Looking ahead at 2026

Speech given by 1st Vice Chair of the Chamber Board of Directors, Tricia Piontek, at the Business Breakfast January 15.

​If you looked at the Board listing in the program, you’ll notice that I’m the 1st Vice Chair.  Our Chairman, Kevin Richardson, is in court today (to be clear, he is the attorney), so I am filling in.  Now I would like to recognize the other members of our Board of Directors.  Those in attendance, please stand.

• Dr. Jennifer Kephart – 2nd Vice Chair
• Scott Mentz – Executive Board Member
• Tim Tobben – Executive Board Member
• Tanya McCormack – Ex-Officio
• Tyler Anderson
• Nicole Desmond
• Brian Feltmann
• Don Grahl
• Bill Hellebusch
• Becky Huddleston
• Stacy Schiermeier
• Pam Tholen
• Shelley Vollmer
• Josh Wehmeyer – Past Fair Chairman

Thank you all for your service to the Chamber.  Tyler, Stacy, and Pam were elected in December.  Thank you to everyone that submitted a ballot.
The Washington-area benefits greatly from a spirit of volunteerism and teamwork, and we’re proud to continue partnerships with the City of Washington, Downtown Washington, Inc., and the School District of Washington, with the shared vision of making our community better for years to come. 
If you have feedback or questions regarding Chamber events or benefits, our staff would be happy to help you.  The office is open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.  You are welcome to call, e-mail, or stop by.
I’d like to give a few reminders about some of our upcoming events and deadlines
Our Casino Night is next Friday, January 23rd, and we still have a few tickets available.  It’s a lot of fun, and you only lose fake money!
Our Awards Gala is Friday, March 20.  Invitations will be sent in February, but please mark your calendars! We’ve moved to a Friday night and added more elegance at Triple 3 Vineyard to honor our Outstanding Young Professionals, along with new awards for

• Chamber Business of the Year
• Business Leader of the Year
• Fair Organization of the Year
• Fair Volunteer of the Year
• Tourism Excellence Award

Nominations for all of the awards are due tomorrow, so if you haven’t submitted yours yet, please do so right away.  All materials are at washmochamber.org/awards, and there’s a QR code in your program.
In addition to our new awards, we’ve also added four scholarships for graduating seniors, including one specifically for a Junior Fair Board member.  Applications are due February 28 for scholarships.  Please help spread the word to the high school seniors in your life.
We’re also excited to be developing a one-day Young Professionals Retreat to be held in October.  We will have more information available in the coming months, so please watch for that and pass it along to Young Professionals, age 21-40 that may want to attend.  If you have suggestions for programming, or would like to sponsor or help develop that program, please reach out to Hallie at the office.
Our full calendar of events is included in your program – We hope to see you many more times throughout the year, and wish the very best to you and your business in 2026.  Thank you again for your support of our Chamber!