Bellevue game brought to life, aims to boost local economy

IT’S NOT BAD. WELL, I HOPE YOU LIKE GAMES, BECAUSE OUR GUEST TODAY CAME TO TALK ABOUT A GAME SHE CREATED FOR HER COMMUNITY IN BELLEVUE EPPLEY. PARTICIPANTS TRY TO GAIN STAMPS AND FILL OUT A GAME BOARD, AND WITH A COMPLETED GAME BOARD, YOU CAN WIN DIFFERENT PRIZES. THEY’VE EVEN A PRIZE ALONG THE WAY. JOINING ME IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE BELLEVUE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND COMMUNITY, DIANE BRUCE. HI, DIANE. HELLO. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO WHY DID YOU CREATE GREAT BELLEVUE EPPLEY? YOU KNOW, THIS WAS A THIS WAS A TEAM EFFORT. WE HAD SOME VOLUNTEERS, UH, JUST TALKING ONE DAY ON HOW WE COULD REALLY INCREASE THE AWARENESS IN BELLEVUE, AND WE JUST STARTED TALKING ABOUT MONOPOLY, AND IT JUST CAME OUT AND WE JUST RAN WITH IT. UM, I’VE BEEN WITH THE CHAMBER SINCE MARCH OF LAST YEAR, AND ONE OF THE BIGGEST THINGS OUR MEMBERS WERE QUESTIONING WAS WE NEED MORE FOOT TRAFFIC. YOU KNOW, COVID LEFT EVERYBODY AT HOME. EVERYBODY’S ORDERING ONLINE. RIVNE. UM, SO WE WANTED TO DO SOMETHING TO GET PEOPLE INTO THE STORES AND MAKE THEM AWARE OF THE GREAT BUSINESSES THAT WE HAVE IN THE BELLEVUE COMMUNITY. ABSOLUTELY. AND HOW HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN? IT’S BEEN REALLY GOOD. UM, I SET MY STANDARDS VERY HIGH. SO OF COURSE I ALWAYS WANT MORE, BUT, UH, WE HAVE AT LEAST 6 TO 700 GAME BOARDS OUT THERE RIGHT NOW. SO PEOPLE ARE OUT PLAYING. WE HAVE, UH, 39 BUSINESSES THAT PARTICIPATED ON THE GAME BOARD. UH, SO REALLY THE PEOPLE ARE GOING OUT AND WANTING TO SUPPORT, BUT THEY’RE ALSO WANTING TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR COMMUNITY. SO IT’S BEEN A REALLY GOOD I OPENING EXPERIENCE. UM, JUST TO SEE WHAT THE COMMUNITY WAS LOOKING FOR. YEAH. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PRIZES THAT YOU HAVE? UH, WE’VE GOT GREAT PRIZES AND THAT’S WHEN OUR BUSINESSES REALLY STEP UP. UM, WE HAVE LIKE A $2,500 TRAVEL PACKAGE. WOW. BELLEVUE TRAVEL AND COURTYARD MARRIOTT, UH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE PRIZES IS WE CALL IT THE OF THE MONTH CLUB. SO IT’S A CAKE OF THE MONTH FROM CAKE EXPRESSIONS TO A MASSAGE OF THE MONTH FROM GALVIN FLOWERS FROM PURPLE ORCHID. SO EVERY MONTH YOU’RE GOING TO GET A FIVE, 4 OR 5 DIFFERENT THINGS. YEAH. AND THEY’RE ALL THEY’RE ALL 12 MONTHS. SO YOU GET A BIG ITEM EVERY EVERY 12 MONTHS. WELL THAT’S REALLY COOL. AND THEN LIKE THE NEW BOWLING ALLEY, UM, THEY’VE DONATED EIGHT LANES AND LIKE A BIG PARTY PACKAGE SO YOU CAN HAVE AN OFFICE, OFFICE PARTY THERE. OH, THOSE ARE THOSE ARE LIKE OUR TOP PRIZES, BUT WE HAVE $100 PRIZES, TOO. YEAH, YEAH, THAT’S REALLY COOL. SO HOW DO PEOPLE JOIN IN AND FOR HOW LONG CAN THEY PARTICIPATE? NOW WE HAVE TEN DAYS LEFT AND THE REALLY NICE PART IS YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE THE WHOLE BOARD TO WIN A PRIZE. WE HAVE LOWER LEVEL PRIZES LIKE CHICK FIL A IS DOING A MEAL OF THE WEEK. DJS GAVE 500. SO IF YOU DON’T COMPLETE THE WHOLE BOARD, YOU’RE GOING TO BE IN THOSE PRIZE LEVELS. UM, SO PEOPLE CAN COMPLETE THREE. SO THEY HAVE TEN DAYS TO GET OUT THERE. WE DO HAVE SOME. WE HAVE QUITE A FEW THAT HAVE TURNED IN THE WHOLE GAME BOARD. UM, BUT THEY CAN GO TO ANY OF OUR PARTICIPATE BUSINESSES TO BE PART OF IT AND TO PICK UP A GAME BOARD. OR THEY CAN CHECK WITH US AT THE CHAMBER. WE HAVE GAME BOARDS THERE. UM, SO THERE’S ANY ANY OF THE PARTICIPATING MEMBERS CAN HELP THEM GET STARTED. OKAY, GREAT. AWESOME. AND WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND A LIST OF THE OUR EXCUSE ME ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE HAS ALL THE LIST OF IT, ALL THE RULES. EVERYTHING’S OU