The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber is partnering with Riverbend Books to publish a photographic chronicle of life in and around Tacoma. This vital regional project has garnered the endorsement of the Chamber, City of Tacoma, and Pierce County as the “Official Pictorial Book of Tacoma and Pierce County.” As in other projects Riverbend has undertaken, this hardcover coffee-table book will be an intensive, in-depth photographic journal of the region.

In addition to top local talent, Riverbend will be bringing in photographers whose credits appear in National Geographic, Life, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times and other prominent publications. Their mission is to bring the Tacoma region to life like never before. Says Publisher Barry Levin, “we’re going to be in homes, churches, schools, businesses, back yards, operating rooms scrubbed for surgery, restaurants and in every nook and cranny of the region. From well-known places and faces to obscure slices of life, we’ll dig deep to capture it in the pages of what promises to be an extraordinary book. We anticipate over 100 shooting days, shooting over 40,000 images.”
Titled Northwest Treasure — Photographic Portrait of Tacoma-Pierce County, this pictorial portrait of the community will include over 300 of the best color photos and is scheduled for publication in Summer 2006.

For the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber and the business community, it is a unique opportunity. Area businesses can have their companies’ story told in the pages of the book. What’s enticing is that each sponsor story – which ranges from one to four pages – is written, photographed and designed by Riverbend, using the same nationally recognized talent that the rest of the book enjoys.

Levin continues: “These are stories about their company. We’ve had sponsors talk about community involvement, brag about their roots, customer service, their strengths and other topics. Then to provide even more value, we can turn their story into an impressive custom brochure, and sponsors get usage of their photography. We have a whole sponsor package that says ‘value, value, value’ – this is just the beginning.”

“The importance of this book to Tacoma goes way beyond just having your company’s story told,” says Chamber President, Dave Graybill. “These books are a vital component of an economic development effort to promote our region. Our community and business leaders will utilize this book to present to new companies with an interest in expanding here and professionals considering relocation. Publication of this much-needed book will be one of our most important projects to date.”