TOMORROW: De-Escalation and Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

Wednesday, May 1st, Noon - 1pm

Saint Leo University

4650 NW 39th Place, Suite B, Gainesville

Presented by Lara Zwilling, Lara Zwilling Counseling and Consulting



Recognizing someone who is in crisis and responding appropriately to that individual can be overwhelming and intimidating.

Whether it’s a coworker or a customer, understanding basic conflict resolution and de-escalation skills can be invaluable when working with the public, your fellow workers or in the community.

Come join us for this informative talk where the audience will leave feeling more equipped and confident engaging and assisting an individual experiencing high levels of distress. 

We look forward to seeing you there.

This event is sponsored by Carr, Riggs and Ingram CPAs and Advisors.

UPCOMING EVENT

Join us for 

Business Before Hours at Backstreet Blues

Tuesday, May 14, 8:30 - 10am

Backstreet Blues Chophouse and Oyster Bar

6500 SW Archer Road Suite E, Gainesville

Join us Tuesday, May 14th for Business Before Hours from 8:30 to 10 a.m. at  Backstreet Blues Chophouse and Oyster Bar.   Admission is free with your Chamber membership, registration is required.

 

Business Before Hours is a structured yet relaxed environment for making effective connections within the Chamber business community.

 

You may find a strong referral source, a new vendor, the perfect client or simply get a foot in the door for connecting at larger events. Come build lasting business and personal relationships at Business Before Hours. We hope to see you there!

Click Here for more information and to register.

UPCOMING EVENT

CEO InSights featuring Nancy Eckert of LifeSouth Community Blood Center

Wednesday, June 12, 8 - 9:30am

Hippodrome Theater, Gainesville

25 SE 2nd Place, Gainesville

CEO InSights is an event series featuring topic presentations by local presidents, CEOs and other community leaders in an intimate, studio-type setting. The goal is to share personal and timely insights on critical topics including leadership, innovation, culture and more. 

 

Join us this Wednesday, June 12th, as our guest speaker will be Nancy Eckert, President and CEO of LifeSouth Community Blood Center .

There are a few seats still available.  Registration is required.  A light breakfast will be served. 

  

For more information and to register,  click here .

Sponsored by BBVA Compass

UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS

May 1: Lunch & Learn - Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

May 7: Humane Society of North Central Florida Ribbon Cutting

May 10: College Signing Day

May 13: Distinguished Speaker Luncheon -- Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe

May 14: Business Before Hours - Backstreet Blues Chophouse & Oyster Bar

UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS

Apr 30: Story Time & Ice Cream Social w/GHA, GACAR, and City/County Equal Opportunity Offices

Apr 30: United Way Express Bus Tour

May 1: Florida Museum to host ‘VR for the Social Good’ class demonstration May 1

May 2: Scoops of Thanks

May 3: Live Jazz with The C-Note Quartet

May 4: Bed Race to End Childhood Homelessness

May 5: Check out ‘Ask a Scientist: Salamanders’ May 5 at the Florida Museum

May 5: ‘Permian Monsters’ exhibit leaves May 5

May 6: Santa Fe IPDC & Lendio's CrowdPitch

UPCOMING EVENT

Don’t miss the first DRINK GNV Brewery Tour Presented by ServPro of Alachua County West

Friday, June 7, 3pm

First Magnitude Brewing Company

1220 SE Veitch Street



The Chamber is launching a new Buy Local campaign that highlights what makes Gainesville unique and celebrates the talent we have here in our favorite community. EAT and DRINK GNV are two of those that we are most proud of and so we are very excited to host our very first Brewery Tour. 

Join us as we visit all of our Member Breweries including: 

Big Top, First Magnitude, Swamp Head, and Cypress & Grove. 

We will also provide food, snacks, and plenty of water along the way. 

Guests will meet at First Magnitude at 3:00pm (Parking available). We'll spend approximately 45 minutes at each location before boarding a bus and travelling to the next location. Each guest will receive a commemorative tumbler, a souvenir lanyard, and food and beverage (BEER!) at each location. 

Space is limited so be sure to book your spot early! 

Chamber members are allowed priority ticketing. Future members interested in attending will be waitlisted.

Cheers to Drink GNV!

For more information and to register to attend,  Click Here .

Sponsored by Servpro Alachua County West

UPCOMING EVENT

Leadership Gainesville Class 46 now Accepting Applications

Deadline: June 14, 2019

Are you ready to make a difference as a leader in our community?

Leadership Gainesville is now accepting applications for its 46th class. This 10-month community leadership program is designed to give leaders of today the tools they need to grow their impact in the Greater Gainesville region. LG provides an in-depth immersion into the issues and opportunities of our region.

Leadership Gainesville allows you to:

For more information, contact Joe Johnson at  [email protected].

