Marathon Chamber President and CEO Daniel Samess joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about upcoming events.
The Marathon Chamber of Commerce is preparing for its annual awards and installation banquet while continuing to advocate for local businesses on issues ranging from the city budget to tourism and Amendment Three.
The annual banquet is scheduled for October 16 at Hawks Cay Resort’s Grand Overseas Ballroom.
“It’s our annual awards and installation banquet,” Samess said. “It’s where we get to recognize some of our business members, the ones nominated for our annual business awards, which right now members are voting on to choose. They will decide who wins.”
The event will also recognize outgoing board members and install newly elected members.
“We say thank you and goodbye to those going off the board and address all the great things they did and their service to the Marathon Chamber of Commerce membership,” Samess said.
Samess said the banquet typically draws between 250 and 300 people and includes an after-party at Angler and Ale on Duck Key.
The chamber’s annual raffle will also culminate at the banquet, although ticket holders do not have to attend to win.
“We only sell 500 tickets. We cap it out there,” Samess said. Tickets are $30 each or four for $100.
The grand prize winner can choose between one of three vacations or $2,000 in cash. Other prizes include stays at the Marker Resort in Key West and the Islander Resort in Islamorada, along with other local prizes.
Samess said proceeds from the raffle support the chamber’s scholarship program.
“We award 10-plus $1,000 in scholarships to Marathon High School seniors every year,” he said. “So, a great cause, a lot of fun, and something we love to push and promote.”
The chamber is also closely following the city’s budget and millage rate.
Marathon City Council approved its fiscal year 2026-27 budget and millage rate September 22 after nearly two and a half hours of discussion.
Samess said the final millage rate represents a significant reduction from the increase originally proposed.
“They originally were sitting at close to a 19% increase, which is pretty substantial,” Samess said. “So I know the one no vote on there was really only because the council member was for it, but he didn’t like that they didn’t have a plan that evening as far as to cut the budget.”
Samess said the city has approximately 12 months of reserves, which he described as a strong position compared with the roughly six-month standard used by many coastal communities.
“We learned a lot from Irma, though, so we’ve always chosen to be extra conservative there,” he said.
However, he said the budget could still involve deficit spending if expenses are not reduced.
“If they don’t change the expenditures, it’ll eat about a month of that 12-year budget,” Samess said. “So it’ll go down to 11 months.”
He said the chamber will continue watching the issue and hopes the city will identify ways to reduce expenditures.
The chamber is also planning an October 20 luncheon focused on Amendment Three. Samess said Monroe County Administrator and budget and finance officials are expected to discuss the potential impact of the amendment on the county and its budget.
Samess emphasized that the chamber has not taken a position on whether voters should support or oppose Amendment Three.
“No one’s going to be telling anyone how to vote either way on this,” he said. “The chamber has not at this point taken a position on it to advocate yes or no on it.”
Instead, he said, the organization intends to provide information to its members.
“One of our pillars is to educate our members,” Samess said. “So even on areas where we don’t take a stand, so to speak, or position, we still will educate our members, of course, so they have as much information as possible to make their own informed decision.”
Samess said the chamber did take a position on the city’s budget, advocating for the smallest possible millage increase after the city initially proposed an increase of nearly 19%.
“That was something the Marathon Chamber board took a position on as far as advocating our council to have as minimal of an increase as possible,” he said.
He credited Vice Mayor Deb Struyf for pushing to reduce the proposed increase.
“She was very convicted with her stance and position on that as well,” Samess said. “It’s always great to see that those are the folks we elect to represent us as citizens and residents of the city of Marathon.”
Samess said local businesses continue to face rising costs, making local government decisions particularly important.
“Costs only keep going up,” he said. “So we look to our local government to thread the needle. I know it’s not easy to provide great quality services, never an easy task when you’re up on that dais. I do understand and respect the tough decisions they have to make up there.”
Tourism is another major focus for the chamber, and Samess said Marathon is currently experiencing what he described as a more traditional offseason.
“We are back to a true offseason,” Samess said.
He said visitors who have lived in the Keys since the COVID-19 pandemic may have become accustomed to unusually strong tourism seasons.
“For those who haven’t lived here since pre-COVID, they only saw a couple amazing years where everything was just cranking, and now this is what it used to be before COVID,” he said.
Despite the slower pace, Samess said tourism data remains positive.
“We’re doing well. We’re pacing well. We’re typically ahead year over year of last year, almost every month,” he said, crediting Visit Florida Keys and Tourist Development Council staff.
Samess said the tourism industry is particularly important because visitor-generated revenue supports local projects through the Tourist Development Council.
He pointed to upcoming capital grants that will benefit local governments and organizations including the Turtle Hospital and Dolphin Research Center.
“It improves our attractions. It improves our parks. It improves our beaches, and these are all savings to taxpayers because we don’t have to pay that,” Samess said. “That all comes from visitors.”
He said visitors pay a bed tax when staying at lodging establishments, with some of that revenue going toward advertising and a significant portion supporting capital grants.
Samess also cautioned against assuming Tourist Development Council funds can simply be redirected to other purposes.
“Legally, you can’t move those monies to certain uses. You just can’t per state statutes,” he said.
He also said the tourism revenue provides a benefit to local taxpayers.
“You would actually be hurting taxpayers in a lot of ways because it subsidizes us,” Samess said. “In fact, per research from the TDC, it saves taxpayers about $1,200 a year in that because of the subsidizations that I just mentioned.”
Samess said the Keys are likely to remain in the slower portion of the tourism cycle for another month or so before snowbirds begin returning and activity increases.
The chamber is also preparing for its annual membership drive in October.
Samess said businesses that join during October will have access to additional incentives, including advertising opportunities from local media partners.
“If you’re not a member and you want us to work for you, promote you, support you, advocate for you, we’d love to have that opportunity,” he said.
More information about the Marathon Chamber of Commerce, the October 16 banquet, raffle tickets and membership is available at FloridaKeysMarathon.com. The chamber can also be reached at 305-743-5417.