LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Members of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce can expect to see more opportunities for mentoring, education, conferences and even international travel in 2011.
During the Manatee Chamber’s 48th annual dinner Tuesday at the Polo Grill, chamber officials said they are on a mission to see that its estimated 2,200 are more engaged in 2011.
“The more tools we can offer small business to help them be successful the better,” said Jim Vett, 2011 chairman of the Manatee Chamber’s board of directors. “The No. 1 thing is to be able to engage our members so they can share ideas.”
Vett outlined the chamber’s major initiatives for 2011 to a crow of several hundred business owners and professionals.
Among them will be to introduce a mentorship program that links veteran chamber members to new members.
“We want the program to be able to let our new members see all the value their membership can get them and fully utilize the chamber’s benefits,” Vett said.
Chris Pennewill, who was recognized as the chamber’s outgoing chairman, said the chamber showed growth in 2010 despite lingering economic stress.
The Manatee Chamber gained about 150 members to grow to 2,200. About two years ago, the Manatee Chamber had an estimated 2,400 business and nonprofit members.
“A couple years ago, our membership dropped a bit but it’s come back up and we think it can come back up to 2,400 this year,” Vett said.
Other programs the chamber will launch in 2011 include online educational programs, a series of leadership and business courses at the University of South Florida Manatee-Sarasota and a small business conference.
In addition, the chamber will begin offering members group travel to China, Tuscany and the Panama Canal in an effort to raise money for the chamber, as well as give members unique networking opportunities.
“We want our members to get the most value out of their memberships,” Vett said.
“Our small business conference is going to focus on access to capital, alternative means to credit and government assistance,” Vett said. “Because that’s one of the biggest challenges our businesses have had during these times.”
Access to credit and tough economic conditions were a major challenge in 2010.
But Pennewill said another major challenge the chamber faced and overcame was Amendment 4, which proposed putting development and land use issues before voters.
“Working to defeat Amendment 4 was a big one for us,” Pennewill said. “We really felt like that was a job killer for the state.”
Pennewill thanked the chamber’s board of directors and business members for their support during his tenure as chairman in 2010. Pennewill was the first chairman of the board to also have served as chairman of the Manatee Young Professionals.
“It was a wonderful experience for me,” Pennewill said.
“I think Jim will bring a great focus on regionalism to this board and this chamber.”
