Pasha Petronov, co-founder and representative of the Spokane Slavic Business Chamber, said the group organized this year after 13 local Slavic-owned businesses joined to build connections across Spokane County.

Petronov told Spokane County Commissioner Al French that the chamber will focus on three business stages—startups, businesses seeking growth and legacy owners who want to reinvest—offering mentorship, networking and recruitment support.

The chamber’s organizers said the goal is to help Slavic entrepreneurs overcome language and cultural barriers and to connect them with non‑Slavic businesses that need talent. “It started off with me, my business joining the West Plains Chamber of Commerce and saw the value it provided to a member,” Petronov said. “We didn’t have anything like this in the Slavic community. Thirteen of us got together and formed a chamber and started to connect other businesses and kind of started expanding in Spokane.”

Petronov described three priorities for the chamber: provide entry-level support for startups, create pathways for scaling businesses and encourage established owners to reinvest. He said the group will work on tailored recruitment materials and marketing in languages used by the Slavic community and on forging partnerships with existing chambers and employers.

Commissioner Al French, who hosted the interview on the county program Spokane County Spotlight, highlighted West Plains job growth and praised the chamber’s efforts to integrate new workers. “A job is much more than just a paycheck,” French said.

Petronov outlined an aspirational five‑year plan that includes opening a Spokane Slavic resource center to centralize chamber services, business education and cultural programming. “We want resources available for the kinds of different industries, different best practices that we, you know, over a 5 year period, we’re able to collaborate and create those pathways,” he said.

Petronov said initial membership grew from business owners who already employed members of the Slavic community and cited employer partners that have long hired Slavic workers. He also identified industries where newcomers often find work—construction, trucking and logistics, cleaning, hospitality and caregiving—and said the chamber aims to help Slavic firms expand into other sectors.

The chamber plans to offer mentorship, employer matching and joint events with other local business groups. Petronov said the chamber will pursue partnerships, educational workshops and recruitment drives targeted to Slavic candidates and encouraged established businesses to tailor outreach materials. Details on formal nonprofit status, staffing or funding for the chamber and for the proposed resource center were not specified.