US Senator Jeff Merkley will visit the East Portland Chamber of Commerce and talk with members about how best to address economic development, safety and infrastructure issues impacting East Portland at a special presentation hosted by the East Portland Chamber of Commerce (EPCC) on Wednesday, February 22, at 12:00 noon at Russellville Park, 20 SE 103rd, Portland.

The event is complimentary and open to the public. This replaces the EPCC’s weekly networking meeting scheduled for that morning. A roundtable format will allow attendees to be alongside the Senator during the dialogue and share progress on issues facing East Portland.

Senator Merkley is expected to discuss a number of issues, including how to get Oregonians back to work, livability, and small business vitality in East Portland. The event will provide local businesses and guests an opportunity to ask questions and raise concerns directly with the US Senator.

“This is a rare opportunity to have Senator Merkley come into our area and address our concerns,” said Judy Leach, East Portland Chamber president. “We look forward to being able to interact with him on a number of vital subjects that impact East Portland, including economic development and job creation.”

Senator Merkley is a native of Oregon and was born in the timber town Myrtle Creek in Douglas County. He grew up and still lives in East Multnomah County and graduated from David Douglas High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and a graduate degree in Public Policy at Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

He served as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives before being elected Oregon’s junior U.S. Senator in 2008. In the three years he’s been in office, Senator Merkley has been focused on getting our nation back on track and Oregonians back to work. He has been on the frontlines of debates around health care, financial reform, energy, reforming the Senate and working on solutions to the ongoing housing crisis and will continue fighting for Oregon.

The East Portland Chamber’s Government and Economic Affairs Committee is sponsoring this event. For more information about the East Portland Chamber, visit www.eastportlandchamberofcommerce.com.

Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack, who represents residents in much of East Portland (District 3), will address the East Portland Chamber of Commerce (EPCC) at 7:30 am, Wednesday, February 15, in the lower level Education Center B of the Adventist Medical Center, 10123 SE Market St.

The event is complimentary and open to the public with time designated for business networking.

Shiprack was elected to the county’s governing body in 2008 and helped lead the implementation of the Multnomah Food Initiative, a countywide food action plan, and a county program to divert mentally ill from jail into treatment. She leads a drive to encourage healthier families and reduce children’s exposure to violence, crime and abuse.

A former instructor at Portland’s Jefferson and Madison high schools, Shiprack studied at Reed College and earned a law degree from the Lewis and Clark Law School. In the early 1980s she served as a Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney.

In 1986, she was elected as a state representative from her southeast Portland neighborhood. She made her mark in the legislature with the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps. After leaving the legislature she created a not-for-profit affordable housing development corporation and has made low-income family assistance a focus ever since.

As a county commissioner, Shiprack co-chairs with Portland Mayor Sam Adams the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC), a partnership of public safety agencies designed to foster cooperation among the many law enforcement and public safety departments within the boundaries of Multnomah County.

Rose Community Development will host a free forum next month to present to potential home buyers accurate and relevant information about homeownership opportunities specifically in East Portland.

The first forum, conducted in the Lents neighborhood last fall, yielded three finalists for the downpayment assistance grant drawing.

The next forum will be at David Douglas High School on Wednesday, February 15, from 6 to 8:30 pm. A third forum is scheduled for April.

The forums are open to the public, and is considered an equal housing opportunity. We have heard positive feedback from our community of potential homebuyers, realtors, and lenders alike for these events and are prepared to bring another round of education and resources to our second installment of the forums.

Exhibitors are also being invited to participate in both the February and April forums. Fees range from $100 to  $200 with some complimentary tables for cultural programs and neighborhood associations. Space is limited; tables will be allocated on a first-to-register basis.

For more information, email vivian@rosecdc.org or call 503-788-8052 extension 14.

How can businesses impact political policy?

Oregonians Credit Union Vice President Charlotte Shinn will answer that question and more at the East Portland Chamber of Commerce (EPCC) weekly networking meeting on Wednesday, January 18, at 7:30 am in the lower level Education Center B of the Adventist Medical Center, 10123 SE Market St.

The event is complimentary and open to the public with time designated for business networking.

Shinn, who is chair of the Oregon-Washington Credit Union Executive Society and serves on the Northwest Credit Union Association’s Legislative Advocacy Committee, has extensive experience explaining to state legislators and congressional leaders the unique role of credit unions in the financial industry.

Her insights into how to navigate the political process will be shared at the chamber meeting.

Shinn heads up Oregonians’ Business and Community Development division and has more than 20 years in the credit union industry.

In her personal life, she is a writer, golfer, wife and mother of a college student with the goal of running a half-marathon this year. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Oregon and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

The East Portland Chamber’s Government and Economic Affairs Committee is sponsoring this event. For more information about the East Portland Chamber, visit www.eastportlandchamberofcommerce.com.

