Executive Director Imelda Dulcich announced publicly Feb. 11 that she is resigning from the chamber to focus more on the clients of her public relations firm.

“I am privileged to have worked with so many wonderful members of the community in my work as executive director,” she said in a news release. “My joy has been working with the chamber board to help our members succeed by providing opportunities to build connections, increase visibility and learn through our educational events.”

Hired in 2012, Dulcich served in a part-time consultant role as the chief administrator and executive officer of the chamber. In her position, she implemented the policies of the board of directors, administered the approved budget and acted as the chamber spokeswoman.

Dulcich played a key role in raising the visibility of Newcastle businesses through social media promotion. She also spearheaded the welcomed transformation of the Newcastle Diamond Awards into a glitzy evening affair.

During her time with the chamber, Dulcich offered valuable training opportunities for members, and made the monthly luncheons a not-to-miss event with heralded guest speakers such as U.S. Rep. Adam Smith, sports radio personality Bill Swartz, King County Sheriff John Urquhart and Q13 Fox News’ David Rose.

After announcing her decision at the Feb. 11 chamber luncheon, Dulcich received a standing ovation from the attendees.

The chamber board accepted her resignation with regret, according to the news release.

“Imelda’s unique brand of social media talents and personal touch strengthened and deepened the chamber’s role within the region,” past chamber President Peter Zevenbergen said. “Imelda leverages her insight and wisdom to make profound impacts on all her work. She will be missed.”

The board started laying out a plan to find Dulcich’s replacement at its annual retreat Feb. 12.

Sara Biancofiori, current chamber president, added that Dulcich has agreed to work with the board to provide continuity and easy transfer of work for the new executive director.

“There are many exciting things happening in 2015 for our chamber. While I’m sad to see Imelda go, I know that together with our board, we will continue to build on our successes,” Biancofiori said. “Because of Imelda, the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce has seen tremendous growth of our visibility in the region, and we will continue that trend into the future.”

Chamber board welcomes new members

The chamber added three new members to its board in February.

Local photographer Jackie Steinke and Newcastle Library staff members Vicki Heck and Donna Day join Biancofiori (Coal Creek Family YMCA), Zevenbergen (Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation), Nick Sooy (Farmers Insurance), Mary VonRanker (CedarMist Healing Arts), Hayley Stowe (Regency Newcastle), David Uchida (The Golf Club at Newcastle), Travis Monen (HomeStreet Bank) and Karin Blakely (Waddell & Reed) on the board.

The city of Newcastle honored a group Feb. 26 that far too often goes unnoticed — volunteers.

Each year, volunteers devote countless hours to city events. It is volunteers that help plan summer activities, care and advocate for the city’s vast trail network and protect Newcastle’s history.

About 50 volunteers and summer event sponsor representatives gathered at The Golf Club at Newcastle Feb. 26, where they were treated to snacks, an orchestra and a personal thank you from Newcastle Mayor Steve Buri and City Manager Rob Wyman.

Volunteerism is a big part of what makes Newcastle one of the best small cities in the country. So, here’s a special shout out to some of the groups and people that willingly offer their time to better the city:

• Community Activities Commission — Diane Lewis, Linda Newing, Zaquis Ross, Russ Segner, Jim Price and Victoria Sandoval, and past members Angela Ursino and Victoria Hupf
• Planning Commission — Karin Blakely, Elizabeth Thompson, Orville McDonald, Jon Simpson, Rob Lemmon, Allen Dauterman and Thomas Magers
• Boy Scout Troops 499, 577 and 626
• Student volunteers from Hazen High, Liberty High, Maywood Middle and McKnight Middle schools
• Newcastle Trails — Garry Kampen, Peggy Price
• Newcastle Weed Warriors — Grace Stiller
• Newcastle Historical Society
• Little Rhody Park neighborhood group
• Newcastle Days car show planning committee
• Earth Day planning committee
• Newcastle Chamber of Commerce Board

The event also honored the following sponsors that contributed to city events over the summer:

• AvalonBay — Brian Fritz
• Waste Management — David Della
• Regency Newcastle — John Kotalick
• The Golf Club at Newcastle — David Uchida
• Coal Creek Family YMCA — Sara Biancofiori
• Boeing Employees Credit Union — Molly Andrews
• AT&T — Carol Tagayun
• UW/Valley Medical Center — Liz Nolan
• Animal Hospital of Newport Hills — Kent Thomazin
• HomeStreet Bank – Travis Monen
• KeyBank — Jimmy Ng
• Apple Physical Therapy — Randy Johnson

The Seattle Seahawks officially open the 2014 regular season Sept. 4, and two local businesses are ready to celebrate in style.

