Chairman’s Message: A Time of Reflection and Recognition

The busy season has passed, and now it is time to evaluate all business practices to ensure for a strong future.  This is also the time of year for businesses to address some much needed deep cleaning and capital renovations/improvement projects.  This is not only true for businesses, but also true for the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber Ambassadors have had just a few ribbon cutting ceremonies recently, Dermatology Specialists of Florida and Workout Anytime, but both had great turnouts.  During the month of October, we hope to see you at some of the following ribbon cuttings and events:  Westwinds Conference Center Ribbon Cutting, Emerald Coast in a Box Ribbon Cutting, Destin Custom Home Builders Ribbon Cutting, Studio Blue Pilates Ribbon Cutting, Leaders In Business Lunch Sponsored by White-Wilson Medical Center, and Business After Hours at Emerald Bay Golf Club, just to name a few.  Please check the Destin Area Chamber website for more details on the events.  The larger events include the Destin Seafood Festival, on Oct. 2-4, and the 3^rd Annual Bourbon at the Bay, on Nov. 19, at Regatta Bay Golf and Yacht Club, both are projected to be great events for the area.  The first person to send me an email after reading this article will receive two tickets to attend Bourbon at the Bay.

Membership continues to increase with each passing week, and through August we have 971 active members, as compared to 881 through August of 2014, a 10.2% increase.  If you are looking for a quick way to gain exposure to your business, contact the staff to find out how you can take advantage of this great resource.  If you have a change in personnel or with any of your contact information, please contact the Chamber so we can update your membership file.

The City of Destin will be rolling out the next step of the “Envision Destin” plan, so we hope that everyone will attend these critical meetings.  The results of the first two workshops can be found at www.EnvisionDestin.com/?page_id=68. Be on the lookout for the next set of meetings.  On a related note, the utility work for Highway 98 widening plans will begin shortly, so please be considerate of the workers along the road ways.

During the August Leaders in Business Lunch, Trustmark National Bank sponsored and awarded four lucky winners with accommodation stays with four of our local vacation rental management companies.  We were fortunate enough to have the honorable Sen. Don Gaetz as our speaker. He encouraged all residents to be actively involved in the local and state government.  Please do not sit by idly, get out and involved.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who assisted with the Chamber’s 4^th Annual Paddle at the Porch on Saturday, on Aug. 15. It was a great event. There were more than 100 participants, and a $6,000 purse was distributed to the top performers in the six mile elite event.  We hope to see everyone at next year’s event.

If there is ever anything we may do for you, please do not hesitate to call the Chamber at (850) 837-6241. We look forward to serving you throughout 2015 and together building this world-class community one business at a time.  I hope everyone is “Living the Dream” in this place we call home, the Destin area.

Sincerely,

Ken Wampler

2015 Chairman of the Board of Directors

Newman-Dailey Resort Properties, Inc.