It’s that time of the year again; Gala time! The Miami Beach Chamber is celebrating its 98th Annual Gala, which is presented by City National Bank, and will mark the beginning of our Centennial celebrations. The event will celebrate the Chamber’s anti-prohibition stance in the 1920’s and will be a roaring good time. As the largest networking event on Miami Beach, the night will benefit our education foundation, which has raised funds to hire a Mental Health Counselor for Miami Beach Senior High School, provides teacher grants, supplies nurses in local schools, and helps fund IB Programs in Miami Beach Senior High School.
I want to thank our extraordinary Gala Chairs Andrea Tovar, Aaron Tandy, Madeleine Romanello, and Richard Segal for their help in organizing this event and promoting it to the community. We have an amazing Board of Governors and group of Council Chairs that also help in putting together this fabulous night. It takes a village!
The event is on Saturday, May 30th, 2020 at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, and the award recipients are:
- Michael Capponi (Global Empowerment Mission) for the Citizen of the Year Award
- IRIE (Irie Foundation) for the Jan Pfeiffer Distinguished Service Award
- Wayne M. Pathman, Esq. (Pathman Lewis, LLP) for the City National Bank Beach High Outstanding Achievement Award
- Samantha Schnur (The Naughty Fork) for the Excellence in Tourism Award
- Barton S. Goldberg for the Leonard A. “Doc” Baker Lifetime Achievement Award
We are also currently looking for donations of Gala auction items valued that are valued at $100 or more through our silent auction. The funds that we raise this year will help support the 68 homeless children that are registered in our Miami Beach public schools.
You read that correctly, we have 68 children currently enrolled in the public school system in our Miami Beach schools who do not have stable living conditions. The School Board calls them “children in transition”. Some are couch surfing, asking friends if they can sleep over each night, others are sleeping in cars, etc. Most are being provided temporary housing in another home, and it is our goal to provide the families that are helping with the housing of children with assistance in feeding them.
The Chamber Education Foundation will be donating funds derived from this year’s 98th Annual Gala auction to the Miami-Dade County Public Schools System to purchase gift cards from Publix to give to the parents that have agreed to take in students in transition.
Prior to the Gala, we will be announcing our centennial celebrations at a “Kick-Off” event in late April. The luncheon will include some special surprises and an unveiling of our special programming. The event will be a two year celebration as we turn 100 in June of 2021. This two year celebration is being organized under the leadership of Melissa Rubin and I thank her for her support. Additionally, I wanted to recognize Linsey Lovel, Morgan Ben David and DeAnne Connolly Graham for organizing a Women’s History Month “Women in Law” event presented by our Law Council and Women’s Business Council on March 31 at the Cadillac Hotel.
Also, the Chamber is starting a diversity, equity and inclusion council, which will meet March 17 at the Chamber. The mission of the council is to include diversity and inclusion as a core value for the Chamber and to incorporate these values into all aspects of our work including advocacy, communications, workplace environment, vendor selection, hiring, promotion and retention. The Council will foster a shared culture at the Chamber that promotes the goals of accepting, respecting and valuing differences that include attributes such as age, race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender expression, sexual identity, ability, language, family circumstances and cultural backgrounds.
Lastly, please know that the Chamber is committed to the safety, health, and well-being of our staff, members, and participants. As you are well aware, the news is filled with stories and concerns raised by the spread of the Coronavirus. Although the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) believe that the overall risk level in the United States is low, we at the Chamber are taking precautions and ready to help you.
If you would like any information on the Gala, info to purchase tickets/tables, submit an item for the auction, or if you are a business in need of help during this time, please contact the Chamber at info@miamibeachchamber.com or call 305-674-1300.
Best,
Robin Jacobs
Chair Miami Beach Chamber
