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 going on in the Keys.
It is busy this time of year and the upgrades to the airport have been incredibly beneficial.
Baker said, “Visitors are making use of it, but our locals are making use of it as well. I flew out yesterday, so it’s definitely great. We thank Monroe County and Board of County Commissioners, obviously Richard and his entire team at the airport. I think that with some much needed improvements, and certainly now we don’t have to worry about weather when we’re waiting for our flight. So it’s been exciting to watch the transformation at the airport, and I’m sure it will be even better when it is 100% complete.”
The Chamber is launching a program to recognize businesses for beautification.
Baker said, “From small business all the way to large business, our business community, especially our small, little mom and pop businesses really are the heart and soul of a small town, which is what Key West is. And the chamber, we just relaunched our Beautification Committee, and we are going to be keeping our eye out for businesses, small and large that go above and beyond, and working just year round for the appearance of not only their business, but for the beautification of the entire island. We decided to take this a step further. We’re also going to be identifying and looking for employees that we can recognize. There are just, I mean, I go into some businesses and just the friendliness of their staff makes me walk out with a smile, and that’s what we’re wanting to encourage. I think that our friendliness and just the welcoming environment that we have in Key West is what people fall in love with. And we think that those employees that are going above and beyond, sometimes they just need that little boost, a little bit of encouragement, a little thank you. So we’ve designed a really nice little hospitality pin that says exceptional customer service on that. You can nominate individuals, you can nominate businesses. You can do that through the Chamber’s website, and you can also send an email to nominate and we will be out there with our committee looking at businesses and recognizing them, giving them a little window decal. Not only will they be recognized at a Chamber monthly luncheon, but we’ll keeping our city clean campaign, the ploggers that are out there every week. But our cleanliness and beautification of our island is something that I think is near and dear to all of us, and we really want to just show a little recognition to those that go above and beyond on a regular basis.”
A general membership lunch is coming up – and it’s a big one.
Baker said, “We’re looking forward to our meeting. It’s on February the 25th. We had an opportunity to have Brian come in and speak to our membership and he is the president and CEO of Visit Florida, so we’re looking forward to getting an update on their organization. It’s an extremely important organization that works for promoting tourism for the entire state. Give us some insights on what’s going on here in Key West and the Florida Keys. Kara and her team at the TDC Visit Florida Keys have been doing a fantastic job. We’re looking forward to the new and exciting ad campaigns that are going to be coming out to promote the Florida Keys and Key West. And there’s just a lot going on. We’re trying to look at new speakers, different opportunities. This opportunity arose, and it’s being provided in partnership with not only Visit Florida Keys, but as well as FRLA. We’re certainly opening it up to everyone. If anyone is interested in attending that, you can make a reservation online again, at the Chamber website, or give our staff a call at 305-294-2587. The lunch will be on February the 25th at Beachside Resort and Residences at 12 o’clock noon.”
The Chamber also recognized teachers recently.
Baker said, “We were very pleased to honor 13 teachers. So within the Key West area were recognized all the way from our public school system, charter schools, private schools, and the schools select a nomination. We honor them at our Chamber luncheon. We were very proud to not only present them with a beautiful plaque that’s donated by local awards, but we were also able to present them a gift bag that had a value this year of about $3,500. I think 54 of our members contributed an item with a minimum value of $25. Some of our members that don’t have a tangible item that they can donate made a cash donation. So in addition to the wonderful gift certificates and items that they received, they each received a check for $250 that they can use for items for their classroom. But it’s just our business community’s way of saying, thank you to our teachers. They give a lot and a lot of the stuff that they need for their classrooms, the school districts and the schools do a great job, but there’s needs that they need in addition to that, so us being able to support them in any kind of way is something that the business community is very proud of. We also just did present five checks to five different schools and programs. That’s part of our education enrichment program. We were able to provide a check to the Basilica schools to help them with science equipment they needed. We provided a check to Horace O’Brien school to help them buy tuners for their new rock program in their music program, two of the schools Poinciana and HOB both received $2,000 donations to assist with their Dry Tortugas field trip fundraiser, and we gave $1,000 to Gerald Adams for their book vending machine. It’s the greatest thing. Kids can earn a token for an incentive, and they get to redeem it in a mobile book vending machine, so they can get a book. And that’s just a rewards program. So the members of the Key West Chamber of Commerce, we really believe in supporting our local school system. Some of these children, when they come out of our high schools, are not going off to college. They’re going straight out into our workforce. So it really is important for us to be able to provide support to our local school system as much as we possibly can and just a small way of saying thank you to our teachers. Anyone that’s a parent knows they work really hard, and they help really, in a sense, with raising our children as well and teach them a lot of the fundamentals that they need for life.”
There was a tourism presentation recently for January 2026.
Baker said, “That information packet actually has a little bit more in it than just tourism stats as well. We also give out information on sales tax collection. Sales tax collection tells a bigger story of kind of where the economy is at currently, and I think everybody knows that we came off a pretty hard 2025, I mean, business reports that we’re getting is season has kicked off with a good start, and we hope that certainly carries throughout the rest of the year. But the cost of doing business has certainly increased dramatically. I think we all feel that when we’re in the stores and we’re paying higher prices, but it’s just kind of a sign of where our economy is at right now. So the Chamber does give out information on that. We did just release the latest demographic information as well. You can find that again on the Chamber’s website, there is quite a bit of information on our website. If you need any help navigating that, again, I have a great team at the Chamber. Give the office a call, and we are certainly happy to help you with that. And I would be very remiss if I didn’t give a little shout out to the College of the Florida Keys. They hosted our business after hours networking event on Tuesday. They have a big anniversary this year. They’re celebrating their 60th anniversary. We had a great time with their culinary team that provided all of the hors d’oeuvres and their team members. So we’re really looking forward to helping them celebrate their 60 years in education in our community.”
For more information on the Key West Chamber of Commerce, click here: https://www.keywestchamber.org/