Support Small Business

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10 Ways to Show Your Local Love this Holiday Season

BELLINGHAM, WA, November 17, 2022 – Join Sustainable Connections and Sasquatch as they share 10
ways to show your local love this holiday season.

1. Attend a local event! This community is bursting with holiday markets and celebrations. Peruse local vendors’ offerings to find a special gift, and know that you’re supporting a small business in the process. Find a gathering that invites community to celebrate together, sparkling lights and warm beverages included! Check out Sustainable Connections’ event calendar here.

2. Learn something new! Did you know this community is full of talented craftspeople just waiting to share the tricks of their trade? Well, now you do! The holiday season is the perfect time to learn a new skill – and it’s even better if you walk away with a sweet gift to share with your friends and family. Find holiday classes here.

3. Give a Think Local First Gift Card! Whatcom County Think Local FIrst gift cards are the perfect way to share the local love – after all, they’re redeemable at over 270 local businesses! Sending cards is easy too. Simply choose your recipient and send your gift card via text message or email. You also have the option of printing out gift cards to hand deliver to a special someone. Send a gift card here and find a list of participating businesses here.

4. Add a gift tag! Sustainable Connections has created a variety of adorable gift tags that can adorn your gifts with local love. Think Local First gift tags are free to download and print yourself or you can pick them up for free at CopySource at 1122 N State Street in downtown Bellingham. Find them here!

5. Tell your favorite local business you ♥ them! Local love is best when shared! Shout it from the frosty rooftops this season by submitting your favorite local business and what you love about them. So much of the work of small business owners goes unappreciated, and it can make someone’s day to know why they’re a special part of your world. Plus, when you submit your response, you’ll be entered to win a local Hydrascape sticker and a Hydroflask to display it on! Enter here.

6. Shop the local gift guide! Looking for inspiration but not quite sure where to find it? Sustainable Connections has you covered with their local gift guide. You’ll find a variety of gift options at a range of prices. The one constant? They’re all local – and awesome! Check out the gift guide here.

7. Find local food for your holiday meals! This is such a special time of year for local food. You might be wondering what could possibly be in season, but luckily there is a bounty of locally sourced products to choose from for festive meals, weekly groceries, unique gifts, and holiday
décor. Find all the most delightful local goodies in one place – The Holiday Food & Farm Finder!

8. Shop at a winter farmers market! Farmers markets aren’t just for summer! That’s right – there are plenty of markets around Washington that are open into the winter. They’re the perfect places to stock up on farm-to-table goodness for your holiday meals. Find winter farmers markets here.

9. Win epic food prizes! Okay, so this one is a win-win. You support local AND you get the chance to win over $1500 worth of local fabulous foodie goodies (say that ten times fast). Take a brief survey to be entered to win one of many delicious prizes from local farms, markets, and restaurants. The deadline to enter is midnight on January 1, 2023. Winners will be notified in early January. Enter here!

10. Deck yourself – and your loved ones – out in local apparel! Show your love of local with a custom “Think Local First” or “Drink Local First” tee, tank, or sweatshirt. Suuuuper soft cotton-polyester blended fabrics are sure to keep you comfortable and stylish this season! Shop here.

As Amy Vergillo, Sustainable Connection’s Communications Director, says, “When we talk about the holiday spirit, we’re really talking about the spirit of reciprocity. By shopping and eating locally, you can give the gift of your hard-earned dollars, your attention, and your care to this community. And in return, you get seriously delicious food and gorgeous gifts!”

Investing in the local economy builds a vibrant and thriving community, supporting the small business owners and farmers who make this place such a special home to so many. Give the gift of local this holiday season – find more information and inspiration at thinklocalfirst.org, Washington Holiday Food and Farm Finder, and Sustainable Connections’ Facebook and Instagram.

Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing names Brad Barron CEO

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Brad Barron, the family’s third generation at Ferndale-based Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing, will become its CEO on Jan. 1.

John Barron, CEO and principal owner since 1998, will continue with the company as executive chair and coach. He’s led steady growth of the company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary with projected 2022 revenues of $40 million and more than 200 employees.

“Brad has an engineering mind with people skills,” John Barron said of his son. “He is very people-centric. “For Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing to continue to grow, he has the ability to see the big picture.”

Brad Barron took his civil engineering background to the family company in 2017, starting as the business development manager. He became director of operations in 2018 and chief operating officer in 2020. The new CEO is credited by his father with launching Barron Technician School and expanding the company’s electrical and plumbing capabilities.

“The reason I went to engineering school at the University of Washington is I like to solve problems and make things more efficient,” Brad Barron said. “Now our challenges are finding and retaining top-notch team members in a slowing economy, but our company can thrive in those conditions.”

The changes will enable John Barron to focus on what he loves the most – coaching other team members and helping them reach their goals.

“I’ve never in the history of our company enjoyed coming to work more,” said John Barron, 62.

John Barron’s parents, Dan and Vivian Barron, founded the company in 1972. Barron Heating, as it was known then, started out serving the residential new construction needs of homeowners in the greater Bellingham and Sudden Valley areas. Brad Barron said its focus on people has never wavered.

“When our co-workers, customers and community are taken care of, our business will prosper,” Brad Barron said.

