A 5-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce |
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Good grief- it is Valentine's Day already!!
If chocolates aren't your thing, don't despair (or litter): you can find just the right gift on our Shop GNV page and the perfect dinner spot on our Eat GNV group! In the meantime, here's some more sweet news for you:
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On Thursday evening, nearly 400 people joined us for the 99th Annual Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting at the UF Hilton Conference Center! During this event, we heard from our President & CEO, Eric Godet, about economic development highlights from 2022, from our outgoing Chair, Clay Martin, on his year- long experience as Board Chair, and the vision for what 2023 will bring from our incoming Chair, Domenic Scorpio. In addition to these insights, we took this opportunity to award some of our local champions! Stay tuned for more pictures and info on the 99th Annual Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting! |
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Diplomat of the Year
Michael Solomon
Owner
Accounting Personalized
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Citizen of the Year
Joleen Cacciatore Miller
Executive Director
Gainesville Sports Commission
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President's Award
Dr. Kent Fuch
Outgoing President
University of Florida
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Rotary Ethics in Business
Alan Hitchcock
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Rotary Ethics in Business
Koss Ollinger
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Chair's Award
Folds Walker
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Thank you again to our Presenting Sponsor, SeaCoast Bank, our Awards Sponsor, Comfort Temp/CT Mechanical, our Corporate Sponsors: UF, VyStar Credit Union, Scorpio, Oelrich Construction, Cox Communications, Folds Walker, Truist, Butler Enterprises, Florida Credit Union, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, and Capital City Bank!
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UPCOMING EVENT
UF Health Florida Recovery Center Ribbon Cutting
Tuesday, February 21st
4:00pm - 6:00pm
4001 SW 13th St
Gainesville, FL, 32608
Join us as we celebrate UF Health Florida Recovery Center!
The UF Health Florida Recovery Center is the state’s premier non-profit, addiction treatment program, proudly serving patients from around the United States at our University of Florida location for over 25 years. Their comprehensive treatment focuses on all aspects of recovery — physical, emotional and spiritual — followed by the well-established 12-step method. They achieve this with the skills of UF addiction board certified medicine specialists, as well as psychiatrists and licensed behavioral health counselors. Through this unique multidisciplinary assessment process, state-of-the-art treatment protocols, cognitive behavioral therapies and inclusive family therapy, they help make recovery possible.
We are excited to be celebrating 25 years of UF Health Florida Recovery Center! Join us for drinks, hors d'oeuvres, tours and more. The ribbon cutting ceremony will commence at 4:30pm.
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UPCOMING EVENT
CDS
Ribbon Cutting
Tuesday, February 28th
1:00pm - 3:00pm
3615 SW 13th St, Suite 7
Gainesville, FL 32608
Join us as we celebrate CDS!
CDS is a non-profit organization that for over 53 years has provided a variety of programs to help youth and families in crisis with the goal of "Empowering Youth & Building Strong Families for a Brighter Tomorrow."
CDS provides a variety of programs for FREE that includes a residential program for youth who are runaways, homeless, trafficked and truant and need a safe place.
Join us as we celebrate their re-branding with tours, music, refreshments and more! The ribbon cutting ceremony will commence at 1:15pm.
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UPCOMING EVENT
Jumpstart Your Membership
Tuesday, February 28th
9:00am - 10:00am
Virtual event - via ZOOM
Join us for a virtual presentation on your chamber membership! Whether you are a new member or looking to get re-engaged, we are here to share some information & help you get more out of your chamber membership. We will also show how to navigate our online portal for your membership.
Learn more about your membership and meet other Greater Gainesville chamber members.
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TOMORROW!!
Lunch & Learn:
Making or Breaking It on Social Media
Wednesday, February 15th
12:00pm - 1:00pm
LifeSouth Community Blood Center
1121 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, FL 32601
In 2023, having a presence on social media is crucial for a businesses success. But it's constantly changing and the algorithms keep evolving. Jen Pagh with Liquid Creative is going to break down what worked for businesses with social media in 2022, trends to be on the lookout for in 2023, what the heck is happening with Meta, and walk through a social media guide. She will talk through what analytics to be mindful of and what content will drive engagement for your organization.
Jen at Liquid Creative will help break down what is working in the market place and share insights on how to set up a winning social media campaign.
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Showcase Your Business:
Host a Chamber Event in 2023!
