(Editor’s note: This is the first story from our new My Wallingford intern, Ivana Cheong, a communications student at the University of Washington. Welcome, Ivana!)
Colleen Kurke, owner of the salon Cutz Meridian, was recently elected as the new president for the Wallingford Chamber of Commerce. A couple days ago, I sat down with Kurke on a comfortable red sofa in her small and charismatic shop, located on the corner of N. 45th and Meridian.
She’s no stranger to Seattle’s neighborhoods; coming from a Black Feet Native American heritage, Kurke relocated to Seattle from Montana when she was a child. Here, she raised her three children, who are now all grown up, she told me. Three years ago, she opened her first salon, called Cutz Wallingford, which was located on Wallingford Ave. The current Cutz location used to be a gas station and later was home to the Apex Cleaners for 30 years.
After joining the Chamber of Commerce, Kurke chaired the first Wallingford Art Walk, which is now in its fourth year and under new management. The Chamber then elected her in December 2010 as president to serve the 2011 and 2012 term. The previous Chamber president, Kara Ceriello, who owns Not a Number, served in the post for five years.
“I was first hesitant to do it, because the commitments are really big,” Kurke said. But supporters assured her that she would have the largest board there has ever been (there are 10 people on the board this year), which made the job more appealing, since there would be less on her shoulders. “My number one priority is my salon,”she said.
I asked her how the job has been so far. “Well, the last three weeks have been overwhelming,” she said. “There have been many changes within the structure of the Chamber.” But she smiled and said that she likes the challenge and the work. Being a business owner who has had her own storefront, Kurke has experience in dealing with businesses and community members on a grassroots level. “Even raising children… that’s where you learn a lot,” Kurke said, laughing.
“I’m very compelled to work closely with the businesses and survey them to find their needs and wants,” she said. “Get input for what people want to see in the business community.” During her presidency of the Chamber, Kurke has a few goals on top of her priorities list, some of which include:
- Focusing on Sustainable Wallingford, as well as the farmer’s market
- Creating events to bring more traffic for the community and the businesses, while also utilizing the neighborhood’s great spaces, like Gas Works Park
- Implementing social networking into the Chamber; she plans to highlight two businesses per month by giving them each a 5-minute slot in the Chamber meetings to talk about their work
“You’ve got to be creative in this economic climate,” Kurke said. “At the end, the goal is to work with the community and support the local businesses.”
