UPCOMING EVENT

Maximize Your Membership! Attend Chamber 101 March 26, 2018

March 26, 8:30 - 10am

BBVA Compass Bank

2814 SW 34th Street, Gainesville

New and re-engaged Chamber members are invited for a casual networking breakfast to learn more about the services included in your Chamber Membership. Attendees will interact directly with Chamber Staff, Diplomats and other new Members. Whether you just joined or have been a member for years, this is a beneficial experience for all.  

Chamber 101 is held quarterly and is open to any member who may need a refresher on their Chamber member benefits. Longstanding members are encouraged to send new employees through the program so that each company representative can fully utilize the features of their membership. 

For more information or to register to attend,  Click Here.   

Sponsored by BBVA Compass

MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT

Market Your Business

2019 Sponsorship Opportunities Available

Gain exposure and build promising relationships with top-level business professionals.

Partner with the Chamber through sponsorship investment of exclusive programs and events to help your company gain exposure and build lasting relationships with key business leaders throughout the Greater Gainesville region.

With a variety of sponsorship opportunities available including annual signature events, development seminars, award dinners, community involvement initiatives and more, your company can be sure to invest in programs and events that fit its needs.



President’s Breakfast (meets monthly)

-        Presenting Sponsorship available

All In GNV Business Conference & Expo – Presented by Florida Credit Union (7/26/19)

-        A limited amount of sponsorships are available

Veterans Appreciation Luncheon – Presented by VyStar Credit Union (10/24/19)

-        Multiple opportunities still available

Business of the Year Awards – Presented by VyStar Credit Union (11/21/19)

-        Multiple opportunities still available

Membership Appreciation Party  (10/10/19)

-        Presenting Sponsorship available

-        Multiple opportunities still available

New Member Holiday Reception (12/12/19)

-        Multiple opportunities still available

Learn more about these opportunities available in 2019 or to start planning for 2020, contact Steve Cannon, VP Member Development at 352-334-7127 or  [email protected] .

UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS

June 25: Chamber 101

June 26: La Quinta Ribbon Cutting

July 26: ALL IN Conference & Expo 2019

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

June 20: Open Mic Night- Poetry, Music, Comedy

June 26: La Quinta Ribbon Cutting

June 26: Live@ Aloft Gainesville with Thomas Anthony

UPCOMING EVENT

ALL IN Conference & Expo 2019

Friday, July 26

UF Hilton

1714 SW 34th St, Gainesville

We are excited to be hosting the very first ALL IN Conference & Expo this July. To add more value and opportunity to our traditional expo we have done some reimagining and wrapped a fabulous conference around the event to bring education and inspiration to the day. The expo will still take place as it has in years past and guests can choose which elements they want to participate in. 

The conference will run throughout the day at the Hilton UF starting at 9am. The expo will open to the public at 1pm. Guests attending the conference will be able to attend the expo free of charge. Guests of the trade show can purchase conference tickets attend the education sessions. 

Would you like to do some professional development for you or your team but can’t take the time to leave the business for several days to travel for a conference? Now you don’t have to! We are providing opportunities for education right here in our backyard. We have topics and speakers appealing to all levels of experience. 

 

Topics that day include: 

And many more! 

The ALL IN 2019 event will include: 

UPCOMING EVENT

Biotechnology/Technology/IT Career Fair

Wednesday, June 26, 10am - 1pm

CareerSource North Central Florida

10 NW 6th Street, Gainesville

You are invited to participate in the CareerSource North Central Florida Biotechnology/Technology/IT Career Fair. This event will be held on June 26 from 10am-1pm. While we have ample space for many employers, this Career Fair tends to fill up quickly! Contact David Kniseley at CareerSource North Central Florida for more information and to register to attend. Email David at  [email protected]  or call 352-244-5153.

REMINDER

Hot Jobs through CareerSource NCFL

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

To apply for jobs listed:

t hat one of the benefits you receive as a Chamber member is having your company included in our Business Directory.  You can update your Directory Listing to include a description of your business, keywords, hours of operation, a link to your website and a Google Map. Log into the Member Information Center to update your Business Directory Listing today. For assistance logging into the Member Information Center, contact Mary Fox, your Member Engagement Manager at  [email protected]

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Florida Chamber Third Quarter Small Business Index Survey

Small businesses create two out of every three jobs in Florida, and are the backbone of our state's economy. The Florida Chamber would like to know what issues are impacting your small business. 

Please take their  brief survey . As the Florida Chamber works to secure Florida's future, it's important to measure the health of small businesses. Please visit this link to share your feedback:  Q3 Small Business Index Survey .

This survey will close at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, July 5, 2019.  

As the voice of business, The Florida Chamber also communicate your members' feedback to elected leaders in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. All answers will be kept confidential. 

Get Involved with the Florida Chamber's Small Business Council

Get the latest information tailored just for small businesses during the Florida Chamber Small Business Council conference calls. Calls are held every other month. Contact Carolyn Johnson at  [email protected]  for details. For more information on the Florida Chamber's Small Business Council,  click here .

