LETTER FROM THE CHAIRMAN

from The Bridge Magazine - April 2023

by Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce

YOUR CHAMBER AT WORK

Chamber Staff

Heather Kasten President/CEO hkasten@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4050

Ed Hill Vice President ehill@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4040

Dan Sidler Vice President of CareerEdge & Economic Development dsidler@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4045

Maggie Burton Executive Assistant mburton@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4051

It was a brisk sunny morning at the Florida state capital in Tallahassee, and your Chamber was there at work, advocating for our member businesses with our 2023 Legislative Priorities.

In the last issue of the Bridge, we shared the Chamber Board of Directors’ pillars of excellence for the 2022 — 2023 fiscal year. One of those pillars was to Advance Advocacy. President/CEO Heather Kasten, Vice President of CareerEdge & Economic Development Dan Sidler, Governmental Issues Council Chair Joe C. Hembree, and myself met with State Legislators to discuss these key priorities affecting our member businesses:

• Transportation and Infrastructure

• Education and Workforce

• Water Quality

• Economic Development

We are urging legislators to support affordable housing opportunities through the alignment of public-private partnerships in conjunction with a workforce transportation initiative. As well as, supporting the utilization of the Sadowski Trust Fund revenue solely for market solutions that return assistance to affordable housing.

The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business. While we were in Tallahassee on your behalf, we encourage you to reach out to your state representatives and senators so they can hear directly from you. Or volunteer to participate in our Governmental Issues Council to make a real impact on local legislative issues.

Emily Walsh, Observer Media Group Chairman of the Board

Kevin Golumbeck CareerEdge Program Manager kgolumbeck@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4038

Zach Henkel Membership Investment Manager zhenkel@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4029

Sonya Islam Communications Coordinator sislam@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4046

Melanie Lavender Opportunities For All Manager mlavender@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4058

Craig McGonigal Director of Membership Engagement cmcgonigal@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4034

Heather Moore Event Manager hmoore@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4035

Hayley Nau Communications Coordinator hnau@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4031

Mark Pawlicki Membership Coordinator mpawlicki@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4026

Sara Rachon Director of Programs srachon@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4039

Christine Seaman Accounting Coordinator accounting@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 556-4053

Lisa Wood Event Coordinator lwood@sarasotachamber.com

(941) 955-8187

Welcome New Staff

Breakfast With The Chamber

Over 400 people attended our Annual Breakfast on Friday, March 10, to hear Angie Bastain share her amazing American dream story. Angie, Co-Founder of Angie’s BOOMCHICKAPOP, took a kernel of an idea and popped it into one of the fastest growing brands of natural popcorn. What began with one kettle in the Bastian’s garage, has grown into a beloved, empowered, and spirited brand sold internationally. The accomplishments of delivering extraordinary products and growth, respecting partnerships, and celebrating consumers attracted private equity investments and the sale to Conagra Brands in 2017.

2023 Tallahassee Legislative Trip

In early February, your Chamber made their annual trip to Tallahassee to meet with our local legislators and share the key issues like affordable housing and talent/workforce for our local companies. Additional agenda items were transportation/mobility needs, insurance reform, and the need for legal reform in our state.

The Chamber also had the opportunity to meet with Andrew Wiggins, Vice President of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, who presented TheFloridaScorecard.org which tracks important issues in our state and our community. If Florida were a country, we would have the 15th largest GDP in the world with the economy topping $1.15 trillion in GDP. Currently our state is residence to 22 million people and is predicted to grow to 26 million by 2030. More than 1,000 people a day are moving to Florida on top of the record tourism numbers that we continue to see. Since 2015, and prior to the pandemic, Florida was creating more than 1 out of every 11 new jobs in the United States.

The topic of workforce and talent is one of great importance to our Chamber and our 1,200 plus member businesses. Take a look at some of our Legislative Priorities of the year.

2023 Legislative Priorities

Transporation and Infrustcture

• Support accessible transit that creates mobility to major employment centers in a regionally efficient and collaborative effort.

• Support affordable housing opportunities through the alignment of public-private partnership in conjunction with a workforce transportation initiative.

• Support legislation that reduces the digital divide and expands reliable and affordable access to the devices, signals and skills to all areas of Sarasota County.

Water Quality

• Support a sound public policy and rational investment in infrastructure, both locally and regionally, that protects the Gulf of Mexico and local estuarine resources.

Education and Workforce

• Support funding for Florida’s Public Technical College/ Centers Workforce Education Programs at a minimum funding level of 100% of the state model as developed and approved by the State FLDOE Workforce Education Funding Committee.

• Proposed equity-based per student funding that aims to ensure all institutions within the Florida College System (FCS) are funded equitably across the state.

• Support increased access to childcare benefits for working families.

Economic Development

• Support fully funding expedited training, such as Fast-Track, Rapid Credentialing, and Quick Response to meet employer high demand, entry-level positions while providing a living wage, benefits, and career opportunities to local talent.

• Support modifications to the social benefits system that will allow for a gradual exit path for working families.