We start the month of June not far removed from our annual Military Appreciation Picnic and I am writing this with the event still very fresh in my mind.  There was an awesome turnout from our military personnel and their families along with over 130 volunteers from the local area. We had a great group helping again this year and we hope that next year will be bigger and better.  I would like to thank our Platinum sponsors-Santa Rosa Medical Center, Gulf Power, PRI/DJI, Pen Air Federal Credit Union, Santa Rosa County Economic Development Office, Office Max, Henry Company Homes, Chick-Fil-A and Wal-Mart.  We were fortunate to have received the amount of financial support from our sponsors that we did for the event.  So thank you once again to all that came out and sponsored the event. We look forward to having it again next year.

                On a recent trip to Tallahassee with Leadership Class 27 I was able to hear many of our state leaders speak about what they are doing in Tallahassee to improve the business climate in Florida.  There are many initiatives underway to make Florida more appealing to businesses that are not currently located in Florida.  One of the speakers mentioned that in the past talent went to where the companies are but now the companies are coming to where the talent is located.  There is a wealth of talent in our local area and one of the challenges facing communities is luring the companies in that might match up with the talent base located in that community.  Even when the community is able to do that you are of course competing with other communities for the same company/jobs.  What sets them apart?  The one idea that grabbed my attention was that quality of life is very important for these companies when they are looking to relocate.  That is why I feel we have as good a chance of anyone of landing companies that we may be in competition with other communities for.  Our way of life in this area is second to none with friendly people, great schools, incredible natural resources and many other factors that are appealing to others.  So let's all work together to but our best face forward and attract some of the companies that are looking at our area to relocate.

                With June many things are happening like the start of summer, young men and women graduating high school and college and much needed vacations. Many people will be coming to our area so let's make sure they want to return.  One other very important thing is my anniversary and this year I will have been married to a beautiful young lady named Kasi for 13 years and I want to thank Kasi for all of her support and love this year.  So I hope each of you gets a good start to your summer and let's continue to make our community the best it can be! 

                As you can see with my picture your Chamber is launching a new campaign intended to be fun and help you show your pride about saying "I Belong" to the Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce.  Plans have been made about how best to use the "I Belong" sign so you never know where we may pop up/in with it so be prepared to join in the fun with us.  We hope you want to let everyone know that you "Belong" to the best Chamber of Commerce around!  Why not us, why not now?

Tracy Allen 
2013 President