Supporting young people and Kitsap County has been Joel Baxter’s mode of operation since he got on a school advisory board in 1983. Baxter is a director at the Greater Kitsap Chamber of Commerce. He has focused on education, in addition to training young people at his business, B&B Auto Repair in Bremerton.
Baxter became involved with the chamber of commerce thanks to a networking group. One networking member was a Mary Kay consultant who introduced the Greater Kitsap Chamber of Commerce to Baxter. He says, “I was talking to her … and she said, ‘Well, you should get in the chamber.’ And she really encouraged me to get involved. So, I joined.”
He started working with the education committee, he says, because that’s his passion. He then became active with other committees, such as the Kitsap Business Forum and the Water Trails. In 2017, he became the chamber president.
“I’ve always had a strong feeling that you need to be part of the community and not just be in business,” he says.
Baxter’s belief in education and training has extended to his work at B&B Auto Repair, where he has helped train young personnel.
“An important part for B&B Auto Repair is community involvement. We hired our first intern back in the ’80s. And we have an intern right now who’s going to get his associate degree while working for us,” Baxter says, adding that this is similar to his own life of starting auto work when he was young — he and his brother started the business “legally” around 1984.
After over a decade of hard work, Baxter’s time with the chamber of commerce is coming to an end. “My goal is to help with the committee I’m currently on ’til the end of this term [which is this coming summer],” he says.
He will be also retiring from B&B Auto Repair. “I’m sticking around one more year to make sure that community involvement stays as part of the business culture here at B&B Auto Repair; it’s important,” he says.
Baxter wants to encourage others to become more involved.
“I tell people that joining the chamber of commerce will help you find your passion,” he says. “Find out what you’re good at, what you want to do and then get involved. It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
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