Sue VanRuff on Maple Valley Local Business

Sue VanRuff of Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce Shares Her Vision for Maple Valley Local Business

In the interest of presenting the clearest and most helpful picture on the state of local business in Maple Valley, we took the time to interview Sue VanRuff, Executive Director of Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce.

How did you first get involved with the MV-BD Chamber of Commerce? What led you down the path to becoming Executive Director?

Bill, my husband, worked for Standard Oil as a company operations manager. He was offered a position at a Chevron station in Maple Valley in 1975, so we moved to Maple Valley together – to own and operate a business – in ‘76.

We got involved in the local business and Chamber of Commerce world pretty quickly, as part of a local merchants association. Bill was the Chamber’s board president in ‘82/’83, and I served in that same capacity from ‘88-’89.

Then in 2003, the Chamber had some decisions to make because of the local growth. Before then the Chamber had never had an Executive Director – they had never been big enough. They decided to open the position, and seeing as Bill and I were in the process of selling the Chevron station, I took it. I worked the position for free for a year.

It was defined as part-time, but wasn’t really. I worked hard to develop the position and grow it to the next step. The second year it paid about $500 per month.

But I wasn’t the only one who sacrificed to help grow the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce. The City of Maple Valley allocated a space in the community development annex. The property owner of that building also offered up a satellite space.

How long have you been Executive Director?

Now I’ve been Executive Director 10 years. I’m also Chairman of the Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Maple Valley has seen a lot of growth in the last 20 years – so much so that it has received statewide and national attention. How has this impacted the local businesses of Maple Valley?

I saw the effects of this growth in my own personal experience – it affected everyone, really. Our Chevron station was also Wilderness Auto Service. With growth comes opportunity (and missed opportunity).

We lost some of the character of the businesses that were here before the growth. We used to have more locally-owned-and-operated businesses – more uniqueness. Ralph’s Market in Wilderness Village, for example, is now QFC. Village Drug is now a Bartell’s.

The complexity of the city has changed so much in 15 years. Some businesses were able to respond, adapt, and meet new market demands; some were not.

The funny thing is, we pumped more gas at our Chevron station in 1995 than we did in 2005. More businesses means more competition, and different buying habits.

The demographics changed as well. Maple Valley used to be populated by airline workforces, such as Boeing’s. Now it has shifted largely to the tech workforce, like Microsoft. This changed the dynamic quite a bit.

Do you see this change as a bad thing or a good thing?

It’s not negative – it’s just different. The demands changed. The needs changed.

For example, there are a lot more entrepreneurs out here. Many people who used to work for a tech company are now entrepreneurs, taking advantage of the digital economy (and avoiding a long commute) by working remotely from home here in Maple Valley.

What is one of the biggest challenges facing Maple Valley businesses today?

The commuter population is a big one.

For example, right now it gets dark so early, during the Winter, that it’s hard for businesses to get visibility unless they’re right on the street. It’s amazing how few people will know about you when most of what they do is drive to and from home and work.

Maple Valley has seen a few bigger chains develop a presence here recently. Not everyone is thrilled. How do you feel?

I really think big opportunities arise when franchises come in. For example, though not everyone was excited by Fred Meyer showing up, it is a great way for businesses right next door to get a lot more foot traffic and visibility.

But we can’t forget local business owners, like the Johnson’s. They began in Wilderness Village, then predicted growth at Four Corners and moved there, which was a risk. They grew that store and remodeled it three times. Then they put in the huge new store in a new location. This diligent investment and reinvestment demonstrates extraordinary commitment to this community. The owners are the 2nd and 3rd generations now.

The City of Maple Valley must invest in both the value of the locally owned businesses that are devoted like that, as well as the corporate owned stores of the world.

In fact, we see a lot of 2nd and 3rd generations coming into ownership, including Eric our own son;  Dentist Dr. Joel Rude took over for his dad Danny Rude. Scott Bennion’s Vision Clinic. Joe Flynn founded the Maple Valley-Black Diamond Chamber of Commerce in 1965. His son, Jim Flynn, is the current board Chair.

What it comes down to is respect: we need to respect every pioneer of every generation. Whoever came before us deserves our respect, for the time and energy they spent on this city.

Generational connections enrich us all.

What are your goals for local business?

Our tagline, “Grow Business, Build Community”, really encapsulates our goals for Maple Valley.

I would love for us to have the infrastructure to provide true satellite offices for something like an IT company. We have a lot of innovative people in Maple Valley with strong tech backgrounds, who would really latch on to that.

In order to accomplish this, we opened up an incubator program here in the Chamber. We switched to a partial satellite program, so that people can work remotely and come in when they need to. We provide 3 office suites with a conference room and other amenities.

The other focus is business retention. We have a core group of members who are willing to donate some time and expertise to provide initial start-up support to local businesses – including an attorney, a tax accountant,banker, business plan writers, and more. We have the resources to help businesses grow.

We just hope businesses will reach out to us for support before they’re really struggling. The invitation is always open. We have a lot of entrepreneurial spirit here in Maple Valley, but sometimes it can be difficult for people to anticipate the difficult realities of getting people to walk through the door.

We need to keep the school district in this conversation as well. If we embrace the regional community learning center so that Renton Technical College and Green River Community College can have presences on Tahoma’s campus, our students will have the opportunity for viable alternative career paths. They will be equipped with technical skills to succeed in today’s economy.

My vision for Maple Valley is all about retaining character as we continue to grow.

The worst thing that could happen is that we aspire to be any other city. We don’t want to be redundant. Go to any urban area and you will feel how redundant they can be.

We need to retain the individual character of our people and our community.