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT UPDATE

April 2019 Economic Indicators Report Available

The latest Edition of the Alachua County Economic Indicators Report is now available. To see a quick highlight of the Economic Indicators report, please click  here . To download the April 2019 full report, please click  here .

REMINDER

Hot Jobs through CareerSource NCFL

Each week, CareerSource North Central Florida staff members identify current Hot Jobs that employers are eager to fill.

If you’d like a vacant position to be included on this list, please call (352) 244-5112.   ...See this week's Hot Jobs

To apply for jobs listed:

UPCOMING EVENT

College Signing Day

Friday, May 10, 7 - 9pm

City Walk at Celebration Pointe

4949 Celebration Pointe Ave, Gainesville

The Greater Gainesville Chamber's Alachua County Education Compact is pilot College Signing Day for seniors graduating from high school.  We want to recognize these students who are moving on with post-secondary plans whether they are planning on attending a 4-year college, 2-year college, technical school, or the military.

The program is a short turnaround time for that I apologize.  It will take place on Friday, May 10th, from 7pm to 9pm at Celebrations Pointe's City Walk.  There will be free food and drinks for students and their family members that attend. 

If you have seniors that would like to participate, please have them complete the attached form and send it back to me.  They can also complete the form online at  https://wp.me/P9W3lj-KH

The event will be a pep rally type event and will have DJ, a backdrop of the 4-year college, 2-year college, technical school, or the military branch the student is attending. The students will be called to the stage to sign the backdrop above the logo of the 4-year college, 2-year college, technical school, or the military branch they are attending.  

EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Local student adds Sunshine State Scholar to growing list of awards, accolades

Helena Jiang gets a lot of joy—and a lot of awards—out of solving problems.

The Buchholz High School junior came up with a cheaper, easier way to detect air and water pollutants, work that recently took Best of Show honors in the State Science and Engineering Fair. She solves problems as a member of the schools math team, which just won first place in the Florida Mu Alpha Theta Competition. 

Jiang also sees a problem with the proportionally small number of girls and African-American children who are achieving at high levels in math and science. So she’s doing what she can to find a solution. 

That includes coordinating one of two free summer math camps and a math competition hosted by the Buchholz High School math team. The goal is to promote a love of mathematics, particularly among children typically underrepresented in advanced math programs. 

It’s work that requires hundreds of hours that must be carved out of her very busy schedule, but she says the results are worth it.

“The feeling of seeing a student grow both mathematically and as a person is indescribable,” said Jiang. “I want to extend the opportunities given to me to make the dreams of less fortunate students a reality.”

“She’s very passionate about working with younger kids and helping them develop that talent,” said BHS math teacher Will Frazer. “When you talk to her you can see how much it moves her. Her energy is contagious, and other kids see what she does and want to follow her.”

As a result of her commitment both to the subjects she loves and the work she’s doing to spark that same love in others, Jiang has been named one of just 100 2019 Sunshine State Scholars. The Scholar program which was established more than twenty years ago, recognizes Florida’s top 11 ^th -graders in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) subjects, and is based on criteria that include advanced coursework and grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, an essay and awards and honors earned.

Jiang is also the Buchholz president and the Strategy and Regional Director of coderGirls, an international non-profit organization aimed at promoting the participation of K-12 girls in computer science and engineering. She also founded and leads a non-profit called Opalescence, which provides kits that help children create artificial opals as a way of sparking their interest in nanoscience.

EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENT

Bus driver named district’s top school-related employee hasn’t missed a day 

Consider the challenges of driving a school bus—the very early and sometimes very late hours, traffic hazards, impatient motorists, not to mention all those kids behind you. Now consider facing those challenges every school day for fifteen years—and never missing a day.

That day-in and day-out dedication to the job is just one of the reasons bus driver James Davis has been named Alachua County Public Schools 2019 School Related Employee of the Year. He will now represent the district in the Florida School Related Employee of the Year Program.

“I always had a sense of how important it was to go to work,” says Davis, known fondly by students and staff as Mr. D. “It was instilled in me as a young person by my family. I started working when I was sixteen and I’ve been working ever since.”

It’s not just a matter of being there every day that sets Davis apart. It’s what he does with his time on the job. He puts extra effort into getting to know the students who ride his bus. When they have behavioral issues, Davis takes the time to talk with them and guide them to make better decisions, passing on words of wisdom that can help them, not just on the bus, but in their personal lives.

“I try to deal with them on a one-on-one basis, not to call them out in front of their peers,” he says. “I want to show them I have respect for them, and I want them to have respect for themselves.”

