The Tampa Bay Chamber took the opportunity of its 138th Annual Meeting to look back at the moments and members who helped create milestones for our region. During a series of interviews filmed at Vū Tampa Bay, a group of Chamber Members came together to share their stories. Our thanks to the team at Vū Tampa Bay and Diamond View for helping bring these 2023 results to life. Click here to see video debuted at December 14, 2023 Annual Meeting.
1,400 member companies... 60% of them are small businesses... more than 9,800 people accessed Chamber benefits... and a 24% increase in new members... all of it happening in 2023! More than metrics, these numbers represent people - Tampa Bay Chamber Members – expanding their circles of influence and benefiting from professional development. The Membership Department alone hosted 32 events in 12 months that provided access to more than 53 hours of learning… a member benefit valued at nearly $100,000.
Voices of Membership
"I really leaned into the Tampa Bay Chamber when I first moved to Florida because I knew no one," explained Michael Blasco, owner of Tampa Bay Food Trucks and Chamber Member. "I started at square one, started to build blocks back in 2006. Since then, I’ve been able to build a professional career in Tampa Bay, as well as build a business that I don’t think I would’ve been able to do without the Chamber.”
"I had never been at a networking event. It was really hard for me to get into a room and talk to people that I’d never met before" explained Damaris Ortega. Her experience at the Chamber this year changed that. "I’ve really noticed how many relationships I have built. I’m making a lot of connections, and new friends too,” she added with a smile.
"We are who we are because the Chamber was there every step of the journey," adds Tony Selvaggio of eSmart Recycling. The young entrepreneur is a self described "Chamber baby" - starting his journey years ago in a Chamber mentorship program, then joining Emerging Leaders of Tampa Bay, and then graduating from the 2-year Minority Business Accelerator. "Now we’re excited to keep growing, to keep getting involved in the community because that’s what a healthy ecosystem does.”
Military Programming
For companies like RevStar, the Chamber’s Operation Partnership paved the way to hire a service member transitioning out of the military - Marine Mark Ohler. RevStar is just one of more than 700 businesses and organizations involved in Transition Tampa Bay, since it began. “For our business in cloud-native software development, we have demanding and complex requirements. We have very versatile teams, so the impeccable leadership and communication skills that our military veterans bring to our business has a profound impact not just for our teams, but also for our clients," said Raechel Canipe, Vice President of Marketing & Sales at RevStar. "Thank you to the Tampa Bay Chamber for offering this program.”
“Operation Partnership allows us veterans to connect the pieces," explained Marine Mark Ohler. "I was one of those veterans who didn’t know what they wanted to do. I got my education here at the University of Tampa. I asked myself, 'What do I want to do next? So, the Chamber allowed me to connect the dots and find my place at RevStar.”
This U.S. Marine transitioning out of the military met Airman Josh Hammons of New Mexico on the same day at the Chamber office. Both had plenty of questions and facing plenty of unknowns. Their stories are not unlike the more than 900 veterans and military spouses helped by Operation Partnership, to date. “After I decided to separate from the Air Force and move from New Mexico to Tampa, it was pretty challenging to find where I fit in right way," explained Hammons, now an employee at TECO. "I got plugged into the Chamber and it was the best decision I could’ve ever made and the best group of individuals I could’ve gotten plugged in to.”
(Pictured: Operation Partnership: Transition Tampa Bay participant Joshua Hammons now works at TECO; and participant Mark Ohler now works at RevStar.)
Workforce Development
The Chamber’s Workforce Development Committee helps create educational initiatives and partnerships with the business community to address local workforce needs. With more than 20 businesses represented and 8 universities, colleges and technical schools in 2023 alone, this collaboration aligns educational curriculum with workforce needs. It helps create jobs with long-term economic impact, just ask Tampa Electric and Hillsborough Community College.
"With our retiring workforce, we have more employees that are leaving for retirement than we have coming in. So, we got with HCC to develop this apprentice line worker program. This can help replenish our workforce at Tampa Electric," said Tony Faison of TECO. The training program is based at the Brandon Campus of HCC, fully equipped with a pole yard. HCC Campus President Dr. Deborah Kish Stephan is thrilled. "Hillsborough Community College is very involved in the Chamber and one of the pieces of involvement is through the Workforce Development Committee," said Kish Stephan, who is also a member of the Chamber's Board of Directors. "It’s incredibly important to develop the next workforce in the needs of our community and we’ve done exactly that with Tampa Electric. Through this partnership, we developed our electric line workers program and launched it this fall. It would not have been possible without our partnership with the Tampa Bay Chamber."
