Chamber Reports January 2010

Chamber Reports January 2010 Clearwater Beach Chamber of Commerce The Chamber has been advertising for and training volunteers as Beach Ambassadors to meet and greet our visitors at our busy visitor s center. We maintain three off-sight visitor information kiosks and based on our restocking of maps and brochures we estimate an average of 300 visitors per location, per week. The kiosks are accessible to visitors 7 days a week. This is in addition to the visitors to our visitor s center main office. For an out-of-state wedding party we sent 45 maps. At our December 15 th Annual Breakfast Meeting held at the Hilton Clearwater Beach Resort, DT Minich spoke on the current state of tourism and his projection for the coming year. Attendees commented on the great advertising campaign and how it is being morphed into 2010. New officers were elected. The Chamber s Annual Beautification Award was presented to the new Hyatt Regency. Our annual collection of baby items for RCS was again extremely successful. The Clearwater Regional Chamber has joined the Clearwater Beach Chamber in conjunction with Floridians For Smarter Growth in the planning and promotion of a public information forum on Amendment 4. This meeting is scheduled for Wed., April 28 th, at 5:30, at the Duval Center at the Holiday Inn. Our Chamber was contacted by the City and had the honor of hosting a 4-year old girl with an in-operable brain tumor, and her family, on a visit to Clearwater Beach. Her Make A Wish vacation was in Orlando but she wanted to come see dolphins and blue water. We were able to accommodate them with a visit to the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a Dolphin cruise with Little Toot, lunch at Crabby s Beachwalk, dinner at Shephard s Beach Resort, and an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites. These Chamber members were also honored to donate their services to make this child s wish come true. One of the major city governmental issues is the elimination of the Reverter Clause that governs the use of City Marina property on Clearwater Beach. The Chamber wants to ensure that the Marina remains as public property as its home to the largest fishing fleet on the west coast of Florida. The only development of the property the Chamber would be in favor of is as a site for a convention center as we believe this is a perfect location. Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce Sculpture 360: Season II - Three new sculptures now grace downtown Clearwater's Cleveland Street District: "Linear V," "Going Green" and "Henry." This annual rotating public art display clearly has taken art out of the museum and into the street. More information (www.myclearwater.com/cultural arts) The Ironman 70.3 Series culminated with its world championship in Clearwater, FL. More than 1,800 domestic and international competitors earned the right to compete in the Foster Grant Ironman World 1

Championship 70.3 by qualifying at one of the 31 Ironman 70.3 events held around the world. http://ironman.com/worldchampionship70.3 Visit Florida ad see attached. Florida Trend ad in partnership with the City of Clearwater, in the January 2010 St. Petersburg/Clearwater profile issue see attached. The Outback Bowl ended 2009 and started 2010 with a bang for Clearwater tourism. Beach Day was the best day weather-wise for our visitors and fun was had by all. Both NU and AU marching bands stayed at Clearwater Beach hotels as well as many fans. Of special note is that Clearwater City Councilmember Carlen Petersen is a NU graduate and City Manager Bill Horne is an AU graduate, connecting Clearwater to both teams. Looking forward, we are very excited to host Florida Huddle at the Harborview Center in Clearwater. The local tourism community is working together to provide as many significant experiences for the guests as time allows. Most importantly, we are ready to book upcoming business as a result of this event. Dunedin Chamber of Commerce We have Diversity Week in Dunedin, Jan. 16-23. Two main events that may interest residents and visitors. Saturday, January 16, starts with the Unity Breakfast at 8:30 a.m. at the Martin Luther King Center on MLK, Jr. Blvd. This will include speeches and essays read by students from local schools. At 10 a.m. there will be a Diversity March after the breakfast from the MLK Center to Pioneer Park. There will be entertainment in Pioneer Park until 1 p.m. A Chinese New Year celebration will take place on Friday, January 22, 7 to 9 p.m., at Pioneer Park. (corner of Main St. and Douglas Ave., downtown Dunedin). There will be traditional Chinese folk dances and songs, martial arts exhibits, Chinese musical instrument demonstrations, and a Chinese traditional fashion show. It will conclude with a Dragon Dance. Ethnic food will be available for purchase. Largo/Mid-Pinellas Chamber Report ~No Report Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce 35TH Annual Palm Harbor Fine Arts and Crafts Festival Was held once again the first weekend in December in our historic downtown area. The event was welcomed back to the downtown area by residents, visitors, businesses and artists. The festival was founded by Bill and Louise Hoskins. Portions of the Festival s proceeds will be for the Bill and Louise Hoskins Visual Arts Scholarship Program awarded to a local student pursuing a career in visual arts. This year s anniversary festival was also celebrated by Leepa-Rattner Museum with special exhibit Rocky and Friends from Nov. 22 thru Jan 10, 2010. The exhibition is not only in honor of Palm Harbor s festival s 35 th year but also an expression of the 10 contemporary artists who are part of the Palm Harbor show. and have been for many, many years. Palm Harbor Community Holiday Parade was held Dec. 12, 2009 and Sponsored by Palm Harbor Rotary Club. And Presented by The Greater Palm Harbor Chamber of Commerce, Palm Harbor Historical Society, Old Palm Harbor Main Street, Inc., and Palm Harbor Parks & Recreation. 2