Eastside High School Principal Shane Andrew has known Davis professionally for many years, and says that while Mr. D is firm with the students on his bus, it’s obvious that he cares about them. Davis has taken over ‘troublesome’ routes from other drivers, including routes at Eastside, and has been able to turn things around.

Davis will be one of 47 school district employees who will be recognized at the annual Alachua County School-Related Employee of the Year ceremony in early May. Each of those employees will be presented with an awards check thanks to donations from local individuals and businesses, including primary sponsor Campus USA Credit Union. 

Y ou can upgrade your directory listing on the Greater Gainesville Chamber website to include your logo, photos and video?  For information on the benefits of an Enhanced Web Listing, contact Mary Fox, your Member Engagement Manager at [email protected] .

UPCOMING EVENT

Leadercast Gainesville: Leading Healthy Teams

Friday, May 10, 8:30am - 5pm

Queen of Peace Academy

10900 SW 24th Ave, Gainesville

The Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce is a proud MVP Sponsor of Leadercast for the 9th year in a row and we want to invite you to join us on May 10, 2019. (Steve Cannon, Vice President, Member Development, the Greater Gainesville Chamber)

Advantage Media Promotions & Team Dynamo are hosting this year’s event. There will be nine speakers in the simulcast including Andy Stanley, Ginger Hardage, Juliet Funt, Patrick Lencioni, Caroline Leaf, Craig Springer, Marcus Samuelsson, Gayle King and Carla Harris. If you have never been, you can watch the videos below to learn more. 

Great food will be served including a delicious lunch served by Sonny’s BBQ, hot cookies compliments of Chick-fil-A Oaks Mall, and a hearty breakfast from Maple Street Biscuit company, for our premium ticket holders. 

For more information, contact 352.577.LEAD or email  [email protected]

HR & Nursing CEU”s are available. Prices increase on May 4 so register today at  www.leadercastgainesville.com . 

New Members

PRP Regeneration Specialists, LLC

T. Mushell Holdings

Trinity's Day Spa

Renewing Members

Alzheimer's Association

Betterme Productions

Earth Pets Natural Pet Market

GACAR

Granny Nannies

Grub Burger Bar

M. David Gracy Jr, CFP, LLC

Magic Communications

Mark Hurm & Co, LLC

Paramount Grill

RJ Young

Sleep Inn & Suites

The Mayfair

The Mortgage Firm - Leap Mortgage

Volkswagen of Gainesville

MEMBER EVENT

Play in LifeSouth's Annual Golf Tournament this Saturday

Saturday, May 3, 1pm

Mark Bostick Golf Course, UF

2800 SW 2nd Ave, Gainesville

Play LifeSouth Community Blood Centers’ Eighth Annual Golf Tournament on Friday, May 3 at the Mark Bostick Golf Course on the University of Florida campus. The event benefits the LifeSouth’s Five Points of Life Foundation. The foundation raises awareness for the five ways to share life with others through the donation of blood, apheresis, marrow, umbilical cord blood and organs and tissue. 

Tee off is at 1 p.m. For more information or to reserve a team or player, call Brite Whitaker at 352-224-1728 or email  [email protected] . 

MEMBER EVENT

Maple Street to Host a Brunch to Benefit Altrusa This Sunday in Tioga Town Center

Sunday, May 5, 11am - 2pm

Maple Street Biscuit Company Tioga

140 SW 128th St., Building 5 Suite D, Newberry

The mission at Maple Street Biscuit Company is to help people, serve others and be a part of the community. In 2019, they have been hosting a series of cause-related brunches, open to the public, in order to build awareness and to inspire others to give to some uniquely dynamic, local causes who are making significant impact in our community. For their next brunch, they will be partnering with Altrusa - an international non-profit organization making Gainesville better through leadership, partnership, and service. Altrusa undertakes a variety of service, literacy, fundraising and international projects each year to strengthen our community. Please plan to come out to support this event to learn more about how you can support their mission and a portion of the proceeds generated from this event will go toward financially supporting the mission of Altrusa. The event will be held Sunday, May 5 from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm in their Tioga Town Center location.

UPCOMING EVENT

BioFlorida Celebration of Biotechnology

Thursday, May 9, 9:30am - 1pm

Foundation Park

14193 NW 119th Ln, Alachua

Join BioFlorida on May 9 in Foundation Park!

Stop by any time and stay through lunch!

No charge to attend.

MEMBER ANNOUNCEMENT

Renasant Bank welcomes new Senior Mortgage Manager Sara Teague

Renasant Bank is pleased to announce new Senior Mortgage Banker, Sara Teague to the Gainesville team. Sara joins us from TIAA Bank with over 10 years of residential lending experience in Alachua county. Sara is active in Gainesville Area Women Network where she serves as Vice Chair as well as various committees within Gainesville Alachua County Association of Realtors.