Some towns are doomed to have a chamber of commerce that is a cross between a booster club and an old folks’ home.
Teresa Verraes is making sure that doesn’t happen here.
Since taking over as the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce executive director in February 2011, Verraes has infused the organization with her own brand of grounded enthusiasm and a belief in the future of local business that is nothing less than contagious.
Verraes has owned and operated several businesses around Port Townsend. Before taking the chamber position, she ran Artisans on Taylor, which she sold in 2009. She also was one of the founders of the Boiler Room in 1993.
The chamber, under her direction, has started a Young Professionals Network, attracting people who would never think of the organization as a place to turn for help and advice.
To Verraes, who turned 41 in October, the connection between older and younger residents is an obvious one.
‘Interesting demographic’
“We have an interesting demographic in Port Townsend,” she said. “A lot of people have already pursued their professional passions and have moved here to have some fun. But they still have vision and ideas that can supercharge other people.
“I want to build connections between mentors and mentees so everyone can gain. This is essential for moving the city forward.”
The resources, she said, practically fall off of the proverbial tree.
“We’re so tied in here that if you can figure out your challenge and ask someone right next to you, then you will get a good answer,” Verraes said, “or you can shout it out in a cafe, and it will come to you.”
Katherine Baril, retired director of Jefferson County’s Washington State University Extension office, is one of the chamber boss’ supporters. “It’s so exciting to have her as the face of Port Townsend,” Baril said of Verraes.
“She’s young, she’s a woman, she’s edgy,” Baril said. “She started four businesses. She spent 10 years of her life in 4-H and then comes back to town, with all that energy and beautifulness, to brand our city as a great place to be.”
There and back again
Verraes, who was born in Redmond and moved to Port Townsend when she was 9 years old, went to Port Townsend High School and graduated in 1990.
She then moved to Seattle and became a consultant, developing coffee carts for businesses; this was before coffee was on every corner.
“I got my master’s in risk,” she said of her early career. “It’s all been trial and error. It might have been easy for me if I had gone to college, but classes didn’t interest me.
“I’m a doer, and I believe it’s better to do things than to talk about them.
“I’ve really made it a point to find good mentors, ask a lot of questions, get dirty and tear things apart. My nature is to be curious. I want to learn.”
Verraes’ shadow
Wherever Verraes goes, Gabby is not far behind. The 6-year-old “Baja shepherd,” as Verraes calls her, has her own space in the chamber office and usually waits in the car while Verraes meets with one business leader or another.
Gabby’s continued presence, Verraes said, was a precondition of her employment agreement.
Verraes was vacationing in Mexico when she found the 5-week-old puppy in a Dumpster. She was mangy, flea-ridden “and asking me when I was going to get her out of there.”
Verraes named Gabby for the Mexican veterinarian who helped prepare her for the trip to the States. And when she brought the pup to Port Townsend, she was an instant hit.
Gabby became the gallery dog at Artisans on Taylor where people came in just to see her.
“People fall so desperately in love with her,” Verraes said of her companion. “When she was in the gallery, people would bring her gifts like jewelry and a leather collar. They’d put her on their blogs. People who are afraid of dogs loved her, and people who were allergic to dogs tolerated the sneezing and wheezing so they could be near her.
“You should be writing this article about her.”
Every chamber director advocates buying local. It’s part of the job. Verraes has turned it into a crusade, feeling that it can be a lot more significant than lining the pockets of local businesses.
“Shopping local has obstacles,” she said. “Parking can be tricky in the summer,” for example.
“But if everyone shopped local it would change the whole dynamic of the town. The dollars would stay in the community, and we wouldn’t be talking about cutting a lot of the services that are in trouble.
“It starts with realizing that we don’t really need all that much. Costco and Walmart have shifted our perceptions to where people buy things just because they’re inexpensive.
“That doesn’t make any sense. I’ve had several garage sales where there are all these things out there that I wish I had never bought.”
“I don’t like consumerism [and] what it has done to the planet. The effects of instant gratification really skew our appreciation of high quality goods and fine crafts.”
Gas vs. price
Buying decisions, to
Verraes’ mind, should be weighed against how much gas and time it takes to drive to Silverdale or Sequim and whether those trips actually save the shopper money.
She said that the Quimper Mercantile, which opened earlier this month, will make shopping local more appealing. The store has goods that have not been available downtown for several years.
“They have done a great thing, putting their time and money into opening that store,” Verraes said of the Quimper Management Team.
Quality products
“The clothes they sell aren’t at Target prices or Walmart prices. But those shirts will stay on your back for six years as opposed to six months or a year with a cheaper shirt.
“When you buy something there that was created locally, by a friend or a neighbor or an acquaintance, you keep it around for years,” Verraes added. “It changes how you shop and what you buy.”
Hopeful holidays
Despite some sour economic predictions, Verraes feels that local merchants can look forward to a successful holiday season.
“We have a really good shot here,” she said.
“There have been a lot of recent articles about what a great community this is, and we have the potential to draw a lot of people from Seattle.
“A lot depends on the merchants,” she said.
Use social media, Web
“They’ll need to get on Facebook and make sure their websites are up to date. We are a destination point. We are on the tip of the Peninsula, so when we invite people here, we need to give them some really good reasons to want to come.”
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.
bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
