Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce hosts Meet, Greet, Eat

As the number of vaccinations increase, the people of Longboat Key are feeling more confident to meet, greet and eat with one another again. The Longboat Key Chamber hosted its annual Meet, Greet, Eat event at the Longboat Key Club on March 25. 

“We’re trying now to get back to the new normal, whatever that is,” chamber President Gail Loefgren said. “We’re going to start our normal networking events in April with luncheons and Business After Hours.”

Originally, Meet, Greet, Eat was planned for February, but Loefgren rescheduled it to March to allow for more people to get vaccinated and feel safer coming to the event. There was strong interest from the community, and more than 150 people signed up in advance. Dozens moved between the indoor ballroom and outdoor patio, and the chamber provided color-coded wristbands to indicate how comfortable they were to be unmasked near others. 

“I think everybody’s anxious for some sort of sense of normalcy,” Loefgren said. “I think we timed it as well as we could to get to all the people who are snowbirds, so we were pleased.”

Even the “eat” part went well, as local food vendors served individual portions to enjoyed indoors or out. 

“We had great food vendors,” Loefgren. “We were a little concerned about that because of COVID. It’s hard these days to serve any kind of food at an event.”