ANNUAL TRUSTEE INVITATIONAL & INTERACTIVE LUNCHEON
Don’t forget your apron! It’s that time of year again! The Chamber will host the most sizzling luncheon of our Chamber year: our Trustee Invitational & Interactive Luncheon. Organized by the Chamber’s Trustee Council, this event strays from the typical luncheon format and allows attendees to do the cooking. Not to worry, we’ve got a delicious Chef lined up to help coach you through the whole menu... From the 50 Eggs family, this year’s featured Chef is Clayton Miller, Culinary Director with 50 Eggs, Inc.
Clayton Miller has over 20 years of experience working in top kitchens across the nation and was named one of Food & Wine’s “Best New Chefs 2010.” In his capacity, Clayton oversees the culinary operations at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, Khong River House as well as Swine Southern Table & Bar and works closely on concept and menu development. The Trustee Invitational & Interactive Luncheon will take place on Friday, August 22nd at the Biltmore Hotel and is sponsored by Florida Blue, Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors and RightSpace2Meet. Reserve your seats today! The cost is $99 per individual or $999 for a reserved VIP table of 10.
OUR CHAMBER GETS A LITTLE CULTURE The Cultural Affairs Committee is out to share their flare with you this Summer! With a scorching line-up of events sceduled to hit the scene, they’ve got some things going on that you won’t
IN THIS ISSUE: Thoughts from the Chair Page 2 President’s Perspective Page 3 Trustee Talk
Page 4
Member Advertisements Page 5 Membership Highlights Page 6 Calendar of Events
Page 7
Sponsor Recognition
Page 8
want to miss. To kick it off:
A Midsummer Night’s Screening
Boogie Nights!
For the fourth year, our Chamber will host a movie night for members and friends at the amazing Coral Gables Art Cinema this August. This year’s feature film is Magic in the Moonlight and stars Emma Stone and Colin Firth.
Are you ready to dance? Want to learn the Salsa, Cha-Cha or Tango? Been to the newly remodeled Arthur Murray Dance Studio, an icon on the circle in the City Beautiful? Then come and dance the night away on Friday, July 18th at 5:30 PM as expert instructors from Arthur Murray host our Chamber members and friends. Located at 2916 Ponce de Leon Blvd, this event is sponsored by Right Space2Meet and Robin Rile Fine Art, with food by Love is Blind. Registration is $25 for individuals; $40 for couples.
For more information on either one of these great cultural events, visit us online at coralgableschamber.org or call (305) 446-1657.
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
THOUGHTS FROM THE CHAIR
2013 - 2014 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Perry Adair
Chairman, CGCC Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. padair@becker-poliakoff.com
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chairman: Perry Adair (Becker & Poliakoff, P.A.) Chair-Elect: Linda Knudsen, (Baptist Health South Florida) Vice Chairman-Business & Economic Dev: Barbara K. Norland (The Women’s Fund of Miami-Dade) Vice Chairman-Gov’t & Legislative Affairs: Patrick O’Connell (Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors) Vice Chairman-Community Affairs: Amy Donner (Miami’s Community Newspapers) Vice Chairman-Member Affairs: Marianne Sioli (Filer Insurance, Inc.) Vice Chairman-International Affairs: Carolina Rendeiro (RightSpace2Meet) Vice Chairman-Special Events: Yesenia Moreno (Albion Staffing Solutions, Inc.) Treasurer: Wayne Eldred (Tarpon Bend Raw Bar & Grill) Parliamentarian: Martha de la Pena Rojas (Florida Blue) Trustee Council Chair: John Allen (Home Financing Center, Inc.) Past Chair: Darla Thompson (Cherry Bekaert LLP) Chairman’s Appointee: Laura Russo (Laura L. Russo, Esq.) President & CEO: Mark A. Trowbridge
Dear fellow Chamber Members: This is my last Thoughts From the Chair missive. My how time flies. When I became Chairman, my good friend, and former Chairman, Marc Berenfeld told me, “Enjoy your term as Chair, it goes very quickly.” Well I have and it did. Leading the Chamber for the last ten months has been quite an experience. Our past Chamber year was guided by 5 “I’s,” Information, Inspiration, Innovation, Involvement and Impact. All of those were delivered in large quantities this year. While we were not able to accomplish all I had envisioned for the year, we did have great accomplishments that added value to membership and increased the status and relevance of the Chamber in the Miami-Dade business community. It appears the themes of Information and Innovation have certainly caught on. Linda Knudsen, our incoming Chair devoted the entire, and hugely successful, Annual Conference to delivering great Information and Inspiration to the attendees. I am supremely confident that Linda will do a great job moving the Chamber forward and building on the many Chamber successes achieved not just during my year as Chair, but also during the terms of the Chairpersons who preceded me. You have heard me say great things do not happen by themselves. They are the result of hard work and dedication. So as I close out my year as Chair, I offer a heartfelt thanks to all of our members, Board members, the Executive Committee, Committee Chairs, Committee Members, Task Force Members, Mark Trowbridge and the Chamber Staff for making this past year so successful.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Elected-term expires 2014 Thad Adams (Allen Morris Company) Brian Barakat (Barakat Law, P.A.) Frank Fernandez (US Century Bank) Anabella Smith (Zyscovich Architects) Nelson Penalver (Logistical Outsourcing, Inc.)
