Ironman Host Families Needed - As most of you have already heard, the Ironman 70.3 is coming to Lake Stevens again this year. This World Qualifier event takes place on Sunday, July 6th, but most of the athletes, some with their families, will arrive on Friday or earlier to pick up their packets and become familiar with our town and our lake. Since we don’t have any accommodations in Lake Stevens at this time most of them will be staying at hotels & motels in Everett or Marysville.

We are expecting about 1500 athletes to participate this year. Most of these athletes come to town from many other states and countries and we would like to offer them the opportunity to stay in a home with a host family. This not only shows them our friendly hospitality, but also keeps them in town to spend their money and boost our economy instead of that of our neighboring cities.

If you would like to host an athlete this summer, or know someone else who would, please contact Donna at the Chamber office with your name, address and contact phone number.

Master Gardeners Available To Solve Problems - Clinics will allow local gardeners to meet and discuss issues with experts. The 2008 WSU Master Gardener Community Plant Clinics are open and waiting for gardeners to bring in those fuzzy caterpillars, tents in trees and soggy cherry blossoms so that culprits and remedies can be correctly identified.

It is important to have a correct diagnosis so that the problem has an appropriate management solution. Pesticides, even organic ones, won’t solve problems unless they are caused by a pest (insect or disease). Often, moving the plant, improving the soil, or just watering deeply and less frequently is the solution.

WSU Master Gardeners also provide advice on plants for privacy, plants for dry or wet areas, varieties of small fruits that produce well here as well as disease resistant fruit tree and vegetable gardening advice.

The best way to reach a Master Gardener is to phone or visit the WSU Snohomish County Extension Office or visit one of 18 weekly Community Plant Clinics and several special events.

More than 40 WSU Master Gardeners work through the summer. The Extension Office, located at 600 128th St. inside McCollum Pioneer Park, is open for gardening advice from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. between April 1 and Sept. 30, then from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during winter months, or call 425-357-6010.

Also, below is a local business that hosts Master Gardeners for your convenience. Please note time & dates: 

Lake Stevens Hardware – 1904 125th Ave. NE, Lake Stevens – 425-377-2870, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 5/24, 6/14, 6/28.  

FREE SBA Loan Seminar for Business - Tuesday, June 24, 2008, 7:00 - 8:15 p.m. with speaker Christine Heckert. Seminar will take place at First Heritage Bank, Marysville Branch, 9417 State Avenue , Marysville. Seating is limited, please RSVP at 360-568-0536.

Host Families Needed for Japanese Students July 22nd through August 11th - See the attached flyer, or contact Kelli Lynn for more info at 425-377-0375 or KelliLynnEvents@Gmail.com

Health & Safety Fair Rescheduled for Saturday, June 14th  11am - 3pm at  Lundeen
Park

            Participants included so far:

            Snohomish Safe Kids
            Lake Stevens Fire
            Lake Stevens Police
            Lake Stevens Family Center -- collecting childrens' school supplies
            Snohomish County Health District - free cake and punch
            Fantastic Flutterbyes Face Painting
            Mounted Patrol
            Kettle Corn
            Summit Rehabilitation

Make Mine a Million $ Business™ - June 11, 2008 - Seattle, Washington

The Program Make Mine a Million $ Business was established to:

• Help women micro entrepreneurs grow and build sustainable enterprises
• Create jobs
• Develop innovative products and services

The program’s ultimate goal is to inspire one million women entrepreneurs to reach annual revenues of $1 million by the year 2010. This would create over 150,000 new jobs and $23 billion in economic activity in Washington state. Count Me In is reaching out to women across the country to achieve this goal. Events have been held in San Francisco, New York City, Austin, Los Angeles, Madison and Phoenix.  

WHAT: Northwest Make Mine a Million $ Business Event
WHERE: Seattle Center Fisher Pavilion
WHEN: June 11, 2008, 8:00am - 4:30pm

On June 11 Make Mine a Million $ Business will feature:

• Keynote speaker Governor Chris Gregoire
• Tools and inspiration for women to grow their business to one million $ in revenues
• Experts in financing, marketing, technology, business software and insurance
• Networking opportunities with women entrepreneurs from five Northwest states who are on the road to or beyond the million $ milestone
• A chance for 10 business owners to win a prize package of money, marketing, mentoring and technical tools totaling $80,000

Make Mine a Million $ Business™ is a national community of women entrepreneurs who believe in an unprecedented goal: one million women achieving one million dollars in revenue by 2010. To learn more about Make Mine a Million $ Business, please visit www.makemineamillion.org/seattle