Chamber to feature small businesses, big events

Every year, the Longboat Key, Lido Key, St. Armands Key Chamber of Commerce mixes business with pleasure during Small Business Week, when members come together for seminars and socials and to honor small businesses.

The 17th annual Small Business Week will kick off with a hobnob-style Business After Hours from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, June 14, at Sarasota Yacht Club, 1100 John Ringling Blvd. The cost is $10.

Seminars will take place from 9 a.m. to noon Tuesday, June 15 and noon to 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 16, in the Gillespie Room at the Longboat Key Club and Resort’s Island House, 301 Gulf of Mexico Drive.

Seminars scheduled for Tuesday are “Managing Cash Flow in Turbulent Times” by SunTrust Bank, which will include information about negotiating with a bank to secure a loan, from 9 to 9:45 a.m.; “Getting the Word Out: Press Releases, Media and Social Marketing” with Katherine Songster, public relations manager at the Key Club, and Ross/Ritter Advertising, from 9:45 to 10:45 a.m.; and “Working the Room: How to Maximize Your Meet-and-Greet Effectiveness” with Re/Max Excellence broker/owner Andrew Vac, from 11 a.m. to noon.

On Wednesday, seminars on the schedule are “Speaking to Others: How to Maximize the Effectiveness of ‘Elevator Speeches’ and Short 10-Minute Presentations,” with Sara Hand, of Joy … Beyond Freedom, from noon to 1 p.m.; “Ethics in Business: How Can Your Practices Impact Your Bottom Line?” with Cookie Boudreaux, of Business Ethics Alliance, from 1 to 2 p.m.; and LLSA Chamber President Tom Aposporos will present “Your Business, Your Chamber,” which will feature information about getting ideas from members and communicating them with the chamber board, from 2 to 3 p.m.

The week’s events will conclude with the Small Business of the Year Awards Breakfast from 7:30 to 9 a.m. June 17, at the Holiday Inn Lido Beach, 233 Ben Franklin Drive. During the breakfast, the winners of this year’s Small Business of the Year awards will be announced (see box at right). Cost is $25.

For information, call 383-2466 or go to longboatkeychamber.com.

...And the nominees are
Rookie Small Business
• Jay Anderson, Edgewater Contractors Inc.
• George and Sandra Ceshker, Secur-All Insurance Agency
• Stephanie Dubsky, Stephanie Dubsky Photography
• Lee Fox, Save Our Seabirds

10 employees or fewer
• Rhonda Coblentz, Principal Financial Group
• Sara Hand, Joy Beyond Freedom
• Dick O’Dowd, La Playa condominiums
• Steve Schewe, Steve’s Fitness
• Jeff Vermillion, Servpro of North Sarasota

11 or more employees
• Beth Callans, Beth Callans Management Corp.
• John Faulkner, Cornerstone Solutions Group

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].