A 5-Star Accredited Chamber of Commerce |
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COMMUNITY NEWS
Governor announces Florida's move to Phase 3
Friday, Governor DeSantis announced Florida will be entering Phase 3 of reopening effective immediately. There will be no restrictions on restaurants from a state level and if there are local limitations, they are not allowed to restrict capacity below 50%. DeSantis highlighted that this was needed for business certainty and will help restaurants statewide get back on their feet. DeSantis doesn’t think it is viable to wait for a vaccine to move forward, encouraging NFL teams in the state to welcome fans and said that even banquet halls have a right to operate. When asked about a second wave, the Governor said that while the state is prepared, there hasn’t been any evidence of a true second wave anywhere. For more information, watch the press conference or read the full executive order here.
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UPCOMING EVENT
Leadercast Weekly Session: Andy Stanley
Wednesday, October 7, 8 a.m.
Returning to the Leadercast stage, Andy brings anecdotal insights on life and leadership for attendees. He is the founder and senior pastor of North Point Ministries in Atlanta, and reaches millions through his online sermons and podcast. Andy has authored more than 20 books on leadership, relationships and faith.
Sessions are available for 36 hours starting at 8:00 AM, are approximately 30 minutes long and feature a recorded session from the Leadercast 2020 Event held earlier this year.
Registration closes for this session on Friday at 11:00 PM.
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MEMBERSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
Digital Advertising Opportunity
When searching for business, services and an overall feel to an area, people look to the Greater Gainesville Chamber. We are excited to now offer our members a limited number of Digital Advertising opportunities available on our website, newsletter and Chamber lobby display.
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UPCOMING EVENT
Elevate - Pete Vargas, Founder/CEO of Advance Your Reach
Friday, October 9, Noon
Speaking is one of the most powerful ways to build and grow your business. Over the last 13 years, Pete Vargas and his team have been responsible for booking 25,000 stages across the world and leveraging those stages to see $50,000,000 + in products and services sold as a direct result of those stages. One single stage accounted for over $1.7 million in consulting and services alone. Speaking is fastest way to grow your business!
With Pete’s help you will be able to start winning stages in the next 24-48 hours! In this session, Pete will teach the three critical steps you need to implement in your business to be able to begin leveraging stages and use your story to scale your business. By implementing Story, Stage and Scale into your business, you will achieve greater reach than you could have ever imagined. This session is especially for speakers, entrepreneurs, organizations and nonprofits that are looking for a powerful medium to grow your business.
This Elevate Event is free to Chamber members and is presented by Advantage Media Promotions.
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UPCOMING EVENT
Gainesville Chamber Leadership Book Club
Tuesday, October 20, 8 - 8:45 a.m.
Lifelong learning is what differentiates performance over time.
Join us for our next Leadership Book Club Virtual Meeting where we will be discussing the book:
Book Name: Good To Great
Author: Jim Collins
The leadership book club creates diversity of thought as you’ll read books you might not have picked. It creates accountability as you have a deadline to read or listen to it. The discussion reinforces the takeaways from each book and how members are implementing them in their lives and workplaces.
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CENSUS UPDATE
Census Countown:
1 Day!
The 2020 Census concludes TOMORROW, September 30
Census for 2020 is still scheduled to close on September 30 and so we have just ONE DAY to ensure we capture every last one of the federal dollars and congressional representation to which we are entitled. Remember, Alachua County lost out on an estimated $390 million dollars this past decade, because of our Census undercount. Now more than ever, it is imperative we are all counted. In Alachua County, we are inching forward each week, with 65.5% counted, ahead of the state of Florida at 62.9% and but a little behind the nation as a whole at 66.1%.
Your Chamber President/CEO Eric Godet stopped by local radio recently to help get the word out. To wrap up the count, Census takers will work with administrators at colleges, senior centers, prisons, and other facilities that house large groups of people to make sure everyone is counted, and in December, the Census Bureau will deliver apportionment counts to the President and Congress as required by law.
Visit www.2020census.gov for all the information you need to complete your census. Let’s close out this challenging year strong—our hospitals, schools, fire departments, social service agencies and businesses depend on it. Remember, We’re Still Counting on You, Alachua County!
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VOTING UPDATE
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3
As you know, one key step to ensuring the business voice is heard is to become informed on the issues that matter to our community and to vote. Though the pandemic has necessitated a new way of doing many things, we are committed to helping you make your voice heard. Candidate interviews for local races will be updated and posted on our website in the coming weeks.
