Tampa, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Chamber held its 139th Annual Meeting December 6, 2024, at the Tampa Convention Center, hosting its traditional "passing of the gavel" between the Chamber's Board of Directors, 2024 Chair Brian Adcock and 2025 Chair Edwin Narain, Esq. Before a sold-out crowd of more than 700 Chamber Members and community guests, leaders celebrated the achievements and shared success stories from 2024 and cast the vision for 2025. Following tradition, the Chamber also announced the 2024 H.L. Culbreath Award Winner Ronald Christaldi of Shumaker Advisors Florida.
Christaldi became the 28th winner of the prestigious H.L. Culbreath Jr. Profile in Leadership Award in the Chamber's history. This leading business lawyer, selected as on the Nation's 100 Most Influential Attorneys, is Shumaker Partner and President/CEO of Shumaker Advisors Florida. He is a former Chair of the Chamber's Board of Directors and a longtime community leader whose impact has profoundly shaped the Tampa Bay region. Beyond Christaldi's professional accomplishments in the legal sector, he has helped to expand access to healthcare, improve transportation, and attract investments to our region, creating more jobs. Earlier this year, he was named 2024 - 2025 Chair of the Leadership Florida Board of Directors.
The Culbreath Award was created in 1997 to recognize an individual whose leadership has made a positive impact on the greater Tampa community, named in honor of its first recipient whose civic philanthropy and long service personified leadership. From the lectern moments before revealing the winner's name, 2023 Culbreath Award Winner Gregory Celestan said "He is a difference maker, identifying potential sites for a new baseball stadium and building international connections, just to name a few! Nationally recognized among the best lawyers in America, he is an extraordinary leader!"
Entering year 9 of the Chamber's Strategic Vision Plan, 2025 Chair Edwin Narain proudly introduced the 2025 Executive Committee Members.
- Chair Edwin Narain, Esq. - AT&T
- Chair-Elect Rob Ledford - Baker Barrios
- Treasurer Cammie Chatterton - Bay Food Brokerage
- Legal Counsel LaKisha Kinsey-Sallis, Esq. - Fisher & Phillips LLP
- Finance Executive Scott Daigle - TD Bank
- At Large Members:
- Jeff Chernoff - IAT Insurance and Trust
- Collette Glover-Hannah - Hannah's Shoebox
- Deborah Kish-Stephan - Hillsborough Community College
- Susan Maurer - INB, NA.
- Christopher Minner - Tampa International Airport
- Mark Pitts - Coca Cola Beverages - Florida
- Ryan Toth - The Beck Group
- Stephanie Smith - TECO
Chamber Members also "made news" of their own. The Glazer Family announced the million-dollar Small Business Fund Program during the Tampa Bay Chamber's Annual Meeting. The funds will be made available to hundreds of small businesses in the Tampa Bay and West Central Florida region recovering from Hurricane Milton and administered by 8 chambers of commerce serving our community. All eight chambers were on hand for the big announcement and gathered around the ceremonial $1 Million Check and Darcie Glazer, Bucs Owner and Chairman of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Foundation and Glazer Vision Foundation. The participating chambers that will help administer the program will include: The Tampa Bay Chamber, North Tampa Bay Chamber, South Tampa Chamber, St. Petersburg Chamber, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, Manatee Chamber, Greater Plant City Chamber and Amplify Clearwater. To learn more, read the Tampa Bay Buccaneers News Release.
An unexpected news-making moment happened a few moments later during remarks by Arnie Bellini. Invited to speak about the Bellini Center for Talent Development, Bellini surprised everyone in the audience, including the Chamber's President/CEO Dr. Bob Rohrlack, when he concluded his remarks by announcing a half-million-dollar gift to the Chamber for workforce development. Bellini is currently a sponsor of Collegiate Leadership of Tampa Bay, helping to expand the program in recent years by partnering CL with the Bellini Center at the USF Muma College of Business.
About the Tampa Bay Chamber: Serving the region since 1885, this not-for-profit membership organization currently serves approximately 1,400 member companies of all sizes and industries. Among its initiatives are Policy & Advocacy for the region’s business community, Small Business, Military & Defense Community, Workforce Development, Leadership and Women’s Programming, and Economic Inclusion. To learn more, visit our website.
139th Annual Meeting Photo Gallery:
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