So those are my thoughts. Best regards
Elected-term expires 2015 Nikki Deas (Vine Communications) Rosemary Guilfoyle (Planning Consultants Group) John Knowles (Photo Offset, Inc.) Marti Mang (TotalBank) Zachary Sulkes (Bacardi USA)
NOTICE TO OUR MEMBERSHIP
SPONSORSHIP Open Doors to Greater Exposure and Bigger Business! The Coral Gables Chamber has many high profile events that offer outstanding promotional value to your business. Get involved in the community and sponsor one of our upcoming events. For more information, contact Erica Simons at esimons@coralgableschamber.org. ADVERTISING What happens if you do not advertise your business? Absolutely nothing. Make your business stand out and take full advantage of your Chamber membership. There are sponsorship opportunities, newsletter advertising, City Beautiful magazine, website advertising and much more available to you to help promote your business. Rates are available on the front page of our website, coralgableschamber.org or you can contact Morgan Reeder at mreeder@coralgableschamber.org.
Elected-term expires 2016 George Feliciano Jr. (Bay Plumbing Company) Ramon Ferrer (Florida Power & Light) Raquel Hickey (City National Bank) Nicole Waters (Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables) Appointees-term expires 8/31/2014 Sarah Nesbitt Artecona (University of Miami) Matthias Kammerer (The Biltmore Hotel) Rene Negron (AXA Advisors, LLC.) Martha Pantin (American Airlines) Al Peraza (Mercantil Commercebank) EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Business Improvement District Abe Ng, Sushi Maki City of Coral Gables Commissioner Frank C. Quesada City of Coral Gables Cynthia Birdsill (Economic Sustainability Department) Coral Gables Community Foundation Mary Snow Miami-Dade Beacon Council Nelson Lazo
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE - MY CUP RUNNETH OVER Mark A. Trowbridge
President & CEO Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce mtrowbridge@coralgableschamber.org
With the World Cup soccer tour nament in full swing and Team USA still very much in the mix, there is a palpable energy in the air that is just too intense to ignore. Rarely are there moments in our community where we are all fully galvanized around a single issue; a single team; a single idea. World Cup soccer finds a way to do that every four years, no matter the venue, no matter the players, no matter what team you cheer for or who is favored to win it all. It is something inspiring to see and participate in. Months ago, Team USA was cast into the “Group of Death”, a fair moniker given that our opponents in the opening round would be Germany, Portugal and Ghana (who had broken our backs and hearts in recent World Cups not once, but twice). And yet, the team kept its focus, went about its usual business and trained as though they were the heavy favorites to win the cup, showing that uniquely American attitude that is part of our DNA.
The same goes for our Chamber membership. We work every day to provide a healthy return on investment to our businesses. And, with the recent completion of our Annual Conference – Chamber YOU! – it is clear to all of us who lead our organization that members are hungry for professional development and fellowship opportunities. So, we work to focus on YOU, our members, our stakeholders, our investors. One clear take-away from the conference is that our members desire to be connected…to the community, to the Chamber and to each other. The networking portion of the conference was abuzz and brought people together who might not ordinarily connect in business. This is where opportunity is born and business is built. We understand that; it is what we do. The Chamber creates the stage that our members perform their magic upon. It was a beautiful thing to watch. As we look forward to a new year and new leadership in our Chamber, I am reminded of a few very simple things. No matter what team you cheer for, a win is a win. And to be victorious in business requires collaboration and collegiality and connectivity. The Chamber provides all of this and more. So, from our business to yours, thank you for making the effort to support us, to challenge us and to make us better each day.
