Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mauk addresses Brewster Chamber on Made in America trip to D.C.

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BREWSTER – Fishing tackle maker, Mike Mauk, owner of Mauk Fishing Stuff, was the guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Brewster Chamber of Commerce last Wednesday, August 1. Mauk, fresh from his trip to Washington, D.C., on July 23, where he participated in the Made in America Product Showcase at the White House, addressed chamber members about his experience.

Mauk, the Chamber secretary, said he thought he was being pranked when a White House liaison first called him on July 1 and invited him to come to the nation’s capital. Mauk said that after the caller convinced him the offer was legitimate, he was told he had just 48 hours to accept the invitation to be the representative for American-made manufacturers from Washington state.

Mauk told the Chamber of his disbelief at being chosen but later learned that through his advertising or product use, a selection staff member was familiar with his tackle covers. He added that the selection committee performed its due diligence about him and his company to determine if both would be a good fit for the showcase.

“And there I was, a one-man operation among Lockheed Martin, NASA, and some companies that had 1,500 employees,” said Mauk with some amazement.

“But you represent the start of a company that can grow to 1,500 employees,” chamber member Avis Erickson reminded him.

In other business, Chamber treasurer Leslie McNamara reported on the chamber’s first Adopt-a-Highway roadside cleanup day on July 20. Four volunteers turned out for the 1.5-mile trash collection between mileposts 258 and 259.5 on U.S. 97 west of Brewster. McNamara said a lack of sufficient volunteers combined with the near-triple-digit temperature made the exercise one to remember.

Brewster Public Works Director Lee Webster reported that several city streets have been resurfaced, including Bruce, through a Transportation Improvement Board grant, and Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Jay, all of Plaza, and a portion of Old Highway 97 east of town with city funds.

Webster advised the Chamber that the Department of Transportation will install a two-way left turn lane on U.S. 97 west of town from the railroad bridge to Brewster Grange Road and reduce the speed zone there to 50 miles per hour. DOT representatives from the Wenatchee office told a recent meeting of the Brewster City Council of DOT’s decision to install the turn lane after traffic studies showed a higher-than-normal accident rate on that stretch of highway. The work is estimated to require one to two weeks this summer.

Brewster Police Chief Nattalie Cariker told members that she would like to see the Chamber endorse a community fund that could be used to provide immediate help to victims of accidents or emergencies.

Police, fire, and EMS personnel are among the first to encounter events and individuals where immediate help is needed for survivors of a traumatic experience.

‘There are many services in the community that provide support,” said Cariker, “but we need a bridge to provide immediate relief to people until they can access those services.”

Cariker distributed a resource sheet that listed seven organizations from Adult Protective Services to Support Services for Veterans Families, among those that operate in the county.

The next regular meeting of the Brewster Chamber of Commerce is Sept. 5.
 

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