A few weeks ago, I along with Chamber President Jerry Libbin and a few board members had the pleasure
Chairman, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
of meeting with our new Mayor Dan Gelber where we discussed his priorities for this year and how the Chamber could help with activating his initiatives. We, on behalf the of the Chamber, are committed to helping the Mayor with the following initiatives that will continue to make our community even greater:
- Ocean Drive: The Chamber will work with the City to help develop a new approach to Ocean Dr. We have been tasked with generating ideas to revitalize Miami Beach’s most iconic destination.
- Branding: We will assist in the continued branding of our city as an art and cultural mecca. Building on the success of Art Basel, we will help promote and market Miami Beach as a hotbed for cultural activities.
- Education: This item on the Mayor’s agenda is near and dear to the Chamber. The Mayor agreed to work with the Superintendent of Schools to create a delivery system whereby, the city in concert with the Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation can facilitate quality programs within the schools during the school day.
Working with the Mayor on these items will be just the beginning of our plan to foster a relationship with the City and the City Commission. We look forward to working with him on a number of projects to help our community flourish.
Additionally, Mayor Gelber, on behalf of the City, will be accepting a $10,000 donation at our Chamber Golf Tournament. The funds go towards programming costs for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, which helps develop the intellectual, personal, emotional and social skills of students ages 3 to 19 and gives them the necessary tools to live, learn and work in a rapidly globalizing world. The Mayor will also meet with Chamber members, who have volunteered to teach a class in our feeder pattern schools to bolster afterschool programming, in an effort to guide them in their efforts.
This meeting with Mayor Gelber was the first of many we hope to have. I’d like to thank board members Melissa Rubin and Sandor Scher, who attended the meeting and will be instrumental in activating these important items.
If you have any questions about the initiatives or would to contribute to it, contact the Chamber at 305-674-1300.
Best,
Wayne Pathman
Pathman Lewis, LLP Attorneys At Law
Chairman, Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce
