jseattle is a member of the Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce and, while beholden to nobody and loyal to nothing but CHS and the CHS community, does have a financial interest in the longterm success of the Chamber’s member organizations.

The Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce was born long ago so it has probably held benefit dinners before. But this one is different. It is the first big benefit for a re-born Chamber — and a first step in that re-birth’s growth into something that can serve Capitol Hill and sustain itself as a useful entity.

We first told you about the Chamber’s Spirit of the Hill dinner back in August. It’s a foodie event showcasing one of the new members the Chamber is most proud of, Jerry Traunfeld’s Poppy. The event will feature a special Poppy menu, a chat with Traunfeld about his business and an auction and raffle to keep you entertained. You can go for all that stuff.

Or you can go to support the Chamber — and Capitol Hill — as it deals with a weakening economy and the challenges and opportunities presented by Broadway’s light rail construction.

“We think it’s fun to recognize a new member on the block who has creted a signature dining experience,” Chamber executive director Jack Hilovsky said. “The dinner is a start and we need people to support it. But most of our support will come from individuals.”

The rebirth of the Chamber in 2006 came as the City of Seattle was looking for a community organization on Capitol Hill to partner with as the area prepared to face the light rail construction and zoning changes that would radically reshape the Hill. A three-year, $500,000 grant from the city supported the Chamber’s work. This summer, the last of the grant funds were spent as those three years came to an end. The Chamber still has work to do to advocate for the Hill as it is massively altered and, hopefully, improved by the light rail work and new development. They are only part of the process — but they can be a big part of the process. The Broadway design charrette earlier this month illustrated the power of an organizing force to help shape what comes next. The Chamber wrote the check to make that happen.

“I think Broadway looks better and there is so much potential with the coming of the light rail station,” Hilovsky said. “But we can’t do it without the community getting behind our work.”

The dinner has drawn some large sponsors from the community like SRM Development and R.D. Merrill. Buying a ticket to the Chamber’s benefit is a chance to expand the community to include support from a more grassroots level. Not everybody can shell out 75 bucks for dinner — but for those who can, the Spirit of the Hill dinner is a chance to show support for an organization representing Capitol Hill and ‘getting behind’ that work.

(And, if you can’t shell out 75 bucks, CHS is giving away two tickets bought with our own hard-earned advertising revenue. Check out the grey box above!)