Daniel Samess, president and CEO of the Greater Marathon Chamber of Commerce, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about events.
The member luncheon this month will have a special presentation and speaker.
Samess said, “I’m really excited to have Bryan Griffin, who’s the CEO for Visit Florida and Visit Florida, again, is the state of Florida’s tourism arm and organization that is tasked with promoting Florida to the world and also supporting all of the TDCs, like the Florida Keys and Key West, Visit Florida Keys TDC that we have here in Monroe County. So really excited to have Bryan down here. Kudos to Kara and the team with our TDC for getting them down here. And we’re really happy and fortunate to get Bryan scheduled to speak at our luncheon, which will be on February 26, so not this Thursday, but next Thursday, over at Faro Blanco resort in their conference room. So that’ll be a nice, catered lunch. And we’re hoping we’ll fill the place, pack the place full. Yeah, and Bryan’s going to talk about tourism, and what’s cool is, again, he’ll be able to give us a bit more of a statewide and global kind of perspective, but also talk about all the tools and resources Visit Florida offers, not only just TDCs, but actual businesses too, whether you own a water sports business, bike rental, boat rental, anything that has to do with with tourism. That’s our number one economic driver. It’s our number one employer within the state, and, of course, here in the Florida Keys as well. So it’s a big deal, and we’re excited to have Bryan down on the 26th.”
The 50th annual Marathon Seafood Festival is happening on March 14 and 15.
Samess said, “Hot Wire Communications Vision, our title sponsor this year. They do a great job supporting the community, and excited to have them as our title sponsor, also folks like the Keys Weekly newspapers and even Marathon Bike Works, Horizon Bank, First State Bank, so many of our other sponsors that do a lot for us in the community and really help the event, which helps the community. We give a lot back with scholarships and grants and donations. All about heads in beds, bringing visitors here to our great community so they could experience the original Marathon Seafood Fest in its 50th year anniversary, and also experience Marathon, the Middle Keys and the Florida Keys. When you add in what visitors spend on average per day, per person, which we have that data thanks to our wonderful folks at the TDC, it comes out to anywhere from $6 to $8 million a year just from the Marathon Seafood Festival alone. That’s not just anything they’re spending at the Seafood Fest, that’s overall, staying in local resorts and places, eating at restaurants, going to the attractions, or local attractions, going fishing, anything and everything they do. And it comes back to us, and it circulates throughout the community, those dollars. So it’s a win, win. We love to be kind of part of that process with the event and showcasing fresh seafood, a lot of great local vendors, and a lot of our vendors come from outside of the Keys and stay in hotels as well. And then we have a lot of local vendors that want to showcase their products or services. We still do have a few booth spaces open, because we usually do, we will fill those up. There’s close to 200 of them. So give us a call at the chamber at 305-743-5417, if you’re still looking for a vendor spot and we still need volunteers too, because it’s like a small village, to put these events on, and we’re talking probably 150, 200 plus volunteers easy throughout the weekend that just really do such a great job to help serve food, beer, wine, all kinds of good stuff. And again, because they know that it’s a great event and that it helps the community, and they love to be part of it. So if you want to volunteer, there are four hour shifts, call that same number, 305-743-5417, and get a hold of us, and we’ll get you a shift. You get a free event t shirt and free admission the day you volunteer. So it’s about a three or four hour shift. So if you want after that, you can then go play and hang, or come early or stay late or come back again the same day, and you will not be charged admission.”
The beginnings of the seafood festival were quite humble.
Samess said, “It just started as a humble kind of get together of all the commercial guys, and then their families, cooking up whatever they caught, and then they brought some crab and other stuff and lobster. And it kind of just started, kind of catching fire, as far as other people, like, hey, I want to go to that. That sounds really fun, a big fish fry, then people started, I’m sure, bringing some beer and other good stuff. And then all of a sudden, some years later, they said, we can’t really fit anymore in this little area. So let’s talk to the airport folks. Maybe we could have it at the west end of the airport, and that’s where it was. Then was for a good decade plus or more than that, until 2007 we moved it over to our Marathon Community Park, because the city incorporated in ‘99 and then added to the park and added the amphitheater, which was kind of perfect for events like ours, and we’ve been there ever since, and that’s our home. We’re fortunate to really partner with the city of Marathon and the crew there do such a good job. It’s another example of public/private partnerships working together for the betterment of our community.”
There’s going to be great entertainment as well.
Samess said, “So marathonseafoodfestival.com is the website, and you could find the whole entertainment line up there, as well as parking, other information. You can even buy your entrance tickets online now, and there’s no fees for that, just pay the five bucks and we’ll scan you right when you get to the door, so to speak. If you don’t want to bring as much cash or or you just want to get in quicker, it’s a great way to do that, and that’s new for us this year. So come on by. Listen to some good live music and eat some good seafood. Wash it down with a cold beer or Mimosa, glass of wine or Bloody Mary, whatever you like.”
Next Thursday is the membership luncheon for the chamber.
Samess said, “If you’re a chamber member, give us a call again and RSVP for the luncheon. And if you’re not a member, of course, give us a call and inquire about that. We’d love to give you more info and talk about all the benefits of being a member of the Marathon Chamber, because it’s our job to serve our local businesses and educate them, support them, refer them, promote them, and we do that in so many cool ways. And we love to talk about that, to show the return on investment, and make sure that it’s good.
For more information, click here: https://floridakeysmarathon.com/