NEWSLETTER Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber Currents 700 Main Street, Sebastian FL 32958 772-589-5969 | SebastianChamber.com

September 2016 Issue

If you would like to “make the front page” of our newsletter, make sure you schedule time this month at one of our networking activities, and maybe your name will be drawn for the monthly spotlight! Check out our calendar inside!

Member Spotlight

Sheila Maxwell, SRES,SFR Keller Williams Realty

772-708-2645 SheilaMaxwell@KW.com www.SheilaMaxwell.net

Experience

As an agent who's an expert in this local area, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and selling real estate here. It's not the same everywhere, so you need someone you can trust for up-to-date information. I am eager to serve you. Here are some of the things I can do for you:

Find Your Next Home

You need someone who knows this area inside and out! I can work with you to find the right home at the right price for you, including all the neighborhood amenities that matter - not to mention the essential crite-ria you have for your ideal home

Sell a Home

When it's time to move, you need someone who will advertise your home, show to prospective buyers, ne-gotiate the purchase contract, arrange financing, oversee the inspections, handle all necessary paperwork and supervise the closing. I can take care of everything you need, from start to close.

Consult on Home Selling Tactics

Oftentimes buyers don't visualize living in your home the way you do. I can make your home attractive to its ideal audience - which can help you get top dollar. Things like staging the home, making repairs or minor im-provements, or even simply painting the walls can be the difference between a home resting on the market and one that's sold fast.

September 2016

Beth L. Mitchell, President & CEO

September is that month when we begin thinking about cooler weather, holiday seasons, and of course our busi-

est time of year. I can never decide whether I prefer the fall season or the spring season.

We have two Chamber members who deserve some special recognition this month. We are now very safe and

secure in the Chamber offices, with many thanks going to Complete Electric/Complete Alarm. The Visitor Center

has seen a huge uptick of visitors over the summer, and we anticipate that this trend will only continue. From

time to time we encounter visitors with questionable intentions. For the safety of our staff we have a newly in-

stalled security system, with cameras, panic buttons and an alarm. All of this was donated by Complete Alarm,

one of our long term Sebastian chamber members. We are feeling safe and cozy, and very, very appreciative.

Mark’s Mobile Computer Services has also come through for the Chamber. Mark came in and installed a Night-

hawk Router with triband quad stream wifi. Not sure what all of that means except that our wifi is now really

ramped up and the system provides a separate wifi network for our guests to log into, so they can sit on the

porch, enjoy the lagoon breezes and check out the internet. Mark donated his time and equipment to the Cham-

ber as well. We are in awe of the generosity of both of these two companies, and urge you to do business with

them, and to thank them if you see them.

With the County Commission Candidates’ Forum a recent memory, we are now scheduled to hold another forum,

this time in Fellsmere to discuss the Medical Marijuana Amendment 2 that will be on your ballot in November.

We will have representatives from the VoteNo2 group and from United for Care (Vote Yes) group, who will an-

swer questions posed by myself. Jason Nunemaker and Chief Touchberry are very interested in informing the

public on this subject, and it will be held in the beautiful auditorium of the old school in Fellsmere. It’s open to the

public so you are welcome to join us in the discussion.

Congratulations to the Sebastian River Medical Center for their ground breaking ceremony, and the new

$65,000,000 project, which will create a completely new campus for medical services in our community.

The hospital staff and parent company have made a tremendous commitment to our area, with significant invest-

ments, high paying jobs and excellent medical care all of which contributes to our quality of life in the Sebastian

River Area.

We start September with a Chamber Breakfast at Seacoast National Bank, hosted by Patrick McGillicuddy. Our

lunch this month is at Capt Hiram’s and we will celebrate the year with our annual awards ceremony, followed by

the installation of new board members and officers. We have enjoyed awesome turnouts for our monthly lunch-

es, and hope you will reserve your seat for this one! Britney and her committee have been working all summer on

the Annual Media Auction, it will be held here at the pelican Porch Visitor Center, catered by Woody’s Bar-B-Q.

