March 28, 2017
TONIGHT: FAFSA Night to Connect Families with College Tuition Assistance 

High School seniors and their parents are encouraged to attend the final FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) Night of the 2017 FAFSA Challenge. The event will be held tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Buchholz High School Media Center, located at 5510 NW 27th Avenue. School counselors and financial aid representatives from Santa Fe College and the University of Florida will be on hand to help families complete FAFSA forms. 

Families should bring:

  • Social security number(s)
  • Drivers’ license (if any)
  • Alien registration or permanent resident card (if not a U.S. Citizen)
  • W-2 tax form and other records of money earned
  • Federal income tax return for 2016 (if not completed yet, bring 2015 return)
  • Foreign tax return (if any)
  • Untaxed income records
  • Bank Statements
  • Other investment records

This event will mark the end of an extremely successful effort executed by guidance counselors at seven Alachua County Public high schools. The schools have held multiple FASFA night events since the Florida College Access Network—represented in Alachua County by the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce—issued a September 2016 challenge to schools to increase FAFSA completions by five percent. Alachua County's seven participating schools has exceeded that goal, increasing the number of completed applications by 8.4 percent as of March 10, 2017.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
March 28 Chamber 101

March 28  Ribbon Cutting: Florida Credit Union

March 29 i3 Public Forum

April 4 Alachua County Florida Chamber 2030 Visioning Session

April 5 Chamber Lunch & Learn

April 5  Ribbon Cutting: Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton
Join the Chamber's Team and March for Babies!
Walking in March for Babies is a great way to raise awareness about the hundreds of thousands of babies born prematurely or with birth defects. But to make a real impact on improving babies’ health, we need to first raise money. You can do it! Fundraising is fast and easy, and great tools are available to you online, click here to join the Chamber team!.
Limited Booths Available for the 2017 Business to Business Expo - Secure Your Space Today!

The Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce’s premier business to business expo is live April 20, 2017 at the Wyndham Garden Gainesville. Join us for a great show of Greater Gainesville’s best local businesses.

Exhibiting at an Expo is a powerful and cost effective way to showcase your business, expand relationships and build fans. Be one of our VIP's (value in partnership), and rock out this 2017 Business to Business Expo.

Click here to learn more about the 2017 Business to Business Expo and register to reserve your booth.

Limited Sponsorship Opportunities are still available for one of the most rockin’ business events of the year. Let us be your instrument to reach your annual marketing goals by increasing your exposure through a partnership with us and other local chambers. Contact us to find out more about the many levels and benefits of sponsorship.
Join Us at the Grand Opening of Florida Credit Union's Newest Branch

Join us to celebrate the Grand Opening of Florida Credit Union's newest branch office in Butler Plaza North. This Ribbon Cutting event will include speeches and tours of the new facility. Hors d'oeuvres will be served.

The official Ribbon Cutting will commence at 5:15 p.m. Learn more...
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS:
March 30 Cuba & the United States in the 21st Century Conference

March 30 UF Women's Entrepreneurship Symposium

March 31 352walls Mural Project
Tomorrow: Share Your Thoughts on the County's Most Pressing Infrastructure Needs
Join us at the i3 Public Forum, Tomorrow, Wednesday March 29, 2017, 6 - 8 p.m.

Your input is needed at the first Putting Children First Infrastructure Investment Initiative—i3—Public Meeting. Last fall, the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce convened a diverse group of citizens to form i3, and tasked them with leading a process to identify the most pressing infrastructure needs in our community, and —importantly—then identifying a viable option to fund those needs. This citizen-driven process is designed to produce a balanced budget initiative for our community to vote on during a future countywide election.

The 10-member i3 Steering Committee—with community leaders from the Gainesville Chamber, the African American Accountability Alliance, the Alachua County Chapter of the NAACP, the Builders Association of North Central Florida, the Alachua County Council of PTAs, the Education Foundation of Alachua County, the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors and the Alachua Chamber of Commerce—has spent the last several months conducting research and meeting with our public officials and staff to uncover where the needs and funding gaps are in our public schools, roadways, public safety and parks infrastructure.

Now it is time for you to know what the i3 Steering Committee has uncovered. We are hosting the first i3 Public Meeting on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, at the Alachua County Senior Recreation Center, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Committee will provide an overview of the process so far, and breakout sessions will provide you with the opportunity to help identify and prioritize the infrastructure needs in our County. From the Committee’s research and the input received from you at this, and at two additional public meetings, the Committee will produce a report in September of 2017 that documents our needs and priorities and a draft ballot ordinance to address them. We urge you to be part of this process. Let’s work together and find the common ground needed to improve our community.

The forum will be held at the City of Gainesville/Alachua County Senior Recreation Center located at 5701 NW 34th Blvd.
Public Meetings This Week
Hot Jobs at CareerSource North Central Florida

Each week, CareerSource North Central Florida staff members identify Current Hot Jobs that employers are eager to fill.

If you’d like a vacant position to be included on this list, please call (352) 244-5112. ...See this week's Hot Jobs
Career Launch Job Fair
Career Launch brings together employers actively hiring for open positions across Alachua and Bradford counties. The Career Launch Job Fair is just around the corner and tables are still available. The event is open to all employers and is completely free.

