FROM THE CHAMBER
None of us were ready to launch a new chamber of commerce . Although we were all dealing with the global pandemic , we knew Flagler County must have a best-in-class chamber .
Opportunity came knocking when I was introduced to our President & CEO Greg Blosé . I was impressed with Greg , his experience coming from the Florida Chamber , his energy and enthusiasm and the fact he has family here in the area . I knew Greg was the right person during a conversation that went something like this :
John Walsh : “ Greg , I think the word ‘ excellence ’ is powerful and should be part of what we are trying to create here . Do you think we can create an ‘ excellent ’ chamber to serve Flagler County ? Greg Blosé : “ Yes , I do ; and here is how we ’ re going to do it …” So , ready or not , the Palm Coast-Flagler Chamber was launched last August . Here are a few of our accomplishments from the past seven months :
● We filed our charter with the State of Florida ,
● We have been recognized and sanctioned by the Florida Chamber and U . S . Chamber of Commerce ,
● We raised enough money to cover the first-year operating expenses and are now working on year two ,
● We have endorsed local economic development projects and advocated for the approval of those projects before local governments ,
● We created a Government Affairs Committee , developed our legislative priorities by listening to the business community and to the issues being advocated by the county , municipalities and area higher education systems ,
● We have created operating procedures , bylaws and committees , and
● We have launched new membership levels , including the new CEO Roundtable level .
So far , so good ; but there is plenty more to do . That ’ s why I ’ m asking for business leaders to help . Consider this a formal invitation to join us as we reimagine and build our community ’ s new chamber of commerce .
This chamber ’ s focus is very different from the last chamber . Chambers of commerce were historically created to solve community-wide issues of importance that affect many businesses in a geographical region . When we think about Flagler County , the big issues that impact nearly every business in this community include , but are not limited to , reopening our economy , population growth , job growth , income growth , education , economic
” development , healthcare / wellness , the environment and more . These are the issues that our chamber will work to unite the business community around and deliver measurable results on .
We have thoroughly researched our community and have benchmarked many important statistics regarding the aforementioned issues . These statistics are available for you to review via the Flagler County Scorecard on our website at www . PalmCoastFlaglerRegionalChamber . com .
I look forward to your partnership and participation as we reimagine what our chamber of commerce can and should be .
Chambers of commerce were historically created to solve community-wide issues of importance that affect many businesses in a geographical region .”
JOHN WALSH Publisher , Palm Coast Observer Chair , Board of Directors , Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber
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