Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward
| Good Morning Valued Chamber Member, Let me be the first to wish all father’s a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday! I hope you take time to enjoy the day and spend it with family and loved ones – even if its virtually! As a reminder, early voting will be held from August 3rd -16th for the upcoming Primary Elections here in Palm Beach County. The deadline to register or change your party affiliation for the Primary elections is July 20th. Additionally, Vote-by-Mail ballot requests must be received by the Supervisor of Elections office by August 8th at 5:00pm. For more information please click here. The City of Boynton Beach has entered into an agreement with CareerSource Palm Beach County in an effort to create temporary jobs for people who were laid off because of the coronavirus or qualify as long-term unemployed. The City hopes that these positions could begin as early as this month and could include; a business specialist, a custodial specialist, a facilities monitor and a park monitor – paying from $12 to $17 an hour. This week, Florida Atlantic University announced it has launched a new online public health certificate course on COVID-19, Contact Tracing and Risk-Reduction. The five-week, 15-hour course costs $270, and comes after the urgent need to increase contact-tracing capacity. The program is scheduled to start on June 29th and end August 7th. The courses are open to the general public, adults 18 and older with a high school diploma or equivalent. To register for the course, click here. Baptist Health, which includes our very own Boca Raton Regional, Bethesda East and West, as well as our Tenant run Hospitals, West Boca and Delray Medical Centers, issued new visitor guidelines which went into effect this week. The new Baptist guideline will allow one visitor to be with a patient at all times at their outpatient locations, including emergency rooms, urgent care centers and most physician offices. Labor and delivery and maternity patients can have their partner with them plus one other visitor. West Boca and Delray Medical Centers are also allowing a support person with patients for elective surgeries using the following precautions; screening for COVID-19, reinforcing the use of hand sanitizer, requiring the use of face masks and limiting only one support person at this time. Governor DeSantis has received the 2020-2021 state budget. Given COVID-19’s impacts on April’s tax receipts, it’s likely the $93.2 billion budget passed by the Legislature in March will need to be altered to fit the new revenue realities. The Governor will have 15 days to take action on the new budget, which must go into effect on July 1. In March, Governor DeSantis asked legislative leaders to hold onto the 2020-2021 spending plan to allow time for the economy and congress to outline federal assistance. Florida’s tax revenues were 29.4 percent less than anticipated for April, more than overcoming the more than $200 million surplus generated in the first three months of 2020. Much of the loss, $598.2 million, came from sales tax collections, largely from the COVID-19 impacts to Florida’s tourism industry. This week, the U.S. Small Business Administration reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance program portal to all eligible applicants experiencing economic impacts due to COVID-19. The reopening of the EIDL assistance and EIDL Advance application portal to all new applicants, additional small businesses and non-profits will be eligible to receive these long-term, low interest loans and emergency grants. For more information please click here. We are continuing to provide you with educational webinars and virtual experiences to help you and your business. Please see below for a list of upcoming virtual experiences: 06/23 – 12:00pm: Smart Talk for Women Speaker: Nancy Proffitt, Founder and President of Proffitt Management Solutions Click here to register 06/23 – 5:00pm: Live After Five: Virtual Happy Hour Grab your favorite after work drink, meet new people virtually and give your best 30- second elevator pitch! Click here to register 06/25 – 8:30am: Boynton Beach Government Affairs Committee Speaker: Colin Groff, Assistant City Manager, Public Services, City of Boynton Beach Click here to register 06/26 – 8:30am: Boynton Beach: Women’s Business Council Speaker: Shaina Wizov, Regional Director, Party Host Helpers- South Florida Click here to register 06/30 – 8:00am: From How to Wow Speaker: Greta Schulz, President & CEO of Schulz Business, a Chamber Member Only Event Click here to register To stay up to date on all Chamber activity, visit bocachamber.com or download the Chamber App on your phone or tablet and stay connected! You can also access all of our past virtual experiences by visiting our YouTube Channel. Tomorrow marks the official start of summer. Traditionally, this is a time when we would travel on a vacation with family and friends. This is also a time when our retail, restaurant and hospitality businesses rely on local residents and summer vacationers to sustain them through the summer season. Whether you are traveling or staying closer to home, please be sure to support these businesses as they represent industries that have been hardest hit by the restrictions due to COVID-19. We already know this will be a summer to remember – let’s remember it for reopening our economy in a safe and supportive way. Regardless of the season, your Chamber is here for you, doing what we do best – Connecting Members, Advancing Commerce, Protecting Business and Enhancing Community. Moving Business Forward, Troy M. McLellan, CCE, FCCP President & CEO Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce #movingbocaforward #movingboyntonforward #movingdelrayforward 1800 N Dixie Hwy | Boca Raton, FL 33432 p: 561.395.4433 | f: 561.392.3780 |
