Happy New Year! I hope you and your loved ones had a nice and safe holiday season. At the Chamber, we are excited about the new year ahead and everything it will bring. Some things that I learned this year, Is that even during trying times you can be certain that some things at the Chamber will always stay the same like our commitment to our membership, our advocacy and the promotion of one-on-one deep relationships.
We have some exciting announcements that I’m happy to share with you today. Our gala is coming back! We hope to host the gala on September 18th at the Miami Beach Convention Center where we will be celebrating our centennial. The theme will be the prohibition era and you will need a special password to get into this intoxicating black tie affair. We are excited to announce Bart Goldberg as the lifetime achievement honoree and will be announcing more honorees shortly.
Recently, the Chamber has started a new Marketing and PR committee called What’s Good Miami Beach, which is chaired by former Miami Beach Commissioners and Chamber Board Members John Aleman and Joy Malokoff. The purpose of this campaign is to let residents and the world know about all the amazing projects and initiatives coming to Miami Beach. We will be posting this good news on our @whatsgoodmiamibeach Facebook group, Instagram account and on twitter as well as engage ambassadors to spread the word. More to come on this exciting program! Additionally, our weekly Chamber Chat with Mayor Dan Gelber has been a success over the last couple of months. We have garnered thousands of impressions through Facebook live and have had extraordinary guests like Police Chief Clements, City manager Jimmy Morales , interim City Manager Raul Aguila, Rickelle Williams, Heather Shaw, Eric Carpenter, Tom Mooney and, of course, Mayor Dan Gelber who has discussed items coming before commission, Lincoln Road and the City’s budget.
I’d also like to take some time and introduce our new council chairs, Vice Chairs, Chair Elect and board chairs who will be working diligently to create exciting programming. Please welcome:
Chair-Elect – Aaron Tandy
Vice Chairs – Richard Segal, Aaron Tandy & Madeleine Romanello
Construction & Development Council – Chair Mark Gemignani and Vice Chair Jeevan Tillit
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council – Co-Chair Eva Diaz and Co-Chair André Williams
Health & Wellness Council – Co-Chair Maia Mediavilla and Dr. Sachi
Law Council – Co-Chair Linsey Lovell and Co-Chair Morgan Geller
Real Estate Council – Co-Chair Mirielle Enlow and Co-Chair Mario Stocco
Resiliency + Sustainability Taskforce – Chair Reinaldo Borges
Technology Council – Co-Chair Omer BarSadeh and Co-Chair Arathi Ramappa
Tourism & Hospitality Council – Co-Chair Ceci Velasco and Co-Chair Chris Rollins
Women’s Business Council – Chair DeAnne Connolly Graham and Vice Chair Tori Greene
Pillar Board – Chair Seth Feuer and Vice Chair Leila Chang
Education Foundation – Co-Chair Bruce Gould and Co-Chair Alfredo Gonzalez
I’d also like to thank the Chamber staff, which has been working tirelessly throughout the pandemic for our membership:
Jerry Libbin – President & CEO
Enid Rodriguez – Vice President & COO
Danny Diaz – Vice President of PR and Marketing
Alicia Pardey – Events Coordinator
Leslie Ann Reams – Administrative Assistant
James Cavalaris – Finance Officer
SuBrena GrahamFoster – Sales Manager
Finally, I’m excited to announce that the Chamber’s Chefs Care Cookbook is almost complete! We have over 40 fabulous recipes that range in cuisine with a few cocktails mixed in as well. The idea behind the book is simple – we reached out to top Chefs who were willing to send in their favorite recipes, which we are compiling into a fabulous book. Anyone who makes a $50 donation or more to the Chamber’s Education Foundation will receive a copy of the book. The Education Foundation, Co-Chaired by Alfredo Gonzalez and Bruce Gould, will be donating 100% of the net proceeds from both the Chamber’s golf tournament as well as the Chef Cares Cook book to the Miami-Dade County School Board for the purchase of gift cards at Publix to be distributed to the families who have agreed to house formerly homeless Miami Beach Public school students
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the Chamber and its programs email info@miamibeachchamber.com
Stay safe and take care,
ROBIN
