NEWSLETTER - Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

September 2016 Issue
Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce
700 Main Street, Sebastian FL 32958
772-589-5969 | SebastianChamber.com
NEWSLETTER
The Chamber Currents
Member Spotlight
Sheila Maxwell, SRES,SFR
Keller Williams Realty
772-708-2645
SheilaMaxwell@KW.com
www.SheilaMaxwell.net
Experience
As an agent who's an expert in this local area, I bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise about buying and
selling real estate here. It's not the same everywhere, so you need someone you can trust for up-to-date
information. I am eager to serve you. Here are some of the things I can do for you:
Find Your Next Home
You need someone who knows this area inside and out! I can work with you to find the right home at the
right price for you, including all the neighborhood amenities that matter - not to mention the essential criteria you have for your ideal home
Sell a Home
When it's time to move, you need someone who will advertise your home, show to prospective buyers, negotiate the purchase contract, arrange financing, oversee the inspections, handle all necessary paperwork
and supervise the closing. I can take care of everything you need, from start to close.
Consult on Home Selling Tactics
Oftentimes buyers don't visualize living in your home the way you do. I can make your home attractive to its
ideal audience - which can help you get top dollar. Things like staging the home, making repairs or minor improvements, or even simply painting the walls can be the difference between a home resting on the market
and one that's sold fast.
If you would like to “make the front page” of our newsletter, make sure you schedule time this month at one of our networking activities, and
maybe your name will be drawn for the monthly spotlight! Check out our calendar inside!
September 2016
Beth L. Mitchell, President & CEO
September is that month when we begin thinking about cooler weather, holiday seasons, and of course our busiest time of year. I can never decide whether I prefer the fall season or the spring season.
We have two Chamber members who deserve some special recognition this month. We are now very safe and
secure in the Chamber offices, with many thanks going to Complete Electric/Complete Alarm. The Visitor Center
has seen a huge uptick of visitors over the summer, and we anticipate that this trend will only continue. From
time to time we encounter visitors with questionable intentions. For the safety of our staff we have a newly installed security system, with cameras, panic buttons and an alarm. All of this was donated by Complete Alarm,
one of our long term Sebastian chamber members. We are feeling safe and cozy, and very, very appreciative.
Mark’s Mobile Computer Services has also come through for the Chamber. Mark came in and installed a Nighthawk Router with triband quad stream wifi. Not sure what all of that means except that our wifi is now really
ramped up and the system provides a separate wifi network for our guests to log into, so they can sit on the
porch, enjoy the lagoon breezes and check out the internet. Mark donated his time and equipment to the Chamber as well. We are in awe of the generosity of both of these two companies, and urge you to do business with
them, and to thank them if you see them.
With the County Commission Candidates’ Forum a recent memory, we are now scheduled to hold another forum,
this time in Fellsmere to discuss the Medical Marijuana Amendment 2 that will be on your ballot in November.
We will have representatives from the VoteNo2 group and from United for Care (Vote Yes) group, who will answer questions posed by myself. Jason Nunemaker and Chief Touchberry are very interested in informing the
public on this subject, and it will be held in the beautiful auditorium of the old school in Fellsmere. It’s open to the
public so you are welcome to join us in the discussion.
Congratulations to the Sebastian River Medical Center for their ground breaking ceremony, and the new
$65,000,000 project, which will create a completely new campus for medical services in our community.
The hospital staff and parent company have made a tremendous commitment to our area, with significant investments, high paying jobs and excellent medical care all of which contributes to our quality of life in the Sebastian
River Area.
We start September with a Chamber Breakfast at Seacoast National Bank, hosted by Patrick McGillicuddy. Our
lunch this month is at Capt Hiram’s and we will celebrate the year with our annual awards ceremony, followed by
the installation of new board members and officers. We have enjoyed awesome turnouts for our monthly lunches, and hope you will reserve your seat for this one! Britney and her committee have been working all summer on
the Annual Media Auction, it will be held here at the pelican Porch Visitor Center, catered by Woody’s Bar-B-Q.
And of course our annual favorite auctioneer, Mr. Wesley Davis will help us auction of media packages and donated items. Its always a Chamber Tradition, a great party and you may find a new way to advertise or promote your
business at the same time.
