Volume 232 | May 2025

Weekly E-Connection

801 West Bay Drive, Suite 602 Largo, FL 33770

Tel: 727-584-2321 www.CentralChamber.biz

Hey June Edition

June 3, 2025 -It's Great to Belong!

THIS THURSDAY!

"It's Great to Belong!"

New Members & Prospects Discover Why

Above, Jake Prokop, director of Pinellas Technical College (PTC) Clearwater Campus, talks about the school and its impact on the regional economy at the Chamber's recent Taste of the Chamber breakfast. PTC was host and a sponsor of the event that brought together new members, member prospects and established member businesses to discuss the many benefits that the Chamber offers.

Below, the progam included an opportunity for everyone to learn more about each other. In addition to what they do, each guest told us about special ways they celebrate their birthdays.

Thanks to all who attended, and special thanks to our Taste of the Chamber Sponsors, Centratel, Check Before Hire, McManus & McManus P.A, Office Services 101, Tommy’s Express Car Wash and PTC.

Welcome AMIKids Pinellas!

Chamber Ambassador Wendy Swertfeger of Legal Shield/ID Shield presents a membership plaque to Wanda Walker, Executive Director of AMIKids Pinellas. The non-profit organization offers a safe haven for fostered youth, ages 11-21, to receive the education, life skills, and workforce development they deserve. For more information, click this caption or visit https://amikids.org/location/amikids-pinellas/

Exploring new pathways...

A call to young sisters & daughters

Florida gains $196B in income as taxpayers flee high-tax states -- Florida gained the most from interstate migration over the past decade, with $196 billion in adjusted gross income flowing in.

A better Cross Bay Ferry by 2026? Area officials hash out a plan -- The Cross Bay Ferry is expected to return by fall next year under a new contract overseen by the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority, which plans to purchase local boats for the service.

Vision 2050: How should Orange County grow?

After eight years on the drawing board, Orange County’s rewritten blueprint for growth goes for a final review of the effort to slow sprawl and protect rural areas while also making room for an estimated 422,000 new residents.

High-rise projects would add more than 27,000 new residential units in Fort Lauderdale -- If the fiercest critics of Fort Lauderdale’s evolving skyline had their way, they might just shut the door on new development, lock the deadbolt and throw away the key. That’s not happening.