Rise & Shine Networking - Jennifer Hackett with Washington Hometown App

Join us for a morning networking meetup at the Business Development Center in Cle Elum. Meet and network with local business professionals, introduce yourself and your business, and enjoy coffee and muffins courtesy of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce.

This month's speaker is Jennifer Hackett, founder of Washington Hometown App. Her talk is on: Sharing what makes Kittitas County Special through recreation maps and apps. 

Kittitas County is an amazing recreation destinaton, close to the Seattle Tacoma Metropolitan area but a world away. How can we share what makes our community special and get visitors to stop in our businesses after a day on the trails, rather than just heading back over the pass. "I will be talking about the Northwest Portal/Washington Hometown mapping project, which has gathered information about all types of recreation resources throughout the state, with a focus on what makes Kittitas County a unique recreation destination and how you can leverage the Northwest Portal maps and apps to help bring people into your community or businesses.

"Northwest Portal (Washington Hometown) was created in 2009 to address the gap between recreation opportunities and information about recreation. This state has amazing recreation resources, but the information is organized by managing agency and not activity. People searching for their next adventure want to find information by area, activity, facilities or even pass. They don't care who owns or manages it. With this company, I have leveraged my data mining skills, developed in 16 years working intelligence for the Department of Defense, with mapping expertise as a digital mapping professional and professor, and a love of the outdoors to create a recreation data set that has all of the information that outdoor enthusiasts need to discover their next adventure. The information is available through free web maps and apps, custom print maps and as a data subscription. Businesses and communities can pay to sponsor or be on the maps, helping to draw visitors in and share what makes their location special."

The event is free to attend. Registration in advance is appreciated. The Business Development Center is located at 216 N Pennsylvania Ave in Cle Elum. The Business Development Center is a service of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce. Startup funding was provided by Suncadia Community Enhancement Fund.