And of course our annual favorite auctioneer, Mr. Wesley Davis will help us auction of media packages and donat-

ed items. Its always a Chamber Tradition, a great party and you may find a new way to advertise or promote your

business at the same time.

As I write this we are anticipating the tropical wave coming through this weekend. We have been so blessed

since 2004, to not have to deal with hurricane interruptions and damage, let’s keep our fingers crossed for

another month!

Have a profitable month!

Chamber Networking Events

What a great turnout to celebrate the opening of Vintage to Vogue. We wish you much success!

Minuteman Press sponsored our August Breakfast at the Sebastian Chamber office. It was a great turnout—thank you all for attending.

It was a full house at the August Chamber Networking Luncheon held this month at Marsh Landing. Lunch was sponsored by Keep Indian River Beautiful. Our guest speaker was State Representative Debbie Mayfield.

Chamber Ribbon Cuttings & Special Events

September 2016 Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events

Tuesday, September 13th Noon—1PM Lunch Sponsor: Bill James of Liberty Insurance Annual Awards and Installation Lunch At Capt Hirams Tiffany Room 1606 Indian River Drive Sebastian, FL 32958 Reservations requested, $15.00 with reservation, $20 at the door

Committee Meetings

Executive Committee Meeting Thursday, September 1st 8AM—9AM Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian

Friday , September 2nd 8AM—9AM Sponsored by Seacoast Bank 1627 US Hwy 1, Suite 107 Sebastian

Full Board Meeting Wednesday, September 7th 8AM—9AM Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian

Friday, September 16th Time: 6-9PM Held at the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce, 700 Main Street, Sebastian $10 Chamber Members / $20 General Public

Amendment 2 Forum Thursday, September 8th 7PM Historic Fellsmere Elementary Auditorium 22 S Orange St., Fellsmere

Click here to see Sebastian River Exterminating’s

Banner Ad on the Sebastian Chamber website. Email bmelchiori@sebastianchamber.com for

information on how to increase online exposure

for your business.

DON’S ALUMINUM IS

CONVERTING TO

A WEB BANNER AD

ALL-RITE & CLARK WATER

ARE CONVERTING TO

A WEB BANNER AD

. Tourism Tidbits By Nicole Capp Holbrook

As our fiscal year comes to a close, we are finalizing our adver-tising plans and goals to focus on for 2016-2017 year ahead. Here are some highlights from our TDC Presentation that we presented in August:

In April, when our renovations were completed, we installed a people counter at the east entrance off of the front porch. From April 11th- August 10th we’ve had over 4,300 visitors into the Chamber Visitor’s Center. This is one-way traffic and we have considered staff traffic and have adjusted the numbers accordingly. The large increase in traffic during off-season is amazing and we look forward to seeing the visitation numbers during the upcoming season.

We are working with the City of Sebastian on a Tourism Pro-motion Co-Op promoting Sebastian and letting potential visi-tors know that “Our Coast is Clear” in light of what’s going on in Martin & St. Lucie Counties with the Blue Green Algae is-sues. We have a ½ page ad, ½ page editorial story running in the Oct/Nov issue of AARP. We will receive reader response leads of people who want more information on our destina-tion so we can follow up by mailing a visitor’s guide and add-ing them to our eblast. Be sure to check our ad out!

We are actively posting on Facebook & Instagram and building a great following. If you aren’t already following us, please do: www.Facebook.com/SebastianChamberVisitorsCenter www.instagram.com/visitsebastianriverareafl

PelicanIslandWebcam.com has had over 430 views since it launched in mid-May. The top countries visiting are: the U.S., Belarus, Germany, Mexico, and Czech Republic. Domestically, Florida, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, California, and North Carolina have visited the site the most.

In March, we became a VISIT FLORIDA Certified Travel Infor-mation Center. Research shows that visitors who stop into a welcome center stay longer and spend more money on their vacation based on information and the experience they re-ceive while at the center. We are excited to offer even better services now with our new Pelican Porch Visitor’s Center enhancements! We will be attending the Certified Travel Information Center Seminar in Tampa in October and later this year, Chamber Staff will go through training to become Certified Information Specialists, which will cover knowledge on tourism information throughout the state.

