Good Morning Valued Chamber Member,
Since the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak, our message has been clear and consistent. We need to be safe and smart as we work our way through this unprecedented time. Although we are all eager to resume to a pre Covid-19 economy, getting it right matters. We cannot afford to experience a setback and have our business community suffer additional restrictions. We encourage everyone to follow the CDC recommended guidelines - which include wearing masks when social distancing is not possible, properly sanitizing and constantly washing hands. If we all work together, we can reverse the rising number of positive cases.
This past Friday, The Palm Beach County Commission announced the formation of the
COVID Education Compliance Team (CECT).
This team will work with businesses to help educate and, if necessary, bring them into compliance with State and local orders required by the governor. Team members will proactively conduct spot inspections of local businesses and public venues, noting where masks are not being worn and/or social distancing is not being consistently practiced. The team is comprised of representatives from the following agencies; the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Code Enforcement and Fire Rescue, the Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County and police departments from Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach. For more information or to contact the COVID Education Compliance Team, please
click here
or call
561-24COVID
(561-242-6843).
As of last week, Palm Beach County’s
CARES RESTART BUSINESS GRANT PROGRAM
, had received a total of 4,988 applications. 2,669 are still under review, 717 have been approved and 640 have been issued checks. While the application period has closed, the County has said that it will report back if grant dollars remain after the current applications are processed. As a reminder, the City of Boca Raton is still accepting applications through its Small Business Recovery Relief Grant program.
Last week,
Palm Beach International Airport (PBIA)
saw its highest volume of travelers since March with 3,000 people in a day. PBIA has taken several steps to make travelers feel more comfortable about flying by requiring masks or other facial coverings for airport employees and travelers, social distancing markings on floors and signs, hand sanitizers throughout the airport and new barriers at the ticket counters. Additional cleaning and sanitization enhancements, which include the regular use of an electrostatic sprayer, is also new to the airport since the start of Covid-19. This sprayer is used to ensure all touch points, bathrooms and the terminal are disinfected. The main terminal and concourses are closed each day between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. for a deep cleaning.
The Florida Chamber Safety Council, an incubator of research, leadership and education launched a new
Statewide Workplace Safety Initiative
. This is a one-stop platform to help employers develop employee-driven programs that focus on workplace safety and health. Learn how your company can improve workplace safety through their efforts at
www.flchambersafety.com
With the conclusion of the 2020 Legislative session in March, The Florida Chamber has released its
2020 Legislative Report Card
. In this session, lawmakers passed several bills that made Florida more competitive by lowering the cost of living, reducing the cost of doing business, and preparing for future growth. After tabulating more than 4,000 votes cast during session, the report card shows that 107 lawmakers earned an A or B, and 52 earned a C, D, or F. I would like to recognize our State Representative, Michael Caruso, District 89 for receiving an A from the Florida Chamber. To read the full Florida Chamber 2020 Legislative Report Card
click
here
.
There is still time to complete your
2020
Census questionnaire
. Funding received by Palm Beach County, Boca Raton and Boynton Beach through various federally funded programs is based on the Census calculation. These funds, which are critical under ordinary times, are even more important now to help in our efforts to recover from the economic impacts of Covid-19. For more information please
click here
.
We are continuing to provide you with educational webinars and virtual experiences to help you and your business. Please see below for a list of upcoming virtual experiences:
06/23 – 12:00pm: Smart Talk for Women
Speaker: Nancy Proffitt, Founder and President of Proffitt Management Solutions
06/23 – 5:00pm: Live After Five: Virtual Happy Hour
Grab your favorite after work drink, meet new people virtually and give your best 30- second elevator pitch!
06/25 – 8:30am: Boynton Beach Government Affairs Committee
Speaker: Colin Groff, Assistant City Manager, Public Services, City of Boynton Beach
06/26 – 8:30am: Boynton Beach: Women’s Business Council
Speaker: Shaina Wizov, Regional Director, Party Host Helpers- South Florida
06/30 – 8:00am: From How to Wow
Speaker: Greta Schulz, President & CEO of Schulz Business, a Chamber Member Only Event
07/07 – 11:30am: International Business Alliance
Speaker: Daniel Garcia, Head of Top Strategic Accounts, Under Armour
To stay up to date on all Chamber activity, visit
bocachamber.com
or download the Chamber App on your phone or tablet and stay connected! You can also access all of our past virtual experiences by visiting our
YouTube
Channel.
When this all started we did not anticipate that we’d be in this state of economy - or even life - more than three months later. As we continue to be tried and tested, I’m impressed at the resilience of our businesses community. I’m proud of the leadership of the Chamber’s Board of Directors - led by Chairman Michael Daszkal - steadily guiding us along the way. I’m also proud of the talented Chamber professional team working hard every day on your behalf. We are right here beside you every step of the way.
Moving Business Forward,
