Chamber optimistic about post-pandemic business

La Conner Chamber of Commerce leaders and members are ready to put 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic in their rearview mirrors.

They are hopeful that visitors to town are of the same mind and plan to resume regular road trips to La Conner given the huge impact tourism has on the local economy.

Much, of course, depends on vaccination rates and the status of the state’s Roadmap to Recovery plan going forward, but present trends point toward at least a gradual return to normal for the retail sector here, Chamber reps indicated last week.

“We’re looking forward to a busy summer. April was a record month for us,” Jane Schmidt, general manager of La Conner Country Inn & Channel Lodge said on May 25 during the Chamber’s annual board meeting, which was conducted via Zoom teleconferencing.

Others echoed that sentiment.

“It was the best April I’ve had in 15 years,” said Chris Jennings, owner of Jennings Yarn & Needlecrafts. “May is shaping up well, too. It makes me think summer will be good, too.”

La Conner merchants have proved resilient and adaptive over the past 14 months, embracing on-line marketing and shopping strategies to counteract reductions in foot traffic and in-person purchases tied to COVID-19 restrictions.

With those restrictions easing somewhat with less stringent mask-wearing guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Washington state’s move toward a June 30 reopening date, optimism emerged as a key theme during the 75-minute Chamber session.

“We anticipate a busy summer,” said La Conner Marina Harbormaster Darla Pyke. “People are getting out.”

WaFd La Conner branch manager Tami Mason has seen key indicators first-hand.

“I can tell businesses are picking up,” she said. “We’re getting more deposits.”

Town Administrator Scott Thomas said La Conner should be able to host Fourth of July fireworks and a downtown parade, though the holiday’s community picnic and live music concert will be put off another year.

“It has been a somewhat challenging time for the Town,” Thomas said. “We’re still trying to figure out masking and the re-opening, but we see at least a slow return to normal.”

Skagit County Historical Museum Director Jo Wolfe said that despite reduced hours and mandated limits on the number of visitors allowed inside at a given time, the museum has remained a popular venue. The works of the late La Conner artist Jesus Guillen was a major draw, she said. “We had a wonderful run for that exhibit. We had record-breaking days for the Guillen exhibit.”

Chamber Director Heather Carter praised members for having come through the worst of the pandemic.

“It was a hard year,” Carter said, noting that the Chamber was forced to shutter its Morris Street visitor’s center, send its volunteers home and relocate its office to Maple Hall. That was “a lifesaver,” she said.

“But we need to get back to opening a true visitor’s center,” she stressed.

Still, Carter said 2020 was not totally lost. Special events went virtual. Social media helped fill the void when many stores were in lockdown.

But nothing beats business as usual, she said and expects to be in the Chamber office full-time starting in July. She does not expect to be alone.

“We should be inviting our volunteers back then, too,” Carter explained.

Carter said her focus now is on prospects of a bright future rather than the gloom of the pandemic.

“I would personally like to say bon voyage to 2020,” she said, “and not talk about it anymore.”