MARCH - APRIL 2021 DIPPING OUR TOES IN THE WATER
With that, we invite you to take part in March!
As the weather starts to change and the colors We have created a plethora of opportunities for of Spring begin to bloom, our Chamber wants you to connect and grow; now,check them out below: to help your business blossom this year! rd With the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 shutdowns on the horizon, our Chamber leadership, after much thought, planning and consideration, has decided that now is the time to gather again. With all saftey precautions in mind, we will begin to have some limited capacity, in-person events, open to those who wish to connect face-to-face. Not a single industry has been spared from the widespread effects of the pandemic, and we as a Chamber remain hyper-focused on creating opportunities for you, and your business, to flourish in 2021. As we begin dipping our toes into the water, we will continue to encourage you to get involved with one of our great committees or register to attend an event. Don't fret, there will still be plently of programming available in the virtual space. With inclusiveness as a primary operating principle under Chairman Brian Barakat's leadership, we will continue to Come Together for you, our devoted and valued members!
March 3 | RE-Connect Luncheon March 3rd | Wind Down Wednesday @ 77 Sport Bar - LIVE! March 5th | Trow Knows CEOs March 9th | Trustee & GEM Investors Reception March 11th | Candidates Forum March 13th | Illuminate Coral Gables Dims March 16th | Women’s Business Network Luncheon March 17th | IMPACT: A Seminar Series for Small Business March 18th | Good Morning Coral Gables Brunch Marrch 24th | Trustee & GEM Investors Luncheon
IN THIS ISSUE: Thoughts from our Chair
Page 2
President’s Perspective
Page 3
Trustee Talk
Page 4
Save the Date!
Page 5
Membership Highlights
Page 6
March Calendar
Page 7
April Calendar
Page 8
Sponsor Recognition
Page 9
coralgableschamber.org | CHAMBER CONNECTION | March - April 2021
THOUGHTS FROM OUR CHAIR
Love and Fireflies are in the air this month. The Gables sported a festive scene on Saint Valentine’s Day, as our well-dressed revelers took to the streets to celebrate their main squeeze. My wife Michelle and I were on the Mile and Giralda with love and patience, but without reservations. Finally, the folks at Bangkok Bangkok took pity on us and gave us a bowl of curry. Thank you to Jill Hornick over at Jae’s for showing that I did not completely fail to plan.
BRIAN BARAKAT
CHAIR OF THE BOARD PARTNER | BARAKAT + BOSSA, P.A. BARAKAT@B2B.LEGAL
If you’re wondering where the Fireflies fit in, Illuminate Coral Gables has kicked-off as a delight for the senses. My family and I biked the whole circuit. We were blown away by the diversity of concept and topic. My favorite was the light tables at the Coral Gables Museum featuring the opposing harbors. A big thank you goes out to Past Chair of our Chamber Patrick O’Connell and Venny Torre for making sure that our City once again stands out as Miami’s fine arts mecca.
There is still plenty of time to experience Illuminate Coral Gables, as it’ll light up our Downtown Wednesday – Sunday nights through March 13th. If you want to be part of this phenomenon, you can sign up to volunteer to drive a Firefly or act as an event ambassador. There no better way to thank those who have invested countless hours in ensuring Illuminate’s success and it’s a great opportunity to be part of something special. This has been a banner month for new members of the Chamber, welcoming a number of new Trustees, amongst other levels. It is a testament to the tremendous ability the Chamber has to connect and promote our businesses. It is because of the Chamber I met my best client, my best office mate, two of my best employees, friends and of course, the outsourced vendors who make this place tick. For that I am forever thankful!
CHAIR OF THE BOARD PARTNER | BARAKAT + BOSSA, P.A. BARAKAT@B2B.LEGAL
coralgableschamber.org | CHAMBER CONNECTION | March - April 2021
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE | LET THERE BE LIGHT The concept of light has many different and inspiring metaphors - vision, vitality and virtue, for starters. It is often a symbol of hope and goodness, as well. It can envelop our heart and sweep away the darkness. It is an idea to cherish, especially when discussed in concert with transparency and authenticity. Such is the case with Illuminate Coral Gables, a gorgeously curated art and light show that has quickly become one of the most instagramable moments in the history of Coral Gables. Running now through March 13, Illuminate, as it is affectionately known, is lighting up our senses with its extraordinary installations around The City Beautiful.
MARK A. TROWBRIDGE
PRESIDENT & CEO CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MTROWBRIDGE@CORALGABLESCHAMBER.ORG
program before or after dinner.