As I write this we are anticipating the tropical wave coming through this weekend. We have been so blessed
since 2004, to not have to deal with hurricane interruptions and damage, let’s keep our fingers crossed for
another month!
Have a profitable month!
Chamber Networking Events
Minuteman Press sponsored our August Breakfast at the Sebastian
Chamber office. It was a great turnout—thank you all for attending.
It was a full house at the August Chamber Networking Luncheon held this month at Marsh Landing. Lunch was
sponsored by Keep Indian River Beautiful. Our guest speaker was State Representative Debbie Mayfield.
Chamber Ribbon Cuttings& Special Events
What a great turnout to celebrate the
opening of Vintage to Vogue. We wish you
much success!
September 2016 Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events
Committee Meetings
Executive Committee Meeting
Thursday, September 1st 8AM—9AM
Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian
Friday , September 2nd
8AM—9AM
Sponsored by Seacoast Bank
1627 US Hwy 1, Suite 107 Sebastian
Full Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 7th 8AM—9AM
Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian
Amendment 2 Forum
Thursday, September 8th 7PM
Historic Fellsmere Elementary Auditorium
22 S Orange St., Fellsmere
Tuesday, September 13th
Noon—1PM
Lunch Sponsor: Bill James of Liberty Insurance
Annual Awards and Installation Lunch
At Capt Hirams Tiffany Room
1606 Indian River Drive
Sebastian, FL 32958
Reservations requested, $15.00 with
reservation, $20 at the door
Friday, September 16th
Time: 6-9PM
Held at the Sebastian River Area Chamber of
Commerce, 700 Main Street, Sebastian
$10 Chamber Members / $20 General Public
Click here to see Sebastian River Exterminating’s
Banner Ad on the Sebastian Chamber website.
Email bmelchiori@sebastianchamber.com for
information on how to increase online exposure
for your business.
DON’S ALUMINUM IS
CONVERTING TO
A WEB BANNER AD
ALL-RITE & CLARK WATER
ARE CONVERTING TO
A WEB BANNER AD
. Tourism
Tidbits
By Nicole Capp Holbrook
As our fiscal year comes to a close, we are finalizing our advertising plans and goals to focus on for 2016-2017 year ahead.
Here are some highlights from our TDC Presentation that we
presented in August:
 In April, when our renovations were completed, we installed a
people counter at the east entrance off of the front porch.
From April 11th- August 10th we’ve had over 4,300 visitors into
the Chamber Visitor’s Center. This is one-way traffic and we
have considered staff traffic and have adjusted the numbers
accordingly. The large increase in traffic during off-season is
amazing and we look forward to seeing the visitation numbers
during the upcoming season.
 We are working with the City of Sebastian on a Tourism Promotion Co-Op promoting Sebastian and letting potential visitors know that “Our Coast is Clear” in light of what’s going on
in Martin & St. Lucie Counties with the Blue Green Algae issues. We have a ½ page ad, ½ page editorial story running in
the Oct/Nov issue of AARP. We will receive reader response
leads of people who want more information on our destination so we can follow up by mailing a visitor’s guide and adding them to our eblast. Be sure to check our ad out!
 We are actively posting on Facebook & Instagram and building
a great following. If you aren’t already following us, please do:
www.Facebook.com/SebastianChamberVisitorsCenter
www.instagram.com/visitsebastianriverareafl
 PelicanIslandWebcam.com has had over 430 views since it
launched in mid-May. The top countries visiting are: the U.S.,
Belarus, Germany, Mexico, and Czech Republic. Domestically,
Florida, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Michigan, Illinois,
Indiana, California, and North Carolina have visited the site
the most.
 In March, we became a VISIT FLORIDA Certified Travel Information Center. Research shows that visitors who stop into a
welcome center stay longer and spend more money on their
vacation based on information and the experience they receive while at the center. We are excited to offer even better
services now with our new Pelican Porch Visitor’s Center
enhancements! We will be attending the Certified Travel
Information Center Seminar in Tampa in October and later
this year, Chamber Staff will go through training to become
Certified Information Specialists, which will cover knowledge
on tourism information throughout the state.
 Some of our advertising plans for 2016-2017 include:
 2017 Undiscovered Florida Magazine
 Sport Fishing Television
 VISIT FLORIDA Retargeting Co-Op Program
 Social Media (Facebook/Instagram) Campaigns
 VISIT FLORIDA Travel Guide
 Florida State Parks Magazine
 Google/YouTube Ads (Search, Display, and Remarketing)
 We will continue to:
 Send Monthly Tourism E-Blast- Goes out to 6,300+ email
addresses
 Update Concierge Books- Displayed at 25 Hotels & Attractions throughout the Sebastian River Area & Vero Beach
 Hold Quarterly Tourism Committee Meetings
 Attend Various Festivals & Events: Sebastian Clambake;
Light Up Night; Concerts in the Park; 26 th Annual Fellsmere
Frog Leg Festival; 2nd Annual Fellsmere ShrimpFest & Craft
Brew Hullabaloo; 51st Annual Grant Seafood Festival; 25th
Annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival; 2nd Annual Lionfish
Festival; 4th of July Festival
 Other Areas of Focus:
 Focus on visual storytelling: photos, slideshows, short video
clips, YouTube content, etc.
 Work with VISIT FLORIDA to bring Influencers to our area to
promote our destination through various forms of media
 Collaborate with VISIT FLORIDA on FAM Tours
 German Freelance Writer visiting in December- Writes for
"Fisch & Fang" (Europe's largest fishing magazine) and with
the "AngelWoche" (Germany's largest fishing newspaper).
 Continue to respond to editorial leads and opportunities to
pitch our destination to be featured (i.e. unique attractions,
area festivals, off the beaten path)
 Offset negative media attention regarding Indian River Lagoon algae and Zika virus issues taking place in counties
south of us.
 Information Specialist Training through VISIT FLORIDA’S
CTIC Program
 New signage/banner to display at Festivals & Events
 Increase Welcome Center Signage
 Search Engine Optimization
 Reserve booth space at the VISIT FLORIDA Welcome Centers to promote destination
If you have any questions or would like to participate in any of
the projects mentioned above, please let us know!
Communications Corner
By Britney Melchiori
Tourism Spotlight: Skydive Sebastian
Advertising your business is smart; saving money on advertising is even smarter! There’s no better place to stretch your
marketing dollars than at the 23rd Annual Media Auction,
scheduled for Friday, September 16th from 6-9pm.
The event will be hosted at the Sebastian River Area Chamber
of Commerce and Pelican Porch Visitors Center and is sponsored by Sebastian River Medical Center, Bay Street Pharmacy, Sebastian River Exterminating and FPL. A delicious spread
will be provided by Woody’s Bar-B-Q, so come ready to bid
and ready to eat! Attendees will also enjoy a complimentary
drink, courtesy of our beverage sponsor, M N Worldwide. The
evening wouldn’t be complete without our auctioneer extraordinaire, Wesley Davis!
The 23rd Annual Media Auction is designed to provide our businesses and non-profits the opportunity to increase their exposure in the marketplace, at a reduced cost, through media donated by marketing and advertising professionals. Whether
your advertising preference is print or radio, web or promotional products, or even event sponsorships, we’ve got you
covered. There will be marketing packages to meet every
budget!
Representation from many of our media donors will be present to provide information about the services they offer and
answer any question prospective advertisers have. Not only is
the event a great time to invest in media for your business, but
it is also the perfect opportunity to build relationships with
marketing and advertising partners. In addition to Media,
there will also be “experience packages” available for bid such
as staycations, dining deals, theatre tickets, and more.
We encourage you to join us on the evening of September 16 th
to learn about the different advertising opportunities available
and to take advantage of the media packages up for bid. Increase your exposure in the marketplace and save money
while doing it! What a smart idea!
If you wish to donate, forms can be found on the home page
of SebastianChamber.com. For questions, please contact us at
589-5969.
Auction Admission:
$10 Chamber Members / $20 General Public
Spectators Free!
Go Skydiving over the Florida Coastline!
Experience an incredible view of the Coastline and Atlantic Ocean
while you Skydive!
Skydive Sebastian is your destination
drop zone whether its your first time
Tandem Skydiving or you are learning to
skydive at our year-round school for the
Accelerated Freefall Course (AFF).
We have numerous events throughout the
year that attract skydivers from all over the
world. The most famous event being Invasion
(December 28-January 1) which will attract
between 300-400 jumpers.
Our photographs and video tell the story better than words can as
the Treasure Coast is marveled at above Skydive Sebastian.
Our professional jumpmasters enjoy an
experience level exceeding thousands of
tandem skydives and our skydiving center has maintained one of the best safety records in the sport. They are seasoned instructors who know how to
answer your questions and will go out of
their way to be sure you enjoy everything about your first skydive.
At 5,500 feet, you will deploy your parachute and enjoy an extended canopy
flight through the sky for approximately 5 to 7 minutes allowing you to enjoy the
breath-taking view.
You must be 18 years of age and cannot weigh in excess of 230 lbs
to do a tandem skydive.
Don't want to jump? Come out and enjoy a cool beverage while
having lunch at the Zoo Bar Grill and Cafe and watch the skydivers
land. The observation deck is open to the public and is a great way
to have a memorable day with friends and family! Also located at
the airport are About Kayaks River Tours, Glider Flights, and Discovery Flights for all ages.
772-388-5672
www.skydivesebastian.com
Membership Memo
By Vicki Wild
We are here to help promote your business and see it grow.
Here are some things we do:

Free to host a Sebastian Chamber breakfast or Business and Pleasure cost to host a lunch;

Your Business is listed on our website at
www.sebastianchamber.com with a map of your location and attached to your website;


Your Business is listed in our Business Directory in alphabetical and under category (this book is used as a
phone book and is distributed to all our members, in
our Chamber, in 30+ hotels, airports, businesses, doctor
offices, restaurants, festivals and events, and available
for you to have);
Offering your business advertising and promotion
through our Light up Night, Media Auction, 8 Concerts
in the Park, Golf Tournaments, Restaurant Week are
available for you to participate in and get your business mentioned in front of the public;

We promote and follow our businesses on Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

If 50% of your business is tourist related, you are listed
in our Visitors Guide and in over 30 concierge books in
our local hotels;

Your brochures and business cards are displayed in our
Chamber office which is also a Certified Visit Florida
Center (1 of 30 in the state), and a Scenic By-Way
Office;

Your business is linked to our Facebook page
www.facebook.com/SebastianChamber/ (if available);

You are subscribed and should receive our Monthly
newsletter and weekly Intel letting you know what is
happening in the Chamber and with our members;

We promote our Business to Business Program in our
Intel weekly; so if you are giving a discount, your business will be rotated in a coupon in our Intel with other
discount providers.
Plus we offer many ways for you to get your business out
into the public by:

Offering free Ribbon Cutting and/or Grand Openings,
Remodeled & New Ownership;

Promote employment opportunities on our employment page http://www.sebastianchamber.com/
economic-development/employment-opportunities

Our weekly Intel we will share your awards or recognition for something, your employees recently certified,
expanded your list of products or services; this can all
be promoted under our member news and announcements; Read the latest Member News

Having a special event open to the community? We will
put it in our current event section in our Sebastian
Chamber, 2 kiosk (one behind Chamber and one at
Riverview Park), put your event on our community calendar, on website, and in Hometown and Press Journal
news;

