BIA Home & Lifestyle Show Preview 2024

2024 Whatcom County Home & Lifestyle Show Preview

Friday, April 12 - Sunday, April 14

10 AM - 6 PM

NWWF Farm Pavilion & Expo Building

Take a look at what’s new at the event and a few of this year’s A

Welcome to the 2024 Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show®

LYNDEN — What’s known as the largest home show north of Seattle has a new name.

Formerly the Whatcom County Home and Garden Show®, the event is now the Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show®.

Events Manager Rebecca Houston said BIAWC selected the new name for the show "to more accurately represent the variety of businesses and entrepreneurs that are represented at our show."

"The scope of businesses you see at the show include many aspects of Whatcom County life," Houston said. "And we want to make sure that the name showcases that. We are on a mission to advance home ownership but also to support local businesses and provide them with a platform and a unique opportunity to connect with residents from all corners of Whatcom County."

Held this year from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. April 12-14, the Building Industry Association of Whatcom County — known to many as BIAWC — celebrates 43 years of serving Whatcom County in this capacity. And attendance to this show is free each and every day.

With over 150 exhibitors, the show is “Whatcom County’s largest and most trusted destination for all design and home improvement information, inspiration, and direct connections for you with local industry leaders and trendsetters.”

The Weekend Seminar Series, PNWBA BBQ Competition, The Lego Masters Building Class, Reptile Show, and Food Truck Roundup Event make this a fun event for all ages.

The Building Industry Association of Whatcom County is a private, non-profit trade organization of builders, remodelers, and other businesses related to the home building and construction industry.

Founded in Bellingham in 1978, BIAWC serves the interests of the industry in governmental affairs, professional development, social and networking opportunities, and community service.

BIAWC offices are at 1650 Baker Creek Place, Bellingham. Call 360-671-4247 or email info@biawc.com for more information.

More information at biawc.com/homeshow-2024.

Here are some of the highlights of this year’s Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show®:

Ribs & Roofs Showdown: Igniting Futures

BIAWC has partnered with the Pacific Northwest BBQ Association to host a professional BBQ competition to raise funds for education for trade industry-interested students in Whatcom County. Central Elemen-

The Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show® on the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds in Lynden is the largest home and garden show north of Seattle. Formerly known as Home and Garden show, this year’s event is April 12-14. (Lynden Tribune file photos)

tary’s Afterschool Wood Shop Program and Bellingham Technical College’s Pathways to the Trades Scholarship are beneficiaries.

Outlaws Saloon Beer Garden

Ferndale’s watering hole. Outlaws will bring their wide selection of cold beer and signature cocktails to the BIAWC Home Show.

Food Truck Roundup

Taste your way through the Food Truck Roundup. Whatcom County food truck favorite Feast will be back. Plus, more of Whatcom County’s favorites. You won’t be going hungry here.

Fun & Inspirational Speakers

Being added daily

Kids Activities

• Lego Masters Building Class

• Reptile man

• Spiderman appearance

• WECU Interactive Kids Area

• Face Painting Fairies

• Family day (Saturday)

• Young Entrepreneurs Market

• Gnome Scavenger Hunt with prizes

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Brim Tractor targets three audiences

Equipment for the homeowner (small tractors for moving dirt and snow), agricultural equipment for farms, and larger construction equipment (excavators and skid steers)

LYNDEN — Visit Brim Tractor at this year’s Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show, April 12-14, at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden.

The history of Brim Tractor begins with the history of Bill Brim, father of current Owner and General Manager Dan Brim.

Brought up on a dairy farm in Longview, Bill was only 22 when he became part-owner of his first tractor dealership. Bill was in the tractor business for 40 years, from 1947 until 1987. In 1966, Bill and Dan's mother, Margaret, founded Brim Tractor Company in Lynden. Bill and Margaret not only weathered the constantly changing industry, they were instrumental in shaping it.

Another forward measure was when several of Dan’s brothers, Bob, Alan and Dave, computerized the company in the late 1970s. That measure became a separate company known as Dealer Information Systems (DIS Corp.) which still continues.

