Business briefs

Kiwanis, seniors host after hours

Mount Si Senior Center and the Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Club will host a joint Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce after hours event, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17.

The event allows the Kiwanis to help spread awareness of the center and its needs. Kiwanis members will do the cooking, serving up hors d’oeuvres and Christmas cheer.

For more information, contact the chamber at (425) 888-4440.

Chamber gala dubbed success

Casino Royale 2008, the gala fundraiser for the Snoqualmie Valley Chamber of Commerce, was a big success and the first of its kind in a lot of ways, Chamber Executive Director Karen Granger said.

“Many attendees commented that this simply was the best event that the chamber has ever put on,” Granger told the Valley Record.

The first large auction and gala ever undertaken by the chamber, and the first capacity-crowd ballroom dining event at the new Snoqualmie Casino, Casino Royale drew 350 attendees.

In another first, Granger said that the chamber’s tabletop sponsors decorated their tabletops with take-home items for gala attendees.

Chamber members collaborated and created 60 silent auction items, 17 live auction items, and 36 Valley Girl Growlers produced by Women in Business in partnership with Snoqualmie Falls Brewing Company. A big hit of the evening was the live auction and fierce bidding on an eligible bachelor, Ken Rustad. At evening’s close, every attendee was given a take-home item from Snoqualmie Casino and $5 in gambling chits.

Jeff Goble, a professional photographer and member of the chamber, set up his portable studio on the stage, and took pictures well into the dinner hour, finally wrapping up at about 10 p.m.

In another first, no awards were handed out at this year’s gala. Granger said the chamber board of directors decided that the Dec. 12 luncheon was a better time to acknowledge special accomplishments.

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