Free booth space to promote your business at our Sebastian booth area at festivals and events;
To find out more ways, please contact me Vicki Wild,
Membership Director ready to help. 772-589-5969 or
email membership@sebastianchamber.com
Welcome New Members
Books Bagels and Beans
Anthony & Lisa
482 US Highway 1, Suite 1-3
Sebastian, FL 32958
772-217-1076
Dining
Dex Media
Kevin Bonura
DexMedia.com
772-678-2351
Kevin.Bonura@dexmedia.com
Graves-Thomas Injury Law Group
Julio Betancourt & Lydsey Alexander
3885 20th St
Vero Beach FL 32960
772-569-8155
www.gravesthomas.com
Attorneys
Welcome to the flock
Convert Your Ad to a Chamber Web Banner Ad and Increase Your Exposure
This program is designed to provide advertising opportunities to our Members who are looking to
increase their online exposure. We offer exclusive ad space: No rotating banners! Track the number
of impressions and clicks your ad receives. Strategic placement and 4 ad sizes to choose from.
Click here to see Sebastian River Exterminating’s Banner Ad on the Sebastian Chamber website.
Email bmelchiori@sebastianchamber.com for more information on becoming part of the program.
REMAX
CROWN
has joined
the many
other
members
converting
to a web
banner ad
Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors, 2015-2016
Executive Team
Dawn Biehl, The Tiki Bar and Grill — Treasurer
Chamber Ambassadors
Sandi Gehrke, TD Bank
772-581-1490
Kim Ellis, Kim Ellis Insurance Services – Chair
Gina Melton, LF Staffing
772-564-8777
Michelle Napier, Napier & Rollins — Vice Chair
Theresa Kannapes, VNA Hospice
772-480-7771
Theresa Tolle, Bay Street Pharmacy—Immediate
Past Chair
Isabel Marron, Oculina Bank
772-571-1400
Patrick McGillicuddy, Seacoast Bank
772-581-2430
Michael Natale, M N Worldwide, Inc.
772-388-0044
Mori Serpa, Hart Escapes
772-589-5229
Angie Schepers, Signs By Tomorrow
772-633-3777
Sue Skirvin, Tupperware
772-913-2010
Cynthia Williams, Primerica
772-713-1991
Kristie Woodward, Oculina Bank
772-581-3199
Anna Valencia Tillery, White Glove
Moving, Storage & Delivery
772-232-7843
Elected Directors
Capt. Christy Lenz, “Casual Cruisin”
Chuck Mechling, Insite Solutions
Ali Qizilbash, Cemco Construction
Joel Stout, Sandpiper Pest Control
Anna V. Tillery — White Glove Moving and Storage
Appointed Directors
Mark Rogers, Walmart
Kelly Enriquez, Sebastian River Medical Center
Bob Morgan, Marine Bank & Trust
Sue Skirvin, Tupperware
Jim Finoche, Sebastian Lions Club
Nancy Flickenger, FPL
Ex Officio
Wesley Davis, Indian River County Commissioner
Andrea Coy, Councilwoman, City of Sebastian
Jason Nunemaker, City Manager, City of Fellsmere
Margie Duffell, Exchange Club of Seb. past President
Chamber Team
Kimberlee Armstrong, Accounting
Gail Cavallo, Administrative Assistant
Nicole Capp Holbrook, Tourism Director
Beth L. Mitchell, President/CEO
Britney Melchiori, Marketing & Communications
Vicki Wild, Membership Director
DITCH 13 GALLERY AND GIFTS
National Elephant Center T-shirts
Local Honey, Preserves, Sauces,
Ceramics, Pottery, Coasters,
Leather Wallets, Belts, Purses
Intarsia Wood Carvings
Alligator Memorabilia
Unique Signs
Stained Glass
Bird Houses
Jewelry
Calendars
Postcards & Notebooks
Children’s Books & Cards Games
Framed Paintings, Photos, Prints
CD’s & Books on Local FL History
And More...
46 North Broadway Street | Fellsmere, FL 32948
Wednesday thru Monday 10am—6pm
(772) 918-8467 | ditch13galleryandgifts.com
All major credit cards accepted
The Chamber Currents
Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce
700 Main Street
Sebastian, Florida 32958
Ph:772-589-5969 | Fax: 772-589-5993
www.SebastianChamber.com