Four years of waiting has given way to the thrills that we all hoped for; not just for our own country, but our birthplaces, homelands and countries of origin. I see a We are judged by the companies we keep – and that proliferation of flags mounted on vehicles and pasted begins with YOU! to storefronts and displayed in nail polish. There is no shortage of loyalty and camaraderie and excitement in our community. There are the highest highs and the lowest lows…all in the name of football (soccer). I like to think our Chamber – and our members - has the same sort of resolve and chutzpah. There may not be high-stakes matches against such personalities as Ronaldo or Messi or Neymar every day in business. But there are similar opportunities for achievement and teamwork and collective success. We set a different type of gooooooooaaaaaal every day, every week, every year to keep our businesses on a trajectory of success and to keep our employees motivated and engaged. coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
TRUSTEE TALK John Allen
Chair, Trustee Council Home Financing Center, Inc. johna@homefinancingcenter.com Summertime Greetings, Fellow Trustees!
Eddy Del Rio for being a Rising Star Award finalist. We’d also like to welcome to Eric Gros-Dubois and Eddy Del Rio as they take their seats on the Diplomat Council! Last, as we wind down this Chamber year, a tremendous “Thank You” to the finest team of Trustee Diplomats ever. They have been unceasing in their efforts to ensure that our Trustee members realize the most from their investment in the Chamber, and sincere appreciation to the Chamber staff, whose behind-the-scene efforts make all these events flow so seamlessly!
Summer in Coral Gables has definitely arrived! Temperatures are soaring and business is heating up. Please welcome our newest Trustee members of the Chamber – Ehrenstein, Charbonneau & Calderin Law Firm, FCG Wealth ManOn behalf of the Trustee Council, we look forward to seeing all of agement, Strock & Tanner Mortgage, First National Bank of South you at the next great Trustee event! Miami and Arrow3S! For those of you who missed it, our May Trustee Reception was hosted by Chamber board member Abe Ng, owner of the always popular Sushi Maki, together with Trustee Diplomat Carlos Larcada. For 14 years, Sushi Maki has been a landmark in the Gables, with premium Japanese cuisine, the best sushi to be found and fine wine, all of which were thoroughly enjoyed by over 80 Trustee members and guests. Thanks Abe and Carlos for another great evening at one of our favorite establishments!
TRUSTEE RECEPTION & LUNCHEON May 2014
Trustee members enjoy a fresh evening of networking at the May 13th hosted by Chamber Board Member Abe Ng and his team at Sushi Maki!
May’s signature Trustee Luncheon was was hosted at the Westin Colonnade Coral Gables and sponsored by Cherry Bekaert LLP. Joe Natoli, Senior Vice President for Business and Finance and Chief Financial Officer of the University of Miami was the featured speaker. The focus of his talk was “Enhancing Access to South Florida’s Most Sophisticated Health Care” and he delivered a very informative and interesting look at health care here, and of the tremendous accomplishments the University has made in that area. Trustees and Board members had the opportunity to learn first hand what is happening in today’s health-care world and the world-class facilities available here. With all-hands-on-deck preparing for what proved to be an outstandingly successful Annual Conference, the Trustee Diplomats had a brief hiatus; but we’re back in fine form with the July Trustee Reception at Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables. It’ll be a high-powered evening complete with fine hors d’oeuvres and spirits combined with browsing through elegant showrooms with high class automobiles. Looking forward, our July luncheon, sponsored by Intermedia Touch Inc., will be one you certainly don’t want to miss! Our featured speaker is Dr. Jacques Orces, Chief Medical Officer & Medical Director for Telehealth of Miami Children’s Hospital, one of the finest pediatric hospitals in the country and right in our own back yard.
Just a little goofing off and mussing for the camera at the May Trustee Reception hosted by Sushi Maki!
Welcome to one of our newest Trustees, Pete de la Torre with Pete de la Torre Enterprises!