Thursday, March 30th 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
10 NW 6th Street,  Gainesville, FL

Click here to reserve your space. Additional information can be found at CareerSourcencfl.com.
Bangkok Square Joins Park Avenue at Santa Fe

Bangkok Square was officially named as the newest tenant for Park Avenue at Santa Fe, a mixed-use project currently under development in Gainesville, Florida. Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group represented the developer of the project, Jason Robertson. This will serve as Bangkok Square’s second location in Gainesville.

Bangkok Square is a family-owned restaurant, whose goal is to serve the best authentic Thai cuisine in the Gainesville area. Their mission is not only to offer delectable food, but to also offer friendly, efficient service because their visitors’ satisfaction is paramount. Owners Mr. Peter and Ms. Grace have over 16 years combined experience in Thai fine dining at Thai Ruby in Tampa, Ocala, Lake Sumter Landing, and The Villages. “We’re pleased to work with owners of commercial real estate like Robertson, to effectively represent and market their properties, providing opportunities for concepts like Bangkok Square to expand their presence in our community” said Jason Hurst, Associate Director in Gainesville for Front Street Commercial Real Estate Group. He added “Park Avenue at Santa Fe is filling a need in this trade area which was lacking food and service options. Bangkok Square joins Dunkin’ Donuts at Park Avenue at Santa Fe, and the momentum for this project couldn’t be stronger.” Read more...
The Amazing Give March 29-30
Join the North Central Florida community in donating to your favorite charity during The Amazing Give starting at 6 p.m. on March 29th and running through 6 p.m. on March 30th.

Hosted by the Community Foundation of North Central Florida, the second Amazing Give has 80 local nonprofit participating and more than $200,000 in matching dollars are available to these organizations.

Please visit TheAmazingGive.org to support a local nonprofit and Do Something Amazing for our community.
 Jazz on the Green Festival May 5 and 6 
The fourth annual Jazz on the Green Festival will take place in both Ocala and Gainesville on May 5-6, 2017. This two-day festival will feature many artists including, but not limited to, International jazz recording stars, Nick Colionne, Generation NeXt, Julian Vaughn, JJ Sansaverino & saxophonist Jessy J. The supremely talented Katz Downstairz, Chris Thomas Band, Miranda Madison & more. This magnificent event will include two live jazz concerts, two parties, wine-tasting, a celebrity golf tournament, and a New Orleans-style Jazz Crawl. The 4th Annual JOTG formula for success is simple: a stellar line-up, great food, excellent events, and unbelievably affordable ticket price. Come and enjoy Jazz On The Green - A world-class musical experience, with a purpose!! Tickets are on sale now via JazzOnTheGreenTour.com
Trimark Properties Expands Portfolio of Apartments in Gainesville, FL with Addition of $14M Luxury Complex
Local real estate developer Trimark Properties, noted for their selection of upscale apartments in Gainesville, FL, has broken ground on Cascades Luxury Apartments, a five-story, $14 million complex located less than three blocks from the University of Florida campus.

D.E. Scorpio Corporation began construction on the 73,000-square-foot building on Wednesday, March 22nd. It will be located at 925 SW 4th Avenue, in the corridor between downtown Gainesville and the University of Florida campus, less than a block away from Trimark Properties’ latest commercial project, Ingenuity, which also broke ground earlier this month.

Cascades will serve as luxury housing for the nearby college’s population of 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students. It will feature an ultramodern, aquatic-inspired design composed by Trimark Properties and architects Fugleberg Koch. The 67-unit building will have floorplans ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments, with rents spanning from $1,045 to $2,900 per month. Read more...
Industry Leader Brian Poplin Joins The InterMed Group Board of Directors 

The InterMed Group is very pleased to announce that Dr. Brian Poplin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Elior North America has joined the organization as a Director for the company’s board.

Since April 2015, Dr. Poplin has served as President and CEO of the former TrustHouse Services Group, the American contract catering subsidiary of the Paris-based Elior Group which became Elior North America in May 2016. Prior to this role, Brian held the role of President and CEO for Medical Staffing Network after leaving his post at Aramark where he served as the President of Aramark's Healthcare Technologies business.

He started his career in 1990 in the United States Air Force, and joined Service master in 1994 where he became a Certified Biomedical Equipment Technician. Brian obtained a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in 1996, a Master of Science in business management in 1998 and a Doctorate in health administration and policy from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2010.

“Intermed Group has been a growing provider in the clinical technology management industry for many years and I am pleased to join the organization. The team at Intermed brings a unique culture of customer focus combined with innovative solutions to healthcare providers and suppliers. My anticipation is that the organization will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years as an alternative to traditional service companies.”

Rick Staab, InterMed's CEO, said "Dr. Poplin brings more than 25 years of clinical technology management experience to the organization and when combined with his executive leadership, the result will create strong support for our organization’s growth strategy. I look forward to working together with Brian to accelerate the services and offerings the Intermed Group can bring to the market."
Welcome New Members!

Biotility at UF-CERHB

Blue Crystal Cornucopia, Inc.

Experimac of Gainesville

Apartment Hunters
Thank You Renewing Members for Your Continued Support!

Edible Arrangements

Tommy Williams Homes

Columbia Bank Gainesville Loan Production Office

Purvis Gray & Co, CPA's

James Moore & Co., CPA's

Southern Charm Kitchen

Reggae Shack Cafe

Mister Paper Business Products

Folds & Walker, LLC

Hanburry & Dickinson Mechanical

Earth Pets Natural Pet Market

Elevate Funding

Southern Scholarship Foundation

Alzheimer's Association

Employers Remedy, Inc.