Hullwork - April, 2025

Hullwork - April, 2025

Hullwork is a monthly digest from the Coalition's Executive Director on the work that goes on 'beneath the waterline'  of our programming to maintain it, and keep it all afloat.

Hullwork - April

March was a busy month in the office, with several meetings for our active committees, events, and ongoing planning for our upcoming Tide to Table celebration.

Tide to Table is shaping up and we’re counting down the days to April 26^th. Tasks that I and our committees worked on this month for the event included:

1. Soliciting sponsors, both for the event and year-round. This included email, phone, and in-person networking.
2. Followup outreach included getting logos from sponsoring businesses and organizations, stories and information for the blog posts featuring our year-round sponsors, and building social media posts to be scheduled highlighting our sponsors.
3. Work also included adding those logos to our newsletters, and various pages on our website for the year-round sponsors.
4. Committee meetings discussed fun activities (no spoilers!) at the event, and included a walkthrough of the event venue early in the month
5. I finalized our Certificate of Insurance and contract for the rental with Bellwether staff.
6. I built sponsor packages, or tickets, for our sponsors’ attendees.
7. I updated the landing page and other references for Tide to Table to include the updated pricing information after the early-bird sale expired.
8. I built auction item information into the Qgiv platform for the auction items we have confirmed so far.
9. I met with our platform representative from Qgiv to discuss modules and ensure we have everything set up to host a successful auction through the software. This included building items, editing automated email scripts, and testing the functionality.
10. I also followed up with several attendees for information and questions regarding their registration, and resent ticketing emails to solicit guest information for purchasers who’ve not filled out their guest-ticket information.
11. We received and tested the card readers and terminal functions that Welcome Table volunteers will use during the event.

There are ongoing Tide to Table planning tasks involving building the program and brochure, at-event signage and displays, and the slide presentation, as well as run of show. We’ve been in communication with our Master of Ceremony and potential auctioneers to run our live auction.

The Coalition administrative tasks this month included the regular bookkeeping and newsletter tasks associated with our Waterfront Wednesdays, and also included the following highlights:

1. Building a tariff-impact survey for membership to disseminate to local, state, and regional leadership on the impacts our trades industries are feeling and experiencing – and promoting that survey.
2. If you’ve not filled it out and would like to lend your voice – please fill out the SURVEY HERE.
3. Built and began finalizing a database of issues and projects currently tracked by the Coalition for our Board of Directors.
4. Updating website links and member information in our CRM
5. Building a ‘Local Seafood’ tab in our community partner page (to be expanded upon in the future.)
6. Performed maintenance on our financial accounts to onboard our new President
7. Planned and implemented advertising campaigns for our Health Trust in 48North and Adventures NW magazines.
8. Onboarded a new participant to our DERA program, including form work and screening.
9. Followed up with our Region 10 representative from EPA about our DERA programming with the Port of Bellingham
10. Helped craft responses to two proposals from WA state legislators that would impact our maritime industry – SB 5801 and SB 5794
11. Renewed our Dept. of Revenue Reports for the year, for both the Coalition and Services, LLC.
12. Processed our quarterly tax returns for the city and federal deposits for our Services, LLC.
13. Further discussed an open RFP with Port of Bellingham for a property that we’ve been invited to review proposals for, to provide maritime trades representation.
    

Outreach this month included the following tasks and highlights:

1. Networked with groups from Oregon regarding WA state fisheries here in Whatcom and along the coast, regarding certifications, impacts from policies and other topics. They’ll be attending our Tide to Table celebration to network further with our community.
2. Participated in the Northwest Workforce Council’s Business Engagement Strategies Taskforce – bringing our maritime industry and trades representation to the group as the build strategies to connect opportunities and jobs to people in Whatcom County
3. Helped finalizing planning with the team putting together the Port’s Maritime Career Exploration Day on May 7.
4. Helped further plan the Maritime Workforce Forum, which has now been delayed with new date TBD
5. Built a presentation with Maritime WA National Heritage Area to present to the Port of Bellingham’s regular commission meeting about the area after Coalition encouragement led them to join and presented it.
6. Sent out several emails regarding the following:
7. Tariff Impacts Survey
8. SB 5801 - This would impose a luxury tax on recreational vessel sales over $500,000 that would negatively impact our trades services and marine manufacturers in the region. We sent letters to our membership and to our state leadership and the bills sponsors highlighting the impacts this could have.
9. SB 5794 - This is a new tax on products moved throughout the state (what’s called a “Public Utilities Tax”), and would remove a tax preference on work done by stevedores. Because of the discretionary movement of cargo, ships have a choice on where to go. If these two taxes are put in place, ships will be incentivized to call on California, the Gulf Coast or Canada instead of our state. These taxes will cost thousands of maritime jobs across our state and will have a significant impact on our economy just as we are facing a massive disruption in the global movement goods.
10. Fishery-Friendly Climate Action initiatives (mCDR roundtables.)
11. Began planning our May edition of On the Waterfront (print newsletter.)
12. Confirmed with sponsors of two upcoming Pint Nights for the Coalition – one in June, and one in December. (Stay tuned for announcements for June!)
13. Set up sponsorship for the Coalition of an upcoming Beach Clean Up in Blaine by Bellingham Seafeast that will feature our stickers on all the clean up buckets used by participants.
14. Began working on a membership direct-benefit program with our Membership and Outreach committees.

Tide to Table will be the focus of this coming month and takes precedence going forward until April 26^th, when we excitedly host you all to the Bellwether Ballroom. The event takes a lot of planning each year, from auction and dessert donations, to permitting and venue logistics, to volunteers and ticket sales – it all works together to throw a fun and engaging evening that remains the bulk of our annual operations budget.

Onward to April and Tide to Table ’25!

Dan Tucker
Executive Director
Whatcom Working Waterfront Coalition