To cap off our Chamber year on a high note, mark August 22nd on your calendars for the much anticipated annual Trustee Invitational & Interactive Luncheon. This event will sell out quickly (individual seats and VIP tables are available), so stay tuned for more details and plan on taking that afternoon off! Hearty congratulations to Trustee Diplomats Gabriel De Armas, Jr. for taking home the gold as the Rising Star Award’s Model Star and the Merrick-in-the-Making Entrpreneur Award winner and to
A BIG thank you to the sponsors of our May Trustee Luncheon, Darla Thompson & David Appel, from Cherry Bekaert, LLP.
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
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coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
SAVE THESE IMPORTANT DATES July 9th Wind Down Wednesday - 5:30 PM Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza│2626 Ponce de Leon Boulevard Sponsor: Bacardi USA Partner: Coral Gables Bar Association Cost: $20 Members by 7/4; $25 Late & On-site Members; $30 Guests July 15th Women’s Business Network Luncheon - 11:30 AM Hyatt Regency Coral Gables│50 Alhambra Plaza Sponsored By: Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. Speaker: Sebastian Rusk, Social Media Author, Speaker & Strategist Cost: $35 Members by 7/11; $45 Late Members, On-Site & Guests July 16th IMPACT: A Seminar Series for Small Business - 8:00 AM Is your practice’s brand on life support? Using marketing strategies for healthier outcomes. RightSpace2Meet│100 Miracle Mile, Suite 200 Sponsored By: Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. Moderator: Humberto Comellas, ulltium consulting, Inc. Panelists: Dr. Alejandro Badia, OrthNow; Dr. Stephen Eskin “The Rock Doc”, Coral Gables Hospital; Mari Garcia, Imagen; Dr. Payman Sadeghi, Miami Headache Institute Cost: $25 Chamber Members; $35 Guests July 17th Good Morning Coral Gables - 7:30 AM The Biltmore Hotel│1200 Anastasia Avenue Speaker: Dr. Emilio T. González, Director, Miami-Dade Aviation Department Cost: $25 Members registered by 7/11; $35 Members On-Site; $45 Guests
July 18th Boogie Nights! - 5:30 PM Arthur Murray Dance Studio│2916 Ponce de Leon Boulevard Sponsored By: RightSpace2Meet & Robin Rile Fine Art Bites Provided By: Love is Blind & Cao Chocolates Cost: $25 per individual; $40 per couple July 30th Trustee Luncheon - 11:45 AM - Open to all Members! Westin Colonnade Coral Gables│180 Aragon Avenue Sponsor: Intermedia Touch, Inc. Speaker: Dr. Jacques Orces, Chief Medical Information Officer & Medical Director of Telehealth, Miami Children’s Hospital Cost: $45 Members by 7/25; $55 On-Site & Guests August 1st Trow Knows CEOs - 8:30 AM RightSpace2Meet│100 Miracle Mile, Suite 200 Sponsor: RightSpace2Meet Speaker: Alexandra Villoch, President & Publisher, Miami Herald Cost: $25 Registration Fee August 22nd Trustee Invitational & Interactive Luncheon - 11:45 AM The Biltmore Hotel│1200 Anastasia Avenue Sponsor: Florida Blue, Esslinger-Wooten Maxwell Realtors & RightSpace2Meet Cost: $99 per individual; $999 Reserved VIP table of 8
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
MEMBERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CHAMBER MEMBERS
SPONSORSHIP / INVESTOR HALL OF FAME Through June 2014
New Members
Since last publication
24x7 Signs Inc. Agency for Persons with Disabilities Alcance Seguro Alvaro Fernandez-Carol DDS ArrowS3 BDI Construction BenTrust C1 Bank Chrysalis TMS Institute Cole, Scott & Kissane, P.A. Corner Bakery Cafe Cronos Trade, Inc. Design House Agency Effective Development Group Ehrenstein Charbonneau Calderín Elements Massage Pinecrest Express Travel FCG Wealth Management FindLaw & SuperLawyers - A Thomson Reuters Company First National Bank of South Miami GRE Group Inc. Josh Flanders Consulting Kelly Services Keyes Company Realtors-Jeanie Kwan Gallegos Kravitz Talamo & Leyton, LLP. Mallah Furman Marketites McGladrey LLP Only Imagine LLC Oria Management LLC. SalesPartners Miami SCORE - Miami Dade Chapter Strock & Tanner Mortgage Corp. The Conroy Martinez Group The WOW Center University of Florida Hialeah Dental Center
