The goal of the new Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings, starting Thursday, April 4, is to generate as much productivity as the original series of meetings did.

The original Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings were a post-pandemic attempt at community-building in South Jefferson County, said Andrew Schwartz, who’s helping to organize the new series of meetings. They start at 6:30 p.m. April 4 at the Brinnon Community Center, sponsored by the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce.

Schwartz’s goal is to recapture the ways in which he believes the original meetings drew attendees “from all walks of life, in our two emerald towns,” to discuss their shared needs, issues, ideas, solutions and stories. The environment fostered “strong civil goodwill.”

Schwartz emphasized that he didn’t start the Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings, but he believes that the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce can successfully generate that same kind of interest by restarting those meetings. 

Schwartz credited the first round of Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings in 2022 to the Quilcene Lions Club, and he spoke glowingly of how those meetings led to “so many things getting done,” including inspiring him to become a board member of the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce.

Although the meetings welcome businesses and community members from Quilcene and Brinnon, Schwartz emphasized that anyone in Jefferson County can attend. That way, everyone throughout the county can learn more about what he deemed a large number of consequential events and developments occurring in South County.

While the early original meetings drew an average of between 25-50 residents, Schwartz acknowledged that the Quilcene and Brinnon Connections monthly attendance began to wane over time.

Nonetheless, “what many who live here, in the North Hood Canal area, don’t know is just how many discussions at those meetings led to things that actually happened,” said Dan Ventura, president of the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce, who also describes himself as an “active South County community member.”

One example is the idea of a Quilcene skate park, the possibility of which is actively under discussion, as well as “the beginning of a new relationship with county government.”

Schwartz said the meetings helped to inspire not only the start of regular Brinnon “Town Hall” meetings, but also the resurgence of the North Hood Canal Chamber itself.

Schwartz aims to retain the informal, personal feel of the original Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings, which is one reason why they will not include remote access, since he wants the meetings to serve as a civil public forum for sharing, education, conversation and networking, without the use of social media.

“At the same time, we’d like those interactions to lead to solutions, and getting things done,” Schwartz said. “We’ve had years of legal wrangling over the planned resort at Pleasant Harbor Marina, which promises to yield a huge economic impact on the community. People here want to preserve the beauty of this area, so whatever their stance, they want to be engaged and play a role in guiding its changes.”

To that end, the first hour of the upcoming Quilcene and Brinnon Connections meetings will be more structured in their format, while the last half-hour will be set aside for more casual socializing. Ultimately, Schwartz said he is optimistic that the total package can help serve South Jefferson County. He hopes this will help address recurring concerns that the county government could perhaps do a better job of serving South County.

“I’m a 10-year resident of Jefferson County who’s coming up on six years in Brinnon,” Schwartz said. “This whole region is the gateway to tourism for the entire county. We’re sad to hear about the difficulties that the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce is experiencing, but if we can step in to bridge gaps that might come up, we’ll gladly do it.”

For more information about the meetings or the North Hood Canal Chamber of Commerce, email emeraldtowns@gmail.com or call 360-765-4999.