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I hope you and your loved ones are doing well during these trying times and please know that the Chamber is here to be a resource for you. We’ve had a productive month at the Chamber with close to 30 virtual meetings and 500 participants in total attending those meetings focusing on a variety of important topics (see below!). I want to recognize President & CEO of the Chamber Jerry Libbin and the Chamber staff for working tirelessly to serve our membership and the community.
I was tasked by City of Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber to form an advisory panel of over 50 business leaders from various segments of the community to recommend the safest way to reopen each category of business and report back to them. First, we created an online portal for businesses and residents to suggest ideas, raise questions and pose any concerns about re-opening, which resulted in hundreds of responses. We took your suggestions and made recommendations, which we couldn’t do without the support of the community. We are in regular contact with the Mayor, the City Manager’s Office and Assistant City Manager Eric Carpenter regarding any issues businesses may be having regarding re-opening guidelines or any other questions they may have.
I want to thank all our council chairs that have had and are having amazing meetings this month! Our Pillar Board, led by Seth Feuer, featured Susan Askew from RE:MiamiBeach who spoke about the current status of the City’s budget, among other items; our Diversity, Inclusion & Equity Council discussed ways they can attract conventions targeting minority owned businesses to Miami Beach and how small businesses can start doing business with the City; our Health and Wellness council, led by Lynn Carey and vice chaired by Diane Klein, featured FYZICAL’s Alex Matz who provided a 4 step plan for reconditioning during the pandemic, our Women’s Business Council, chaired by DeAnne Connolly Graham and Vice Chaired by Tori Greene, got down to business and helped each other with referrals and leads; our Construction Council, Chaired by Mark Gemignani and Vice Chaired by Jeevan Tillit, invited David Martin from Tera Group to discuss his Marina Park project and its benefits to the community; our Tourism Council, led by Ceci Velasco and Chris Rollins, hosted the President & Executive Director of the Concierge Association Miguel Pena and welcomed the Marlins to speak about their future efforts; our Real Estate Council, led by Mirielle Enlow and Mario Stocco, led a discussion with the Coral Gables Trust, moderated by GMCVB Marketing Chief Rolando Aedo, about the benefits of relocating from New York to South Florida.
Finally, I would like to inform you about two Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation programs that benefit homeless children that attend Miami Beach public schools and aren’t getting meals due to the Coronavirus. First, we are organizing a virtual talent show titled “The Chamber’s Got Talent.” The entry fee for the event is $10 and you can vote for your favorite star during the program for a $5 donation and vote multiple times. We are looking for community members that have all sorts of talents to join us and we will be announcing this event/program this week. Additionally, we are excited to announce that we will be organizing a Cook Book! The idea is simple – we are looking for 50 top Chefs willing to participate, which we are quickly approaching. We will be seeking sponsors to cover the cost of the book and will then provide a copy to anyone that makes a donation of $50 or more to the Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation. We will also suggest that the Chefs share the information about the project with their own followers and ask them to consider making a $50 donation to help feed the kids in our community. As a thank you to the Chefs that participate, the Chamber will make a donation of $10,000 in the name of the Chef who has helped us collect the most amount of donations and an additional $5,000 in the name of the Chef that comes in second. More to come on both these projects! The Education Foundation will be donating 100% of the proceeds from both programs to the Miami-Dade County School Board for the purchase of gift cards at Publix to be distributed to the families in need. This is an existing program called Project Upstart and it is administered under Alberto Carvalho’s office.
You can view our meetings and events by visiting www.miamibeachchamber.com and clicking on the events link on our homepage.
If you have any questions about the Chamber and our programs, call 305-674-1300 or email info@miamibeachchamber.com.
Stay Healthy,
Robin Jacobs
