Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce August Bay Business Report

August 2011 Vol 20, Number 8
Meeting Notices Meetings Notices Monthly Business Luncheon August 3, 2011, 12:00 That Place Off 98 17 Avenue E Apalachicola Monthly Business Luncheon September 7, 2011, 12:00 Papa Joe’s 301-B Market Street Apalachicola Business After Hours August 11, 2011 5:30-7:00 pm Renee’s Café 83 Market Street Apalachicola Visitor Statistics June 2001    1,238 June 2002    1,025 June 2003    1,185 June 2004    1,196 June 2005    1,245 June 2006    1,791 June 2007    2,521 June 2008    2,278 June 2009    2,537 June 2010    2,082 June 2011    2,856 Website stats June Visits                  28,177    Unique Visitors  22,566 Pageviews         124,386    Average Page Views  4.41 Time on Site (mins)    4:03 Bounce Rate    29.26% New Visits    73.38% Chamber Board of Directors   PRESIDENT Mark Friedman 670-1253    VICE-PRESIDENT Ginny Griner 653-8853    TREASURER Jerry Hall 653-9510    SECRETARY Kristin Anderson 653-2249 BOARD MEMBERS Brenda Ash 653-8805 Kristy Branch Banks 670-1255 Donna Duncan 653-8976 Bonnie Gomes 670-8450 Bud Hayes 927-3305 Beverly Hewitt 653-9510 Mike Koun 653-2191 Michael Shuler 653-1757 Candy Varnes 927-2322 Kevin Ward 899-0669	New Members Harbor Realty Jereme Neill joined the chamber with his business Harbor Realty.  Jereme and his wife Katherine, who owns the shop Oystercatcher in downtown Apalachicola,  have lived in Apalachicola since 1990, and have two daughters.  Jereme has been a Realtor since 2002.  Jereme believes in making it easy for buyers to find exactly what they want or need in a property, whether it’s a beachfront cottage, a commercial building or a tract of land, and has created a fast, simple website to search all listings in the area.  He also provides honest and helpful information about relocating to our area for families, individuals or businesses.  Harbor Realty offers effective, targeted, worldwide marketing to sell your property as fast as possible.  Harbor Realty is located at 53 Avenue C in Apalachicola, just across from the Gibson Inn and can be reached by phone at 850-370-1020 or 323-1234, or online www.contactonthecoast.com/ Friends of the Governor Stone The Friends of the Governor Stone is a 501 (c) 3 devoted to the preservation of the 1877 gaff ridged schooner the Governor Stone.  Designated National Historic Landmark, the Governor Stone and hundreds of sailing vessel like her, plied Gulf coastal waters for decades. The freight trucks of their day they delivered goods from ports to large vessels moored offshore headed up the US east coast and to Europe. She is the last known surviving gulf coast schooner.  She spent eleven years in Apalachicola.  The Friends of the Governor Stone was founded to ensure her preservation for the benefit of the general public.  This membership funded organization welcomes all interested people to help sustain the Governor Stone through a variety of volunteer areas: Education and Programs, Fundraising, Public Relations, and the very important areas of crewing and helping maintain this beautiful wooden vessel.  They also plan to have her visit different areas between Pensacola and Carrabelle throughout the year.  The 2011 Board of Directors is made up of Harry Dennard, Acting President, Carol Visalpatara, Secretary/Treasurer, Kristin Anderson, At Large, Bill Hamilton, At Large, Jon Hill, At Large, and Captain Dick Gercak, Captain of Register. Kristin Anderson is our local contact.  She is interested in finding our local people to serve when the Governor Stone comes to this area.  She can be reached at (850) 653-2249.   For more information go to their website a www.governorstone.org Coastal Angler Magazine Kevin Ogle joined the chamber with Coastal Angler Magazine, the Gulf’s largest outdoor fishing publication.  Coastal Angler is a free large format newsprint outdoor/fishing publication that is distributed in 14 states from the east coast, gulf coast and the Bahamas to the west coast.  They print 400,000 copies each month. The Panhandle edition is distributed to over 400 locations from Alligator Point to Orange Beach, Alabama. Kevin was born and raised in Destin.  He became a part owner in the company two years ago.  His territory is from Alligator Point to Corpus Christy, Texas.  The main office is in Indian Harbor, Florida.  