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Gainesville Sports Commission Announces New Addition to the Team

GAINESVILLE, Fla,– The Gainesville Sports Commission (GSC) would like to welcome our newest team member: Ashley Monaghan!



Ashley will be joining the GSC team as our new Events Manager. Reporting directly to the Executive Director, Ashley will plan and oversee every aspect of all assigned events, report on event outcomes and serve as the liaison to organizations hosting events within the Gainesville Sports Commission.

Ashley graduated from the University of Central Florida, Rosen College of Hospitality Management in 2009 with a degree in Event Management. She has since spent the last 10 years working in many different areas of the event industry including corporate events, catering and sports. She was most recently with the Osceola County Convention & Visitors Bureau working as an Event Manager since 2014. During her time at the CVB she worked closely with the Kissimmee Sports Commission on events including FHSAA Volleyball, Cheer, Weightlifting and Wrestling, Diamond 9 Softball and Baseball, RAM National Circuit Finals Rodeo, and Invictus Games.

Ashley grew up in Gainesville and is very excited to be back in the area! When not working, Ashley enjoys travelling (to mostly tropical locations), yoga, and boating. 

The GSC is excited to have Ashley apply her event management experience to help bring in sporting events into our community and grow sport tourism in Alachua County.

To contact Ashley Monaghan, email  [email protected]  or call  352-338-9300 .

New Members

Alta Systems Inc

American Integrity Insurance

Club Pilates 

Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Ocala 

Gainesville DPC Physicians

Sport Clips - NW 13th Street

Suwannee River Water Management District

Unlimited Innovative Marketing Firm

Renewing Members

Abacus Learning Center

Alachua County Education Association

Allen & Wilson CPAs

Carpet One Floor & Home

Center For Applications Of Psychological Type

Creative Industrial Solutions

Florida Express Environmental, LLC

Gainesville High Field MRI Center

Gulf Coast Supply & Manufacturing, LLC

Latino Sound Machine Entertainment

Okito America

ServiceSource

Springhill Self Storage

The Independent Florida Alligator

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

UF Health patient first to receive new gene therapy for neuromuscular disease since FDA approval

Karen Wright worked her way through the small gathering outside her 4-month-old daughter’s room in pediatric intensive care. It seemed to her as if everyone at  UF Health Shands Children’s Hospital  had come to witness this historic moment.

Wright, nervous but thrilled, told a nurse, “I think I’m going to cry.”

Near her, a pharmacist delicately held a clear bag containing a plastic syringe. Syringes deliver drugs. But to Wright, this one would do so much more. It would give her daughter, Londyn, the hope of a full, happy life. The pharmacist handed the bag to a nurse who took it into the room, where cartoons danced on a TV screen.

Wright leaned down and whispered to her baby, “This drug is going to save your life.”

On June 7, Londyn became the first baby in the country treated with a newly approved gene therapy for a rare and debilitating neuromuscular disease since it won federal approval in May. University of Florida Health doctors intravenously infused the girl with Zolgensma during an hourlong procedure to treat her spinal muscular atrophy, a rare and deadly disorder that affects the ability to walk, eat and breathe. Untreated, most babies die before reaching their first birthday.

Two researchers associated with UF Health, the university’s academic health center —  Nicholas Muzyczka, Ph.D. , and  Kenneth Berns, M.D., Ph.D.  — performed groundbreaking work in the 1980s on adeno-associated virus, or AAV, that made Londyn’s treatment possible, said  Barry J. Byrne, M.D., Ph.D. , who led Londyn’s treatment team. It is the second time in recent years that techniques pioneered at the University of Florida have led to new gene therapies. In December 2017, a therapy developed in part by ophthalmology researcher  William Hauswirth, Ph.D. ,  won federal regulators’ approval  to treat a genetic form of vision loss known as Leber congenital amaurosis type 2.

“This is very exciting,” said Byrne, director of the  UF Powell Gene Therapy Center  and a  pediatrics professor  in the  UF College of Medicine . “As a pediatrician, I’m particularly grateful to see things we’ve been working on in the lab for many years impacting pediatric care. And pediatricians of the future will be able to use this therapy without having to deliver such bad news to the families of these wonderful children.”

Spinal muscular atrophy , or SMA, is the leading genetic cause of infant death. It affects about 1 in 11,000 babies, according to  Cure SMA . The  U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Zolgensma  on May 24. It works by using a small, harmless virus to deliver functional copies of a gene that is mutated or missing in SMA patients. A dysfunctional gene, known as survival motor neuron 1, causes nerve cells to malfunction and die. That leads to chronic and often fatal muscle weakness. 

“When I found out it was SMA, I thought I was going to lose my baby,” said Wright. “Now, who knows what the future holds. That is still unpredictable. But I think she’s going to be a normal little baby, running around, fighting with her brothers. She’s going to be fine.”

UF Health’s role in delivering the treatment exemplifies its commitment to world-class patient care and pioneering work on gene therapies, said  David R. Nelson, M.D. , senior vice president for health affairs at UF and president of UF Health.

“Our devotion to patient care and expertise in gene therapy and other scientific research is an exceptional combination of capabilities. It is extremely gratifying that patients who need complex treatments put their trust in UF Health,” Nelson said.

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