John Inglis introduced us to James Shanahan, an Army veteran who is looking for a job. James served in the Army for 25 years as a combat engineer and in several leadership roles. After retirement from the Army he worked as a U.S Customs Officer up until this past year. He seeks employment in some area of construction, hoping to take advantage of his extensive Army engineer experience.
Take a Vet to Lunch: James Shanahan (Click here for resume)
Program:
Program Chair Cathy Buckley introduced our program speaker, Tony Larsen, President of the Whatcom Business Alliance. Mr. Larsen is active in community affairs and is a supporter of the Bellingham Bells.
Larsen began his presentation by introducing Club members to the Whatcom Business Alliance (WBA), an organization that seeks to facilitate business success and foster community prosperity. The WBA is a non-profit organization supported by members of the area business community. They are a non-partisan, issue-oriented group who seek to meet their goals through programs of research, community events and publication of the Business Pulse magazine. The organization has three “pillar” interests; public policy and its role in business, support of business growth and the introduction of business curriculum into area high schools.
Larsen pointed out that businesses in Whatcom County are basically very bullish and that business is in general quite strong, a pattern that seems to mirror the general national situation. Whereas there has at times been a sort of “bunker mentality” in Whatcom County, that is now less the case. In support of his claims he presented considerable data collected from area C-level executives. For example, when comparing the business situation in 2017 versus that in the previous year, 2016, in 90% of the cases sales and profits were up, 56% of the businesses showed growth and 65% report the local economy to be either strong or very strong. As to expectations for 2018 relative to 2017, 91% expect sales to be level or greater, 93% expect staffing to increase and 94% expect capital investment to be the same or somewhat higher. Larsen noted that 2017 has been a good year, so for 2018 to be as strong as 2017 would be a very strong result. (editor's note: Through out the presentation I thought C-level referred to guys bobbing on the open sea)
It was noted that what we see in the business climate of the County is much like what we see at the national level, where there is general optimism, likely the result of a strong stock market, low unemployment, a strong jobs market and considerable federal deregulation. We are seeing potential growth in the energy (especially petroleum) industry due to the Keystone pipeline and the opening of several national land areas to leasing and oil exploration.
Larsen explained that three of the main “drivers” of the Whatcom County economy are construction, manufacturing and health care. He reflected on the prognosis for these areas in 2018. In construction, the three largest area companies, Excel, Imco and Dawson are looking ahead to a strong year, but they are challenged by a shortage of skilled labor. Manufacturing, by companies such as Alpha Technology, All America Marine and Alcoa, is very strong and appears destined to stay that way. Health care businesses have done well in the past few years under Obama care, but how they will fare in 2018 is uncertain owing to uncertainty in what sort of health care legislation lies ahead. However, all in all, the Whatcom Business Alliance sees 2018 as a good year for Whatcom County business.
.jpg)
.jpg)