Shaping What’s Next for the Walla Walla Valley

Momentum is building across the Valley and your Chamber is grateful to be part of it. One of the tastiest ways to join in is almost here. Taste of the WWV kicks off Friday, November 7 from 1 to 4:30 PM. Grab your tickets, bring your appetite, and get ready to discover ten restaurants and wineries showing off the flavors that make this region special.

This event is family friendly and designed for you to explore at your own pace. Children are welcome to try new tastes. Pets cannot join inside restaurants, so they get a day off. Check out the map online, then swing by the Chamber November 5 through 7 between 9 AM and 2 PM to pick up your passport and wristband. Return a fully punched passport by 5:30 PM on the 7th to enter a foodie gift basket drawing. Tickets are available at wwvchamber.com/events. Questions are welcome at 509.525.0850 or staff@wwvchamber.com. Hope to see you out on the food trail.

Also mark your calendars for the Community Excellence Awards on December 10 at the historic Baker Boyer Building, dressed up in its holiday finest. Nominations are open now but close soon. Visit wwvchamber.com/CEA and take a moment to recognize the businesses, leaders, and outstanding high school seniors who make this community stronger every day. Sponsorship opportunities are available through staff@wwvchamber.com. Tickets are coming soon!

We are also celebrating the success of the inaugural Reel Impact Summit, part of the Chamber’s Film WWV initiative. The summit convened local leaders, filmmakers, educators, and students from here and from major film hubs to explore how creative industries can grow right here at home. Sherrye Wyatt from Washington Filmworks shared how state incentives are bringing production to rural communities like ours.

The audience was oversold and the excitement was real. Twenty-five students from all three Valley colleges and SeaTech joined the conversation, showing a strong talent pipeline forming in our region. Local government representatives expressed their support for economic diversification and new job pathways, and filmmakers discussed the projects already underway in the Valley. Commissioner Kip Kelly of the Port of Walla Walla, College

Place Mayor Norma Hernandez, Walla Walla County Commissioner Bertha Clayton, and Walla Walla City Manager Elizabeth Chamberlain. They were joined by filmmakers and educators already advancing major projects in the Valley, including keynote speaker Tony Doupe, Writer, Actor, Producer, Director; Teresa Fausti, Screenwriter/ Producer; Don Roff, Author/Producer; Rachel Kjack and Vik Chopra of Unincarcerated Productions; Walla Walla University Professor Jerry Hartman; and Walla Walla Community College’s Rodney Outlaw.

We are grateful to every speaker, student, and partner helping expand opportunities for creative careers in our region. A special thank you to Washington Filmworks for their collaboration and belief in what Walla Walla can achieve.

The Chamber connects people, ideas, and opportunity so businesses grow, jobs take root, and quality of life continues to rise throughout the Walla Walla Valley. Join us in shaping what happens next.