Welcome to the September edition of Kitsap Business. This month we feature stories about the people and organizations in our region who are putting creativity, persistence, and community at the center of their work. Together, they show us that business isn’t only about commerce—it’s also about how we connect, how we adapt, and how we shape the places we live.
On Bainbridge Island, the Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network—better known as BARN—has grown from a handful of woodworkers looking for space into a 25,000-square-foot facility alive with activity. Walk through its doors and you’ll find looms, saws, soldering irons, and even 3D printers in use, often side by side. BARN is more than a collection of studios. It’s an experiment in community learning, where people share knowledge, carry forward traditions, and test new tools that expand what’s possible.
Elsewhere in the county, the Kitsap Environmental Coalition has turned concern into long-term advocacy. What began as neighbors organizing to stop aerial pesticide spraying has developed into a countywide network working to safeguard water, soil, and forests. Their efforts illustrate how local action can evolve into durable civic infrastructure—driven not by professional advocates, but by residents willing to do the slow, often difficult work of persistence.
In Poulsbo, Vibe Coworks shows what happens when the workplace itself becomes a platform for collaboration. Remote workers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs gather there not just for office space, but for the chance encounters and shared energy that lead to partnerships and new ventures. In a time when many are navigating hybrid work or building businesses from home, Vibe demonstrates how intentional design can restore something that’s often missing: connection.
Long before coworking was a concept, the Bremerton-Kitsap Airporter was quietly connecting people across the region. Founded in 1979 by Richard Asche and his family, the company has become a fixture for Kitsap travelers. Its story is not one of rapid disruption or flashy growth, but of consistency—shuttles that run on schedule, drivers who know their passengers, and a business that has endured by doing the basics well, year after year.
Finally, in this issue’s Executive Q&A, we sit down with Jason Driver, Executive Director of Kitsap Regional Library. His vision reflects both continuity and change: a library system that has anchored Kitsap communities for generations, and one that is now expanding into new roles as a hub for technology, workforce development, and civic life.
Taken together, these stories highlight something important about Kitsap: progress here often grows out of collaboration and care. Whether through shared workshops, environmental advocacy, flexible workplaces, public services, or even a reliable shuttle ride, the work being done is rooted in a sense of responsibility to one another.
As always, it’s our privilege to share these stories with you. They remind us that the strength of a community lies not in abstract ideals, but in the practical choices people make every day to build, sustain, and improve the place we call home.
Terry Ward
Publisher, Kitsap Business
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