By CLAYTON PARK

When David Liatos joined the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce a little over three years ago, he did so because he thought the Chamber was a natural place to promote his then-fledgling CPA practice.

"I eventually realized it (the Chamber) is not so much a place to GET business as it is a place that allows members to GIVE something back to the community," he said.

"Of course," Liatos added, "as it now turns out, over the years I have actually gotten a lot of business out of it! But I had to put my own self-interests on the back-burner first."

The growth of his CPA practice allowed Liatos to move his business out of his home and into an office on Greenwood Avenue in November.

Accordingly, Liatos is devoting more time than ever to serving his community. Earlier this year, he was elected president of the Chamber, which was recently renamed the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce to emphasize the fact that it also serves businesses on Phinney Ridge.

As president, Liatos hopes to spread the word to other businesses owners: community service pays - if not directly in the form of increased business, at least in the form of knowing that you are helping improve the quality of life, both for yourself as well as for your neighbors.

Joining the Chamber is a good way to start, says Liatos, who has set a goal of ending the year with minimum of 100 members. The early signs are encouraging. As of the end of May, the Chamber has 89 members, up from 80 at the beginning of the year.

Liatos gives some of that credit to Lisa Papp, the Chamber's new membership director and the group's first-ever paid employee, who has been hired on a part-time basis.

Papp is no stranger to volunteer community service, herself. She was recently elected president of the Green Lake Chamber, a group she helped start a couple years ago. She plans to juggle her duties with the two chambers while running an Internet business franchise that she and her husband Jim co-own, called Big Planet.

Liatos would especially like the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber to reach out to home-based businesses, of which he was one himself until recently. "I think there's a huge home-based market we haven't tapped," he says.

The Chamber is currently working with local residents to address concerns regarding the development wave that's sweeping the area, with several new multi-story buildings in the works. Increased density is an inevitability, says Liatos. "The challenge is to not lose our community's small town flavor."

In keeping with that goal, the Chamber has been designated to act as the fiscal agent for a $50,000 "early implementation" grant from the City that has been applied for by the Neighborhood Planning Steering Committee made up of the Chamber and the Greenwood and Phinney community councils. Much of that money would be used to give the business district a "face-lift," according to the Chamber's May/June newsletter.

Besides holding monthly board and general membership meetings, the Chamber sponsors a number of community events throughout the year.

Last month, the Chamber held its fourth annual Greenwood Art Walk. Next up is the annual Greenwood Classic Car & Rod Show, Saturday, June 26. On July 28, the Chamber will hold the 49th annual Greenwood Seafair Parade.

Other Chamber-sponsored festivities include: the Safe Trick-Or-Treat event, and Holiday Tree Lighting, which takes place at Greenwood True Value Hardware.

Joining Liatos on the Chamber board this year are: April Norton, vice president; Patty-Cole Ulrichs, secretary; and Gary Teachout, treasurer. Directors include: Jeanne Barwick, Michele Della Pella, Janice Gockel, Marjie Johnson, Sheryl Long Gulden, Fred Jossy (immediate past-president), Ron Lewis, Ed Medeiros and Ann Woodward.

For more information about the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce, call 789-1148.