Newcastle’s HomeStreet Bank and B & E Meats and Seafood are throwing a community tailgate party on gameday.

The fun kicks off at 11:30 a.m. and goes until 1:30 p.m. Sept. 4 at HomeStreet Bank, 6949 Coal Creek Parkway S.E. There will be free food, drinks and prizes, as B & E Meats and Seafood employees grill up their best creations.

The Seahawks host the Green Bay Packers at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 4.

Learn more here.

Bellwether Housing and YWCA Seattle-King-Snohomish will each receive $25,000.

Bellwether Housing provides affordable rental housing for low-wage working people and their families and for low-income seniors. YWCA Seattle-King Snohomish works to combat racism and empower women in local communities, moving women and families out of crisis and into safe and independent living environments and lifestyles.

The event was a sell-out, with 288 golfers participating on the China Creek and Coal Creek courses. Golfers included HomeStreet management and directors, DWT lawyers, clients, event sponsors and other members of the greater Puget Sound community.

Josephine Yen, 12, of Bellevue, looks and listens as a male Pacific tree frog fills its vocalizing sack at the 2013 Newcastle Earth Day event.
By Greg Farrar

Earth Day is officially April 22, but Newcastle will celebrate the green holiday April 19 with its sixth annual community festival.

The city of Newcastle and the Newcastle Weed Warriors will provide speakers, seminars and activities for Earth Day 2014 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 19 at Lake Boren Park.

This year’s theme is “Living in harmony with nature,” a nod to the fact that humans aren’t the only ones that call Newcastle home, event chairwoman Grace Stiller said.

In addition to the Lake Boren Park festivities, HomeStreet Bank is simultaneously hosting a community shred-a-thon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Newcastle branch, 6949 Coal Creek Parkway S.E.

Residents can bring their sensitive documents for safe disposal in an event made possible by the bank, city and local real estate agent Brenda Nunes. The Boy Scouts of Troop 499 will be available to assist people with large reams of paper.

Prior to the Earth Day event, an old tradition returns, with an Easter egg hunt at the park.

In the past, the hunt was a pre-Newcastle Earth Day festivity. Volunteers from the Olympus Homeowners Association hid about 500 eggs in 2011

The fun begins at 9:30 a.m. April 19, just a half-hour before the Newcastle Earth Day event opens. Families should arrive early, since the plastic eggs go fast, Stiller said.

Nearby, Seattle Revival Center will host its annual community egg hunt from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 19 at its church, 12636 S.E. May Creek Park Drive.

The medieval flare comes courtesy of the Knights of Veritas, a group of performers that call upon the code of chivalry and the values of knighthood to educate audiences.

“In our case, they’ll be teaching the importance of environmental chivalry,” event Chairwoman Grace Stiller said.

Josephine Yen, 12, of Bellevue, looks and listens as a male Pacific tree frog fills its vocalizing sack at the 2013 Newcastle Earth Day event. By Greg Farrar

The city of Newcastle and the Newcastle Weed Warriors will provide speakers, seminars and activities for Earth Day 2014 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. April 19 at Lake Boren Park.

This year’s theme is “Living in harmony with nature,” a nod to the fact that humans aren’t the only ones that call Newcastle home, Stiller said.

“That doesn’t mean that we go out and live in a tent or hug a tree, necessarily, but we provide for the wildlife in such a way that we harmonize with them,” she said.

Residents are encouraged to learn how to make their yards wildlife-friendly at the event, in a citywide effort to earn National Wildlife Federation Community Wildlife Habitat Certification.

To obtain the certification, residents must commit to providing food, water, cover and a place for wildlife to raise their offspring. A healthy habitat can be in a variety of places, including a backyard, a local city space or even an apartment balcony.

Representatives from the National Wildlife Federation will be available to register residents’ yards as a backyard wildlife habitat at the event. Children are also invited to take photos with the organization’s mascot, Ranger Rick.

“It’s just a statement that you’re aware there is a need in our growing population to provide these basic elements to help wildlife thrive,” Stiller said.

The event, as always, is free and open to the public, but this year, organizers are asking attendees to bring donations of used clothes and shoes.

“This is an opportunity for everybody to recycle and know that they’re reducing their waste by it being used by somebody else,” Stiller said.

