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 upcoming events.
The Marathon Airport could be moving closer to having commercial airlines coming back to town.
Samess said it’s “very exciting. It’s definitely a team effort, working with local officials in this case, since both airports are owned and operated by Monroe County. It’s been a pleasure working with Richard Strickland and his team, as well as Mayor Lincoln, it’s been a great collaboration. The Marathon Chamber has been advocating to try to bring commercial air service back at the right time, and we feel like that is now. We feel like we have more assets, meaning rooms, vacation rentals, resort, hotel rooms, than we did last time we had air service, and so, and I think again we’ve got the right team in place with the county, as far as the airport, and Richard, and them, really helping to push this needle to where it needs to be. So we’re working on it. We’re hoping for around maybe quarter three or four of next year, 2027 to, I guess, cut a ribbon, so to speak. But we’ve got a long way to go, for sure. The county, to their credit is committed to a number of capital improvements within the Marathon Airport, the terminal. They’ve already moved the whole runway project recently. We cut that ribbon some months ago, at the very beginning of the year, as well as the fuel farm there, so it’s a real team effort. It really takes a village, and the Marathon Chamber is really proud to help with that. And especially, big shout out to our TDC, our Tourism Development Council, Kara Franker, and Ed Simon, and her team. Again, I’ve been integral with this, Ed and myself have really been working hard and raising some private funds from local resorts on a matching grant that we’ll use when the airline does come in, and the resorts have definitely stepped up, put their money where their mouth is to help also make this a reality. So, again, team effort all around.”
The Chamber luncheon will be on the third Thursday this week.
Samess said, “We’re going to be in Key Colony Beach at Havana Jack’s restaurants two days from now, on Thursday, May 21 at noon, and again, Mayor Lincoln’s going to give a state of the county, which the county’s really, really good about doing that every year, and of course Mayor Lincoln herself, has done this before, so she’s no stranger to that. So it’s going to be great for our members to learn about all things that are happening with Monroe County. Just because you like might live in the city of Marathon or even Key Colony Beach, you still live in Monroe County, we still pay property taxes that are county levied type taxes, so it’s important for our members to be aware and informed about everything that’s going on, and to ask important questions that they want to ask of our mayor, and so she’s going to do that. I’m also really honored to say that this luncheon is going to be sponsored by Mount Sinai Medical Center. We do allow members the opportunity to help sponsor our luncheon, so we’ll get to hear from one of their lovely doctors, who she’s going to talk about women’s health, and just for a couple minutes, and then we’ll segue to the state of the county with the mayor. But I want to give a nice big shout out to Mount Sinai Medical Center for helping sponsor this month’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon.”
Anyone who is interested in seeing what the Chamber is about is encouraged to reach out.
Samess said, “We definitely encourage prospective folks and businesses that are interested in joining to come to an event and see what we’re all about, and talk to our team and myself, and we’ll get you more information on why we can help you out if you want to join the Chamber of Commerce, and how we’re going to support you. We’re coming up on graduation season, so huge shout out to all of our Marathon High School seniors who are graduating, taking a big step in their progression in life, and just their education, as well as to all of our seniors up and down the Keys, from Key West to Key Largo, who are graduating. We really are proud of you all, and the Marathon Chamber board, again, will be awarding $13,000 in high school scholarships this year at grad night, so the board really enjoys doing that and supporting our seniors. So, we’ll be over there in the next week or two, saying thank you to all of our seniors and putting some money in their pockets to help with their educational endeavors, and that includes vocational and trade, those who are going into that pathway, in addition to the more traditional sense, we like to support both areas, because we see how vital both are.”
For more information, click here: https://floridakeysmarathon.com/