Chamber Reports February 9, 2011

Transcription

1 Chamber Reports February 9, 2011 Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce We have celebrated the New Year with a very aggressive beginning. We inducted our new Board of Directors at our Annual Holiday Breakfast hosted by the Hyatt Regency Beach Resort and two weeks later held our Board Retreat in Dunedin at the Holiday Inn Express. It was a very successful work and brain storming session attended by 22 of our Board of Directors. We had the good fortune to have Bob Longenecker, one of our Directors, have the Jolley Trolley pick us up and take us around Dunedin before heading to lunch at Sea Sea Riders. Dunedin is very successful with events, and we were able to experience their activities that day. We have created some very strong committees; a Tourism Marketing Council chaired by Joanna Patterson (Hilton Beach Resort), Special Events chaired by Michele Johnson (Sandpearl Resort), Restaurant Week chaired by Fran Bartlett (Lobster Pot Restaurants) and Redevelopment/Government/Business Economic Development chaired by Bob Griffin (Griffin Productions). We have also begun an alliance between the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce. As we move forward, we will work together in union so that we do not duplicate our efforts in marketing and promotions. We have elected Craig West (Synovus Bank) to be our Chamber Liaison, and he will attend the CRCC Board Meetings. The CRCC has elected Stephen Williamson (Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel & Burns, LLP) as their Chamber Liaison, and he will attend our Board Meetings. Stephen attended our Board Meeting on February 1 st. Our new Chamber Website is extremely successful, and we are very proud. We start the New Year with a website that has many new features; easier to navigate, twelve different languages, and more opportunities for our members to feature their goods and services. You can actually add a video to your listing now. Part of our new web site includes fresh new photography that was provided by Wayne Cathel with Belleair Images. Wayne has been very committed to providing our Beach Chamber with new images of the Beach and the current events that take place. We are honored to have his artistic ability showcased in the Chamber s Welcome Center as well as the website. Sponsorships are coming in for Clearwater Beach Restaurant Week. There is lots of planning as we move forward with this event. Bright House Networks, CBS Radio, Hyatt Regency Beach Resort, Sheraton Sand Key Resort and Shephards Beach Resort are just a few of the committed sponsors to date. Although the event will be held in May, there is much work to do in advance. The Kick-Off Party will be held on May 6 th, Friday 5:00 8:00 pm on Beach Walk, between the Hyatt Regency Resort and the Beach Chamber office. This is an exciting time for our Chamber as we host the first of many events on Beach Walk. Our Special Events Committee has been very active, and there are a number of events planned for We held our first Mingle of the year here at our Beach Chamber Welcome Center; it was New Year s celebration. All of our Mingles are scheduled for the year and will be held on the 4 th Thursday of every month. February s will be held at the Sandpearl Beach Resort. Cars & Coffee Shows, Art Shows, Chalk Walk, etc. are just a few of what we have in store. We are also planning to incorporate a 12@12 program, where 12 people will meet at 12 noon for lunch hosted by one of our members.