Some of our advertising plans for 2016-2017 include:

2017 Undiscovered Florida Magazine

Sport Fishing Television

VISIT FLORIDA Retargeting Co-Op Program

Social Media (Facebook/Instagram) Campaigns

VISIT FLORIDA Travel Guide

Florida State Parks Magazine

Google/YouTube Ads (Search, Display, and Remarketing)

We will continue to:

Send Monthly Tourism E-Blast- Goes out to 6,300+ email

addresses

Update Concierge Books- Displayed at 25 Hotels & Attrac-

tions throughout the Sebastian River Area & Vero Beach

Hold Quarterly Tourism Committee Meetings

Attend Various Festivals & Events: Sebastian Clambake;

Light Up Night; Concerts in the Park; 26th Annual Fellsmere

Frog Leg Festival; 2nd Annual Fellsmere ShrimpFest & Craft

Brew Hullabaloo; 51st Annual Grant Seafood Festival; 25th

Annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival; 2nd Annual Lionfish

Festival; 4th of July Festival

Other Areas of Focus:

Focus on visual storytelling: photos, slideshows, short video

clips, YouTube content, etc.

Work with VISIT FLORIDA to bring Influencers to our area to

promote our destination through various forms of media

Collaborate with VISIT FLORIDA on FAM Tours

German Freelance Writer visiting in December- Writes for

"Fisch & Fang" (Europe's largest fishing magazine) and with

the "AngelWoche" (Germany's largest fishing newspaper).

Continue to respond to editorial leads and opportunities to

pitch our destination to be featured (i.e. unique attractions,

area festivals, off the beaten path)

Offset negative media attention regarding Indian River La-

goon algae and Zika virus issues taking place in counties

south of us.

Information Specialist Training through VISIT FLORIDA’S

CTIC Program

New signage/banner to display at Festivals & Events

Increase Welcome Center Signage

Search Engine Optimization

Reserve booth space at the VISIT FLORIDA Welcome Cen-ters to promote destination

If you have any questions or would like to participate in any of the projects mentioned above, please let us know!

Communications Corner By Britney Melchiori

Advertising your business is smart; saving money on advertis-

ing is even smarter! There’s no better place to stretch your

marketing dollars than at the 23rd Annual Media Auction,

scheduled for Friday, September 16th from 6-9pm.

The event will be hosted at the Sebastian River Area Chamber

of Commerce and Pelican Porch Visitors Center and is spon-

sored by Sebastian River Medical Center, Bay Street Pharma-

cy, Sebastian River Exterminating and FPL. A delicious spread

will be provided by Woody’s Bar-B-Q, so come ready to bid

and ready to eat! Attendees will also enjoy a complimentary

drink, courtesy of our beverage sponsor, M N Worldwide. The

evening wouldn’t be complete without our auctioneer extraor-

dinaire, Wesley Davis!

The 23rd Annual Media Auction is designed to provide our busi-

nesses and non-profits the opportunity to increase their expo-

sure in the marketplace, at a reduced cost, through media do-

nated by marketing and advertising professionals. Whether

your advertising preference is print or radio, web or promo-

tional products, or even event sponsorships, we’ve got you

covered. There will be marketing packages to meet every

budget!

Representation from many of our media donors will be pre-

sent to provide information about the services they offer and

answer any question prospective advertisers have. Not only is

the event a great time to invest in media for your business, but

it is also the perfect opportunity to build relationships with

marketing and advertising partners. In addition to Media,

there will also be “experience packages” available for bid such

as staycations, dining deals, theatre tickets, and more.

We encourage you to join us on the evening of September 16th

to learn about the different advertising opportunities available

and to take advantage of the media packages up for bid. In-

crease your exposure in the marketplace and save money

while doing it! What a smart idea!

