A Year in Review
Presenting our Annual Report
From our new home and headquarters on Alhambra Plaza, our Chamber pivoted like all of our local businesses in 2020 as we hosted our 10th year of Small Business Saturday at Jae’s Jewelers (who celebrated their 70th anniversary as a third-generation family business). We welcomed the whimsical Fireflies to Downtown Coral Gables as part of the inaugural Illuminate Coral Gables light show and honored our global business community with Flags on Ponce, our 28th year of these international flags flying high. Retailers and restaurateurs had to be innovative and creative with customers and the outdoor dining on Giralda Plaza and along Miracle Mile was a lifesaver. Finally, we long for the robust return of our hospitality industry, anchored by our beloved Biltmore Hotel, with exciting new hotel flags to come to The City Beautiful in 2022.
To say that 2020 was an “annus horribilis” on a global scale is an understatement. More than a half-million lives have been lost across the country, Florida and Miami-Dade County experienced an unprecedented lock-down, our economy nose-dived in Q2 of the year, consumer confidence dipped sharply, and millions of Americans were suddenly out of work. We saw food lines swell in repurposed retail parking lots, desperate moments that led to a rise in mental health issues, an unemployment portal that crashed hourly and led to even great despair, and daily heartbreak as thousands of businesses shuttered their doors forever, leaving millions of Americans looking for jobs. Yet, through it all, our Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce remained an essential business, leading the way forward with laser-focused programs on economic relief and recovery, a working committee reimagining our local economy and a collaborative effort towards the ultimate goal – the full return of our businesses. While many lost hope and some even lost touch, our Chamber upped our game. In fact, the last year has invigorated our Chamber leadership and team, spurring us to new heights and even greater, more personal service to our members. In my estimation, this has been our finest hour as a Chamber. That optimism is the impetus for this Annual Report, the first of its kind for our Chamber. The last year may have heralded a new decade for all of us; but, it also saw us move into our new home. After 16 years on Catalonia Avenue, we returned to our roots downtown and opened a new headquarters. There were other milestones, as well, that framed the year 2020 beyond a global pandemic, and thus we felt it important to document these moments, while also memorializing a year that brought the world to the brink and galvanized our diverse membership like never before. We found a way to better serve our members, even in a physically distant and socially remote manner. We persevered, just like you, in being both an asset and vital resource. We made the ultimate pivot to remain relevant! (Continued on page 3)
“IN MY ESTIMATION, THIS HAS BEEN OUR FINEST HOUR.” - MARK A. TROWBRIDGE PRESIDENT & CEO
These moments included: •The sale of our building at 224 Catalonia Avenue (2005-2020) •Creation of an endowment account with Morgan Stanley from building proceeds •Moved to our new home at 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 100 •New branding •Grand Opening of our Welcome Center •Celebration of our 95th Anniversary – Week of Welcome! •Updated website •Pivoted all programs virtually as of March 17, 2020 •Conduit for business-saving programs, such as PPP, Business Recovery Grants and the EIDL, to name a few •Social media growth and engagement across all platforms • Ranked #1 Chamber of Commerce in the tri-county area by South Florida Business Journal • Launched the TrowBiz Podcast • Re-invigorated our Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce Foundation • Founding partner of Illuminate Coral Gables • Celebrating diversity with our D&I initiatives None of these successes happen without tremendous support and incredible investment – from our Volunteer Leadership to our Chamber team to our community partners and stakeholders. This Annual Report will by no means tell you every story, as much of what we do flies under the radar. We’re not that comfortable patting ourselves on the back, to be honest. But, it will remind you that for 95 years – and certainly the past 365 days – your Chamber has been here for you every step of the way, every single moment of the day, in every thing we say. The lights never went out, even on the day we moved to our new home. Our doors – and hearts – were open on the daily. As 2020 raged on and gave way to 2021, we wrapped our arms around our members, mostly from a socially distant vantage point, and we focused on your needs, your struggles, and your recovery – in every possible way that is defined. Indeed, it has been our finest hour. MARK A. TROWBRIDGE
PRESIDENT & CEO | CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE @MISTERCORALGABLES
After years of planning and preparations, we wrapped-up 2020 by moving our Chamber’s headquarters from our off-the-beaten-path location on Catalonia Avenue to the heart of the business community, on the corner of Main and Main, at 201 Alhambra Circle, Suite 100, on the first floor of the SunTrust Bank building. With this move into our gorgeous, state-of-the-art retail facility, we launched a new brand, a completely refreshed website, inaugurated our Welcome Center, and deployed an assortment of new services now available to our valued members - that’s YOU! And, we aren’t stopping there! We have big things in store for 2021, including the roll-out of our conference room rentals (anchored by our Allen Morris Conference Room that holds 25), and your ability to leverage our Chamber’s social media accounts, thus enhancing your business exposure and more.
New look, who dis?!
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In addition to moving our offices in 2020, your Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce continues to expand our reach into the community by opening the City’s first official Welcome Center. Under the guidance of, and in partnership with, our friends at the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau, we aim to bridge the gap between business and leisure travelers and our surrounding community. No matter the activity that may interest you, we offer a plethora of resources and information to help you make the most of the time you spend in The City Beautiful.
TAKE US WITH YOU!
Complete with an interactive kiosk created by Intermedia Touch, our Welcome Center showcases the latest in places of interest, events, dining, retail and more! Swing by for a refreshing bottle of cool water, courtesy of Baptist Health South Florida, before you experience Coral Gables like only we know how! And - there’s more to come , with perfectly curated foodie and architecture tours, Gables swag, greater visitor engagement, and more!
If you’re new-ish to the Chamber, let us introduce you to: With the early installation of our new Chamber Chairman Brian Barakat of BARAKAT + BOSSA in June, came a slate of new priorities that our Chamber has been hyper-focused on ever since.
Brian Barakat
Chairman | #GablesChamber BARAKAT + BOSSA
Taking the hand-off from Patrick O’Connell, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty, who returned for a challenging five months in 2020, Brian and his trusted group of fellow Directors, chose to use his time as Chairman to focus on our Chamber’s diversity and inclusion practices, while relentlessly promoting doing business with fellow Chamber members, which we have affectionately dubbed our ‘Chamber 1st’ Program. Using this time of uncertainty to Come Together in unique ways with the Miami community at large, our Chamber has taken our programming and engagement to new heights. By sitting down with fellow business and community organizations, we have opened our doors to the challenges that our business-oriented brothers and sisters in the 305 and beyond have been experiencing.
We have taken their thoughts and concerns and created a full comPatrick O’Connell Immediate Past-Chair | #GablesChamber pliment of virtual events Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices EWM Realty that have served as a platform for our business community to stay connected with one another. This open format allowed each to discuss their ideas, share success stories of how they pivoted their businesses and maintained even greater relevancy in the face of adversity. As we continue to rise from the ashes of the COVID-19 pandemic, we invite you - our members - to spread your wings and take flight with us as we continue on our a journey to a brighter and more prosperous 2021.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME THE CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
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