A changing of the guard occurred in 2000 when Dan came back from college and went to work for the company. In 1988, Alan Brim bought Brim Tractor from Bill.

In 1997, Dan and his wife Teresa bought the company from Alan. Since that time, the company has ex-

Henry Buiter, with 35 years of experience in sales, shows part of the tractor inventory at Brim Tractor at the Lynden store. (Elisa Claassen for the Tribune)

panded under Dan’s leadership in Washington and Oregon, with other locations in Chehalis, Eugene, Mount Vernon, Salem, Rainier, Klamath Falls, Redmond, Central Point, and Christmas Valley.

Brim Tractor offers the newest models including New Holland, Yanmar, Alamo, Bad Boy, Braber Equipment, JCB, Millcreek, Diamond Mowers, Supreme, Snorkel, Xtreme and Woods.

“We will help you maintain your excavator, tractor, spreader, rake, skid steer, balers, mowers and more so that it will run for years,” according to the corporate website. “If it is having problems, we can diagnose and repair it.”

Brim Tractor Marketing Manager Chad Baron said the company has three target audiences: equipment for the homeowner (small tractors for moving dirt and snow), agricultural equipment for farms, and larger construction equipment (excavators and skid steers).

Serving customers across Washington and Oregon, Brim Tractor has a great selection of high-quality tractors, excavators, mowers, forklifts, balers, ATV/UTVs, and more.

Also, the Brim Tractor team will help you maintain your excavator, tractor, spreader, rake, skid steer, balers, mowers, and more so that everything runs for years. If your equipment is having problems, Brim Tractor can diagnose and repair it. Schedule your service appointment today. Fill out a parts request form to see if Brim Tractor has the part in stock. If they don't, Brim Tractor will be more than happy to order the item for you.

Discover the power and reliability you need at Brim Tractor. Whether you're in Oregon or Washington, our wide range of equipment will exceed your expectations.

Brim Tractor is at 350 Duffner Drive, Lynden. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Closed on Sunday. For more information, visit brimtractor.com or call 360354-4411.

Brim Tractor is known for its superior customer service and has put together a team, according to the company, of knowledgeable sales members, finance experts, service technicians, and parts and accessories staff.

Visit your local Builders FirstSource in Ferndale where you can count on our lumber yard to have the right tools for the job. At BFS Ferndale, our expert team is here to provide guidance no matter the project.

Community-minded insurance for Amy Warenski

By Racquel Muncy For the Tribune

LYNDEN — State Farm Agent Amy Warenski uses her booth at the Whatcom Home and Lifestyle Show each year as a way to raise funds for a local organization by donating $5 for each insurance quote given during the event.

Her first year at the show was in 2018 and the past the donations have gone to the Boys and Girls Club, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services, and the Whatcom Humane Society. This year, donations will go to Lynden’s Project Hope Food Bank.

Project Hope helps families struggling with food insecurity within the Lynden School District.

Warenski grew up in Bellingham and has lived or worked all over northern Whatcom County, making her fully ingrained into the community. She also has a 10-year-old boy in a local school district.

Warenski said that just like the State Farm motto of “Like a good neighbor State Farm is there,” being a good neighbor is at the heart of everything she does.

“When we do donation events, we like to select organizations that make an impact on our local community,” she said. “We chose Project Hope this year because we’ve heard of so many people who could use some help putting food on the table.”

What Warenski has heard is more than anecdotal. According to the 2020-2021 Washington State Food Security Surveys, 20% of residents in Whatcom County are food insecure.

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle. This is an increase from about 15% from before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Project Hope is one of the many area

State Farm Agent Amy Warenski returns to Whatcom Home and Lifestyle Show to turn insurance quotes into donations for Project Hope Food Bank. Warenski, second from right, is pictured with agent’s assistant A.J. Wauda, financial services specialist Laura Mellema and insurance account representative Kelsie Moore. (Photos courtesy Amy Warenski)

food banks helping with this issue. They are open Mondays and Fridays from 9:30 a.m. to noon and Tuesdays from 3-6 p.m. Warenski said she enjoys coming to the Whatcom Home and Lifestyle Show because she gets to interact with others in the community.