$5,000 and Above • AXA Advisors, LLC • Bacardi USA • Baptist Health South Florida • Brown & Brown of Florida, Inc. Miami Division • Brown-Forman Beverages • Cherry Bekaert LLP • City of Coral Gables • City National Bank • Credomatic Merchant Services • Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors
• Doctors Hospital • Florida Blue • Home Financing Center, Inc. • Mercantil Commercebank, N.A. • Miami Herald • Logistical Outsourcing, Inc. • Photo Offset, Inc. • RightSpace2Meet • South Florida Business Journal • University of Miami • U.S. Century Bank
$2,500 - $4,999 • The Allen Morris Company • AT&T • Bay Plumbing Company • Becker & Poliakoff, P.A. • Comcast Business • Coral Gables Hospital • Florida Power & Light • Gulliver Schools
• Intermedia Touch, Inc. • Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton Attorneys at Law • Mercedes-Benz Coral Gables • Montica Jewelry • South Motors • TotalBank • United Way of Miami-Dade
*BOLD denotes Trustee Member
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
EVENTS CALENDAR
‘14
July │ August
Monday
Tuesday
30
7
Wednesday 1
Business & Gov’t Affairs Committee Meeting 8:00 AM Small Business Committee Meeting 9:00 AM Cultural Affairs Committee Meeting 12:00 PM RE-Connect Luncheon 5:30 PM Wind Down Wednesday
5:30 PM Trustee Reception
14
Friday
2 3 8:00 AM 4th of July Observance of 4th of July Chairman’s Ambassadors OFFICE CLOSED OFFICE CLOSED Committee Meeting
8 8:00 AM
Thursday
9 8:00 AM 10 M-Team Committee Meeting Global Business Affairs Committee Meeting 9:00 AM Tech Task Force Meeting & Women’s Business Network Committee Meeting
15
16 17 7:30 AM 8:00 AM Good Morning Coral Gables IMPACT: A Seminar Series 9:00 AM for Small Business 20/30 Group
8:00 AM S.E.E. Green Committee Meeting 11:30 AM WBN Luncheon
4
11
18
Committee Meeting
21
22
23
24
25
31
1
8:00 AM Business & Education Committee Meeting
28
29
30
11:45 AM Trustee Luncheon
4 8:00 8:00 AM AM Global Global Business Business Affairs Affairs Committee Committee Meeting Meeting
8:30 AM Trow Knows... CEOs
5 6 8:00 AM 7 Chairman’s Ambassadors 12:00 PM Committee Meeting RE-Connect Luncheon 9:00 AM 5:30 PM Wind Down Wednesday Women’s Business Network Committee Meeting 8:00 AM 13 8:00 AM 14 Business & Gov’t Affairs M-Team Committee Meeting Committee Meeting 9:00 AM 9:00 AM 8:00 AM Chamber 101 Tech Task Force Meeting Small Business 5:30 PM Committee Meeting 9:00 AM A Midsummer Night’s Cultural Affairs Screening Committee Meeting
8
11
12
18
19 8:00 AM 20 21 22 7:30 AM IMPACT: A Seminar Series 11:45 AM Good Morning Coral Gables for Small Business Trustee Invitational 9:00 AM 9:00 AM & Interactive Luncheon 20/30 Group Health Care Task Force Committee Meeting Meeting
25
26 27 28 8:00 AM 11:45 AM Business & Education Trustee Luncheon Committee Meeting
8:00 AM S.E.E. Green Committee Meeting 11:30 AM WBN Luncheon
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014
15
29
SPONSORSHIP RECOGNITION
WIND DOWN WEDNESDAY
RISING STAR AWARDS
GOOD MORNING CORAL GABLES
JUNE
MAY
MAY
WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK LUNCHEON MAY
TRUSTEE RECEPTION
JUNE
TRUSTEE LUNCHEON
LEGISLATIVE ROUND-UP
MAY
IMPACT SEMINAR SERIES
COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE BREAKFAST
MAY
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
coralgableschamber.org │ CHAMBER CONNECTION │July - August 2014