The Hazen High School jazz band and the Boeing Employees’ Concert Band return to provide live entertainment. Many of the popular attractions from last year, such as the amphibian-toting frog lady and the live raptor house featuring birds of prey, will also return.

Puget Sound Energy, one of the event sponsors, will offer free energy-saving light bulbs, and 100 attendees will receive free native trees to plant in their yards courtesy of the National Wildlife Federation.

In addition to the Lake Boren Park festivities, HomeStreet Bank is simultaneously hosting a community shred-a-thon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Newcastle branch, 6949 Coal Creek Parkway S.E.

Residents can bring their sensitive documents for safe disposal in an event made possible by the bank, city and local real estate agent Brenda Nunes. The Boy Scouts of Troop 499 will be available to assist people with large reams of paper.

“Earth Day is about celebrating what we already have,” Stiller said. “We have wonderful trails, nice parks and a savvy community that really thinks about what’s happening with the planet, but it’s also to learn more about how we can even be more sustainable.”

By Christina Corrales-Toy
Elee and Kevin McCarthy’s ‘Peanut Butter Chocolate Comfort Cookies’ are displayed at the Newcastle Chamber of Commerce’s Feb. 21 after-hours social event.

The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce set out to find the city’s best cookie recipe, and in the end, the organization emerged with three.

The chamber announced the winners of the contest at its Feb. 21 after-hours social event at HomeStreet Bank.

The brother-and-sister team of Kevin and Elee McCarthy were recognized for their “Peanut Butter Chocolate Comfort Cookies,” which substituted Hershey’s Drops for regular chocolate chips, making for quite the chocolaty concoction.

“I love chocolate,” Elee McCarthy said. “Kevin doesn’t really like sweets, but he likes to help me bake.”

Karen Mittlestadt’s “Gluten-free Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie” received high praise from Linda Stemler, the HomeStreet Bank branch manager who selected the winners.

“The gluten-free cookies really struck my heart because they didn’t have a lot of extraneous stuff in them,” she said.

Almond flour and the healthy nature of the cookie are what set the recipe apart from the rest, Mittlestadt said.

“My husband really likes the recipe, I like the recipe and everybody who is not gluten-free really liked it too,” she said.

Both the McCarthys and Mittlestadt secured one-night stays at the Old Hen Bed and Breakfast near North Bend as prizes for their top notch recipes.

Mittlestadt, who is the mother of 1-year-old twin girls, said she cannot wait to use the prize.

“My husband and I haven’t had a night out since they’ve been born, so this is great,” she said. “We’ll just have to find a babysitter for the night, but I think we can do that to get a night away.”

In the children’s category, Michael and Emma Mason’s “Mason Kids Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe” won the top prize, earning a $50 savings account from HomeStreet Bank for their efforts.

All of the winners were Newcastle residents.

Stemler choose the top cookies only by reading the recipes, which was not easy, she admitted.

“It was challenging,” she said. “I just looked at what the ingredients were and how difficult it might be to make the cookie.”

The event was one of the chamber’s new monthly offerings, an after-hours social gathering where people can network and learn more about what the businesses in Newcastle have to offer. Normally the event is only open to chamber members, but Stemler invited the entire community to attend.

The Newcastle Chamber of Commerce selected three cookie recipes that stood out as the best in the city, below is Newcastle resident Karen Mittelstadt’s gluten-free winner.

Karen Mittelstadt’s Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups blanched almond flour (Honeyville brand works best)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup grape seed oil (or canola)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup of agave or honey
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips

Directions

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.

Mix wet ingredients into dry.

Form 1/2 inch balls and press onto parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 F for 7-10 minutes (don’t let them get too brown).

Cool and serve.

The group will go through neighborhoods several times until 2 p.m. for its annual fundraiser.

Homeowners may place their tree at the curb of their home for pickup. Donations for the Scouts are accepted by placing a Ziploc bag and envelope addressed to Troop 499 at 8042 116th Ave. S.E., Newcastle, WA 98056 on the tree. Donations can also be mailed to that address.

If the troop misses a tree, homeowners can call 206-579-7732 or 206-817-8323 for pickup.

It is not uncommon for trees to be picked up a week after the official date, and each year, the troop collects about 500 trees that get chipped and recycled.

Donations to the Troop Scholarship Fund can also be made at HomeStreet Bank anytime during the year.

Camping equipment donations for the growing troop are also needed.

This is the branch’s third year hosting a tree to benefit Vision House clients.

The tree will be available through Dec. 20.

The branch hours for the bank are from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Call Linda Stemler, branch manager, at 401-8778 for more information.