FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington Public Ports Association recognizes the Port of Chehalis as 2025 Outstanding Job Creator
SPOKANE, Washington – Every year, the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA)
recognizes ports across the state for their extraordinary accomplishments in the categories of
job creation, community engagement, creative partnership, and environmental stewardship.
This year, the WPPA is pleased to announce the Port of Chehalis as our 2025 Job Creator
award winner for its work on the Southwest Washington Grain Project. By partnering with its
local agricultural sector and other community voices, the port has helped catalyze a new
industry, create new jobs and economic opportunity for Lewis County farmers and residents.
The Southwest Washington Grain Projects consists of 8.2 acres of port-owned land that is now
dedicated to agricultural development. Phase one of the project is where a grain storage facility
will allow transloading of grain, accommodate a weigh station and an operations building, and
will allow for future phases of complementary development. In undertaking this project, the port
focused on improving the economic resilience of the local agricultural economy that had seen its
farms devastated by a combination of catastrophic flooding and loss of market access. By
developing a grain storage and rail transload facility, regional producers will be able to export
malting barley while local dairy farmers can enjoy more diversified access to feedstocks.
To date, the project has received funding from the State of Washington, the federal Economic
Development Administration, the Lewis County Commission, and a direct appropriation through
the office of Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. In developing the plans for the
infrastructure that’s being built on the port’s property, the Port of Chehalis worked with a range
of partners including their federal, state, and local elected officials; the Washington Department
of Agriculture, Washington State University, Valley Agronomics, and the Northwest Agriculture
Business Center.
Western Washington Agriculture faces unique challenges including; the loss of processing
facilities, flood events, lack of infrastructure, development pressure, and diminished competitive
advantages, at a time when the infrastructure necessary to develop alternative markets is not
available. The proposed infrastructure development will not only benefit individual producers,
but the agricultural economy of western Washington as a whole.
The port’s hard work, foresight, community focus, and collaborative spirit will result in not just
new jobs but in the long-term economic opportunity that is a hallmark of the projects undertaken by Washington’s public port districts. The Port of Chehalis’s approach embodies the qualities of
our award winners, and we are thrilled to present them with the 2025 Job Creator Award.
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As a nonprofit trade association representing Washington’s independent port districts and their
partners, the Washington Public Ports Association (WPPA) fosters public policy that
supports our members and helps them execute their community-supported goals. The WPPA
was charged by the Legislature in 1961 with acting as the coordinating agency for public port
districts throughout Washington, serving as the focus through which ports work cooperatively to
develop policy direction, share information, and address issues on economic development,
trade, transportation, and environmental stewardship. Public port districts offer a wide range of
locally governed services, including the operation of marine terminals and barge facilities,
tourism promotion, development of industrial parks, management of public access points,
marinas, airports, railroads, and more.
Contact: Eric ffitch, Executive Director
360-763-1179 cell
effitch@washingtonports.org
