The mood was optimistic and the message upbeat when the Enumclaw Chamber of Commerce staged its annual installation banquet the evening of Jan. 21.

Those in attendance saw Enumclaw Mayor Jan Molinaro oversee the swearing-in of the 2020 chamber board. The slate of officers includes new chairman David Babbitt, past chairman Bert Tyler, chairman elect Steve Cadematori, treasurer Steve Parker and secretary Jeni McCurdy. The rest of the board consists of Terry Parker, Darrell Dickson, Donn Bauer, Bart Jensen, Jill Burnes, Jennifer Snow, David Ballestrasse Sr., Rene Popke, Kim Elias and Scott Gray.

The evening’s remarks included an energetic statement that “everybody wants to be downtown,” offered by Troy Couch, the chamber’s chief executive officer. By way of emphasis, he noted that a “for rent” sign was placed in a Cole Street window and, within days, there had been more than 40 inquiries.

Later in the week, Couch reported some heartening numbers. The chamber’s revenues increased during the past year, he said, and paid membership has climbed to 217.

During 2020, Couch said, the chamber will not be looking to do anything radically different. The goal, he noted, will be to “stay in our lane, do what we do well and stay focused.”

That’s not to say the chamber doesn’t have some “big picture” items in mind. One of those is pushing for the state to keep Cayuse Pass open all year.

“We think it would make a huge economic impact on the region,” Couch said.

A second item on the chamber’s radar, he said, is to continually look for opportunities to expand retail space in downtown Enumclaw.