If you have not taken a stroll around the Gables in the last two weeks to soak in the light and harmony that is the amazing Illuminate, well, get to it! In a time where being outdoors in the fresh air and open spaces may be the safest and healthiest alternative to social isolation, this art show is occurring at the perfect moment in our City. With installations on Giralda Plaza (Kiki Smith's Blue Night is also wonderful to see in the daytime and dusk), inside the Hotel Colonnade (the only fully inside art feature), along Miracle Mile, on the wall at Actors' Playhouse, and the facades of City Hall and the Museum, one can take-in the entirety of the
Throw in the magical whimsy of Cai Guo-Qiang's Fireflies that seemingly flit through the City each night and you have the makings of an art piece that is incredibly special. And, just when we need to be inspired the most! Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are suddenly and surprisingly and sweetly smiling again! Dreamed-up by our own Immediately Past Chairman Patrick O'Connell, and cobbled together in concert with a simultaneous idea by former BID President Venny Torre, Illuminate Coral Gables brings together five community partners: The Business Improvement District, City of Coral Gables, Museum, Coral Gables Community Foundation and of course, our own Chamber. Each has contributed to the success of Illuminate - from fundraising to artistic stewardship to direct sponsorship and volunteerism. Each has brought their own expertise to the process and encouraged the project to go forward, even in the midst of a pandemic. With the planning for Illuminate continuing up until the opening day, there has been something to look forward to over the past year and we applaud our City and fellow Illuminati for not giving up, not losing hope, and for shining the very meaning of light on this incredible series of masterworks. We also thank our curators, who took our original idea and helped elevate it to a world-class show. They brought in renowned artists like Kiki Smith, David Gumbs, Carlos Estevez and Cai Guo-Qiang - and married them with local artists and students from FIU. Working collaboratively, there has been no shortage of ideas or inspiration. In closing, without partners like the City and BID, this show would have never come to light. They were early believers and supporters and invested significant dollars into this one-of-a-kind South Florida exhibition. They saw the light and they stepped up big. As a Chamber, we are pleased to be among the partners and sponsors who have brought the joy of Illuminate to life, part of our vision for an even more viable Coral Gables. Programs like this are economic drivers like no other and offer a huge return on investment. So, join us the next few weekends until March 13: Wed/Thurs/Sun, sundown-9pm; Fri/Sat, sundown-10pm. And of course, we still need volunteers (illuminatecoralgables.com); if you wish to staff one of our info booths, exhibits or drive a Firefly through the downtow, please sign up today! Finally, do yourself a huge favor. Gather the family, head downtown and enjoy a night of art, retail therapy and great food. It has been far too long since we had something to celebrate, to look forward to, to cherish. Illuminate represents all of these ideas, lovingly wrapped in a the warm light of hope, happiness and harmony.
TRUSTEE TALK
Welcome to the latest edition of the Chamber CONNECTion! We’re now in week 48 and a half, as of this writing, of the “New Normal,” also known as #COVIDLife. It has been a challenging year for all of us, and the Trustee Diplomats of the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce have not been immune to the turmoil. Nevertheless, the Diplomats are here to serve the Chamber and act as a liaison between the Chamber leadership, its staff, and the principal group of investors in our Chamber. ERIC GROS-DUBOIS
CHAIR, TRUSTEE DIPLOMATS CEO, FOUNDER | EPGD BUSINESS LAW ERIC@EPGDLAW.COM
We would also like to thank our President & CEO, Mark Trowbridge, for his diligent and tireless leadership throughout these trying times. As our Chamber ventures into its 96th year, we need the support of our community now more than ever.
Mark and his team have put all their efforts into a big push for new members over the last two months, and we have a great line-up of new members and Trustees to show for it. True to this year’s theme, everyone "came together" as a team to make this happen. I want to personally invite any of you who have questions about the Chamber, upgrading your membership to Trustee, or about your Trustee benefits, to reach out to me or any of the Diplomats. We are excited about our upcoming programming and the prospect of hosting our first Trustee & GEM Investors Reception since the pandemic began nearly a year ago. On the heels of an engaging Trustee Luncheon, sponsored by Past Chair Carolina Rendeiro with Conect2Global, it featured Leigh-Ann Buchanan, the president of Aire Ventures. Leigh-Ann chatted about creating a diverse and inclusive ecosystem within your organization. This is just one of the regular opportunities the Trustees have to connect with each other and our amazing Chamber. I hope to see you soon!