Your vote matters. Note these important dates for the November 3rd election:
- Last day to register to vote: Monday, October 5
- Early voting takes place: Monday, October 19 through Saturday, October 31
- Deadline to request a mail-in ballot: Saturday, October 24 by 5:00 p.m.
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3
- Deadline to return mail-in ballots: Tuesday, November 3 by 7:00 p.m.
For more information about this election, a list of candidates on the ballot and voting procedures—including adjustments due to the pandemic—visit the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections website at www.votealachua.com or call the office at 352-374-5252.
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View the Distinguished Speaker Series with Dr. Charlie Lane
See what Dr. Charlie Lane, Chief Operating Officer of the University of Florida, said this month during our Distinguished Speaker Luncheon Series. Dr. Lane’s comprehensive presentation detailed UF’s response to the pandemic and efforts to keep students, faculty and staff and the community safe. Dr. Lane also shared the many projects at various stages of development happening on campus, including the new Hotel Eleo and Florida Ballpark, as well as upgrades and additions to residence academic buildings. He told the large audience who tuned in via Zoom what he and his family enjoy most about Gainesville—having come to us from southern California—and expressed appreciation for the leadership and patience our community has shown in weathering the pandemic.
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The Distinguished Speaker Luncheon Series is sponsored by |
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Bertrand Reappointed as Chair of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee
Staci Bertrand, VP of Economic Development at the Greater Gainesville Chamber has been reappointed by Chair Charles Chestnut IV to serve as Chair of the 2020- 2021 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee of the North Central Florida Regional Planning Council. She served as the Chair first her first term in the 2019-2020 year. The CEDS Committee brings together the public and private sectors in the creation of an economic roadmap to diversify and strengthen the regional economy by attracting private investment that creates jobs. The strategy is the result of a continuing economic development planning process developed by the CEDS Committee representing both public and private sector, and sets forth the goals and objectives necessary to solve the economic problems of the region.
Bertrand currently leads the Greater Gainesville Chamber’s economic development efforts to grow existing businesses in the region and attract new businesses to the greater Gainesville area. COLLABORATE 2025 is the current 5-year economic development strategy led by the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee which she facilitates. In her role, she has assisted in attracting and retaining more than 2300 jobs to Greater Gainesville. In addition, Bertrand serves as a board member for CareerSource North Central Florida, the regional workforce board, helping businesses locate talent and develop the regional workforce.
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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Gainesville ranks in top 10 best college towns to start a business
Walker Thomas, WCJB
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - If you have an idea for a new business, Gainesville is the place to open shop. The city was ranked in the top ten best college towns to start a business.
A study by bestcollegereviews.org compiled college towns, and Gainesville came in at number 7 on the list. The site looked at a number of factors including the number of opportunities for entrepreneurs, starts-ups that survive the first year, business tax rate, cost of living and more.
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EDUCATION UPDATE
Take Stock in Children Applications now being accepted
Take Stock in Children applications for fall 2020 are now being accepted!
The Education Foundation of Alachua County’s Take Stock in Children Program provides deserving low-income children in Alachua County with college or vocational-technical scholarships and an adult mentor to meet with them once per week at school. In addition, each student is assigned to a Take Stock in Children College Success Coach who monitors their school performance and mentor meetings. Students are selected between 7th and 8th grade and must sign contracts promising to remain crime and drug free, maintain satisfactory grades and exhibit good behavior.
Applications for 7th and 8th grade students are now open!
To be eligible to apply for Take Stock in Children, students must:
· Attend an Alachua County Public School
· Be in 7th or 8th grade
· Have a 2.5 GPA and above
· Be in good standing with academics, behavior and attendance
The deadline for 7th and 8th graders to apply is October 23, 2020.
Applications can now be completed digitally through ScriptApp. Families can access the digital Take Stock in Children student application here.
If you have any questions, please contact Student Services Coordinator Au'Vian Cherry at [email protected].
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EDUCATION UPDATE
NHRA Youth & Education Services Program
Take Stock in Children applications for fall 2020 are now being accepted!
