entry-level soft skills. By showing this credential on their resume, a potential employee will show you that he or she is ready to work.
- Offering your employees a chance to get involved with the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce can serve as an excellent employee retention plan. Help your employees build their business network, promote your company, and enhance their careers.
Promoting the Community
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce operates the Mount Vernon Visitor’s Information Center in the Skagit Station, 7 days a week, year-round. Community promotion is a vital component of economic growth. Besides acting as the Gateway to Skagit County, the Chamber promotes our community and membership in a variety of ways:
- The Visitor’s Information Center sees over 70,000 people per year at the Skagit Station and receives 15,000 phone calls, from tourists to the area and locals looking for business referrals to people looking to relocate and locals riding the Amtrak to Seattle or Vancouver. Almost every person picks up a brochure for a business in Skagit County. It is the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce’s policy to refer businesses exclusively to our Chamber members. Get your brochure and business card on our racks today!
- The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce hosts and updates a website, www.visitmountvernon.com, for tourism in the area. This website is promoted throughout the country at trade shows and through press releases, and you will soon be able to purchase advertising for your business on this website!
- Each year, representatives from the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce operate trade show booths at tourism shows throughout the country and attend the National Tour Association convention to bring tours to our area. With each tour and tourist that visits Skagit County, your business gets exposure!
- The Tourism Committee works hard to promote our area through press releases, direct promotion to travel writers and travel shows, and strategically-placed advertising for our community. Get involved and promote Skagit County today!
Government Advocacy
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce and its members take an active role in local, state, and federal government. The Chamber works to represent the interests of business with government, and we offer our members numerous opportunities to get involved and stay informed.
- At the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce, we make it a policy to stay on top of the latest legislation, debates, and agendas in the federal, state, and local government. For any issue that might be important to or affect our members, we report to the Chamber at large via the website, weekly emails, and monthly membership meetings.
- The Government Affairs Committee establishes an agenda each year on what issues to pursue with local and state government and then advocates for business and opens conversations with government officials surrounding those issues.
- The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of business on personal level, by involving ourselves in decision-making processes on local issues. For example, representatives from the Chamber sit on the committee for downtown business development, the Waterfront Master Plan, and others. Whenever an issue affecting business is addressed at a local level, the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce will be at the table to represent our members.
- Each year, members of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce have the chance to hear directly from our local and state legislators at the yearly Legislative Wrap Up luncheon. This membership luncheon features a panel of legislators and our Government Affairs Committee, and it focuses on what has happened in government over the past year.
Political Action
The Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce does not endorse candidates, but we do take positions on issues affecting the business community. We also work to keep our members informed about upcoming elections so that you can make the best decisions for your business.
- Each year, the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce hosts a Candidates’ Forum at which every Chamber member can have the opportunity to hear directly from candidates in local, state, and federal elections.
- In the past, the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce has taken positions on issues like the Family Paid Leave Act, small business insurance, land use, business taxes, and FEMA flood mapping, to name a few.
- The voice of the Mount Vernon Chamber of Commerce is strong in our community, and through the support of our members, we can accomplish real change on a political level.