Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward

Yesterday, the Palm Beach County School District rolled out its COVID-19 rapid testing procedures. Currently, the district has ordered over 12,000 rapid tests from the state. The antigen test (made by BinaxNOW) is FDA approved and is 80% accurate. School nurses have been trained on how to administer the test and parental consent is required for a student to take it. District staff will now be able to get test results in a little as 15 minutes.

The City of Boynton Beach recently adopted the goal of increasing tree canopy coverage from 16% to 20% by the year 2035. To help meet this goal, the City has partnered with Community Greening to give away 200 native trees to City residents on Saturday, December 12^that the Ezell Hester Community Center, 1901 North Seacrest Boulevard in Boynton Beach. The event starts at 10:00 am and runs until all trees have been distributed. Up to two trees are allowed per vehicle and recipients must be City of Boynton Beach residents (bring a valid ID). To check if your address is within City limits, please click here.

The University of Central Florida has accepted an invitation to play in the Seventh Annual RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. The game will be played on Tuesday, Dec. 22^nd, at 7:00 p.m. at FAU Stadium and will be aired on ESPN and ESPN Radio, as well ESPN 106.3 FM. UCF is 6-3 and ranked as high as 11^th in the nation earlier in the season. Tickets to the bowl game are not currently on sale to the public. Pandemic protocols will be in place and any tickets that may be made available will be very limited. To learn more, you can hear from Doug Mosley, Executive Director of the Bowl Game, who will be speaking at this Thursday’s Chamber breakfast.

Johnson & Johnson has launched its Phase 3 ensemble trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of their investigational vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. The trial aims to recruit up to 60,000 participants. It is essential that many different types of people participate in clinical trials to ensure the vaccines are safe and effective for all people. To determine if you are eligible to participate in the study, visit www.ensemblestudy.com.

Governor DeSantis issued Executive Order 20-297 which extended the Phase 3 Executive Order 20-244. Under the order, local governments are still prohibited from fining or penalizing individuals that are not complying with local ordinances related to the pandemic, including mask mandates. Additionally, if a local government restricts restaurants to less than 100% of indoor capacity, that government must quantify the economic impact of the limitation on these restaurants and why the limitation is necessary for public health.

Looking for an easier way to find an event, register for an event, and receive popup notifications of important Chamber, County, City of Boca Raton and City of Boynton Beach information? Download the Boca Chamber App – found on the App Store and Google Play Store. Keep your Chamber at the tip of your fingers! You can also stay up to date on all Chamber activity by visiting us at bocachamber.com. We continue to provide you with valuable educational webinars and virtual experiences, with most being recorded and available for you to access on the Boca Chamber’s YouTube Channel. Hit the subscribe button to find out when new content is posted on our channel. Below is a list of our upcoming virtual and in-person experiences:

12/09 – 12:00 p.m. Virtual Boynton Beach Lunch and Learn Sponsor: iThink Financial Topic: Marketing Trends in 2020 (Covid Challenges)Speaker: Saul Copper, Sr. Account Manager, DigDev Direct Click here to register

12/10 – 8:00 a.m. Holiday Membership Breakfast – IN-PERSON   Boca Raton Marriott at Boca Center5150 Town Center Circle Boca Raton, FL 33486Speaker: Doug Mosley, Executive Director, RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Program: Holiday Music performed by School of Rock Musicians Click here to register

12/11 – 8:30 a.m. Virtual Women’s Business Council  Topic: Holiday Networking Click here to register

12/17 – 8:00 a.m. Virtual Boynton Beach Coffee Plus  The early bird gets the worm! Enjoy this FREE monthly networking opportunity. Grab a cup of coffee, meet new people, and give your best 30 second elevator pitch – all before the workday begins!Click here to register

12/17 – 11:30 a.m. Chairman’s Holiday Golf Tournament  Boca Lago Golf & Country Club 8665 Juego WayBoca Raton, FL 33433 Click here to register

After leading the Chamber’s BLU-PAC (Business Leaders United Political Action Committee) for the past seven years, George Sigalos has retired as Chairman of the BLU-PAC Board. Chairman Sigalos lead the Board through many successful election cycles and positioned BLU-PAC for continued success in numerous State, County and municipal elections, including the recently expanded Boynton Beach market. We thank Chairman Sigalos for his dedication and leadership over these past seven years. We are happy to announce that BLU-PAC Board Member Maureen Jaeger, who serves as the Director of Community Relations and Client Relationship Management at Gunster, will take the reins as the next Chair of the Board. Welcome Chair Jaeger!

Please continue to be Responsible, Safe and Respectful — and thank you for making Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and all of South Palm Beach County the best place to Live, Work, Learn and Play!

Moving Business Forward,