The Education Foundation of Alachua County’s Take Stock in Children Program provides deserving low-income children in Alachua County with college or vocational-technical scholarships and an adult mentor to meet with them once per week at school. In addition, each student is assigned to a Take Stock in Children College Success Coach who monitors their school performance and mentor meetings. Students are selected between 7th and 8th grade and must sign contracts promising to remain crime and drug free, maintain satisfactory grades and exhibit good behavior.
Applications for 7th and 8th grade students are now open!
To be eligible to apply for Take Stock in Children, students must:
· Attend an Alachua County Public School
· Be in 7th or 8th grade
· Have a 2.5 GPA and above
· Be in good standing with academics, behavior and attendance
The deadline for 7th and 8th graders to apply is October 23, 2020.
Applications can now be completed digitally through ScriptApp. Families can access the digital Take Stock in Children student application here.
If you have any questions, please contact Student Services Coordinator Au'Vian Cherry at [email protected].
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MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT
Humane Society/Grace Marketplace partnership Awarded $50,000 grant from PetSmart Charities
The Humane Society of North Central Florida and GRACE Marketplace are pleased to announce their partnership has been awarded a $50,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to help build permanent, on-site kennels for the pets of GRACE residents and to provide veterinary care and spay/neuter services for the pets of people experiencing homelessness. GRACE plans to break ground on the kennels in the coming weeks. The Humane Society of North Central Florida will continue to provide spay/neuter surgeries, veterinary care, and transportation to our spay/neuter clinic for the pets of people experiencing homelessness and receiving services at GRACE.
PetSmart Charities fully funded the partnership’s collaborative grant proposal to increase the capacity for emergency shelter services for pets of people experiencing homelessness by creating a pet-friendly, low-barrier homeless shelter in North Central Florida on the GRACE campus. This program will be implemented over twelve months and all results will be reported back to PetSmart Charities. Both the Humane Society of North Central Florida and GRACE Marketplace hope this collaborative effort will serve as a model for homeless services and animal welfare organizations to work together nationwide.
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UPCOMING EVENT
James Moore, AthleticDirectorU and Athletic Directors Nationwide Create the Collegiate Coaching Diversity Pledge
James Moore is joining forces with AthleticDirectorU and many collegiate athletics directors nationwide to bring equity to the hiring of head coaches through the Collegiate Coaching Diversity Pledge (CCDP).
As reported on its official webpage, the CCDP is an opt‐in pledge by Division I athletics directors to include a diverse group of candidates in the finalist pool for head coach vacancies in men’s basketball, women’s basketball, and football. The project has received national attention from ESPN, Stadium, and other sports media outlets.
The CCDP will be overseen by an independent Board of Advocates that consists of highly respected individuals from higher education and sports. The Board of Advocates will work with James Moore as the third‐party clearinghouse to confirm CCDP compliance. James Moore, operating under a strict non‐ disclosure agreement, will randomly select a percentage of hires made in the previous hiring cycle for further evaluation.
Katie Davis, CPA and partner at James Moore, will be overseeing the project. “Our role is trusted accountability partner to the participating athletics directors,” said Davis. “We understand that athletics departments and coaching candidates are in the public spotlight, and we have a proven record of approaching our work with the utmost care and sensitivity.”
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UPCOMING EVENT
Gainesville Regional Airport releases "Home is Where the Heart Is" video
Click below to watch the video.
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UPCOMING EVENT
19th Annual Guest Chef Gainesville October 4-11
Sunday, October 6 - Friday, October 11
Guest Chef Gainesville in support of Peaceful Paths Domestic Violence Network will be a virtual event this year having postponed it twice like so many other non-profits! The event has moved to a virtual format October 4-11 with over 90 unique auction items, and three amazing raffles. Raffles include a robust Wine Wall, a bottle of Van Winkle Bourbon , and a $700 Gift Card tree from area businesses. The event is open to the public. Visit the event Headquarters at www.guestchefgainesville.com to get more details, to preview the auction, and to register as a bidder. Bidding can take place conveniently from your mobile device and computer. There will be curbside and delivery options for winners.
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MEMBER CONTRIBUTION
Preexisting Disabilities, Remote Work, the ADA, and COVID-19
Donnelly + Gross
The Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”) requires that employers provide employees who have disabilities with reasonable accommodations. The Covid19 pandemic has complicated ADA compliance when employees with preexisting disabilities that present a greater risk of illness or death request reasonable accommodations—usually in the form of remote work.
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