OCTOBER 31, 2013
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COMMUNITYNEWSPAPERS.COM
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‘Selling Miami to the World’ — The Diverse Faces of Today’s Buyers
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BY MONICA METCALF
he fourth annual Real Estate Luncheon, a cooperative event for the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce and Miami Association of Realtors, took place on Friday, October 25th at the RitzCarlton South Beach. Over 300 local real estate professionals attended the sold out luncheon sponsored by McKafka Development Group and its latest project in Edgewater entitled The Crimson-Waterfront Residences. The first Real Estate Luncheon addressed the importance of international buyers in the South Florida real estate market and in its recovery. Four years later, industry leaders continue to notice the sig-
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SELLING, page 4
McKafka Development Group CEO Fernando Levy Hara, Chamber Chairman Alan Lips, McKafka Development Group CFO & COO Stephan Gietl and CBS4 anchor Rick Folbaum
Annual Meeting 2013: A Successful Year Review & More to Come BY DANIEL WHALEN
n October 17, 2013, the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce celebrated its Annual Meeting, held at the beautiful Fontainebleau Miami Beach, a landmark of our beloved community and primary sponsor of the event as a long-time Chamber member. Hundreds of members came together to celebrate the Chamber’s accomplishments and welcome new members and leaders featuring City National Bank, a corporate emeritus member of the Chamber, as the presenting sponsor of the event. The guests enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres before
Chairman Alan Lips addressed the crowd, presenting a slideshow of the past year’s accomplishments as well as the events for the coming year. Headline events to come include an expanded Gala at the Fontainebleau and the 2nd Annual Sports Weekend. The takeaway from this year’s presentation was clear; the past year has been filled with success, yet the coming year promises to be even better! The Chamber’s Annual Meeting provides a unique opportunity for members to share their success and growth of the previous year and connect with the possibility of new business prospects. Furthermore, the incoming Board of Governors and Pillar Board members are installed and sworn in at the Annual Meeting. Following
Alan Lips’ remarks, Dori Foster-Morales, Esq., an attorney at Foster-Morales Sockel-Stone Law firm, led the incoming board members in reciting their oath of office. Chairman of the Board, Alan Lips, has one more year of service, however, DeAnne Connolly Graham, President of ROI Media Consultants, Inc., was sworn in as the incoming Chair of the Pillar Board of Trustees. The evening continued with a performance by the talented vocalist, Mary Figueroa, of Miami Beach Senior High School. Guests were slow to leave as they enjoyed the productive networking, delicious food and complimentary drinks, graciously provided by the sponsor, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach. Congratulations to the Chamber for a successful year!
Phone: 305-669-7355
Letter from the Chair BY ALAN A. LIPS
There is no better place in the world to be right now than in Miami Beach. Our city has so much to offer from fun in the sun, beautiful beaches, the greatest hotels, fantastic dining, outstanding shopping, to the most impressive arts and culture community. Why would anyone go anywhere else? And we are so blessed to have what I believe is truly the greatest chamber in the world. I have been so fortunate to serve as your chair for the year and it has been an incredible experience, both professionally and personally. I have made so many meaningful relationships from my involvement in our dynamic chamber for so many years and it never stops Now, in my leadership role, I am so proud of the Chamber’s accomplishments. Outside of providing great service to our membership and creating the best environment for the magic to happen, we continue to grow, produce more opportunities and give so much back to our great community. At the end of the day, it is all about community. Each year with our success we have been able to expand funding to our Miami Beach Chamber Education Foundation which provides greater support year after year to the city for the International Baccalaureate program. On top of that, with the support of our Executive Board, the chamber won the Aetna Voices for Health competition for $30,000, financial support of the program by the affected municipal-
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LETTER, page 8