- April 25, 2024
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Gail Loefgren hands out her card at the event.
Stephanie Dubsky and Gail Loefgren were some of the first at the event.
Speakers Rochelle Gallant and Bruno Kapacinskas gave the crowd tips on disaster preparedness.
The table was set with disaster preparedness tips and networking materials.
Jack Dean and Michele Burnett posed together at the event.
In lieu of a menu since guests had already placed their orders, a sheet of disaster preparedness tips lay on the table.
Folks mingled and networked before the luncheon.
Missy Ordiway and Jimmy Bonner posed during their networking.
Penelope Mabrey and Andrew Vac, Chamber members, posed for photos.
Jimmy Bonner wraps an arm around Gail Loefgren.
Christina Gay-Poppen, Missy Ordiway and Nicole Mahan are three local women in the business world.
The theme may have been "disaster preparedness," but the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce luncheon was far more pleasant.
Chamber members and their guests spent the midday July 16 at Cafe L'Europe in St. Armands Circle networking with other local businesspeople and learning about disaster preparedness. Christina Gay-Poppen of WrightWay Emergency Services hosted the event, which Gail Loefgren and Andrew Vac ensured ran smoothly.
Speakers Bruno Kapacinskas of Manatee County and Rochelle Gallant of Sarasota County, both involved in business relations in their communities, defined disaster as "anything that inhibits your ability to do business." This includes more than just your obvious hurricane.
"Besides hurricanes, what do you think of as a disaster?" asked Gallant.
"Red tide!" attendee Nancy Taussig shouted. And don't forget air conditioning outages, fires, and a host of other events.
Kapacinskas and Gallant work with businesses in their communities to prepare them for disaster, so they can get back up and running quickly after something hits.
"I don't want to know your business, I just want to know you're in business," Kapacinskas said.