Another annual event to add to the quality of life in the community! Brings many residents and visitors to the area. Children visited with Santa at the end of the Parade. Our 2010 Community Guide/Membership Directory will be available in a few weeks for all visitors, residents, businesses. A copy can be picked up at our Greater Palm Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce at 1151 Nebraska Avenue. JANUARY EVENTS ARE IN THE PLANNING STAGES. Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce ~ No Report Seminole Chamber of Commerce ~ No Report St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce The St. Petersburg Area Chamber continued to promote Pinellas County area destinations throughout the month of December. The Visitor & Information Center was busy in December promoting and provid-ing information for several events including: Kenny Rogers: Christmas & Hits Tour Illuminated Boat Parade Boat Show & Strictly Sail Holiday Gallery Walk A Christmas Carol Santa in the Park Florida Orchestra Pop Series Christmas Jamboree Trio Holiday Show Tampa Bay Buccaneers football Breakfast with Santa Old Northeast Tour of Homes Santa Holiday Parade Santa in the Park Pictures with Santa Holiday Extravaganza Day St. Petersburg Bowl Snowfest Ditchfield Family Singers Christmas Florida Orchestra Masterworks Show Holiday Fun at the Green Market MLK, Jr. National Parade Boley Center s Jingle Bell Run Waterfront Parks Centennials CASA Peace Breakfast Pier Aquarium Labyrinth at First Night Florida Orchestra New Year s Eve at the Pier PARC Holiday Sale First Night St. Petersburg Celebration Skating In The Park First Night BayWalk Swingin in the New Year 2010 Hands In Motion Band Staff continues to work on several initiatives including: The visitor information side of www.stpete.com Visitor Information Center improvements Transportation efforts 3

The Chamber is hosted its annual Holiday Showcase & Silent Auction on Thursday, December 10 at the St. Petersburg Marriott Clearwater. The auction featured items from area tourism vendors and accommodations providers. The Chamber continues to work with area partners and the City on a commu-nity branding initiative for St. Petersburg. The task force has decided to continue its work in furthering the community brand of St. Petersburg. This effort will continue into 2010 involving many community partners. The Official Visitor s Guide for St. Petersburg is in production. It should be available in early February 2010. This publication is given to all Visitors and potential visitors considering a trip to the St. Petersburg and greater Pinellas Area. Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce The TBBCoC has been in full swing planning the 2010 calendar including some wonderful co-op opportunities for our chamber members and specific municipalities that we serve. Still involved in the fight against Offshore Drilling, we have begun to ask our visitors in the centers just 3 simple questions regarding their visit to determine if they would come back if drilling were to occur. Result will be available for the next meeting. The Welcome Centers had approximately 35,000 walk-ins to the centers. We project this number to increase considerably as we have budgeted more staff and longer hours for season in both key welcome centers on the beach. Our first Learn @ Lunch event will feature DT Minich; he will providing our group with an Industry Update and answer any questions: Sheraton Sand Key, January 28th. Save the Date: Annual Tourism Lunch, Thursday, May 13th Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce The Chamber of Commerce is noticing a very nice influx of both visitors and new residents from the frozen tundra. We welcome our new Marketing Director, Terri Wilson. Our Historic Downtown merchants held their monthly Second Saturday on December 12 th, with its traditional Victorian Christmas. On the 19 th, our Annual Christmas Parade was bigger than ever with the addition of a Family Fun Run, Bayou Bazaar and Concert. January 6 th was Epiphany. The throwing of the cross at Spring Bayou and I want you to know the Chamber of Commerce was not in charge of the weather! January 16 th is the city s Martin Luther King, Jr., Parade and Celebration at Dorsett Park, as well as Manatee Celebration Day at Craig Park. We will have arts and craft shows at both the Sponge Docks and the Historic Downtown on January 16 th through 18 th. Please join us for dinner at the Sponge Docks on February 6 th for our monthly Night in the Islands, from 6:00 to 11:00 pm. Dine under the stars and dance the night away. 4

On February 13 th, the merchants in the Historic Downtown invite you to join them for Valentine Tea and Chocolates. February 25 th is the date for the Taste of Tarpon which will be held in the Sponge Exchange at the Sponge Docks. Besides our fabulous restaurants, the event will showcase students in our Tarpon High School Culinary Academy. We wish you all a very happy and prosperous New Year!! Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce in Oldsmar All four hotels in the area are reporting they are at the height of their busy season this time of year. Most of their business during the week comes from business travelers and on weekends most of the business comes from Florida residents traveling from the interior of Florida to attend special events within the Tampa Bay Region. During this time of the year, the City of Oldsmar continues to draw pedestrian traffic into the Downtown Redevelopment District where the city conducts a weekly Farmers Fresh Market event on Wednesdays of each week. This event runs from 9 AM until 1 PM and occurs next to city hall located at 100 State Street West in downtown Oldsmar. The major focus of the chamber has now shifted to our biggest community event of the year within the City of Oldsmar. This event is the Annual Oldsmar Days three day weekend event and Annual Oldsmar Days Parade. This year it will be the 49 th Annual Oldsmar Days weekend event and it will take place on March 26 th, 27 th and 28 th at R. E. Olds Park along the north shores of the Upper Tampa Bay. This year we expect to draw close 20,000 visitors over the three day time period. The Oldsmar Days event will include live bands playing Classic Rock N Roll Music, will also feature 3 days of Car Shows, arts, crafts and food vendors, carnival rides, wing wars and beer tents. This 3 day event is fun for the while family and takes place right along the shore line of the Upper Tampa Bay. Additionally, the Annual Oldsmar Parade will take place at 11 AM on Saturday, March 27 th. All of these events and long range plans are expected to enhance the Tourism Development opportunities within the Oldsmar and Upper Tampa Bay Regional Area. 5