CHAIR, TRUSTEE DIPLOMATS CEO, FOUNDER | EPGD BUSINESS LAW ERIC@EPGDLAW.COM
coralgableschamber.org | CHAMBER CONNECTION | March - April 2021
2020 - 2021 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE & BOARD OF DIRECTORS
WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CHAMBER MEMBERS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Chair of the Board | Brian Barakat Barakat + Bossa, P.A. Chair-Elect | Ana Chaoui Grove Bank & Trust First Vice Chairman | Thad Adams The Allen Morris Company Treasurer | Sara Hernandez First Citizens Bank Parliamentarian | Addys Kuryla Florida Power & Light Immediate Past Chairman | Patrick O’Connell Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty Vice Chairman-Global Business Affairs | Deirdre Nero NERO Immigration Law, P.L. Vice Chairman-Community Affairs | Mike Lasley Northwestern Mutual - Coral Gables Vice Chairman-Business & Economic Development Carolina Rendeiro, Connect2Global Vice Chairman-Member Affairs | Lauren Dowlen Lowell International Realty Vice Chairman-Special Events | Darryl Rosenbaum Bigfoot Construction Vice Chairman-Gov’t & Legislative Affairs | Maria Garcia Kozyak Tropin & Throckmorton Trustee Council Chair | Eric Gros-Dubois EPGD Business Law Chairman’s Appointee | Martha de la Peña Rojas Florida Blue
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2021
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ricardo Alberty, The Well Groomed Gentleman Steven Bradley, Clutch Burger Natalia Collazo, Miami Heat/AA Arena Chris Colston, Second Chance Credit LLC Amy Donner, Coral Gables Magazine Frank Fernandez, CenterState Bank Alex Fonseca, Apollo Bank Matthias Kammerer, The Biltmore Hotel Alina Menendez, American Airlines Cristina Miller, Intermedia Touch, Inc. Rene Negron, Equitable Advisors Elsa Powers, Doctors Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida Monique Selman, Albany Homes Construction Lillian Ser, Ser & Associates, PLLC Anabella Smith, Zyscovich Architects Efrain Sora, Sora Global Risk Advisors Cinthya Urena, City National Bank of Florida Myrna Vaca, UHealth Jessica Wilcox, J. Wilcox Consulting EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS City of Coral Gables | Commissioner Patricia Keon City of Coral Gables | Julian Perez Business Improvement District of Coral Gables Coral Gables Community Foundation | Mary Snow The Beacon Council of Miami-Dade | James C. Kohnstamm President & CEO Mark A. Trowbridge
77 Sport Bar Absolute Web Back Office Essentials, LLC Engineer Accounting LLC Gensler Hines Liberty Extraction & Drying Miami Alkaline Water Pita Weber Del Prado Republica Havas/Havas House RM PACKAGING GRAPHICS LLC Root Cause Method SnapDivorce LLC SUN4 INC Synergy Scribes Synovus Bank The Franchise Consulting Company The Reserve at The Plaza TUR KITCHEN Urban Resource VIM Global Advisors Zediker Law Firm ZenChange Marketing *BOLD denotes new Trustee Member | *BOLD denotes new GEM Member
Please be advised that the annual process of electing Officers and Directors for our Chamber is now underway. The general membership of our Chamber has the opportunity to provide names of candidates to the Nominating Committee, as well as nominate members directly via a petition for Board membership. In order to be nominated directly, a member must submit his or her request to be added to the ballot by returning twenty-five (25) signatures of Chamber members in good standing to the Chamber office by Thursday, April 1st at Noon. Any submission from the membership will be added to the slate of nominees determined by the Chamber’s Nominating Committee and Board of Directors, led by Ana Chaoui of Grove Bank & Trust, our Chamber Chairman-Elect. Chamber Board elections and member voting will be held in midMay, 2021 and you will receive your ballot electronically.
Please contact the Chamber at (305) 446-1657 if you have any questions regarding this process. coralgableschamber.org | CHAMBER CONNECTION | March - April 2021
CALENDAR | MARCH 2021 Sunday 28
Monday 1
Tuesday
Wednesday
2
3
9 AM | GLOBAL BUSINESS AFFAIRS COMM. MEETING
8 AM | SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE MEETING
Thursday
Friday
8 AM | CHAIRMAN’S AMBASSADORS COMMITTEE MEETING
9 AM | TROW KNOWS... CEOS FEAT. MICHELLE SHIRLEY, BE STRONG INTERNATIONAL
4
9 AM | PUBLIC POLICY TASK FORCE MEETING NOON | RE-CONNECT LUNCHEON
9 AM | WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK COMMITTEE MEETING
5:00 PM | WIND DOWN WEDNESDAY
SUNDOWN - 9 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
SUNDOWN - 9 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
7
8
9
10
11
8 AM | BUSINESS & GOV’T AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING
SUNDOWN - 9 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
SUNDOWN - 9 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
14
15
16
5
17
22
23
SUNDOWN - 10 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
13
9 AM | CHAMBER ENGAGEMENT 101
6 PM | CANDIDATE FORUM RECORDING
SUNDOWN - 10 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
19
8 AM - 2 PM | CORAL GABLES FARMER’S MARKET SUNDOWN - 10 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES LAST NIGHT!
