November 2016 Issue Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce 700 Main Street, Sebastian FL 32958 NEWSLETTER 772-589-5969 | SebastianChamber.com The Chamber Currents Member Spotlight Bob Morgan VP of Residential / Commercial Lending NMLS# 583170 | [email protected] 1020 US Highway 1, Sebastian, FL 32958 772-646-6030 | marinebankandtrust.com Meet Bob Morgan, Vice President of Residential/Commercial Lending for Marine Bank & Trust! Bob serves the financing needs of the residents and Marine Bank, was chartered in 1997 and currently has businesses of Indian River and southern Brevard counties $206 million is assets with two full-service branches in with more than 24 years of lending experience and local Vero Beach and a loan production office in Sebastian. market knowledge. A full-service branch is scheduled to open in Sebastian in the latter part of October which will replace the loan “Marine Bank has set a goal to be the premier mortgage production office. Marine Bank is the only community lender in Vero Beach and our surrounding communities. bank headquartered in Vero Beach, Florida. The Bank Our entire lending team is committed to making it easier was named one of Indian River County’s Best Places to for local businesses to succeed and individuals to realize Work in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2016. The Bank is an the dream of home ownership with competitive rates active community supporter providing over $200,000 and flexible terms. I am proud to say that 100% of survey to more than 125 local non-profit organizations in the respondents said they would recommend Marine Bank market over the last five years. For more information, & Trust to others for their lending needs.” visit the website at www.marinebankandtrust.com. Bob began his banking career in 1994 as a branch Anchored in your community. manager at First Union. In 1999, he joined Advantage Empowered to take you anywhere. Home Mortgage Corporation as co-owner. He received his B.A. in Finance from Florida Atlantic University and has lived in Vero Beach since 1985. He is a current member of the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors and serves as its treasurer. Member FDIC If you would like to “make the front page” of our newsletter, make sure you schedule time this month at one of our networking activities, and maybe your name will be drawn for the monthly spotlight! Check out our calendar inside! November 2016 Beth L. Mitchell, President & CEO We are filling up the Awards wall in the Board room! We have received another award from Florida Association of Chamber Professionals, for 2016 Membership Communications/Marketing Materials. We competed with over 300 other chambers state wide. The award is for our Membership Application. The application is on our website, www.SebastianChamber.com, and it’s worth a review so you can see all that the Sebastian River Area Chamber has to offer its member! This project was truly a team effort between all of our staff members, each one has a direct influ- ence in the content, and of course our star, Britney Melchiori, is responsible for the design features. I am very proud of all of them! Beyond all of the brouhaha of the elections, don’t forget the Sebastian Clambake is coming up in a couple of weeks! Established in 2002, The Sebastian Clambake Foundation, Inc., a non-profit corporation, and 3 time Dyer Difference Award winner, is composed of area public service organizations and supported by our business community in its efforts to have a positive impact on our local quality of life. Volunteers from our local community comprise the entire labor force. Each year the member organizations of the Foundation pick local charitable or public-purpose projects to receive the proceeds of the Clambake. The past events have resulted in distributing more than $600,000.00 to area non-profit organizations. The Sebastian Clambake, billed as a “Lagoon Festival”, celebrates our special way of life along the Indian River, which has been the life-blood of our community from the beginning. And about those elections….. it seems to me that there ought to be a law that says you only have one year to cam- paign for higher office. A lot can happen in a year, and it should be sufficient time to educate the voters on platforms, issues, personal characteristics, track records, etc. Imagine if, as an employer, you had to take more than a year to interview and decide on an employee? Whatever the outcomes are in this election cycle, I am sure there will be a national collective sigh of relief when it is over and the outcomes are determined. Many thanks to our October Luncheon speakers. Jason Brown, IRC County Administrator, made a compelling case to vote yes on the extension of the 1 cents sales tax in Indian River County. Roads, infrastructure, the Lagoon projects, all these county projects are funded