Two Opportunities Focused on Spouses

Here's two complementary hiring events - a free networking reception and a military spouse hiring fair coming up next month.

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2015 Massing of Colors Scheduled

The 2015 Massing of the Colors will be held in Stadium High School Main Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon, February 22. Start time is 3 PM (1500 hours).  This will be President Washington's 283rd birthday.

Color Guard muster time will be 2 PM (1400 hours) in the adjacent Auxiliary Gymnasium.

In addition to limited street parking, the Stadium High School parking garage will be available.

Refreshment will be for sale in the Main Gymnasium lobby.

Application packages will be distributed about December 2014.

USS Lexington Benefit for Preservation

Maritime Heritage Swing tickets have dropped to $15 for the last two weeks of sale! 

Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com.

DAV/Recruit Military Hiring Event at Safeco

A Free Hiring Event

Veterans, thank you for your service

Thank you for your service.

Col. Chuck Hodges Jr. Receives 36th Military Citizen Award

The Chamber, in conjunction with Tacoma 8 Rotary, presented the 36th annual John H. Anderson Military Citizen Award to Colonel H. Charles “Chuck” Hodges Jr.

Colonel Hodges has more than twenty- nine years of service in the U.S. Army.  He has served as Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s commander since August 2012. He and his wife, Cathy, have two children, Shelby and Sam. As JBLM Commander he leads the nearly 3,500 soldiers, airmen and civilians who comprise the Joint Base staff.

Col. Hodges’ commitment to the quality of life of more than 100,000 service members, civilian employees and family members who are assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the critical missions they support, and the communities neighboring Joint Base Lewis-McChord, make him an excellent choice for the award.

As commander of the department of defense’s largest operational Joint Base, Col. Hodges leads a team that gets results by working collaboratively with federal, state, county and local government officials, business and community leaders. These achievements include:
•    Helping reduce I-5 traffic congestion by coordinating and facilitating the construction of a Joint Base connector road and overpass. When it opens this spring, this new road will take more than 500 daily commuter trips off I-5 each day by allowing JBLM commuters to drive non-stop from Lewis-Main to McChord Field without having to use I-5 or exit and re-enter JBLM through its gates.
•    Helping replace five of six aging Joint Base Lewis-McChord schools thanks to a partnership between JBLM, the state’s congressional delegation, state and local officials.
•    Leading Joint Base Lewis-McChord to a Silver Army Communities of Excellence Award in 2013 and a Bronze Army Communities of Excellence Award in 2014 – the industry equivalent of the Baldridge Award for organizational distinction.
•    Col. Hodges has, and will continue to, help more than 8,500 soldiers and airmen each year transition from military service to the civilian workforce through a comprehensive, multi-track transition assistance program that helps service members chart their education goals, start new businesses, retrain into high-demand trades through apprenticeship programs, or to be competitive for jobs in the civilian workforce.  These efforts are the result of the strong relationship he’s helped build between Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the State of Washington, community organizations, businesses, unions, higher education and military leadership inside and outside the state. As evidence of this, Joint Base Lewis-McChord hosted a service member for life summit that ended with a hiring fair attended by approximately three thousand service members, family members and veterans. Two hundred and forty eight employers, educators and service organizations with more than 1,300 job openings attended. Approximately 212 immediate job openings were filled that day.
•    Aggressively sponsoring a growing relationship between Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the business community and unions.  These opportunities include ongoing apprenticeship and job training programs, which are putting local service members into HVAC, welding jobs, trucking, painting, and software apprenticeships and training programs. Future opportunities include job training into the solar and renewable energy areas, medical career fields, hotel management and retail.

Colonel Hodges is an excellent selection for the John M. Anderson Military-Citizen of The Year Award. The countless hours he has donated to the community will be appreciated for years to come.

Photo caption: (l. to r.) Amy Tiemeyer, ACU (Award Sponsor) and Colonel H. Charles “Chuck” Hodges Jr.

Award Sponsor:
America’s Credit Union has been serving the military here at Joint base Lewis McChord (JBLM) since 1954; ACU has been active in creating a community that is aware of soldiers needs and able to serve our military who give so much for all of us. Amy Tiemeyer, America’s Credit Union’s Military Relations Liaison, is a veteran herself and presented the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s 36th John Anderson Military Citizen of the Year award.

About John H. Anderson:
The Chamber created the John H. Anderson Military Citizen of the Year Award to honor an outstanding military citizen to commemorate the civic contributions by our resident military personnel. John H. Anderson, a veteran, served as Tacoma’s mayor in the early to mid-1950s. An accomplished civic leader, he is also a past Chair of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber Board of Directors, as well as a successful local businessman.

Puyallup Veterans Day This Weekend

Puyallup Veterans Day this weekend.

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WNG Offers ASIST Training

The Washington National Guard is offering ASIST: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training:

Views On the Pacific Symposium at UWT

Spotlight On Two Businesses

Seven Spotlight! On Business award recipients, including Veteran-Owned Business and Business Supporter of the Military, were announced at the Chamber’s awards luncheon held at Hotel Murano September 24. The Spotlight! On Business Awards recognizes the accomplishments and civic contributions that Chamber member businesses make to the community.  The selection committee, made up of volunteers, based their choices by following five criteria:  staying power, growth in employees, evidence of contributions to community-oriented projects, innovativeness of product or service and response to adversity.

(pictured to the right: Wade Stewart, Owner, Stewart & Son Computer Services)

Veteran-Owned Business Award Recipient:  Stewart & Son Computer Services
Recognized for their success, including a 31% average growth in sales every quarter since opening in 2012, United States Army veteran owner Wade Stewart, began with one important goal in mind: creating a customer-centric niche for computer, network and server support services for small businesses. Stewart and Son began with one person, then hired their first employee in May of 2013, just 13 months after starting, adding their 2nd full-time employee in September of 2013 and, as business continued to grow, hired their first part-time apprentice in February of 2014.

Finalists for this category were:
RallyPoint/6
Sperry Ocean Dock
Stewart and Son Computer Services, LLC

(pictured to the left: Carlyn Roy, TAPCO, Award Sponsor, Anne Sprute & Tony Belit, RallyPoint/6 and Rick Stevens, GEICO, 2013 Business Supporter of the Military Award Recipient)

Supporter of the Military Award Recipient:  RallyPoint/6
Recognized for their strong support system in providing comprehensive resources to not only Veterans, but also to their family members and individuals who currently serve in the Armed Forces with resources that include housing difficulties, employment preparedness and search, educational opportunities, financial and legal options, and volunteer opportunities. RallyPoint/6 is a convening location in the community where the service member, veteran or family member can get connected with community organizations that will assist on their next steps forward to their new objective.

Finalists for this category were:
Boots to Shoes Foundation
Kel-Tech Plastics, Inc.
Nisqually Red Wind Casino
Pierce Transit
RallyPoint/6
Summit Strength & Conditioning

The Chamber applauds the award recipients and finalists for their contributions to the community and Pierce County’s economy.