Suzi Youngberg, president of the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about upcoming events.
The health expo last week was amazing.
Youngberg said, “It was last Thursday. Yes, our regular monthly networking luncheon. We did an extended hours and made it a health expo as well. We had 16 health and wellness vendors, also members of the Key Largo Chamber set up booths and a little over 80 attendees at the luncheon. So it was a good mix. People really got to visit with these health and wellness providers and find out what is available here in the Upper Keys from anywhere from health insurance to healthy sunscreen products to use. So it was a good day. We had Aetna Insurance. Had a couple of reps there, taking blood pressure and doing the bike and checking people’s pulse for her health. So we had some interactive activities. And it was very well attended and received. So I think it will be an annual event.”
Taste the Keys is coming up in October.
Youngberg said, “We are very excited about Taste the Keys. We rolled it out with a very soft opening last year in 2024 in October, with just one trolley tour around to five different restaurants. And everyone enjoyed it so much. So this year, we are doing it full force, the entire month of October, from October 1 through the 31st. There are almost 20 participating restaurants that will be offering special menus, prefix menus, like they do for Miami Spice. You can check all of those out at tastethekeys.com. You can see all of the participating restaurants. We are even having in tradition of the old cook off that the Key Largo Chamber hosted for many years, we’ve revamped that as part of Taste the Keys, and it will be a virtual cook off. The signature showdown dish will be going on throughout the month. So as people go to these restaurants and try their special menus, one dish on that menu has been designated as their signature showdown dish. So we want people to try to go to all the participating restaurants, try all of the showdown dishes, and then they will be able to vote online for the best, and we will be awarding the best showdown dish in early November. So that’s going to be fun. Sort of a different little twist on that.”
Trolley tour tickets are still available.
Youngberg said, “We will be doing two trolley tours in October. The first will be on Thursday October 2, and then again, on Thursday October 16. So tickets are on sale again at tastethekeys.com, you can click on the trolley tours. You can see the schedules for each night, and go ahead and get your tickets there. We’ve got some wonderful participating restaurants for the trolley tour, and, of course, for all of Taste the Keys. They’re really rolling it out this year, all of the restaurants are providing some great tastes for the for the trolley tours. So it’s going to be exciting. Get your tickets. We will sell out. Last year we sold out fairly quickly. We really want to bring people in the doors of the businesses, because we know it is a slower time, ideally, we hope people will come down to experience Taste the Keys, try out these restaurants. But while they’re here, stay in our local hotels, experience a snorkel or a diving trip, go fishing and explore all that the Keys have to offer. And our locals as well, take advantage of this slower time when you can get into the restaurants without a wait or book a snorkel tour or something with availability. It’s a good time to enjoy where we live and why we live here.”
The next luncheon will feature Phil Goodman from the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.
Youngberg said, “I know he has a great presentation. He’s actually really focusing on mosquito control and the economic impact in the Florida Keys. So we’re really interested to hear what he says. But I know mosquitoes have been all on all of our minds and our bodies. People want to come and experience the beautiful beaches and the waters, but if they’re going to be eaten alive by mosquitoes, they’re less likely to come. So we are very fortunate to have our mosquito control down here. The mosquito borne illnesses are almost non existent down here. So we’re very fortunate in that.”
Members in Motion is a great opportunity for networking.
Youngberg said, “The next one will be later this month, Thursday, the 24th. It’ll be at the Key Largo Conch House. The food there is so good. And they are hosting, in combination with Keys AHEC. It will also be a fundraiser for AHEC, who we know is in need of some funds. We know their budget has been cut. Some of the money that they had relied on coming in from the county and the state, it’s not going to be coming. So we want to do everything we can to help them as well as all of our nonprofits right now.”
The Key Largo Visitors Center is another avenue for businesses to get the word out.
Youngberg said, “The visitors have slowed down, but we still have traffic every day, people coming into the visitor center wanting to know what they can do while they’re here in the Florida Keys. So we’re always happy to help promote activities and excursions and places to stay and eat. We also have a small retail shop in there. We sell some consignment for some of our members and they can also have their brochures and rack cards, posters on the wall to help let the visitors know where they are. One of our consignment vendors is our member Keys Deep Apparel, who are very community minded. I know they’re everywhere, doing lots of good things. We sell some of their shirts and hats there in the chamber Visitor Center. They came in yesterday with a camera crew and did a little commercial. I think they were going to some various locations where they have product, but just to show you what great community minded folks they are, they weren’t just doing a commercial about their products. They featured the chamber, the visitor center. We did a little mock up of someone coming in and getting information at the front desk for the visitor center. So it was a really good day and just a really good community partnership. It just brings home how important it is with the Chamber partnering with our local businesses.”
The TDC is another partner.
Youngberg said, “We couldn’t do a lot of the things we do without our local TDC. It’s that is another great partnership and collaboration that we have with them, and they’re doing great work. Kara Franker, she’s doing a great job promoting the Keys. They’re really focusing on that balance of bringing the visitors down for economic reasons, but balancing that with the quality of life for our residents, as well as the ecology impact, keeping our fragile ecosystem healthy and thriving.”
Nominations for the board of directors for the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce are underway.
Youngberg said, “We do have a couple of openings. We have one who is terming out and another member who’s stepping down. So we do have several openings on our board. An email is going out, I believe, tomorrow, to with a self nomination form. So anyone who wants to self nominate, we will be hearing from all of the candidates at our October 9 luncheon. So if anyone has thought about joining the board, if you have questions, want to know more about it, feel free to reach out to me or any of our board members.”
For more information, click here: https://www.keylargochamber.org/