1. Location, Location, Location!

We are located about an hour south of Seattle International Airport (SeaTac), and less than ten minutes from Interstate 5 (I5); yet the 28 acres of natural beauty will transport you and your team to rural, rustic environment including a century-old homestead, working organic methods farm and a heritage-listed big red barn.

2. Stress-Free Logistics

We’d love to work with the meeting planner, EA or project manager to organize every aspect for your group from transportation to local hotels, to on-site tent camping and once on the farm, the white (work)-glove treatment continues.  Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for the event organizer/coordinator, as they already have a lot of other role responsibilities.

3. Ideal Meeting Spaces and Technology

One of the key goals for teams who have traveled and investing their precious hours for the offsite is that the productivity be seamless, easy and adaptable.  And that’s what we’ve built.  Comfortable chairs, configurable tables and spaces combined with state of the art JBL sound system, DaLite 10’x7’ screen, portable HD projector, whiteboard, flipcharts, and (movable also). We understand how important environmental comfort is to the team and so we insure fans or heaters are available for the barn and the breakout areas if needed.  (Please note that the Pacific Northwest weather can be fickle and our “season” when we’re open for events is generally mid-April to mid-October, with he nicest time of year here is July-August).  We are in the country so our technology lags a big those of the big cities, though we do have  very good 5G coverage with T-Mobile and AT&T, with backup satellite broadband.  We’re also exploring options for “last mile” (literally) Xfinity gig wireless broadband for summer of 2023.

4. Safety and Security

Besides ensuring our network is secure, we also provide for no-worry safety and security for the group through a number of measures.  First, we are located almost a mile at the end of a private lane/street with restricted access, and our property has additional gates and fencing, and can also provide for additional security if required.  We want all our guests to be safe and feel secure as in their own home including following all Covid guidelines and complying to State and Local regulations around our Agri-Tourism zoning.

5. Food and Beverage – Options Abound!

We want our guests to enjoy the delicious and nutritious PNW cuisine and we source locally, what we don’t grow, the best the Thurston Bountiful Byway has to offer.  We have numerous options for interesting and themed meal options, including onsite BBQ, food trucks and/or catering partners.  Beers and wines and spirits are from local craft breweries, vineyards and distilleries. We believe in having the F&B experience be as memorable as the days spent together and the downstairs bar in the barn is a great place to hang out after a long productive day. 

6. Entertainment …

For your after-dinner entertainment, again, we believe in offering the best of a variety of local speakers, bands, and entertainers for you to choose from.  Would you like to sing karaoke with the team without going to a seedy bar?   Try out our pro-quality Shure microphone, with the 2x1000w sound system, Yamaha 8ch mixer with effects and synchronized laser light show and amaze your colleagues with your signing voice, or just rock out to local band and burn some energy on the dance floor.  Our A/V resource is also a professional DJ/Emcee that can be made available also.

7. Voice of the Market, Customer or Partner

Make the meeting even more sales-focused and “outside-in” by having one of the many local networking, industry, customer or partners speak to and with your team.  Our available speakers are wide and varied from 5G expert Chetan Sharma (Mobile Future Forward), Steve Mantle ag-tech leader (Innov8.ag) to one from the many customers or partners that are based out of the Seattle area including AWS/Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia, Tableau, F5, T-Mobile, AT&T, Century Link, Comcast, and of course many others.  We also have a roster of amazing local folks who can talk about foraging for medicinal plants and mushrooms to sustainable farming practices using cloud, analytics and AI to improve food resiliency, to many others.

8. Working Farm

We are pleased and honored to host you and the group at our beautiful place, we’re farmers first and we love to show people how to run a tractor, plant or harvest fruits, vegetables and nuts, or just walk around and pick fresh apples, pears or plums (in-season).  Our 4WD Kubota RTV is fun to drive around the property for tours and to see progress in the different preservation, restoration and growing areas.  Since we are also salsa makers (everything from our crops) and other goods, we also offer (if available) salsa creation, and tasting sessions. How does a BBQ (veggie options), chips/fresh salso, and a cold craft beer after a long good day sound?

9. Stuff To Do

Where do we start?  If you love running or walking, we have both a 400M running track and a one mile or longer walking/running path around parts of the property to flex your legs.  Birdwatching … on most days we have majestic Bald Eagles circling along with Red-Tailed Hawks, our resident Canadian Geese, Great Blue Heron, woodpeckers, hummingbirds, robins, swarms of sparrows and countless others surrounded on all sides by old or second growth Douglas Fir Trees, wetlands and (clouds permitting) a crystal-clear view of Mt. Rainier’s three snowcapped peaks above the tree-line.  Do any of your team play musical instruments?  We have a full pro-band quality set-up for the folks to use anytime including a Yamaha drum kit with Zildjian percussion, a Korg Krome 71-key high-end keyboard, acoustic guitar and Fender amplifier, two microphones for duets, and numerous percussion instruments such as cowbell, bongos, and enough items for everyone to play or sing along.  Skywatching?  Our sky is almost 360 and practically city light-less; through our telescope explore the rings of Saturn or the moons of Jupiter or take in one of our Stargazer nights aligned with Lunar Eclipses, Meteor Showers and others set to music, lights and video. Or just lay back and enjoy.  The list goes on and on offer plenty of space to spread out and break up into different activities if desired and meet back later at the Big Red Barn Bar.  Oh, did we mention we have a recently remodeled double-decker Finnish (‘wet’ of course) Sauna with a Finlandia heater, and seating for 6-8, with inbuilt music and light system for the team to use any time as well.

10. It’s Personal

Mitch has attended many dozen offsites all around the world, from Singapore to Sonoma, from Sydney to Sunnyvale and he’s seen what works and what doesn’t.  Michelle is his partner in the farm and in love and has attended many of the same events in spectacular places with outstanding personal service. and coming from a large family, she is welcoming to all.  We truly want this to be memorable from two perspectives – it met the team’s goals to accomplish, and they had such a wonderful time that they remember these days for years to come and appreciate the meeting planner’s efforts with us to make it a perfect experience.  When you first drive down Whitehall Lane and see nothing but the forest of Millersylvania State park and then our big red barn, you’ll truly be transported to a different place and time where creativity and innovation can flow.  Where old and new friendships can be cemented around the bonfire, and we can all start to put the worst of Covid in the rear-view mirror in wide-open spaces. Besides the accommodations, environment and entertainment, we want to look after the group as if it was our own extended family, and hopefully to come back again – and Grow and Gather Together!