Hello 2010

What Was and What Will Be
(Originally Published December 2009)



2009 is in the books, ladies and gentlemen. Now, we look at 2010. The year we make contact. At least, that’s what the movie told us. Maybe 2010 will be the year to keep in contact. I’ve often written about how to best utilize your chamber memberships, so here’s a suggestion for your New Year’s Resolution.

Make new connections. Now, I don’t mean just meeting new people. How about connecting two people you know? Relationships are about synergies. Become an identifier of synergies. Connect friend A to friend B. Become a business matchmaker. The unexpected results may well be new friendships.

Now, on to chamber business. What a year! Our little chamber grew by leaps and bounds. We had our most successful Golf Tournament to date. We introduced two new very successful events to the city: The Dania Beach Blast and Shades of Green. Our Leads for Lunch proved itself as a successful, viable program and we added Leads for Breakfast. We also launched the first of our quarterly Lunch & Learn series and partnered with Jai Alai for a great business expo. Did I mention our HannuChristmaKwanzaka Party? That was great, too.

Pardon the cliché but… You ain’t seen nothing yet!

2010 Will see all of the above and more. Look for our Insight Dania Beach program, the second Beach Blast, and new networking opportunities. In addition to our regular Business After Hours, we will host additional After Hours events in an effort to showcase more of our member businesses and to provide greater opportunities for our members to connect and grow their businesses. The chamber’s relationship with the city continues to thrive and our members and the residents of Dania Beach will continue to reap the benefits.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank the many people who made our success possible. In many ways, the job of the Chairman of the Board is the easiest job in a chamber. I give the occasional speech, write the occasional column, and get pats on the back when things go as beautifully as they have for the Greater Dania Beach Chamber of Commerce in 2009.

Of course, when things go wrong, the weight of the failure falls on the chairman’s shoulders. I have never experienced that awful feeling and there are several exceptional people who deserve the credit for this. They are:

Theresa Garcia, Chairman Elect
Ron Dooley, Past Chairman
Tim Pellot, Secretary
Ruth White, Treasurer
Rose Lizana, Board Member
Scott Singer, Board Member
Pat Chukerman, Board Member
Fred Nash, Board Member

And our office staff:

Joanne Morrow, Events and Membership
Victoria Payne, Executive Director

And so, in closing out the year that was 2009, I leave you with a quote from Bill Vaughan: “An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old one leaves.”

God bless you. See you next year.

Adolfo Jimenez

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