Chamber New Hires 

Steve Cannon, Director of Membership  

  

Frank Avery, Special Projects Manager

LG 40 officially kicks off August 16th at Plantation Hall, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Opening Retreat

Class Opening Retreat, August 17th at Chamber (Sim Soc)

Four (4) Class Deans this year

Restructured 2013-2014 agenda featuring inclusion of LG alumni, guest speakers, and caucus hour

Dates: July 25-August 4

More than 200 attended Special CAH

Two restaurants joined (Sweetberries, Sandwich Inn)

19 restaurants participating

No fee, 100% member benefit and retention tool

Public Policy - Energy

July 16: Chamber Urged City Commission to Provide GRU Utility Rate Relief

July 17: Chamber Hosted Public Dialogue on Utility Costs for Businesses and Employees

July 18: City Commission Voted 6-1 to Reduce Fuel Adjustment Levelization Fund by $4.4M

August 13: City Commission Hosting Energy Workshop with the Chamber

Public Policy - Transportation

July 2: Chamber meeting with Alachua County Transportation Officials

July 12: Chamber visit to York County, South Carolina to Study Successful Ballot Initiatives

July 18: Chamber visit to Jacksonville, FL to meet with FDOT Staff

August 12: Chamber to deliver remarks before Joint Alachua County/Gainesville City Meeting

Public Policy - Advocacy

June 20: Small Business Report Released with 27 Recommendations to City of Gainesville

June 28: Chamber meeting with Mayor Braddy to discuss recommendations and next steps

August: Chamber to meet with Alachua County and City of Gainesville Staff

300 Attendees

Keynote - Rebecca Ryan

• What is Quality of Life?– Cost– Earning– Vitality– Learning– Around Town– Social Capital– After hours?

Amy Holloway

• Continue Innovating• Adopt a Balanced Approach• Act as a Region• Target• Build Through Collisions• Align Talent Development• Communicate

www.innovationgainesville.com

• Task Forces/Call for Volunteers– Trailing Spouse– Talent Alignment– Communications– Public Private Partnerships– Global Trade

July Project Overview

Business Attraction Projects: 15 Projects 740 Jobs(6 projects not quantified)

  Business Retention & Expansion Projects/BRE: 22 Projects 1421 Jobs

(9 projects not quantified)  Project Loss: 1 Project 2 Jobs  

Council for Economic Outreach 2013 Council Committee

Mission• To promote industry and development of trade by inducing manufacturing,

industrial and commercial enterprises to commence operations, to locate or to expand in Alachua County, Florida;• To undertake research and marketing for the purpose of attracting,

encouraging the development of, or retention of, manufacturing, industrial and commercial enterprises

• in Alachua County, Florida.

Responsibilities• Oversee fundraising and economic development activities; • Oversee member relations and development;• Advise the Chamber Board on ED activities;• Meet at least quarterly;• Report directly to the Executive Committee (through Chair). 

In addition the CEO Committee is authorized to seek investments from investors dedicated solely to carrying out the specific mission of CEO.

John Carlson, 2013 ChairCEO Committee

Committee members named this week

Board composition:

6 members are Board members

6 members are CEO investors

Fall 2013 Schedule

• August Meeting – CEO Program Inventory/Funding Recommendation

• September Meeting – Steve Dorough, First Community Development

• October Meeting – All CEO Investors and Governor Rick Scott

• Proposed Campaign Kickoff – October 25, 2013• November Meeting – Campaign Updates• December Meeting – Campaign Conclusion

Policies/Programs Oversight

• CEO Announcements/Events• AMANCF – Cross Enterprise Pilot for Regional

Manufacturing• Business Retention & Expansion Program• Real Estate Task Force

GIT Forum IV Panel at City Hall

• FloridaWorks: Kim Tesch-Vaught, Executive Director

• Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce: Deborah Bowie, Vice-President

• City of Gainesville: Erik Bredfeldt, Economic Development and Innovation Director

• University of Florida: Steve Thebaut, Associate Chair (Department of Computer and Information Science  and Engineering)

• Santa Fe College: John McNeely, Associate Vice President (Department of Career and Technical Education)

• School Board of Alachua County: Dave Edwards, Director of Adult Career Technology Education

• New Horizons Computer Learning Centers: Ted Gilson, Placement Director of Student Services

• Gator Innovators: Trevor Abbott, Chairman

Silicon Valley does it, Austin does it, Gainesville does IT, too

FloridaWorks in partnership with the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce and Innovation Gainesville (iG) hosted Start Up Downtown, a startup exhibition and job fair.

185 people pre-registered Nearly 300 people attended Queso Media Group was on-site to film the event

Special Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Of Interest/For Your Calendars

• FloridaWorks Contract

• Rise to the Top

• GIT Luncheon Wednesday, August 14th @ Gator Dockside

• Mall Seasonal Hiring Event Thursday, August 29th

• Gainesville Job Fair Tuesday, September 10th @ MLK Center

• GIT Conference Wednesday, September 18th, @GRU