Committed to improving lives through its licensed technicians, electricians, plumbers and Certified Home Performance Experts, Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing provides a wide range of heating, cooling, solar, electrical, plumbing, and indoor air quality products and services. It also offers a large selection of stoves and fireplaces in its Firelight by Barron showrooms.

Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing has become one of Northwest Washington’s largest and most respected home performance experts with showroom locations in Ferndale and Burlington. Service providers are trained at the Barron Technician School in Ferndale. Approximately 200 local employees serve customers along the I-5 corridor from Blaine to Marysville, Oak Harbor to Concrete, as well as the San Juan Islands.

Its Ferndale location is at 5100 Pacific Highway, along the east side of Interstate 5 between West Smith and Slater roads. For information, call (360) 676-1131 or visit www.barronheating.com.

 

 

 

 

 

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Upcoming Events

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For all innovators: USPTO 2022 Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program coming October 12

Do you want to learn about free, valuable resources available to inventors and entrepreneurs? Are you eager to be inspired and informed by accomplished innovators? If so, join us online Wednesday, October 12, from 1-4 p.m. ET, for the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) 2022 Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program.

This free event is open to all. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from successful Hispanic innovators about their creative and business journeys. You’ll also hear from experts about resources and funding that can help you on your own journey.

The Hispanic Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program series is presented by the USPTO’s Office of Innovation Outreach. For more information, please contact [email protected].

Together in Innovation is coming September 28

Learn how successful inventors and entrepreneurs find mentors Wednesday, September 28, from 3-4 p.m. ET during the latest installment of our free, online event series, Together in Innovation: Mentoring the innovators of tomorrow.

During this event, David Price, inventor of the Safety Pouch, and Kate Yoo McCrery, Price’s mentor and Founder of Rhinebeck Ventures, will discuss how mentors can help you be successful on your innovation journey.

Together in Innovation is presented by the Office of Innovation Outreach. For more information, please contact [email protected]

Association of Washington Business Needs Your Input

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AWB needs your input!

The Association of Washington Business (AWB) is working, in conjunction with many partners, toward the goal of doubling the state’s manufacturing employment base and the number of women- and minority-owned manufacturing businesses in 10 years. In order to accomplish this, we need to hear from many diverse members who may be considering growing or starting a manufacturing business.

In the 2021 legislative session, House Bill 1170 sponsored by Representative Matt Boehnke unanimously passed the legislature. This bill provides a state goal to double the state’s manufacturing employment base, the number of small manufacturing businesses, and the number of women- and minority-owned manufacturing businesses in 10 years. Boosting a diverse workforce is important to the overall success of this industry. Diverse employees present an incredible opportunity for manufacturers to tap into an essential pool of quality talent, innovation, and perspective. A diverse team makes an organization more resourceful and innovative, boosts revenue, and ultimately makes them more competitive in the marketplace.

As the state chamber of commerce, manufacturing association, and the National Association of Manufacturers state affiliate, AWB is uniquely positioned to address this doubling of manufacturing effort through policy, developing solutions for supply chain issues, workforce gaps, upskilling, access to capital, and many other issues that the industry faces.

If you are a woman or a person of color, we want to hear from you about what you need to start or grow your manufacturing business.

To take the survey, click the link below.

https://research.zarca.com/r/rTQS87

Barron crew rescues Bellingham dog from fire in smoke-filled house

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The quick response of a nearby HVAC crew to a Bellingham fire saved a dog and enabled firefighters to extinguish the fire before it destroyed the house.

Brett Haley, Josh Smith and Chris Foster – employees of Ferndale-based Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing – were working on a job site Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 13, in the 2700 block of Alvarado Drive.

“Chris and Josh were outside and heard a fire alarm,” Haley said. “I went out in the street and then could see smoke coming from a house two doors down from us.

“I rang the doorbell and nobody answered, but I could hear a dog barking and then saw it through a window. Since the door was unlocked, we went in to see if there were any people there.”

Despite a significant amount of smoke on the ground floor and 5-foot-high flames upstairs, Haley made a quick search of the house. “Smoke was pouring out of the upstairs windows,” Haley said. With nobody apparently home, Haley and Smith then tried to corral the small dog.

“The dog was scared, running around and hard to catch, but Josh was finally able to grab it,” Haley said.

During this time, Foster called 911. “When our crews arrived, there was heavy fire on the backside of a two-story house,” the Bellingham Fire Department reported on its Facebook page. “Our crews quickly found the origin and extinguished the fire.”

The dog eventually was given to the care of the Whatcom Humane Society, which was able to contact its owners.

Committed to improving lives through its Air Solutions team and Certified Home Performance Experts, Barron provides a wide range of heating, cooling, solar, electrical, plumbing, and indoor air quality products and services, as well as a large selection of stoves and fireplaces in its Firelight by Barron showrooms.

Barron Heating AC Electrical & Plumbing has become one of Northwest Washington’s largest and most respected home performance experts with showroom locations in Ferndale and Burlington. Service providers are trained at the Barron Technician School in Ferndale. Approximately 200 local employees serve customers along the I-5 corridor from Blaine to Marysville, Oak Harbor to Concrete, as well as the San Juan Islands.

Its Ferndale location is at 5100 Pacific Highway, along the east side of Interstate 5 between West Smith and Slater roads. For information, call (360) 676-1131 or visit www.barronheating.com.

 

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Thank you to Dave Brumbaugh for the story about a great Ferndale Chamber member!