Be Seen! Edition E-Connection

Volume 63 l March 2022

Weekly eConnection

801 West Bay Drive, Suite 602 Largo, FL 33770

Tel: 727-584-2321 Fax: 727-586-3112

The "Be Seen" Edition

Thank you to our Passport Partner! (to date)

In Memoriam…

Former Largo Mayor Bob Jackson 4/17/1933-2/20/2022

Robert E. “Bob” Jackson, 88, a nine-term Largo city commissioner,

two-term mayor, and educator, died Feb. 20 at his home.

Bob took great pride in serving the community of Largo. He was a city commissioner 1974 until elected mayor in 2000. He took pride in his involvement with the creation of Largo Central Park and the Largo Public Library.

He also enjoyed 29 years as an educator in Pinellas County Schools, 17 of those years as principal of schools including Clearwater Exceptional Student Center, Paul B. Stephens School, Osceola Middle School and retiring from Southside Fundamental in 1997.

Bob is survived by his wife of 62 years, Lucille; four children Robert E. Jackson, Jr. (Sally), Francine Harvey (Bob), James M. Jackson, and Christine Fava (John); and 7 grandchildren. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to St Catherine of Siena Catholic Church in Bob’s memory.

2022-23 Business & Community Go-to-Guide

Email Zoe at membership@centralchamber.biz to reserve your ad today!

Email Zoe at membership@centralchamber.biz to reserve your ad or click on the image above to download the form.

Excel Workshop at Pinellas Technical College

Our SMART! Education Series, in conjunction with Pinellas Technical College, ended last week with an awesome Intermediate Level Excel Workshop! Our instructor, Katie Rodgers, is seen here teaching the class about functions and data sorting. We had some great feedback about both the Basic and Intermediate levels. If you have any suggestions about future workshops please emails us at membership@centralchamber.biz or call us at 727-584-2321.

Some Tax Assistance:

“Hearing All Voices” Small Business Workshop

and Listening Session - Gulf Coast Area

Wednesday, March 16, 2022, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Hear directly from IRS Executives on topics to help small businesses succeed.

Presentations will include:

How to Avoid Common Tax Problems and Tax Scams
The Examination Process and Payment Options
Employment Taxes; Employee vs. Independent Contractor
How IRS is Improving its Services to Small Business Owners

Following the presentations, a Listening Session will be held for participants to voice their questions and concerns.

When: March 16, 2022, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Eastern

Where: In the convenience of your home or office via Zoom

The event is FREE. To Register, click HERE

You should receive a confirmation email from Zoom after completing registration.

PTC Student of the Month

Our next Education Fund Scholarship is presented to Vanessa Oquendo! Vanessa was chosen as Student of the Month at the Pinellas Technical College. She is enrolled in the Interior Decorating Services program with a focus on Biophilic Design. This type of design incorporates nature into interiors, which helps to effectively improve people's mental health and well-being. This is something Vanessa is really passionate about! Once she completes the program, she plans to open her own interior design business. Congratulations Vanessa!

Surcharges coming as more Florida insurers on brink of failure

For home insurance customers, the hits just keep coming. On top of a series of steep rate increases over the past few years, now come surcharges to clean up messes left behind by failed insurance companies.

While baseball argues about billions, small Florida towns lose their meager spring windfall

The Florida Sports Foundation says spring training has an annual economic impact of $687.1 million in this state. While the money sounds exaggerated, the actual passion for spring training is immeasurable.

Florida expands state of emergency to threecounties affected by wildfires

Over 600 homes have been evacuated in Bay County on the Florida Panhandle as a fast-moving wildfire that has been burning since Friday afternoon continued to resist containment efforts.

Climate scientist says Florida 'not acting fast enough'

Climate change impacts and risks are becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to manage. That’s one of the conclusions of the latest global report on climate change from a group of scientists gathered by the United Nations.

Strawberry shortcake named Florida’s official dessert. But what about Key Lime pie?

Florida loves its Key Lime pie. We love it so much that it’s the state’s official pie. But now Florida has a new state dessert, too.