(Pictured: At center is HCC student Earl Gant of the TECO Electrical Line Worker Program, with representatives from HCC-Brandon Campus and TECO.)
Leadership Tampa / LTA / Emerging Leaders
In the nation, Leadership Tampa is the third oldest leadership program of its kind. Exclusive to the Tampa Bay Chamber, it has served more than 2,750 professionals. Joining us at the studios of Vū Tampa Bay just before a flight, Chamber Member Aaron Wheeler felt compelled to come and share his message of gratitude too. "Because the Chamber offered Leadership Tampa I was able to find an opportunity to connect with a community that I was new to. That connection, for me, culminated several years of moving around and landing in a destination that just felt like home," said Wheeler, LT Class of 2022.
In 2023, members of Leadership Tampa Alumni(LTA) served on the Board and on committees across Chamber programing...resulting in more LTA representation and engagement than ever before. They don’t just lead, they build legacy. Case in point is the Emerging Leaders program for young professionals, created in 2004 by alumni of Leadership Tampa and inspired by community leader - Chamber Member Deanne Dewey Roberts. It's a leadership program now on the verge of an important milestone - its 20-year anniversary - and has served more than 8,000 members.
Economic Inclusion
Chamber Member stories are being shared with business communities around the country and the world. Chambers of Commerce in 4 states and a delegation of business leaders from Japan travelled here this year to meet and learn about Tampa Bay Chamber programs on economic inclusion. In Switzerland, during the World Chambers Congress, the stories of these two Members helped illustrate the impact of the Minority Business Accelerator, which is now in year 5.
“When you have a moment to take the time to come back and share a message like this, I want to do it justice," said Ashley Butler of Ice Cold Air, fighting back the tears. The graduate of the Minority Business Accelerator's 2021 Cohort was a franchisee of one location before the accelerator. She’s a franchisor of Ice Cold Air in 5 counties today! "They excited a thirst and a hunger inside of me, and an understanding of myself – strengths and weaknesses – that when the opportunity came, I pounced. I was ready!”
It’s a transformation experienced by this entrepreneur as well, Lennise Germany - the owner of Livy O's catering company. “We went from selling food out of the trunk of our car to being an award winning multi-million-dollar grossing company," explained Germany, a member of the MBA 2022 Cohort and a 2023 finalist for Small Business of the Year. The accelerator was just the first stop in her Chamber journey. This year she's mentored participants in the Minority Empowerment Program as Chair, and one day hopes to be the Chair of the Chamber's Board of Directors!
Vision 2026
They are Chamber members aspiring to be more and being equipped to do so... including the man behind the camera of the Chamber's year-in-review video, which debuted during the 138th Annual Meeting. He is Kinard Robinson, Founder/CEO of Empowering Creative, a proud graduate of the Minority Empowerment Program.
"Exposure is expansion and I truly believe that is an area where the Chamber shines," said Robinson, on a break from filming at Vū Tampa Bay. "The Chamber does an AMAZING job of exposing us, a business owners, to the business community, and the community at large. That connection is powerful, expanding our reach and community impact."
Summarizing 2023 into 90 minutes was not been easy, says Bob Rohrlack, President/CEO of the Tampa Bay Chamber. There are so many Member stories to celebrate. “When we started our Vision 2026 plan seven years ago, we did that with a focus on – not what we wanted to see then – but what we wanted to see now and into the future," said Rohrlack, deeply grateful to the countless Members volunteering on committees and programs. "We’ve seen our Membership grow exponentially; the fact that we have a 5-Star accreditation rating from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, places us in the top 2% of chambers in our country; and that we’re able to see our programming recognized nationally and globally. From around the United States, other chambers are coming to learn about what we’re doing and to learn what this community is achieving through our programming. This year, we were recognized on the international stage as having one of the best programs globally, because of our Chamber's Minority Business Accelerator program, said Rohrlack. "We’re entering year 8 in January and we’re going to be pushing hard to finish strong and set up for the next vision plan. Truly, we want members to realize that we have swung our doors open so wide that every single member is welcome to come in, grab a seat at the table, roll up their sleeves and get to work."
(Pictures: President/CEO Dr. Bob Rohrlack thanking members at Vū. Also, from L to R, Representatives from Minority Empowerment Program Sponsors Bank of America and AMGEN, accompanied by 2 service members participating in Operation Partnership and representatives RevStar and TECO.)
Media Contact to schedule interviews: Lissette Campos, Senior Director of Strategic Branding, Marketing & Communications, Tampa Bay Chamber