20
10 AM | GOOD MORNING CORAL GABLES VIRTUAL BRUNCH STYLE 11:15 AM | 20/30 GROUP MEETING
4 PM | IMPACT: A SEMINAR SERIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
21
8 AM - 2 PM | CORAL GABLES FARMER’S MARKET
SUNDOWN - 10 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
12
18
NOON | WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK LUNCHEON
6
8 AM | MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING
SUNDOWN - 9 PM ILLUMINATE CORAL GABLES
Saturday
24
25
NOON | TRUSTEE & GEM INVESTORS LUNCHEON
8 AM - 2 PM | CORAL GABLES FARMER’S MARKET
26
27
8 AM | BUSINESS & EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING
8 AM - 2 PM | CORAL GABLES FARMER’S MARKET LAST WEEKEND!
28
29
30
31
1 8 AM | CHAIRMAN’S AMBASSADORS COMMITTEE MEETING 9 AM | WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK COMMITTEE MEETING
THE CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
GABLESCHAMBER
CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
coralgableschamber.org | (305) 446-1657 | info@coralgableschamber.org
2
3
9 AM | TROW KNOWS... CEOS NOON | BUSINESS BOOK CLUB LUNCH & LEARN
GABLESCHAMBER
CALENDAR | APRIL 2021 Sunday 28
Monday 29
Tuesday
Wednesday
30
Thursday
31
1
Friday 2
Saturday 3
8 AM | CHAIRMAN’S AMBASSADORS COMMITTEE MEETING 9 AM | WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK COMMITTEE MEETING
4
5
6
7
9 AM | GLOBAL BUSINESS AFFAIRS COMM. MEETING
8 AM | SMALL BUSINESS COMMITTEE MEETING
8
9 AM | TROW KNOWS... CEOS NOON | BUSINESS BOOK CLUB
9
8 AM | MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE MEETING
10 9 AM | CHAMBER ENGAGEMENT 101
9 AM | PUBLIC POLICY TASK FORCE MEETING NOON | RE-CONNECT LUNCHEON 5:00 PM | WIND DOWN WEDNESDAY
11
12
13
14
15
8 AM | BUSINESS & GOV’T AFFAIRS COMMITTEE MEETING
16
17
23
24
30
1
10 AM | GOOD MORNING CORAL GABLES VIRTUAL BRUNCH STYLE 11:15 AM | 20/30 GROUP MEETING
18
19
20
21
NOON | WOMEN’S BUSINESS NETWORK LUNCHEON
22
4 PM | IMPACT: A SEMINAR SERIES FOR SMALL BUSINESS
8 AM | BUSINESS & EDUCATION COMMITTEE
25
26
27
28
29
NOON | TRUSTEE & GEM INVESTORS LUNCHEON
THE CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
GABLESCHAMBER
CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
coralgableschamber.org | (305) 446-1657 | info@coralgableschamber.org
GABLESCHAMBER
SPONSOR RECOGNITION WIND DOWN WEDNESDAY JANUARY
FEBRUARY
SPONSORSHIP / INVESTOR HALL OF FAME Through February 2021 $5,000 & Above
• Amerant Bank GOOD MORNING CORAL GABLES JANUARY
• Equitable Advisors • Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty • CenterState Bank • City of Coral Gables • City National Bank of Florida
WOMEN'S BUSINESS NETWORK LUNCHEON JANUARY
• Doctors Hospital, part of Baptist Health South Florida • Florida Blue • Florida Power & Light • Home Financing Center, Inc. • UHealth
BUSINESS BOOK CLUB LUNCH & LEARN SERIES SPONSOR
PARTNER
$2,500 - $4,999
TROW KNOWS CEOS SERIES SPONSOR
• Mercedes-Benz of Coral Gables • NERO Immigration Law, P.L.
IMPACT SEMINAR SERIES SPONSOR
RE-CONNECT LUNCHEON SERIES SPONSORS
The Maulini Group at Morgan Stanley
coralgableschamber.org | CHAMBER CONNECTION | March - April 2021