Kerry Baker, Executive Director of the Greater Key West Chamber of Commerce, joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s happening in the city.
The Key West Chamber of Commerce supports scholarships for students who will be graduating soon.
Baker said, “We will be giving out our big scholarship at Key West High School Class Night on May 27. I have to give a special thank you to the Toppino family for their large contribution to that as well as all of our members and individuals that have contributed to allow us to keep giving that scholarship. So we do have one recipient that will receive that that evening. It’s worth 32,500 so we’re very honored and very pleased to be able to continue investing in our students. Many of these kids come back to Key West. Many of them don’t go off to college and go right out into the workforce. That’s one of the reasons why we have such a strong partnership locally with our school district, is it’s important to make sure that kids that are coming out of high school, whether it’s Key West High School, whether it is homeschooling, whether it’s private school, charter school, it is important that they’re set up for success, and that they’re able to either go off to college to continue their education, or, better yet, they’re going right out into our workforce. So the Key West Chamber of Commerce is always pleased to be able to not only support students, to support teachers and to really be able to give back to the community in whatever way we can.”
The annual golf tournament was a huge success.
Baker said, “That event is a large undertaking, it certainly would not be possible without the continued support of our committee members. We have two committee chairs on that, Greg Sullivan is actually the founding committee member. That tournament came alive through creation with Greg and John Anderson and a couple of board members 20 years ago. About 15 people or so that are very active in the organization, and they all come out, work really hard that day, but not just that day. The volunteers of the chamber, they work hard every day for us. It certainly wouldn’t be possible for me to get everything done that I get done without an amazing team that’s on staff full time, but as well as all of our countless volunteers. So we really certainly do appreciate them.”
The Key West High School Fashion show is coming up.
Baker said, “If you have not been to that show, you really should do it. It’s Saturday May 16, at Key West High School. I am so amazed by the talent that is here locally, just from these kids. I mean, their designs, their creations. I remember last year, we were sitting there, and we were leaning in, and we’re like, gosh, I would love to buy that dress. It’s beautiful. They have so much creativity. So we were super pleased this year to be able to present $5,000. We gave a donation to the culinary program, which enables them to showcase and provide the orders for the event. And then we gave individual checks to all of the designers. I think there’s 22 or 23 this year to help them purchase supplies and things that they need to make their designs come to life. So we’re really looking forward to that. There’s always something going on in Key West, but it definitely, if you have not been to it and you love fashion, it’s a great event to go to.”
There are also beautification awards from the Chamber.
Baker said, “We were having some conversations with the mayor and a couple of businesses downtown, and the chamber used to have a Beautification Committee many, many, many years ago. So we re established it. We’re looking for nominations for businesses, I guess you would say west of White Street. So our historic district, we’re looking for those people that go above and beyond. There’s so many small businesses, even larger businesses, they put so much pride into their beautification. You see them out there sweeping, their foliage is always cleanly maintained. They greet their guests with positive energy. It’s really what helped put Key West on the map. And we’d like to bring some shine and recognition to those individuals. And we also tied in an opportunity where you can nominate actual individuals, employees, that go above and beyond. There’s so many amazing people in Key West and this is just our small part in giving people a little recognition. Sometimes that thank you really goes a long way when someone realizes that they’re being noticed. And a simple thank you is something that really can just make someone feel great and gives them that little extra step of energy to keep being so positive. So we are super excited to be doing this every month. The city has partnered with us with their Keep Key West Beautiful program, so we recognize them at the City Commission meeting, and then we also have them come to our Chamber luncheon, recognize them on social media. So if you’re interested in nominating someone, you can go right to the Chamber’s website. It’s right on our homepage. Or call the chamber offices, and we’re happy to assist you with that. But we are looking for more nominations. We hope to where we’ll be recognizing multiple businesses and multiple employees each month.”
Breakfast and Learn is a new initiative.
Baker said, “We have our first one coming up on June 2, I have Jenny Lawrence that’s coming in. We’ve been talking about this for quite some time, so it’s not like a full seminar. From 8 to 8:30 in the morning, we’ll be networking continental breakfast, then 8:30 to 10: 30 is kind of the Learn part of it. So Jenny has a pretty extensive background, and she is going to be giving tips and pointers. How do you market your business? How do you truly gauge your return on investment? Not every advertising opportunity is good for your business, so how do you determine what is good for you? And how can you see a return off of that? There’s so many things that small businesses can be doing on their own that can create organic traffic to their websites, traffic to their social media, and then there’s also paid opportunities. So we thought, hey, this would be a great opportunity. It came from some conversations that we were having with some other businesses, and we’re going to start this series once a quarter. We may do a breakfast, we may do a lunch, but we’re going to bring in some speakers that can just talk about ways to help our small businesses. It’s tough. The cost of doing business has risen to an astronomical cost, so anything that they can do to maximize a return on any penny that’s going out is extremely important, something the Chamber wants to continue to do, which is provide resources for our members.”
Business After Hours is another way to network.
Baker said, “I’m super excited. If you haven’t been to the La Concha since they’ve renovated, it is absolutely breathtaking. We did open this one up. I have extended an invitation to everyone that’s running for office. Most of our candidates are actually members of the Chamber. There are a few that are not, but I sent them an email this week, as we certainly would love to have them stop by, introduce themselves and meet our members. It’s a great opportunity to network. You can pre register if you want to pay with credit card. You can pre register on our website. We do take a $10 donation at these events, because it does include complimentary beer wine, sometimes a little bit above and beyond on that. And then, of course, we have a beautiful h’ourdourves spread as well. But you can register online. We do like to ask for early registration, because it enables us to let the host know an approximate number of people that are coming. But if you are available, and you remember the Chamber 5:30 to 7:30 on Thursday the 14th, you can stop on by at the La Concha as well.”
The monthly general membership luncheon is coming up on the 27th.
Baker said, “We’re looking forward to that. We have Scott Russell coming in to give us an update on property values. So that will be really important. We actually have a few good speakers coming up, I believe, off the top of my head, I think it’s in August that I have the FBI coming in and doing a presentation on cyber security. That meeting, I’m actually probably going to open up to everyone, regardless if you’re a member or not, even though the Chamber is a member based organization, the topic is so important. There are so many things going on out there, and you really need to make sure that you’re protecting yourself and protecting your data. So we’re looking forward to that presentation as well.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keywestchamber.org/