Portland City mayoral candidate Jefferson Smith’s scheduled address before the East Portland Chamber of Commerce on January 18 has been postponed to March 21, due to a conflict with legislature business.

Smith, a state legislator since 2008, will now speak to the chamber at 7:30 am, Wednesday, March 21, in the David Douglas High School library, 1001 SE 135^th Ave, Portland.

The event is complimentary and open to the public with time designated for business networking.

Smith is the third of three Portland mayoral candidates to address the EPCC. In his speech he is expected to address topics of high interest to the East Portland business community.

The East Portland Chamber’s Government and Economic Affairs Committee is sponsoring this event. For more information about the East Portland Chamber, visit www.eastportlandchamberofcommerce.com.

Our hosts for the morning will be Riverview Community Bank.  Join us for the last AM meeting of 2011 and help support a worthy cause!

Bring a non-perishable food item (baby formula and baby food are best!). Help them reach their goal of 300,000 pounds of food! You can also make a monetary donation, every dollar donated to Snowcap buys 20 pounds of food!

Snowcap is a local philanthropic organization created to provide food, clothing, advocacy and other services to the poor.

They’ve been been helping locally, right here in our own neighborhood since 1967, and have helped countless families.

Riverview Community Bank is a locally owned company that supports our community in many ways, and we’re grateful for their support and generosity all year ’round.

I urge chamber members to show up with a few extra dollars or your checkbooks in hand, and help make a difference for people directly in our neighborhood.

• Wed Dec 14th
• 7:30 – 9:00 am
• Riverview Community Bank - 10401 Northeast Halsey St.

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The East Portland Chamber of Commerce will honor the community’s first responders at its annual Recognition Breakfast at 7:30 am, Wednesday, Dec. 7. Among those to be recognized are police, fire and rescue personnel in East Portland. Educational, non-profit and charitable organizations supported through EPCC efforts will also be recognized

The year-end awards breakfast is an annual highlight of the East Portland Chamber of Commerce as it turns the spotlight on chamber members who have contributed significantly to the chamber’s successes in 2011.

The full-buffet breakfast will be served upstairs in Egtvedt Hall at Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Avenue. The event is open to the public at a cost of $15 per plate.

The mission of the East Portland Chamber of Commerce is to provide a voice for East Portland businesses. The Chamber aligns itself with other business associations on the east side and with private and public organizations that also support business growth and development.

The East Portland Chamber of Commerce is an independent organization of local businesses dedicated to serving the interests of businesses operating on Portland’s east side—from the banks of the Willamette River to the City of Gresham.

The Chamber meets every Wednesday at 7:30AM. Locations of upcoming meetings are listed on the chamber web site www.EastPortlandChamberOfCommerce.com.

 Come Join Us

Mary Ann Grey

West Side Secretarial

Westside Secretarial Service (WSS) has provided administrative support services as well as membership and financial management for businesses and associations since 1992. Mary Ann Gray, owner of WSS has a bachelor of science from Eastern Oregon College and went into the private business to meet an obvious need for small/medium sized business and associations. Mary Ann recognized that these groups need highly qualified and professional staff members, but often are not able to afford the expense of hiring these individuals. She and her long-time staff members work as a finely tuned team bringing more than 50 years of experience in office administration, secretarial, bookkeeping, and data management to their clients.

Mary Ann brings her extensive experience as a business owner, as well as 21 years in administration for a community college to her clients. She was the Executive Assistant to the President of Mt. Hood Community College and during her tenure her responsibilities covered a wide range of responsibilities and included serving as the liaison between the state legislators and the college’s Board of Directors. Her expertise provides her clients with a “staff member” to assist with organization, creation of effective administrative structure, as well as full service reception, bookkeeping, mail service and special project management. WSS staff includes an office manager, bookkeeper, administrative assistant, receptionist, association manager and additional part-time staff who specialize in transcription as well as special projects

The East Portland Chamber of Commerce will provide a forum for discussing issues of greatest concern for local neighborhood business associations during the chamber’s weekly networking meeting at 7:30 am, Wednesday, Nov. 30.

The event will be upstairs in Egtvedt Hall at Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Avenue. Admission is free and open to the public.

Representatives from neighborhood business associations in East Portland have been invited to make a presentation, including Beaumont, Belmont, Division Clinton, East Burnside, Foster, Gateway, Hollywood, Lloyd, Midway, Montavilla East Tabor, Parkrose, Sellwood/Westmoreland, Woodstock and 82^nd Avenue.

Representatives have been asked to address economic development as well as crime, traffic and business concerns.  There will be opportunity for questions from the audience.

The East Portland Chamber of Commerce is an independent organization of local businesses dedicated to serving the interests of businesses operating on Portland’s east side—from the banks of the Willamette River to the City of Gresham.

The Chamber meets every Wednesday at 7:30AM. Locations of upcoming meetings are listed on the chamber web site www.EastPortlandChamberOfCommerce.com.