Auctioneer Larry Snyder to speak at Chamber lunch
The featured speaker at next week’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon is Larry Snyder, a business owner who got into auctioneering after he volunteered at a charity auction in 1998. The luncheon will be at noon on Feb. 2 at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center.
Snyder went to the Western College of Auctioneering where for 15 hours a day, seven days a week he learned how to “chant.” Being an auctioneer is similar to being in business — you have to know your clients, customers or bidders.
Snyder also spent years working in the family business, an independent home furnishing business in Burien. His grandfather helped found Greater Burien, Inc. an organization that promoted Burien and its businesses. With his father, Snyder, at the ripe old age of 14, opened the first area La-Z-Boy at South Center.
Snyder works with many nonprofits and causes, including raising money for pediatric tumor research at Fred Hutch – Cancer Research Center.
Call the Chamber office at 206-232-3404 or email your reservation by 9 a.m. on Jan. 31.
Island Books launches short story contest
It’s been about four years since the last Island Books Short Story Contest, so Island Books decided to launch “quadrennial” contest in January.
The deadline to submit stories, which should be 1,000 words or fewer, is March 12.
This year, the contest has a celebrity judge: Mark Holtzen, author of the bestselling picture book “A Ticket to the Pennant” and the middle-grade novel “The Pig War.”
There are no thematic or topical restrictions, but rules include: one submission per person, and no previously published material. Current employees of Island Books and their immediate families are ineligible.
Island Books will choose three winners, one in each of three age categories: Adult (18 and over), Teen (13 to 17), and Kid (12 and below). Winners will each receive a $50 Island Books gift certificate.
You can submit stories via email (send to info@mercerislandbooks.com with the subject line “Sharing My Story”) or in person. Please include your contact information (phone number and/or email address) and your age (if you’re not submitting in the adult category). In-person submissions will not be returned.
Winners will be announced on or before March 31 on the Island Books blog, Message in a Bottle. Winning stories will be published there subsequently.
Terra Bella moves to Islandia Center
Though the move was initially scheduled for 2015, Terra Bella has officially relocated to the Islandia Shopping Center at 3028 78th Ave. SE. The Christian Science Church has moved into its old location on the corner of 77th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 29th Street.
Terra Bella is Mercer Island’s go-to shop for unique gifts, home decor and cookware.
“The great thing is that both stores [Terra Bella and Terra Bella Cooks, opened last year] will be in one big space,” Owner and 21-year Island resident Nancy Meade told the Reporter in 2015. “We’re excited to be in more of a retail hub on Mercer Island.”
Terra Bella has another location at Meadow’s Shopping Center in Issaquah.