Calling all businesses: hosting a Chamber Business Before Hours or a Business After Hours Event is a great way to build exposure for your company!
These popular series of networking events draw attention from the professional community and are an excellent opportunity to showcase your business to entrepreneurs and customers from across our community. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to give your business more exposure and to become a familiar face in our community!
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The 2023 Opportunities Book is now available! Take a look and see where you'd like to get involved this year. Partnership opportunities range from joining the Circle of Champions to hosting a Business Before Hours at your location and everything in between! |
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The Circle of Champions offers you a year-long marketing and engagement plan that includes exclusive invitations, advertising, event tickets and sponsorship recognition at all annual Chamber signature events!
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DIGITAL ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITY!
Introducing Trihelix!
The Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce and Trihelix are excited to share a new digital advertising opportunity for our members! This opportunity will enable you to precisely target your desired customers based on real-world behaviors, create the ability for you to reduce your cost of acquiring customers, and allows you to track how many potential customers received your marketing message!
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The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) seeks companies with climate-smart technology solutions for the produce industry to apply for its Fresh Field Catalyst business accelerator program.
It is a 6-month sponsored program that does not charge companies to participate and takes no equity. It is an immersive experience and an opportunity to work with industry's top leaders.
We are looking for companies with technology products that solve problems in Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) for the produce industry. We will evaluate a wide range of innovative and scalable technologies connected to the production, manufacturing, logistics and distribution of food and agricultural products in the produce industry. These technologies should increase productivity in the produce supply chain, help farms and the produce supply chain adapt to climate change and reduce emissions.
Companies need to be in the late stage of trials or have a product in the market and receiving revenue. Products can be in any market outside agriculture or in row crops and/or the produce industry outside the U.S. Companies with sales in the produce industry, in the U.S., would not benefit from the program and do not qualify. Products need to be ready to launch, generate revenue and scale in the produce market within two years.
Funding stage is not a factor, but companies need to have funding to pay for two programs in California. The program is free with participants paying their travel expenses. We take no equity, and there is no funding provided from IFPA.
What is the timeline?
Jan. 5: Applications open
March 20: Applications close
March 20-April 10: Selection process
May 7-12: Immersion week
May-October: Bi-monthly webinars and 1:1 mentorship
Oct. 16-20: IFPA Global Produce & Floral Show
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Leveraging International Students To Improve Your Workforce
Between the University of Florida (UF) and Santa Fe College (SF), there are over 5,000 international students studying in our community on a F-1 student visa.
While Homeland Security regulations usually prevent international students on an F-1 student visa from working off campus while enrolled, there are several ways that these students could supplement a local company’s workforce:
CPT: When an international student’s program of study requires an internship, the student could do that internship at a local company – gaining valuable work experience and contributing to the organization’s bottom line. This authorization required to be eligible to do the internship is known as Curricular Practical Training, or “CPT”, and if eligible, the F-1 student must apply for and be authorized for CPT by the Designated School Official (DSO) responsible for immigration matters at UF or SF.
OPT: After a student completes a degree, they may apply for Optional Practical Training, or “OPT” through the Department of Homeland Security. If approved for the OPT, the international student will be able to work up to full-time in the U.S. for one year in a position related to their major program of study.
Savvy businesses may enter into long-term relationship with F-1 international students through a combination of CPT, OPT, and STEM OPT. For example, a student pursuing an Associate of Science (AS) degree in biotechnology at SF could do an internship at a local biotechnology company via a CPT. After earning the AS degree, the student could work for that company for a year via an OPT. After a year of employment, the F-1 international student would return to school to pursue a Bachelor of Science in biotechnology from either UF or SF. If the bachelor’s degree curriculum requires an internship, that student could return to the biotechnology company again for another semester as an intern via CPT. After graduation, the student could return to the company for a year via OPT and then two more years via STEM OPT extension. After working for three years the student could opt to pursue another degree (perhaps a master’s degree in biotechnology?) and repeat this cycle again! CPT is available for up to 364 cumulative days during each degree program and the OPT is available for one year per higher degree level for each F-1 student. STEM OPT Extension is available only twice in the F-1 student’s lifetime.
While this sounds complicated, both SF and UF have offices that work with international students and the local companies that wish to employ them.
