FLORIDA:Workforce education, community health and small business advocacy are the Greater Pensacola Chamber of Commerce’s three priorities for the coming year, and new board of directors Chairman Gary Bembry challenged the organization’s 1,300 members to fully engage in the process.”I think we can all agree as business people that a skilled and healthy workforce is essential to growing our businesses,” Bembrey said Wednesday afternoon.
“In order to maintain our competitive business environment in our area, we as a chamber must be the advocacy voice for our business community.”Bembrey articulated the chamber’s goals during its 125th annual meeting, a luncheon at New World Landing on downtown Pensacola. Outgoing board Chairwoman Carol Carlan and state Rep. Clay Ingram, hired as the chamber’s president and CEO nine months ago, celebrated the successes of the last year.
The chamber’s membership increased 18 percent while hosting 100 networking and educational events, of which 50 were ribbon-cuttings for new or expanding businesses.The spinoff of the tourism and economic development units, which received public funding, was completed as Visit Pensacola and the Florida West Economic Development Alliance now stand as separate organizations.”Visit Pensacola is striving and doing extremely well,” Carlan said.
“We separated economic development, freeing us to chart a course to get back to the basic functions of a chamber of being a community leader, and builder, and being the voice of small business in the community.”Members of the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce also were in attendance Wednesday, Ingram said, and met with chamber board members and staff after the luncheon to share their experience and to provide advice on how the capital group could undergo a similar transition.
