Suzi Youngberg, president of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk the work of the Chamber.
Youngberg will attend the county commission meeting today to keep businesses informed of events at the county level.
She said, “As the Chamber of Commerce, of course, we are the advocate for our members for the Board of County Commissioners, as well as the tourist Development Council, who will also be making a presentation today at the county commissioners meeting. They are talking about some strategic planning. I think they’re getting the county to weigh in on some budget items and planning for our tourism for next year, how they’re going to be targeting that. So it’s very interesting hearing them talk about how our demographics have changed a little bit with our visitors to the Florida Keys, and how they are pivoting to be sure that we’re reaching the right people, the right visitors to bring to the Keys to enjoy what we have to offer here. I think another one of the topics today is the affordable housing that’s opening up in Key Largo. I know there’s been a lot of controversy on whether that’s actually affordable or not, but I did hear Christine Hurley, the County Administrator, talking that I believe there’s going to be some adjustments. So that’s really good news.”
The Taste the Keys is coming up in October.
Youngberg said, “We do get funding for our events from the TDC, the tourist Development Council, and they are actually helping us promote the Taste the Keys event. So we’re very excited to be bringing this to Key Largo. We did a really soft rollout last year with one trolley foodie tour, where we took some folks around to five different restaurants for a taste and a paired beverage, and it was quite well received. Actually, the attendees wanted us to do it every week, which, of course, isn’t feasible, but we will be doing two trolley tours in October, but this will be a month long event. Think about Miami Spice, and the model for that up in Miami. That’s been going on now for quite a few years. We’re sort of taking that idea and bringing it to the Upper Keys. So we’ll be talking with restaurants all throughout Key Largo and the Upper Keys, who will be offering special prefix menus throughout the month of October. So it’ll be a great opportunity for our residents and our visitors both to maybe try a restaurant you’ve never tried before. You might be able to go and try them a little more often in October, because they’re going to be offering special menus at a set price. So it’ll just be a great opportunity to bring people into these restaurants, especially during a slow month like October.”
Diners are invited to vote for the best dish in the Keys as well.
Youngberg said, “An old traditional event of the Key Largo Chamber was the cook off, which was generally held in October, which was a physical event where professionals and amateurs kind of came together and offered up items to be judged for the cook off. So we want to keep that idea, since it was such a great event for the chamber, but we’re making it virtual, and it will be month long. So each restaurant that’s participating will offer up a signature showdown dish, which, as people try that throughout the month, they can vote on their favorite signature showdown dish, and then we’ll tally those at the end of the month and award the restaurant for the best showdown. We’re in the process right now of hearing from our restaurants who are going to be participating. So that will be updated in real time, probably daily from here on through the first of October. So keep an eye on that, and also mark your calendars. We’ll be doing, two trolley foodie tours. The first one will be on October 2, and then we’ll do another one on October 16. Both of those will be on Thursday nights. So look for more information on that. We’ll be opening up ticket sales probably here in the next few weeks on those as well.”
There will be a number of Chamber events in September, too, including the Health Expo on September 11.
Youngberg said, “In September, we’ll have, of course, our regular luncheon. It will be a buffet, so it’ll be a little more informal, and we’re extending the hours. It’ll be from 11am to 2pm so we will have, I think we were looking at 15, it looks like we’re going to have about 12 healthcare professionals. We’ll have all the way from health insurance to some of our nonprofit health services. It will be a chance for people to visit with these different vendors, if you will, businesses, find out what they have to offer, what they’re doing to help our community. Especially with the health insurance, I think we’ve got five different health insurance vendors that will be there. That’s such a big topic right now. I think open enrollment for the marketplace is coming up soon, so lots of good information will be shared there as well as our hospitals, the good health clinic, CHI, and some of our local doctors, dentists and specialists. We’re really looking forward to offering this up to showcase these businesses and members and give people a chance to find out about them. It will be part of the luncheon. So to register, just go to keylargochamber.org, click the Events tab and go to the calendar and just register for the luncheon, and then that will also include the Health Expo.”
The visitor center is also operated by the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce.
Youngberg said, “If you’re a tourism based business, joining our visitor center is a great way to promote your business to visitors, that’s the first stop as they come into the Keys. We’re the big bathroom stop when people get off the stretch. But they’re also looking for what can I do in the Keys? In Key Largo and, of course, all through the Keys. So, get in there. Get your brochures in there. There’s even opportunities to get your posters on the wall. Have a slide on our chamber vision televisions that run. It’s just a great way for us to be able to tell our visitors about your business.”
For more information on the Chamber, click here: https://www.keylargochamber.org/