Authors:
Dan Rodkin, Ed.D., Associate Vice Presidents for Student Affairs and PDSO, Santa Fe College
Martine Angrand, Director, F-1 International Student Services (PDSO), University of Florida
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The Bridging The Dream Scholarship
Know a high school senior planning to attend a two- or four-year college, or continuous education program in the fall? They may be eligible for a $10,000 Bridging the Dream Scholarship from The Sallie Mae Fund and Thurgood Marshall College Fund.
High school seniors who are US citizens or permanent residents and plan to enroll in an accredited post-secondary institution or continuous education program during the 2023-2024 academic year are eligible. Applicants must demonstrate leadership skills and moral character, as well as submit a short video describing how the scholarship will assist them in achieving their goals.
Students can apply today at Bridging the Dream Scholarships for HS Seniors | Sallie Mae Fund.
The application window is open now through March 27 at 12 pm ET. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends March 27, 2023. See Official Rules.
The Bridging the Dream Scholarship Program is part of The Sallie Mae Fund’s $3 million commitment to help students from all backgrounds pursue higher education. To date, more than 600 scholarships totaling $2M have been awarded to help students access and complete their education.
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Sarah’s Sweetwater Greenway Loop Festival is a local celebration of Gainesville's unique artistic, environmental, and civic heritage and an acknowledgement of the need for greater collaboration throughout our historic neighborhoods. This collaborative project provides residents who live and work along the proposed route of a greenway already approved by the City of Gainesville's Strategic Plan the opportunity to come together as neighbors and strengthen their bonds of community, and to contribute their voices and their ideas to the visioning process. The neighborhoods activated will be Springhill, the Power District, Pleasant St/5th Ave, Duckpond, and Grove Street!
Attendees will learn about how the greenway might best influence the neighborhoods it will connect- from topics ranging between historic preservation and cultural landmarks, to the health of the Sweetwater Branch, to bike and pedestrian safety. And folks can visit our website for a more detailed lineup of each neighborhood's festivities! ALL festivities are FREE and open to the public, including but are not limited to:
-live music
-kids activities
-historic walking tours bike tours
-bounce houses
-food
-arts exhibitions
-pop up parks
-markets
-film screening of "Sarah's Place"
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The Kings Return to Provide Free Concert at A. Quinn Jones Museum
In partnership with the University of Florida Center for the Performing Arts "The King Return's" will share an afternoon of the finest in acapella singing on Wednesday, Feb 22nd from 2p-4p.
The Kings Return’s tagline is simple: “We sing in stairwells.” The unique, harmonizing group turned internet sensation captures the essence of an old-school acapella quartet with sounds inspired by gospel and R&B, and has a reputation for performing diverse arrangements from Ave Maria to How Deep is Your Love and God Bless America.
Kings Return has been featured on NPR, The Kennedy Center and has performed on stages (and stairwells) nationwide.
Program funded in part by State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Culture Builds Florida.
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Florida Museum’s “Northwest Florida” Exhibit To Close Feb. 27
The Florida Museum of Natural History is closing “Northwest Florida: Waterways & Wildlife” for renovations beginning Feb. 27 in preparation for the new “Water Shapes Florida” exhibit, opening in Spring 2024. Inaugurated in 2000, the “Northwest Florida” permanent exhibit has been a favorite among museum visitors for more than two decades. Its hammock forest and limestone cave offer an immersive and memorable experience of some of the state’s naturals habitats. Elements of the exhibit, including the iconic cave, will be a part of “Water Shapes Florida” and updated with new refurbishments.
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Peaceful Paths To Host 2nd Annual Sip 'N Support
Peaceful Paths is hosting their 2nd Annual Sip 'N Support party, the Backyard Barrel Bash, on March 2 at a private residence in SW Gainesville. Guests at the Barrel Bash will visit a variety of sip'n stations and sample wine and spirits along with some amazing paired food while they bid on an exclusive line up of items in our private bottle auction. Local favorite, Richy Stano, will be poolside to provide guests with smooth tunes while they sip and support survivors!
To attend this function, guests must first purchase a ticket to the Signature Raffle Drawing. This year's Raffle, donated by Maven Construction Group, is a bottle of OLD RIP VAN WINKLE 10-YEAR Kentucky bourbon valued @ $1000. (The winner does not have to be present at the party to win.) Only 100 Signature Raffle tickets will be sold.
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Did you know that as a member you can post your open job listings on our website?
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