If you wish to donate, forms can be found on the home page

of SebastianChamber.com. For questions, please contact us at

589-5969.

Auction Admission:

$10 Chamber Members / $20 General Public

Spectators Free! Go Skydiving over the Florida Coastline!

Experience an incredible view of the Coastline and Atlantic Ocean while you Skydive!

Skydive Sebastian is your destination drop zone whether its your first time Tandem Skydiving or you are learning to skydive at our year-round school for the Accelerated Freefall Course (AFF).

We have numerous events throughout the year that attract skydivers from all over the world. The most famous event being Invasion (December 28-January 1) which will attract between 300-400 jumpers.

Our photographs and video tell the story better than words can as the Treasure Coast is marveled at above Skydive Sebastian.

Our professional jumpmasters enjoy an experience level exceeding thousands of tandem skydives and our skydiving cen-ter has maintained one of the best safe-ty records in the sport. They are sea-soned instructors who know how to answer your questions and will go out of their way to be sure you enjoy every-thing about your first skydive.

At 5,500 feet, you will deploy your parachute and enjoy an extended canopy flight through the sky for approximately 5 to 7 minutes allowing you to enjoy the breath-taking view.

You must be 18 years of age and cannot weigh in excess of 230 lbs to do a tandem skydive.

Don't want to jump? Come out and enjoy a cool beverage while having lunch at the Zoo Bar Grill and Cafe and watch the skydivers land. The observation deck is open to the public and is a great way to have a memorable day with friends and family! Also located at the airport are About Kayaks River Tours, Glider Flights, and Discov-ery Flights for all ages.

Tourism Spotlight: Skydive Sebastian

772-388-5672 www.skydivesebastian.com

Membership Memo By Vicki Wild

Welcome New Members

Books Bagels and Beans Anthony & Lisa 482 US Highway 1, Suite 1-3 Sebastian, FL 32958 772-217-1076 Dining Dex Media Kevin Bonura DexMedia.com 772-678-2351 Kevin.Bonura@dexmedia.com Graves-Thomas Injury Law Group Julio Betancourt & Lydsey Alexander 3885 20th St Vero Beach FL 32960 772-569-8155 www.gravesthomas.com Attorneys

Welcome to the flock

We are here to help promote your business and see it grow. Here are some things we do:

Your Business is listed on our website at www.sebastianchamber.com with a map of your loca-tion and attached to your website;

Your Business is listed in our Business Directory in al-phabetical and under category (this book is used as a phone book and is distributed to all our members, in our Chamber, in 30+ hotels, airports, businesses, doctor offices, restaurants, festivals and events, and available for you to have);

If 50% of your business is tourist related, you are listed in our Visitors Guide and in over 30 concierge books in our local hotels;

Your brochures and business cards are displayed in our Chamber office which is also a Certified Visit Florida Center (1 of 30 in the state), and a Scenic By-Way Office;

Your business is linked to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/SebastianChamber/ (if available);

You are subscribed and should receive our Monthly newsletter and weekly Intel letting you know what is happening in the Chamber and with our members;

We promote our Business to Business Program in our Intel weekly; so if you are giving a discount, your busi-ness will be rotated in a coupon in our Intel with other discount providers.

Plus we offer many ways for you to get your business out into the public by:

Offering free Ribbon Cutting and/or Grand Openings, Remodeled & New Ownership;

Promote employment opportunities on our employ-ment page http://www.sebastianchamber.com/economic-development/employment-opportunities

Our weekly Intel we will share your awards or recogni-tion for something, your employees recently certified, expanded your list of products or services; this can all be promoted under our member news and announce-ments; Read the latest Member News

Having a special event open to the community? We will put it in our current event section in our Sebastian Chamber, 2 kiosk (one behind Chamber and one at Riverview Park), put your event on our community cal-endar, on website, and in Hometown and Press Journal news;

Free booth space to promote your business at our Se-bastian booth area at festivals and events;

Free to host a Sebastian Chamber breakfast or Busi-ness and Pleasure cost to host a lunch;