by the sales tax, and contribute greatly to our quality of life. Congressman Bill Posey was eloquent, as always, on the realities of serving as a US Congressman in Washington, D.C. It’s not for the faint hearted, that’s for sure! After the Clambake, there are plenty of activities for you to join in. Our Chamber breakfast is sponsored by GFA Inter- national, at the Chamber office, probably on the porch so we can enjoy the cool breezes of the lagoon. In honor of Veteran’s Day, we have asked Dave Newhart, the Chaplain for the Veterans Council of Indian River County, to speak to us at Capt. Hiram’s Tiffany Room. We also will help Marine Bank and Trust open their new branch in Sebastian at our Business and Pleasure. The turnout for all of our events has been phenomenal lately, we hope to see you at one of these events and encourage you to make reservations! Finally, during this season of thanks, and the month of Thanksgiving upon us, I want to express gratitude for this year at the Chamber. With the grand opening of the Pelican Porch Visitor Center in April, we have truly enjoyed the new facilities, and all of the comments and compliments from visitors who come in to gather information. It is very re- warding. Also, we are all very grateful that Hurricane Matthew did not wreak havoc on us, although the anticipation and adrenaline brought on by the hurricane’s approach was something we could have done without. Have a profitable month and Happy Thanksgiving! Chamber Networking Events Thank you to Lois Kennedy State Farm Insurance and the many attendees at the October Breakfast held at the Sebastian Chamber Office. We had a packed house for our networking luncheon at Marsh Landing Restaurant. Thank you to our sponsor A Better Solution Insurance Services and guest speakers, IRC Administrator Jason Brown and Congressman Bill Posey. See more photos on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SebastianChamber/?fref=ts Left: Riverside Eye Enter Ribbon Cutting. Lower Right: Hart Escape Ribbon Cutting and Right: Business N’ Pleasure at Vintage 2 Vogue November 2016 Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events Friday , November 4th 8AM—9AM Sponsored by GFA International RIBBON CUTTING AND BUSINESS N’PLEASURE Held at the Chamber Offices 700 Main Street, Sebastian Thursday, November 17th Time: 5:30PM—7:00PM Bring a Bear to Breakfast Marine Bank & Trust (to donate to Buddy Bear Organization) 1020 US Hwy 1, Sebastian Tuesday, November 8th Noon—1PM Sebastian Clam Bake Lunch Sponsor: Kashi Church Foundation, Inc. November 4th, 5th, 6th Lunch Speaker: Dave Newhart, Chaplain Veterans Council of Indian River County Riverview Park, Sebastian Friday: 2PM-9PM At Capt Hiram’s Tiffany Room Saturday: 10AM-9PM 1606 Indian River Drive, Sebastian Sunday: 10AM-5PM Reservations requested, $15.00 with reservation, $20 at the door Committee Meetings Executive Committee Meeting Thursday, November 3rd 8AM—9AM Ribbon Cuttings Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian November 3rd, 12:30PM—1:30PM Fellsmere Trailhead Preserve and Welcome Center Ribbon Cutting 11200 CR 512, Fellsmere Full Board Meeting Thursday, November 9th 8AM—9AM November 11th at 5:00PM Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian Village Sandwich Shop & Grill 1103 US Hwy 1, Sebastian Click here to see Sebastian River Exterminating’s Banner Ad on the Sebastian Chamber website. Email [email protected] for information on how to increase online exposure for your business. DON’S ALUMINUM IS CONVERTING TO A WEB BANNER AD ALL-RITE & CLARK WATER ARE CONVERTING TO A WEB BANNER AD Tourism Tidbits By Nicole Capp Holbrook Thank you to our Tourism Partners that attended the -Complimentary VISIT FLORIDA Marketing Partnership October Meeting! If you missed it, here’s a quick recap: Core tourism businesses located within Florida have the op- portunity to get a Small Business Marketing Partnership free Upcoming Events- of charge through April 30, 2017. With the Marketing Part- Fellsmere Trailhead Preserve & Welcome Center nership, businesses receive an Enhanced Web Listing on Ribbon Cutting VISITFLORIDA.com, the ability to submit social media posts, ability to promote Partner-to-Partner specials and more. To November 3rd at 12:30 p.m. at 11200 CR512, submit your enrollment application, click here. Fellsmere, FL 32948 *Sebastian Clambake- November 4th-6th *Opportunity to promote your business at our Chamber booth -Exposure on VISIT FLORIDA's Media Website Light Up Night- December 2nd Businesses are encouraged to submit news releases to be posted on a dedicated landing page within our media web- 2017 Concerts in the Park- site. Press releases should provide newsworthy updates for January 13th – The Ladies of Soul & the LOS Band consumer travel media and offer a story idea that is unique (Motown, Dance, Party Band) and compelling to your local Florida area.