Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward

Good Morning Valued Chamber Member,

This past Friday marked the filing deadline for candidates running for local, county and state wide offices. Among the races that will be decided on the August 18th Election Day (click here for a sample ballot) are: Palm Beach County School Board, District 5 (which represents schools grades K-12 in all of Boca Raton), Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, and Boca Raton Beach & Park District, Seats 3 and 5. The Chamber’s Business Leaders United Political Action Committee (BLU-PAC), has already begun the screening process for interviewing with the candidates. As we continue along in the process, you will see communications from BLU-PAC. The candidates voted into office will have a direct impact on how our State and County recover from this pandemic. Like I always say, BLU-PAC cares about one letter, whether a race is partisan or not, and that’s the letter B – for business!

Speaking of the Supervisor of Elections, today at 3:00pm, our current Supervisor, Wendy Sartory Link, will be the guest speaker at our virtual Economic Development Committee. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Wendy as a busy election season approaches. See below to register.

I am very proud to report that The Chamber’s Golden Bell Education Foundation, will be giving away more than $105,000 in grants to 45 recipients within our Boca Raton public school system. These schools will receive much needed funding for educational programs that promote business skills and workforce readiness. Under the umbrella of the Golden Bell Education Foundation is our Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) Program. The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is an exciting program that transforms local middle and high school students into entrepreneurs. If you know of any middle or high school age students that would be interested in participating in this premiere in-house program, we are now accepting applications for the 2020-2021 Class. Visit yeausa.org to fill out an application or check out our webpage for more information.

The City of Boynton Beach has announced that its brand-new City Hall, which will be located at 100 E. Ocean Ave, in Downton Boynton Beach is expected to open to the public on Tuesday, June 30^th. The opening of the New City Hall complex is the first step in the revitalization of Boynton Beach’s downtown. In other exciting news from the City of Boynton Beach, the City and the Community Redevelopment Agency has granted 120 different business forgivable loans through their Business Recovery Assistance Pilot Program. Boynton was one of the first municipalities in Palm Beach County to offer forgivable loans to their businesses.

In case you missed it, all persons accessing Palm Beach County governmental buildings for the purposes of conducting public business, visitation, contracting and maintenance, delivery or any other activity requiring a presence in a county governmental building, shall wear facial coverings at all times while present in the building. Palm Beach County governmental buildings shall mean any PBC-owned and operated buildings including, but not limited to, office buildings, service centers and libraries. For additional information, please click here. Additionally, Palm Beach County has submitted a safety plan to the State that has been approved for the opening of Vacation and Short Term Rentals, however, after conversations with the State, including the Florida Surgeon General, the County has decided to move cautiously on the opening of Vacation Rentals, delaying the issuance of the Emergency order that would allow for the reopening of these types of rentals. For details on the guidelines please click here.

We are now 16 days into hurricane season. To help us get through it, Palm Beach County has created a free emergency app, PBC DART, which will provide vital information, such as storm surge evacuation areas, flood zones, shelter locations, grocery and building supply stores and gas stations with emergency generators. PBC Dart also lets individuals and businesses send damage reports to the Emergency Operations Center, which will enable emergency workers to access and respond to areas needing attention during and after a storm.
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 this week’s virtual experiences:

06/16 – 11:30am: PULSE Virtual Presentation: The Power of LinkedIn for Young Business Professionals Speaker: Marc Nudelberg, President, On The Ball Click here to register

06/16 – 3:00pm: Economic Development Meeting with Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections, Wendy Sartory Link Speaker: Wendy Sartory Link, Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Click here to register

06/17 – 11:00am: Re-Entering the Workplace and Insights Regarding the Workplace of the Future Speaker: Bob Schneiderman, Executive Managing Director, Colliers Internationa lClick here to register

06/18 – 8:00am: BOYNTON BEACH: Coffee Plus Network The early bird gets the worm! Grab a cup of coffee, meet new people virtually and give your best 30 second elevator pitch – all before the workday begins! Click here to register

06/18 – 12:00pm: Successful Women in Business Speaker: Dr. Ava L. Parker, President, Palm Beach State College Click here to register

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

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 page.

As we begin a new week, we are mindful of the reports of increased cases of the coronavirus within the State and County. These increases provide us with the reminders to be safe and mitigate the spread to one another: wear face masks when appropriate and do not congregate in large groups. Let’s continue to work together to help revitalize our economy in a safe, smart and step-by-step manner. The Chamber continues to Move Business Forward, on behalf of the entire community. We are here for you – let us know how we can help!