2 The Clearwater Beach Chamber Turtle left our premises in December for a make-over, courtesy of Crabby s Bar & Grill. He arrived on January 27 th in style and just in time to receive all our guests for our Mingle. He now has all new attire and garb. He is wearing a Crabby's T-Shirt, flip-flops, headset and is carrying a beach chair and umbrella. He has sunglasses perched on top of his head, and there is a cooler in front of him. His radio plays music, he has a sign that says 'Clearwater Beach', and the base points to the Clearwater Beach Chamber office. The artist did a fantastic job! His name is Don Scali of Original Artworks (727) ; you must come by and see his creation. Don, thank you, and thank you, Eddie Wright at Crabby's Bar & Grill for having the foresight to give the Turtle a "makeover". He is a very popular Turtle! Everyone is stopping by to have their picture taken with him! Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce In January we introduced three Sales Missions at our Tourism Partners meeting help at the Island Way Grille hosted by Frank Chivas. We will be traveling to Milwaukee to meet with Mark Travel on March 15 th. On March 29 we will be heading to Las Vegas to meet with the agents and management of Allegiant Air. St. Pete Clearwater Airlines will be hosting lunch at this mission. In May we will be traveling to Orlando to meet with the agents at the Southwest Airlines Vacation call center. The CRRC is forming a task forced on sporting related events that significantly impact tourism in Pinellas County. We have been working with Kevin Smith and Angel Natal from the CVB to understand our roll in promoting and supporting sporting events and tournaments. Kevin Dunbar, head of Parks and Recreation from the city of Clearwater has also been a great partner in helping us understand the economic impact. Currently we are active with the Big East/BigTen Baseball Challenge which will take place this month and the USF Under Armor Showcase Softball Tournament taking place throughout the month of March. Dunedin Chamber of Commerce The Chamber is now selling day and Senior passes for the Jolley Trolley service, which operates from Clearwater Beach through Dunedin to Tarpon Springs. Passes can be purchased anytime and are activated when used. The Chamber is also planning several trips for members, residents and guests from Dunedin north to Tarpon Springs one month and from Dunedin south to Clearwater Beach another. Dates will be announced soon. The Dunedin Chamber s Business After Hours in February will be held at the new Institute for Creative Arts at 968 Douglas Ave., just north of Main Street, downtown. While this program is for Chamber members, it s at a location that is worthy of a visit by anyone. The Institute is comprised of mostly industrial artists, such as glass blowing, metal working, and mosaics and ceramics. There is also a photographer, a mural artist, leaded and stained glass artist, and a jeweler in house. Plus the Institute has a great gift shop featuring the works of the artists it houses. The Institute is open daily, noon to 5, but individual appointments may be arranged. The popular Dunedin Arts & Crafts Festival is Saturday and Sunday, February 19 and 20, downtown Dunedin along Main Street and Broadway, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dunedin s Green Market continues on Friday, 8 a.m. - 1 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Pioneer Park.

3 Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber Report Mid-Pinellas Women in Business Expo Several area hotels and attractions will be among more than 50 exhibitors at the Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber s annual Women in Business Forum/EXPO. It takes place on Wednesday, March 9 from 3 to 8 p.m. at the Largo Cultural Center. Two panels of professional speakers from as far as California will comprise the Forum programs. Topics include building interpersonal relationships in business, martial arts defense tips, building business through networking and more. Art Hop & Taste Fest Tickets are available for the Greater Largo Library Foundation s annual Art Hop & Taste Fest which takes place on Saturday, March 19. It will feature the Dali on Tour collection and works by more than 20 area artists. The Taste Fest will include products by 15 Pinellas County restaurants. Tickets at $35 include free hop shuttles to participating businesses. Chamber Busy with Visitors Visitor telephone calls, s and walk-ins continue to be seasonally high with the greatest concentration from the Mid-West and Canada. The Chamber s visitor information inventory is moving extremely fast resulting in the need for the production of a new Mid-Pinellas map this year, the first since Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce We have once again created an extraordinary evening for visitors, residents, businesses, etc. The 15 Annual Evening Extraordinaire will be held Feb. 18 at the Countryside Country Club from 7-10 pm. We welcome the public to this fine wine and food sampling and auction. We continue to promote the Jolley Trolley and prepare for the distribution of our Community Guide/Membership Directory. Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce The ongoing activity of 3 rd Friday Night proves to be a crowd pleaser, with 2-3 thousand visitors each month. As the Street Festival develops, each month there are more visitors, and many of them are from Hillsborough, Pasco, and area counties. January was no exception, again drawing ever increasing crowds. The Chamber presented our annual The Taste of Safety Harbor event at the Safety Harbor Resort & Spa, with literally hundreds of attendees sampling signature dishes from dozens of restaurants, and then voting for the People s Choice favorites. The winners were: Carmel Café & Wine Bar Anthony s Coal Fired Pizza The Grind House Bar & Grill 8 th Avenue Pub On February 19 and 20, Safety Harbor Marina Park is the venue for the San Gennaro Festa which is a favorite event for delicious Italian-American foods, art, crafts, music, and fellowship.

