Santa Rosa County Chamber of Commerce

October 2024
Message from the Chair

The autumnal equinox marks the beginning of Fall and the peak of hurricane season here on the Gulf Coast. As I write this, I pray for our neighbors to the east who are about to have to deal with Hurricane Helene. I urge you all to review your preparedness plan in case we have to deal with tropical storms this month. Remember: The first seventy-two are on you!

Our 4^th Annual Team Bruce Baker-RE/MAX Infinity Casino Night was a roaring success. The taco bar was excellent and lots of nice prizes were won by the participants. We raised a significant amount of money to go toward our building. Thank you to Team Bruce Baker and Corona for sponsoring the event! It seems to get bigger and better every year. Marnie and I did pretty well at the craps table; we are looking forward to the event next year.

October is Team Bruce Baker-RE/MAX Infinity Golf Classic month. The tournament is scheduled for October 4^th at Stonebrook Golf Club in Pace. To sponsor, volunteer, or contribute goodie bag items and door prizes, please contact the Chamber office. We always have a good turnout and everyone has a great time. Lots of prizes will be given away, for example Closest-to-the-Pin, Hole-in-One, and several others.

Don’t forget to attend our monthly networking events in October! Business After Hours will be held on October 1^st at the Beardless Brewhaus in Milton, sponsored by Adams Sanitation. The A.M. Network is scheduled for the 25^th at The Cutting Board and sponsored by Team Bruce Baker, MBA-RE/MAX Infinity. Our Networking Lunch will be held on the 11^th at Ace’s Hangar in Milton – sponsorship still available. Please contact the Chamber office if you’re interested in sponsoring.

A special day is in store for the Military Affairs Committee this month as the meeting will be held onboard NAS Whiting Field on October 16^th. Leonardo Helicopters is sponsoring. The EDGE meeting will be held on October 23^rd at the Chamber in the McKenzie Room. Sponsor is Drug Free Workplaces and Crumbl Cookies will be the guest speaker – the best cookies in the world! Member Orientation will be on the 15^th with refreshments provided by ProHealth Clinics. I urge all new as well as established members to attend. Make sure you are taking full advantage of your membership!

Jim, Nicole, and Jaime are working diligently along with our wonderful Chamber Ambassadors to build our membership. We are currently at about 650 members with a goal of 700. They are also in the beginning stages of planning some spring events at our beautiful Chamber building: a Jeep show, a car and a motorcycle show. Since we are the Canoe Capital of Florida, I would like to see us have a canoe race on the Blackwater River. When I lived in Arkansas, we often had canoe races on the Spring and Buffalo River. Those races always had lots of participation.

I look forward to seeing you all at our events this month and thank all of our sponsors and venues for supporting the Chamber.

With kindest regards,
Frank Hoskins
Board Chair