Offering your business advertising and promotion through our Light up Night, Media Auction, 8 Concerts in the Park, Golf Tournaments, Restaurant Week are available for you to participate in and get your busi-ness mentioned in front of the public;

We promote and follow our businesses on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

To find out more ways, please contact me Vicki Wild, Membership Director ready to help. 772-589-5969 or email membership@sebastianchamber.com

Convert Your Ad to a Chamber Web Banner Ad and Increase Your Exposure

This program is designed to provide advertising opportunities to our Members who are looking to

increase their online exposure. We offer exclusive ad space: No rotating banners! Track the number

of impressions and clicks your ad receives. Strategic placement and 4 ad sizes to choose from.

Click here to see Sebastian River Exterminating’s Banner Ad on the Sebastian Chamber website. Email bmelchiori@sebastianchamber.com for more information on becoming part of the program.

REMAX

CROWN

has joined

the many

other

members

converting

to a web

banner ad

Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

Board of Directors, 2015-2016

Executive Team

Dawn Biehl, The Tiki Bar and Grill — Treasurer

Kim Ellis, Kim Ellis Insurance Services – Chair

Michelle Napier, Napier & Rollins — Vice Chair

Theresa Tolle, Bay Street Pharmacy—Immediate Past Chair

Elected Directors

Capt. Christy Lenz, “Casual Cruisin”

Chuck Mechling, Insite Solutions

Ali Qizilbash, Cemco Construction

Joel Stout, Sandpiper Pest Control

Anna V. Tillery — White Glove Moving and Storage

Appointed Directors

Mark Rogers, Walmart

Kelly Enriquez, Sebastian River Medical Center

Bob Morgan, Marine Bank & Trust

Sue Skirvin, Tupperware

Jim Finoche, Sebastian Lions Club

Nancy Flickenger, FPL

Ex Officio

Wesley Davis, Indian River County Commissioner

Andrea Coy, Councilwoman, City of Sebastian

Jason Nunemaker, City Manager, City of Fellsmere

Margie Duffell, Exchange Club of Seb. past President

Chamber Team

Kimberlee Armstrong, Accounting

Gail Cavallo, Administrative Assistant

Nicole Capp Holbrook, Tourism Director

Beth L. Mitchell, President/CEO

Britney Melchiori, Marketing & Communications

Vicki Wild, Membership Director

Chamber Ambassadors

Sandi Gehrke, TD Bank 772-581-1490

Gina Melton, LF Staffing 772-564-8777

Theresa Kannapes, VNA Hospice 772-480-7771

Isabel Marron, Oculina Bank 772-571-1400

Patrick McGillicuddy, Seacoast Bank 772-581-2430

Michael Natale, M N Worldwide, Inc. 772-388-0044

Mori Serpa, Hart Escapes 772-589-5229

Angie Schepers, Signs By Tomorrow 772-633-3777

Sue Skirvin, Tupperware 772-913-2010

Cynthia Williams, Primerica 772-713-1991

Kristie Woodward, Oculina Bank 772-581-3199

Anna Valencia Tillery, White Glove 772-232-7843 Moving, Storage & Delivery

The Chamber Currents Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

700 Main Street Sebastian, Florida 32958

Ph:772-589-5969 | Fax: 772-589-5993

www.SebastianChamber.com

DITCH 13 GALLERY AND GIFTS

National Elephant Center T-shirts

Local Honey, Preserves, Sauces,

Ceramics, Pottery, Coasters,

Leather Wallets, Belts, Purses

Intarsia Wood Carvings

Alligator Memorabilia

Unique Signs

Stained Glass

Bird Houses

Jewelry

Calendars

Postcards & Notebooks

Children’s Books & Cards Games

Framed Paintings, Photos, Prints

CD’s & Books on Local FL History

And More...

46 North Broadway Street | Fellsmere, FL 32948

Wednesday thru Monday 10am—6pm

(772) 918-8467 | ditch13galleryandgifts.com All major credit cards accepted