4 Seminole Chamber of Commerce We already are working on the Seminole Pow Wow, March and the Seminole Stampede, April 16, which our snowbirds love. On Feb. 17, we have a very interesting speaker scheduled for our Chamber luncheon - the public is welcome, too. Robin Lavitch, MA, CPC, will talk about profiling personalities - what makes one person "click" with another. We have had some excellent speakers at our free Business Education Workshops already this year. On Jan 25, Dr. Kathy Erwin, author, spoke. She is a psychologist who writes about St. Petersburg - a few vacationers attended. We have had a lot of traffic at the Chamber office, many people looking for things to do. We always promote our beautiful parks and beaches, and of course, the Trail. St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce The Chamber hosted Governor Rick Scott as keynote speaker for the 2011 Annual Meeting held on Thursday, February 3. St. Petersburg s 2011 Official Visitor Guide is in circulation. Just shy of 10,000 have been drop shipped to the state welcome centers as well as to Triple A locations across the country. 20,000 distribution in February. In addition, a new tracking process has been created to better track disbursement of the guides. The Chamber thanks project director, Mark Cornish for his hard work and dedication to make the 2011 Guide a success. Spring baseball is back in St. Pete! The Chamber is proudly promoting the international baseball season beginning this February. More details are available online at The Chamber s new President & CEO, Chris Steinocher, started February 1. Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce Our first two Co-ops of the year have been submitted: Florida Lifestyles Magazine, which runs January - June AND our Frontier Airlines Magazine piece February - May. More to come! Please note: The TBBCoC will be launching a Thank you Campaign in March, this is direct messaging via Posters, buttons and s for the Hospitality workforce to THANK our visitors to our destination. Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce The Historical Society is holding their Valentine Soiree Night in the City on Sunday evening, February 13 th, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. The event is being held at The Historic Train Depot and Current Restaurant at Tarpon Avenue and Safford Avenue. Tickets are $25.00 and include extensive gourmet appetizers, live entertainment, plus a Chinese Drawing. Proceeds help the Historical Society. The merchants in the Historic Downtown invite everyone to their 7 th Annual Valentine Tea on Saturday, February 12 th in the shops along Tarpon Avenue at Safford Street in the Historic downtown. Merchants will offer libations, goodies and great deals on their merchandise. Sunset Beach Concert Thursday, February 17 th at Sunset Beach Pavilion. The band will be The Rockaways (Beatles tribute band) and Bonfire. The Chamber s Annual Mardi Gras Golf Tournament will be Sunday, February 20 th at the Cypress Run Golf Course in Tarpon Springs. Please call the Chamber office if you would like to play.

5 Enchanted Evening of Stars Benefit Gala for the Performing Arts is February 25 th. More information is at The annual February Flea Market will be held on February 26 th at the Corner of Tarpon and S. Pinellas Avenues from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Night in the Islands is back in March the evening of the 5 th and will be joined by the Maritime Festival. The Festival begins on the Sponge Docks at 10:00 and the Night in the Islands, with local restaurants serving in an outdoor venue, will begin at 6:00. Both end at 11:00. You can always take the trolley!!! The Chamber of Commerce is hosting their Annual Taste of Tarpon on March 10 th It will be held at the Sponge Exchange from 4:00 to 7:00 pm. Come enjoy the wonderful dishes of Tarpon Springs. Tickets are $12.00 in advance from the Chamber and $15.00 at the door. MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Chamber s 37 th Annual Fine Arts Festival is April 2 nd and 3 rd. Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce in Oldsmar The chamber held the first in a series of nine seminars titled Pathway To A Great Business on January 18. The attendance was encouraging. The second seminar is February 15 titled Access To Capital. Plans are well underway for the upcoming 50 th Anniversary Oldsmar Days and Nights event in March. This regional event draws 12 to 14,000 guests to the community.