The Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce (Chamber) showed the power of membership at its Annual Meeting, held at the exquisite W Hotel South Beach, a landmark of our community and title sponsor for the event. On October 7, 2014, hundreds of members witnessed Miami Beach City Attorney Raul Aguila swear in SVP of Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Michael S. Goldberg for a two year term as the Chairman of the Board. Additionally, Aguila swore in the Chamber’s new Board of Governors and Pillar Board. Of note, Broker-Associate from ONE Sotheby’s International Realty Madeleine Romanello was appointed as the new Chair of the Pillar Board of Trustees.
This year, the Chamber worked with presenting sponsor BOWAworld in creating a dynamic video that showcased Chamber milestones with in depth interviews from Council Chairs, Board Members and high profile Chamber members. The Chamber’s immediate past Pillar Chair DeAnne Connolly Graham of ROI Media Consultants and the Chamber’s Council Chairs received awards for their dedication and service this year.
After, Motivational Speaker Bert Oliva took over and wowed the audience by showing the power of membership with high energy exercises. Oliva is a renowned public speaker, author and corporate trainer. For more than 20 years, he has been helping thousands of people transform selflimiting beliefs into self-fulfilling breakthroughs to achieve goals.
Oliva showed the power of trusting in your fellow member by having Goldberg and Romanello bend a cast iron rod between them. Facing each other, the Chamber Chairman and Pillar Board Chair held the rod using their neck and were able to bend the rod. Romanello, said the exercise was “exhilarating,”
“We decided to change things up this year and we had a great interactive activity that showed the power of working in numbers,” Goldberg said.
During the program, Goldberg also revealed the Chamber’s 93rd Annual Dinner Gala & Silent Auction honorees: the Excellence in Tourism Award will be awarded to the Lieberman Family from the South Beach Group, the Leonard A. “Doc” Baker Lifetime Achievement Award will be awarded to Stanley Tate, the City National Bank Hi-Tides Outstanding Achievement Award will be awarded to Bernie Yuman and the Jan Pfeiffer Distinguished Service Award will be awarded to Rabbi Gary Glickstein.
The new General Manager for the W Hotel South Beach, Rick Ueno was introduced with the Director of Hotel Rental Program for the W South Beach Hotel & Residencies Emily Sherman. He welcomed the audience to the beautiful property and spoke about his new role and his commitment to the city.
The Chamber’s Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity for members to share their success and growth of the previous year and connect with the possibility of new business prospects. Additional presenting sponsor for the event was PSAV who provided the AV during the exhilarating program.
