Good Afternoon Valued Chamber Member,
Boca Chamber Festival Days (BCFD) 2022 is in full swing! Since its start last week, we have already held seven amazing events. BCFD is one of the many ways the Chamber supports our non-profit community. Non-profit Chamber Members join forces with for-profit Chamber Members to hold events during the month of August to raise awareness and much-needed funds for the non-profit members’ critical missions. With the support and sponsorship of Allegiance Home Health, the Chamber facilities and promotes these fun and exciting events. Thank you to Rosie Martin, CEO of Allegiance, for being the BCFD Chairperson. The events include music, comedy, dinner, tastings, game nights – and so much more. Please continue to attend and support these worthy causes! For a listing of all the events, click here.
Welcome to all of our 200 New Members who have joined us since the beginning of the year! These members represent a wide range of industries ranging from restaurants to private security, to non-profits. Please, click here to view the list of new members – and when you see them at a future event, please give them a warm welcome to the Chamber family.
This past week, Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer delivered the State of the City address during our monthly membership breakfast. Mayor Singer highlighted the progress of the Brightline train station which continues to be scheduled to open by the end of this year! Additionally, he shared that Boca Raton will continue to maintain one of the lowest millage rates within Palm Beach County. Mayor Singer also highlighted the important partnerships between the City, the Chamber of Commerce, FAU Tech Runway, the Research Park at FAU, and the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County. The collaborative efforts of all these stakeholder organizations help to attract and retain major corporate headquarters in Boca Raton. Thank you, Mayor Singer and members of the City Council for your leadership and partnership.
In other City of Boca Raton news, it has announced the appointment of Andrew “Andy” Lukasik as their new Deputy City Manager. Andy comes to Boca Raton with close to 20 years of experience in local government, most recently from the Town of North Palm Beach as its City Manager for the past five years. Prior to that, he served as Jupiter’s Town Manager for 13 years. Welcome to Boca Andy — we look forward to working with you!
The Boynton Beach City Commission has taken the first step needed to reduce the millage rate for the upcoming 2023 fiscal year. If approved, the current rate of 7.87 per $1,000 of taxable value will go to 7.85. Additionally, Commissioners decided to maintain the current rate for the fire assessment fee of $120. Thank you Mayor Penserga and members of the Boynton Beach City Commission for leading this process to help the residents and businesses of Boynton Beach.
The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming general election is October 11. All registered voters, including those without party affiliations, are able to vote on that date for races for nonpartisan judicial seats, school board offices, special districts, and local referendum questions.
Important upcoming dates for the upcoming election period are:
August 13th – 5:00 pm deadline to request vote-by-mail ballot for primary election
August 23rd – Primary Election and 7:00 pm deadline to return vote-by-mail ballot
October 11th – Deadline to register for the general election
October 29th – 5:00pm deadline to request vote-by-mail ballot for the general election
November 8th – General Election and 7:00 pm deadline to return the vote-by-mail ballot
Exciting news! Now, through our partnership with the Boca Raton Tribune, not only will your press release be shared in their paper – but now they will also share that content through their social media sites. To submit a press release to the Chamber, contact Karina Brandenburg, Communications Manager.
The Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller for Palm Beach County’s office is preparing to move to a new Official Records System this month. During this process, the recording of official records will be unavailable from noon on Thursday, August 25, and the entire day of Friday, August 26. This outage will affect people’s ability to record any official documents with their offices, including notices of commencement, marriage licenses, mortgages, and deeds.
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. Below is a list of our upcoming activities:
8/9 – 4:00 p.m. RIBBON CUTTING: Dentures Today
For more information and to register, click here
8/10 – 11:45 a.m. BOYNTON BEACH: Lunch and Learn
For more information and to register, click here
8/10 – 4:30 p.m. BCFD: Fondue Raiser
For more information and to register, click here
8/11 – 12:00 p.m. RIBBON CUTTING: Foxtail Coffee
For more information and to register, click here
8/13 – 2:00 p.m. BCFD: Tour of the Boca Raton
For more information and to register, click here
8/15 – 5:30 p.m. BCFD: Margarita Monday
For more information and to register, click here
8/16 – 5:30 p.m. RIBBON CUTTING: Strong Wellness & Fitness Studio, Inc.
For more information and to register, click here
Sadly, this past week, our community lost one of our former Mayors, Susan Whelchel. In her career as an elected official, she brought Boca Raton to new heights and helped position it as the sought-after city that it is today. Her impact and achievements on the City of Boca Raton were just part of her amazing career. She also served as a Palm Beach County School Board Member and taught our youth for three decades as a beloved teacher, ending her career at Boca Raton High School. But most importantly, Susan Whelchel was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother to her family. She will be dearly missed, but we all will have the blessing of her ever-lasting legacy on the community she so loved. I am forever grateful that I had the opportunity to work with – and be a friend to – this special woman.
Together, we continue to Move Business Forward in South Palm Beach County, making our region the best place to Live, Work, Learn and Play!