Enumclaw Chamber celebrates 120th anniversary

Published 1:30 am Friday, April 15, 2022

The Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce is celebrating 120 years of service to local businesses.

The anniversary event, starting at 5:30 on April 19 at the Chalet Theatre, will focus on how the Chamber has changed over the last century-and-change, especially how it became more inclusive.

“From our founding days 1902 with few members and zero women, to today with over 150 members, and a female Board President and a female Director, we have seen many changes, but the mission of the Chamber is as important today, as it was over 120 years ago,” PR and Events Director Kerry Solmonsen wrote. “Without commerce our community cannot thrive. The long-standing and consistent support of our local business community, the networking, brainstorming, collaboration and encouragement, the camaraderie and community events that the chamber promotes are all products of this important piece of Enumclaw.”

The celebration will include a historical slideshow focusing on the Chamber, speeches by Enumclaw Mayor Jan Molinaro, former Mayor Liz Reynolds (Enumclaw’s first woman executive), and the Chamber’s first female Board President Dorothy Sleigh.

There will also be a champagne toast, and finally, a screening of the the 1967 1 hour, 15 minute Disney film “Charlie the Lonesome Cougar,” which was partially filmed at the old Weyerhaeuser Mill that used to be in town.

At 120 years, the Chamber is the oldest in Washington state, Solmonsen said.