Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward

Today is #NationalVoterRegistrationDay. Last year, National Voter Registration Day resulted in 473,725 new registered voters. Take time today to check your voter registration status to ensure you are #VoteReady for November! Click here to register. Encourage your friends, family and colleagues to vote. Make a plan and share it with others!

Last week, Palm Beach County Administrator Verdenia Baker issued Emergency Order 2020-025, which took effect at 12:01am on September 19, 2020. This order clarifies that clubhouses, banquet halls, ballrooms, and other rental spaces may be open for meetings and other events outlined in Emergency Order 24. These facilities must follow specific guidelines including maximum 50% room capacity and tables for banquet style seating spaced at least 6-feet apart and limited to no more than 8 people per table. Theater, classroom, boardroom and similar seating arrangements must provide for physical distancing and adhere to CDC guidelines in accordance with Section 3, which includes enhanced cleaning and disinfection guidelines.

On Monday, The School District of Palm Beach County reported nearly 60,000 children returned to 179 school campuses. Several safety changes are now in place at brick-and-mortar schools including: mandatory face masks for all children and staff members on school buses and campuses, spaced out desks in classrooms, physical distancing markers on the floors, one-way hallways, one-sided cafeteria tables, improved air filters, and more sanitation stations. Additionally, the School District launched an online dashboard to track COVID-19 cases in each school, however, no patients will be identified. To view the tracker click here. Along with the many health and safety protocols, all schools will also have at least one school district police officer and behavioral specialist on campus this year. The School District of Palm Beach County has answers on its website to many common questions regarding in-classroom instruction, health and safety within schools, and information for school employees and bus drivers. You can find those answers by clicking here.

To hear the latest updates on how in-person and distance learning are progressing, please join us on Thursday, September 24^th from 8:30am -9:30am for the virtual Boynton Beach Government Affairs Committee with Erica Whitfield, Palm Beach County School Board Member, District 4. Click here to register for that meeting.

We are proud to host the Chamber’s Boynton Beach First Responders Awards event tomorrow, September 23^rd, at 11:00am. During this one-hour virtual program, we will recognize and honor the following First Responders:

Police Officer of the Year Award Recipient: Agent Shaun James, Boynton Beach Police Department
Firefighter of the Year Award Recipient: Captain, Jeff Power, Boynton Beach Fire Rescue
Paramedic of the Year Award Recipient: Firefighter Roxanne Girardi, Boynton Beach Fire Rescue

These brave professionals have been chosen by their departments for their courageous acts in service to the community of Boynton Beach. Thank you to Baptist Health (Bethesda East & West) for their title sponsorship, as well as ADT, Get Dry, FPL, and All Dry, USA for their sponsorship support. Click here to register and support our first responders!

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration has celebrated National Small Business Week. This week, September 20-26
^th, we give additional recognition to the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. More than half of Americans either own or work for a small business, creating nearly two out of every three new jobs in the U.S. each year. Click here to register for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business virtual summit.

We continue to provide you valuable educational webinars and virtual experiences. The majority of these presentations are recorded and available for you to access on the Boca Chamber’s YouTube Channel. Hit the subscribe button now to find out when new content is posted on our channel. Please see below for a list of upcoming virtual experiences:

09/22 – 12:00 p.m. Virtual Smart Talk for Women Topic: Overcoming Adversity in BusinessSpeaker: Nancy Proffitt, Founder & President, Proffitt Management Solutions Click here to register

09/22 – 5:00 p.m. Virtual Live After Five Hours Network Topic: Connect with Your Fellow Chamber Members, Network, Have a Drink and Have Fun Click here to register

09/23 – 11:00 a.m. Boynton Beach First Responders Virtual Awards Presentation- Sponsored by Baptist Health Topic: Join Your Fellow Chamber Members as We Honor Our First Responders from Boynton Beach Click here to register

09/24 – 8:30 a.m. Boynton Beach: Government Affairs Council Topic: Update on Distance Learning and In-Person LearningSpeaker: Erica Whitfield, Palm Beach County School Board Member Click here to register

09/25 – 8:30 a.m. Boynton Beach: Women’s Business Council Topic: Business Etiquette: What to Wear, What Not to Say and More!Speaker: Martine Pierre-Paul, Founder & CEO, The Academy of Modern Etiquette and Leadership Click here to register

10/02 – 8:30 a.m. Prime Professionals Group Virtual Round Table Topic: Covid-19 Tax Relief – What you Need to KnowSpeaker: Malinka Nyitray, CPA & Chris Corneroli,, Tax Director, Croskey Lanni Click here to register

10/06 – 8:30 a.m. International Business Alliance Virtual Round Table Topic: A Primer on the 2020 ElectionSpeaker: Robert Watson, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of American History, Director, Project Civitas, College of Arts & Science, Lynn University 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!

This past Friday evening, the nation lost a trailblazer and warrior for justice – Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 and served until her passing. Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. remarked that Justice Ginsburg “was a jurist of historic stature.” Our thoughts and prayers are with the Ginsburg family.

Over the past several weeks, we have begun to see the slow but methodical transition from recovery to re-emergence. This transition can be seen as Palm Beach County entered Phase 2. Children returning to in-person learning on campuses, additional businesses re-opening and the Chamber holding its first in-person small group meetings are all positive steps in moving business forward.

Let’s all continue to do our part to help slow the spread – by avoiding Closed spaces, Crowded places and Close-contact settings. And remember – Wash your hands, Wear your mask and Watch your distance. It’s working!

Moving Business Forward,