The vanity plate of the car parked just ahead of me at Leif Erikson Sons Lodge on Thursday night spelled out N-O-R-S-K-A. I don't speak or read Norwegian but obviously I had the right night for the Norwegian Commercial Club dinner.

A friend on the current Board of Trustees who is very persuasive when it comes to all things Scandinavian had decided it was time for me to expand my "At Large" experience to include attending one of the twice monthly dinners that start with open bar and networking and conclude with general business and gambling (raffle). In between are speakers, committee reports, dinner, dessert and coffee. All this for $25 -or $23 with an advance reservation.

The Norwegian Commercial Club is billed as the largest ethnic business club in Washington, and I have no reason to doubt their word. Founded 66 years to promote business opportunities during the Great Depression, the NCC once promoted Aquavit and poker games in addition to civic affairs. The men still outnumbered the women attendees at the last Thursday dinner of January 2009, but the Norwegian Commercial Club is inclusive with upwards of 300 members in nearly 100 different business classifications.

Doug Warne of The Scandinavian Hour pointed out a woman in a gold jacket. "That's one of our members with a Scandinavian import business. You might think she imports knickknacks or foods, but her business is importing cranes and derricks for the U.S. Navy."

There were familiar faces and names, between handshakes and NCC member badges with their names prominently displayed...Aakervik, Otnes, Pedersen, Strand. Diane Erikson, Social Director at the Sons of Norway Lodge recognized me from a visit in the basement with librarian Margaret Anderson. "We celebrated Margaret's 90th on Tuesday," she told me. "Her actual birthday is today but she doesn't work on Thursdays."

The featured speaker was Erik Dregni, a Minnesotan who spent a year in Trondheim, Norway as a Fulbright Scholar and wrote a memoir on the experience, "In Cod We Trust." He read portions of the book recounting his initial interview in which he overwhelmed a committee with his lack of Norwegian expertise and the experience of becoming a parent while in Norway in the chapter entitled "Bargain Babies."

Board member Victoria Sangrey stood to make her membership committee report and instead was peppered with the usual questions about Bergen Place. "When are we getting rid of those funny things?" The publically funded artwork in Bergen Place has been controversial since the witness trees were erected several years ago. Victoria attempted to explain very diplomatically that public art cannot simply be removed; it must be relocated with the permission of the artist, with privately raised funds. Suggestions were shouted out regarding where they'd send the art.

The treasurer's report received less heckling as it was announced that the scholarship fund is in excellent shape and the club is no longer taking losses on the costs of dinner. The major fundraising event, Fisherman's Night had been a success. The average NCC scholarship award is $3,000 with the goals of promoting education, training and new industries that foster the cultural and commercial bonds between young men and women of the United States and Scandinavian countries.

The woman across from me was Ballard High School Class of 1974. She promised to send me more information about a family reunion in Norway and her dad and uncle, lifetime Ballard fishermen. There was discussion about when Ballard High School stopped offering Norwegian. "When the Norwegian teacher died," someone replied.

The Norwegian Commercial Club may be the largest ethnic business club in Washington; they might also be the friendliest; perhaps it's the fact that many don their special sweaters. Of the business members the names were mostly the well-established, with a spotlight on Leary's Ballard Landmark, Patty's Eggnest, Ballard Auto & Vessel Licensing and Builder's Showroom as recent advertisers. There's not even a web site listed on the Norwegian Commercial Club application but just as the new boutiques and blogs promote buying local, so does the 66 year-old business club. Their ads may be more traditional, their networking personal rather than virtual, but make no mistake, the Norwegian Commercial Club isn't meeting to discuss Ballard's past, they're working to keep Ballard businesses healthy here and now.