Message from the CEO: Moving Business Forward

Palm Beach County has lifted its State of Emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sighting improving cases and hospitalizations, as well as dropping from a “high” to “substantial” level of community transmission, the County Commission voted unanimously to end the State of Emergency, which had been in effect since August 17. Moving forward, all 14 hospitals in Palm Beach County no longer need to file a daily report for medical statistics, which included the total number of hospital beds available in both adult and pediatric Intensive Care Units, ventilator availability, as well as total COVID-19 positive patients.

Palm Beach County has begun the required process to redistrict its legal and voting boundaries. This process, which is required by Florida State Statue, occurs every ten years in an odd-numbered year. Using statistics taken from the census, the County Commission must use that data to update their district boundaries and provide a conceptual map for review at the November 2 County Commission meeting. Once approved, the commission needs to request permission to advertise the ordinance amending the boundaries on November 23, with December 7 as the adoption date. To provide input on this process, click here.

The City of Boynton Beach Commission unanimously approved to give each City employee $2,000 in premium pay for working during the pandemic. 800 employees, including part-timers, will receive $1,000 checks, first in December and then again in May. The money will be taken from the $13.6 million the city receives in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. The payouts will total approximately $1.6 million. Residents can have a say on how the remaining $4 million ARPA funds are spent in Boynton Beach during a city-held, in-person-only meeting on October 28. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. and will be held inside Fire Station No. 3 at 3501 North Congress Avenue. 

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) announced that they would be one of six schools to join the American Athletic Conference (AAC). FAU will join Charlotte, North Texas, Rice, University of Alabama Birmingham and the University of Texas at San Antonio as the newest members. With the new additions, the AAC will become a 14-team league for football and basketball.

As the economy continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses continue to struggle to find qualified candidates to fill open positions in a cross-section of industries. The Chamber recognizes this ongoing challenge and is taking action. We are holding a Virtual Career Fair on Wednesday, November 3 from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm. Participating businesses will have their own virtual booth with the ability to showcase their brand and work culture by adding images, documents, videos, unlimited job postings and access to live reporting and post-event reports. In addition, each business will be able to view exactly who has visited their booth, view all attendees’ resumes and invite attendees to speak in a private chatroom or video to conduct on-the-spot interviews. For more information or to register, click here

The Boca Raton Historical Society is celebrating their official Grand Opening and naming of The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, on Saturday, October 30. Registration is free for the new “History Alive!” exhibit. Children will enjoy story time with a special guest reader in the Pioneer Room followed by complimentary gelato. Music and light refreshments will be served. Having had the pleasure of a sneak preview of the exhibit, I can tell you it was awesome! From our founding days right through present time, this collection documents the forward progression of Boca Raton.

Looking for a quick way to find an event, register for an event, and receive pop-up 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 activities by visiting us at bocachamber.com.

We continue to provide you with valuable in-person and virtual experiences. Most virtual programs are 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 in-person and virtual experiences:

10/26 – 11:45 a.m. In-Person Smart Talk for Women Luncheon

Sponsored By: Bawa Medical

Topic: Constructing a Hybrid Approach to Business and Planning in 2022

Speaker: Nancy Proffitt, Proffitt Management Solutions 

Maggiano’s Little Italy

21090 Saint Andrews Boulevard

Boca Raton

Click here to register

10/26 – 5:30 p.m. In-Person Live After Five

Meet| Connect| Have Fun!

Oceans 234

234 North Ocean Boulevard

Deerfield Beach

Click here to register

10/28 – 8:30 a.m. Boynton Beach Government Affairs Council Meeting – Virtual Event

Topic: New Sign Ordinance for the City of Boynton Beach

Speaker: Mike Rumpf, Planning and Zoning Administrator, City of Boynton Beach

Click here to register

10/29 – 8:30 a.m. Boynton Beach Women’s Business Council – Virtual Event

Topic: Tips and Tricks to Proper Networking

Speaker: Sarah Pearson, Executive Vice President, Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce

Click here to register

11/3 – 8:30 a.m. In-Person Exclusive Trustee Breakfast

Topic: Meet the New President of The Boca Raton

Speaker: Daniel Hostettler, President, The Boca Raton

Click here to register

The School District of Palm Beach County has officially named Mike Burke the District’s permanent Superintendent. Board members voted unanimously to approve a four-year contract. Congratulations Mike! We look forward to our continued partnership in providing the best education to our children in Palm Beach County.

Boca Raton has been named one of the 2021 Top 100 Best Places to Live by Livability.com. The 2021 rankings were guided by an exclusive remote working study conducted by Livability.com in partnership with Ipsos. More than 1,000 adults, aged 18 and up, from across the country were surveyed to determine which livability characteristics they value in their future communities. Respondents were asked if they could work from anywhere, which factors would be most heavily considered when choosing to relocate.

Let us continue to remain focused on maintaining those healthy and safe habits that we developed a year and a half ago. Be mindful of physical distancing when appropriate and keep a mask and hand sanitizer ready – just in case. Together, we continue to Move Business Forward in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach and South Palm Beach County, making our region the best place to Live, Work, Learn and Play. 

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

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