On Thursday November 17, 2011 Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce hosted an event in alliance with the Law offices of Graham & Dunn. Business professionals from throughout Seattle were in attendance and had the opportunity to catch up, meet, mingle and network! As Business Professionals, Sole Proprietors, Business Partners etc., the Seattle Chamber provides the opportunity to build your Professional Network through great events like this and making the most of these opportunities helps to build good alliances within the Seattle Business Community. Keep an eye on the upcoming 2012 Seattle Chamber Calendar and even as a Non-Member, you are welcome to join us all for an Event to see what the fuss is all about HERE! Feel free to call or email the Chamber Staff, as they are always on hand to answer questions and help you navigate information!

Corporate Events in Seattle photographed by Trishann Couvillion of Fire Eyes Photography

Lynnwood, WA

North Seattle LED lighting manufacturer and distributor SolidApollo.com just introduced to the market superior LED Lighting Strips, LED Strip Controls, Solderless LED Strip Accessories and LED Dimmers, which will enable users to create faster installations and enjoy better lighting performance.

There are several factors that distinguish SolidApollo’s LED Strips from other retailers. Their Led Lighting Strips offer high quality controls and the best value in the market thanks to several technological factors:

First of all, Solid Apollo’s LED Light Strips run at 24V DC instead of the typical 12V DC. This makes their product more stable and efficient in comparison to conventional 12V led strips. Lower current is needed to operate them, which increases life span as well as lowering the heat emission, a key factor when it comes to eroding and degrading the phosphor in the LEDs. It is demonstrated that a lower current decreases substantially light degradation and LED strips suffer when exposed to constant heat and high currents to operate them.

Another competitive advantage that makes unique SolidApollo’s, LED lighting strips, is the use of a white flexible Printed Circuit Board (PCB); a very important factor to consider when undertaking installations in the business/architectural arena. The standard PCB available in the market is brown color, making it very visible when not in use. According to SolidApollo.com, the white PCB is more appealing to customers, as it makes the strip almost invisible when installed behind light boxes, milky Plexiglas etc.

Additional advantage on this product line is its “Easy connect System” which makes this product work, right out of the box, without having to know how to solder or connect cables. Each of Solid Apollo´s LED light Strips, come with a fused Barrel connector that is already integrated in the LED strip- very important factor for users who don’t have the skills to peel and solder cables. The product works with any of SolidApollo’s UL approved Power Supplies.

SoldiApollo also manufactures their LED strips, with a very stable production of SMD LEDs and only uses LEDs which have the same production Bin number. Therefore regardless of the size of an installation, having the same Bin number assures you that throughout the installation the light will be homogenous, with no color differentiation. Customers that need to install large runs of LED strips therefore require to have very stable color emission, find this quality to be very crucial.

According to Manuel Barquin, CEO of SolidApollo.com “We are able to deliver a superior product in the market, as we control production from start to finish and we don’t rely on overseas or Asian integrators to do the job. That is why we are capable to support customers with a 2 year warranty in all our LED Strip products. On that same line customer satisfaction is very important for us and for that we believe in offering an ongoing solid 30 day money back warranty, giving our customers the peace of mind that our products will always performs as advertised.”

Further added value solution to SolidApollo’s LED lighting Strips, is their wide range of LED lighting controllers and Accessories. SolidApollo just launched the iChroma line of LED Controllers which come in different models, to accommodate all uses, including a Remote Control version. According to Manuel Barquin, CEO of SolidApollo, “Because we strive to always offer complete solutions – and not just make a quick buck in the market – we have developed the iChroma Wireless RGB Controllers. We also offer the market a wide range of interfaces from simple RGB Solutions to complex DMX solutions that take the technology one step ahead – offering infinite possibilities from standalone options to replay pre-programmed lighting events to very spectacular and sophisticated light displays. We offer a new meaning and use of the LED technology.”

SolidApollo also offers Waterproof LED Strip that is coated with Ultraviolet Ray protection chemicals. This is an important advantage, as normal waterproof strips usually decay in direct sunlight in less than 2 months, rendering them useless.

SolidApollo also has set up a distribution platform in which they enable distributors and resellers to take advantage of the LED Lighting Technology with very attractive conditions, and with great discounts that make SolidApollo the one stop place for all the LED lighting Product needs that a distributor/Contractor may have.

SolidApollo offers a superior line of LED strips, from normal brightness to high brightness LED strip, RGB LED Strip (Color Changing), LED strip Controllers, LED Dimmers. SolidApollo also offers a wide selection of solderless LED Strip Accessories which facilitate all kinds of installation in just minutes.

By UEC Executive Director Dr. Skip Rowland

The Urban Enterprise Center (UEC) continues to work hard to represent the “United Nations of Business” in the Puget Sound Region. Our membership includes ethnic chambers, business resources and diverse community groups. We are focused in our belief that small and culturally diverse businesses have an important role to play in regional economic recovery. Over the last year, we have demonstrated how in our differences, there is strength. Below are a few examples:

• In Public Policy the UEC forged a multicultural coalition that joined the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce in support of the Bored Tunnel. We contributed to the Chamber’s 2010 Regional Leadership Conference and supported its Public Officials Reception. We also co-produced a Candidates and Issues Forum with SeaBeez, a capacity building organization for local ethnic media.
• In Business Development, we continued to promote the concepts of the “Entrepreneurial Mindset” and the “Primacy of Business” throughout our culturally diverse region. We designed, produced and offered at no cost  to our members eleven Herman L. McKinney Sales and Marketing Forums, ten Minority Business Roundtables, and four Regional Advisory Board meetings. We helped market, attended and reported back to our members on Africa Business Day, produced by the African Chamber of Commerce. We helped market, attended and reported back to our members on the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce’s Intercity Study Mission to Boston, International Study Mission to South Korea, Annual Trade Show, and Professional Development Programs, such as “Technology Thursday’s” and “Chamber After Hours.”
• In order to help promote closing the academic achievement gap, in Education, we joined the Our Schools Coalition, led by our Affiliate the Alliance4Education. We co-sponsored a Regional Education Summit with the King County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Kent School District. We also promoted the idea that K-12 education is integral to the Regional Economic Development Plan and must be included in it.
• In Community Engagement, we were joined this year by the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, the Eastern European-American Chamber of Commerce, Salam Business Group, SeaBeez, the Greater Seattle Business Association, and the Martin Luther King Business Association. We supported the Muckleshoot Tribe’s Community Picnic and Public Officials Reception. We co-sponsored Hungarian Culture Day with the Eastern European-American Chamber of Commerce and supported cultural events in the Hispanic, Asian, Filipino, African, and Gay and Lesbian Communities.

In closing, 2010 was an exciting year. The UEC provided a forum that leverages the resources of the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and its Affiliates in order to enhance opportunities for micro, small, minority, and historically under-utilized businesses. We no longer inhabit the backwaters of economic development in Puget Sound; in 2010 we joined the mainstream. We demonstrated to the region that we are all in this economic recovery together. We are facilitating trust and breaking down silos that traditionally isolate our business communities.

As we look forward to 2011, we will continue to support the concept of building a United Nations of Business in our Region. We will build on the strengths that come from our differences by institutionalizing Multicultural Entrepreneurship, engaging our communities, and educating ourselves and our children to enhance regional recovery.

Our thanks go out to our volunteers, funders, the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, as well as Chamber Affiliates without whose help and support this year’s achievements could not have been accomplished. We especially, thank our advisory Board Chair, Glenn Gregory; Committee Chairs and Advisory Board members for volunteering their time, talents and treasure in pursuit of our 2010 goals.

In 2011, Multicultural Entrepreneurship will be our vehicle for articulating our rallying cry:

“Small Business is Big Business with Strategic partners!”

Welcome WallyPark!

Last week the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce along with other Chambers from around the Puget Sound region welcomed the new WALLYPARK with a ribbon cutting celebration!

If you haven’t experienced premier airport parking at WallyPark’s Valet and Self-Park locations, you don’t know what you’re missing. But now, we’re raising the bar even higher with a brand new, state-of-the-art, first-class facility offering an unmatched and affordable parking experience, including unparalleled convenience for you and unprecedented pampering for your car. Located directly next to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEATAC), the new WallyPark Premier Garage will change the way you travel. Guaranteed!

Thanks Alabastro Photography for capturing the moments at this awesome event!

Congratulations Windermere Property Management ~ Offices of Lori Gill & Associates

Lori Gill & Associates has opened their new offices on 65^th Street in Seattle.  Welcome to the neighborhood!

Industry Sign and Graphics has been in business since 1985. We have recently undergone a name change from Auburn Sign Company. We feel that our new name and look better represents the growth we have seen over the last few years and expanded capabilities we have acquired to better service our customers. Our facility is located in Auburn, Wa and is conveniently located between Seattle and Tacoma with easy access to HWY 167. Our client base includes small businesses to high profile national accounts. With our outstanding staff and 10,000+ sf facility we are able to make it easy for you to make one stop of all of your sign and graphic needs.

Chamber members are setting high-standards in workplace flexibility, as 15 of the 18 companies selected as winners of the national Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility.

This award—part of the When Works Work initiative, an ongoing project of the Families and Work Institute, the Institute for a Competitive Workplace and the Twiga Foundation—is presented annually to companies that have set the standard in flexible work practices. Companies are chosen for utilizing techniques such as compressed work weeks, job-sharing, sabbaticals, customized benefits and telecommuting.

Seattle is one of 30 communities nationwide selected to host and participate in the initiative. Local partners include the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and the Workforce Development Council.

Congratulations to our members who won this year’s award:

• Bader Martin, P.S
• BECU
• Blue Gecko, Inc
• Cascadia Consulting Group, Inc.
• Deloitte LLP
• EDLab
• National CASA Association
• nrg::seattle
• Peterson Sullivan LLP
• Prolumina
• Senior Services
• SH Worldwide
• Talaris
• Technology Services Company, Inc.
• Washington State Hospital Association

Check out our first batch of photos from our May 12 Annual Tradeshow!

Want a copy of your company’s Tradeshow photo? Email Kim Sklar-Fowler at kims@seattlechamber.com for more information!

More pictures coming soon from our professional photographer at the event, Alan Alabastro!

Photos from the event:

Watch footage from the event here:

Employee and Business Taxes Press Conference from Greater Seattle Chamber on Vimeo.

Speakers and attendees at business press conference 5/4/2010:

• Travis Rosenthal, Owner, Tango Restaurant & Lounge
• Wes Uhlman, Rental Housing Association, Greater Seattle Chamber Tax and Regulation Committee co-chair, and former Mayor of Seattle
• Jerry Dinndorf, Associated General Contractors of Washington
• Patricia Mu…llen, President, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• Jerry Cohen, Chair, West Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• Marko Tubic, President, Fremont Chamber of Commerce
• Gary Smith, Executive Director, Independent Business Association
• Asif Alvi, Owner of Perfect Copy & Print on Broadway
• Joe Quintana, Seattle Business Coalition
• George Allen, SVP Government Relations, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce
• Hosted by Brian Thomas, Kvichak Marine Industries

Irina’s Holistic Skin Care located in Seattle and Bellevue.

For more information, contact Irina at:
206-383-4243 or iraskincare@gmail.com.