“We love talking to our customers and community members. It’s a great way for us to see our neighbors and spread some joy,” she said of coming to the show.

Her booth spreads joy in part by her unique trivia, which she said sets her booth apart from others. The questions range from Washington facts, to animal and farm

facts and some State Farm trivia sprinkled in.

Warenski said her favorite question to ask is “Can pigs get sunburned?”

She also hopes her booth provides a learning experience for anyone who stops by.

“Insurance pricing has been pretty upand-down in the last four years, especially in Washington,” Warenski said. “We explain coverages in a thorough and caring way, and our needs-based approach helps people to feel comfortable with the options they choose.”

Her website, amywarenski.com, also

features some educational tips — such as the differences between automatic and manual transmissions, car maintenance people can do themselves and how home insurance deductibles work.

These education and creativity components are key reasons why Warenski decided to become an insurance agent.

She said her first career was in banking, including corporate training and branch management. Warenski decided she needed a change.

“I wanted to find a career that would allow me to take care of people, utilize my love of teaching and that would allow me to use both the creative and logical sides of my brain,” she said. “I started with State Farm as an agency team member in 2012, and I opened my office in Lynden in 2017. I started from scratch, which means I had the opportunity to build my business from the ground up.”

Now she sells a variety of insurances, such as automotive, homeowners, condo, renters, life, health, small business and pet insurance. State Farm agents work as contractors, so Warenski said she is her own small business and that allows those looking for small business insurance to get it from someone who understands the needs.

“This is exactly where I’m supposed to be,” she said.

Visit State Farm Agent Amy Warenski at this year’s Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show, April 12-14, at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden.

Outside of the Whatcom Home and Lifestyle Show, Warenski can be found at her office at 8874 Bender Road, Suite 106, in Bender Plaza next to the Woods Coffee from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. She can also be reached by call or text at 360-354-6868.

Diversification helps Stremler Gravel last four decades

Lynden company celebrates four decades of loyal customer service

By Libby Williams For the Tribune

LYNDEN — Visit Stremler Gravel at this year’s Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show, April 12-14, at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden.

Stremler Gravel is digging into its 40th year serving Whatcom County’s gravel, excavation and construction needs.

Lane Stremler is the second generation

owner of the company, alongside his brother, Vince. Their father, Virgil, started Stremler Gravel in 1984, and their uncle, Gordon, joined in 1996. Virgil passed away in 2022, and Lane said his father was involved in the company until the very end.

“They grew the company from a bulldozer and a dump truck to a company that does more civil construction like roads and sewers,” Stremler said, adding that today, there are 45 employees.

The company is based in Lynden, and serves Whatcom and Skagit counties for needs ranging from waterline installation, site development and road construction.

“Stremler Gravel makes it sound like we’re just a supplier of gravel,” Lane Stremler said.

“That’s the first division. The second piece is the heavy civil construction, road building and site prep for commercial development,

Vince Stremler, Nathan Smit, Eric VanderMeulen and Joey Mellema of Stremler Gravel, from left, gather for a photograph. (Photo courtesy Stremler Gravel)

Stremler: Diversification helps company last four decades

Continued from C10

and part of staying local means we gotta stay really diversified … so we might be fixing a sewer line for John Doe in his backyard, and also biting off a million dollar project. The third division would be the concrete construction.”

According to Lane, the company added a concrete division this year.

“The one piece we never did was concrete construction and flatwork,” Lane said. “We got really big really fast, and as everyone knows, that doesn’t always work the best, so we scaled back. We went from a zero to 12 man crew, back to a couple of guys … over the four years since then it’s been rebuilt to a full crew of probably seven or eight guys, they do mainly residential. That’s been going really well.”

Stremler Gravel also supplies concrete in Whatcom County, and recently added volumetric trucks to help carry the load.

“We’ve purchased concrete volumetric trucks, which are slightly different than standard delivery trucks, but the same product,” Lane said. “Traditionally, concrete is mixed at a batch plant, then loaded into mixer and drum trucks. Those trucks deliv-

er the concrete to the site and the drum continues to spin and mix the concrete to keep it from getting hard in the truck.”

“What’s different with a volumetric mixer truck is that the batch plant is on the truck. This means that the truck is carrying all the ingredients, but nothing is actually mixed together until it’s on the site and ready to be put into the forms,” he explained.

When it comes to looking to the future, Stremler said he hopes the company continues to diversify, but he imagines they’ll stay true to their Lynden roots.

“We’ve continued to grow the company,” he said. “We grow, but we’ve never really branched out from our property, the crew we have is the people who want to be home at night.”

When asked about the impact Stremler Gravel has on the community, Stremler said it’s not so much about cornering the market on gravel and concrete construction. It’s about the people served, and the team behind it.

“There’s a lot of really good civil contractors in Whatcom County, so if we disappeared, it wouldn’t be a problem of ‘who am I going to get to put my

water line in?’” Stremler said. “...We’re a great place to work. The crew here is tight. We go through hard times in life, and having a good group around you is huge. There have been a lot of really good success stories of people who have come out of addictions, and now they’re (working here) and leading these really amazing lives, and that probably gets me as excited about it as anything.”

Stremler said while the company doesn’t take out many of their own advertisements, they’re always eager to take out a page for groups like the FFA.

“You’d have to be a pretty bad organization to say no to fundraising for an event,” he said. “And we’re not a vulgar bunch … when your name is on the back of the shirts of the third grade girls basketball team, you’d better watch it.”

“For us, to grow our business … we don’t see it being geographically, we see it as diversification to maintain the spirit of who we are as a company.”

Stremler Gravel Inc. is at 201 Birch Bay Lynden Road, Lynden. Hours are from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. weekdays, closed weekends. Call 360-354-8585 or visit stremlergravel.net for more information.

Virgil Stremler, pictured, started Stremler Gravel in 1984, and their uncle, Gordon, joined in 1996. Virgil passed away in 2022, and Lane said his father was involved in the company until the very end. (Photo courtesy Stremler

Photos courtesy of Casali Remodeling and MK Daughters Photography

courtesy Stremler Gravel)

Gravel)

WECU in its 10th year at Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show®

Keith Mader: ‘We want people to know that if they’re going to be taking on a big project, WECU is here for you,’

By Libby Williams For the Tribune

LYNDEN — The Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show aims to inspire through showcasing the best of Whatcom County businesses.

WECU Credit Union has been involved with the show for 10 years now, according to Keith Mader, director of public relations.

“I have the honor of working with our real estate team to pull together our involvement at the home show,” Mader said.

According to Mader, visitors to the WECU booth can expect free merchandise and drawings, as well as learning about home services offered by WECU.

“We’ll hand out insulated tote bags and host a drawing for a drill set, $100 gift card and a gardening basket,” Mader said. “Our message is simple: Improve your home today. Start with WECU.”

Mader said while many home and garden improvement projects can be paid for out of pocket, at WECU there are options that could help with larger projects.

One thing the booth will highlight is the WECU Lux Visa card which offers 3% on all home improvement spending.

“This is great for projects you’ll believe you’ll be able to pay off within 12 months, so you aren’t charged any interest.

WECU’s website boasts a page where users can sign up for a free webinar on home improvement. Key points include learning whether a project will improve your home’s value, how the permitting process works, options for financing a project, hiring a contractor and figuring out how much a project will cost.

More info can be found at https:// www.wecu.com/homeimprovement/ .

Mader said he hopes attendees will have more peace of mind when facing big home improvement projects.

WECU Credit Union has been involved with the Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show for 10 years now. (Photos courtesy WECU Credit Union)

“Mainly, we want people to know that if they’re going to be taking on a big project, WECU is here for you,” Mader said. “And we have great options. We have really competitive interest rates and low fees.

WECU has many locations throughout Whatcom County. More information can be found at WECU.com

Visit WECU Credit Union at this year’s Whatcom County Home and Lifestyle Show, April 12-14, at the Northwest Washington Fairgrounds, 1775 Front St., Lynden.

More information can be found on the event’s website at eventhub.net/events/ Whatcom-County-Home---LifestyleShow-2024_5369.