Kevin can be reached at (850) 460-2448 or cell (850) 586-3474 or by email Tideline Charters Welcome Wayne Cook with his charter business, Tideline Charters.  Wayne was born and raised in Apalachicola and has been guide fishing for over 30 years.  Wayne has a 22 foot Allcraft center console boat with a Yamaha 150. He fishes Apalachicola River and bay offering full and half day trips.  Wayne got his first boat when he was 12 years old and has been on the water since.  He charters for Bay City and on his own.  Wayne also does night flounder gigging trips.  He can be reached by calling (850) 653-5735 cell, 653-9747 or by emailcaptainwayne@tidelinecharters.com.  Also visit his website at www.tidelinecharters.com 2011 Sales Tax Holiday If you sell clothing, footwear, certain accessories, or certain school supplies in the State of Florida, the upcoming Sales Tax Holiday may impact your business.  Florida law directs that no sales tax or local option taxes (also known as discretionary sales surtax) will be collected on sales of clothing, footwear, and certain accessories selling for $50 or less, or on certain school supplies selling for $10 or less. This three-day tax exemption is in effect from 12:01 a.m., Friday, August 12, 2011, through midnight, Sunday, August 14, 2011. The exemption will still apply no matter how many items are sold on the same invoice to a customer. For more information go tohttp://dor.myflorida.com/dor/ and click on 2011 Sales Tax Holiday PDF. School Supplies The Franklin County Juvenile Justice Council and its interagency partners are sponsoring a school supply drive to help local kids start the school year off right.  School starts on August 22, and they are collecting donations of school supplies and monetary donations to purchase supplies.  For more information or to donate contact Carol Barfield at (850) 653-2784. Weems East Gets OB/GYN David J. Dixon, D.O., now seeing OB/GYN patients at the Weems East Clinic in Carrabelle the second Friday of each month. Dr. Dixon is originally from Mobile, Alabama and was raised in the Gulf Shores area and attended Osteopathic Medical School Nova-Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, where he earned his degree in Osteopathic Medicine.  Dr. Dixon then completed an internship at Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, before beginning his training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tulane University in New Orleans.  Dr. Dixon is board certified and a member of the clinical faculty of the Florida State University College of Medicine.  He is also a member of the American Medical Association, American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Florida Obstetrics and Gynecologic Society, the American Osteopathic Association and the Capital Medical Society.  He has been with North Florida Women’s Care since August 2003 and can be reached by calling (850) 877-7241 or 855-GO NFLWC toll free. Gulf Coast State College Gulf Coast State College is offering free monthly community networking events on the 3rd Friday of each month. Bring your lunch, dress casually, network with new people, and learn about different topics at Gulf Coast State College.  August:  Entrepreneurship:  Is Starting a Business Really the American Dream or a Nightmare?  September:  IPad and Productivity:  There’s an App for That! October:  Goal Setting for 2012.  November: Virtual Business Success Secrets:  7 Essential Steps to Creating a Leveraged Business that Runs Without You.  December:  Generational Differences:  Bridging the Gap between four Generations of Workers in the Workplace.  For More information contact:  Melissa L. Strawser, Coordinator, Business Solutions at (850) 872-3818 or mstrawser@gulfcoast.edu Attention Health Care Professionals  August 17 and 18, 2011, Gulf Coast State College is hosting a Health Care Professionals Conference. They will offer courses o keep your license up-to-date. Register for the full two day event or individual courses. Plus, enjoy a free lunch and the opportunity to network with other professionals. For more information, contact Sherrie Lock at slock@gulfcoast.edu or (850) 872-3819	Directors Column Anita Grove, Executive Director Like any responsible businesses the chamber is seeking to reduce our overhead costs in these lean economic times.  One of our best assets is the chamber building on Commerce Street in downtown Apalachicola.  Currently we use approximately half of the space which is in a premium location.   We would like to lease out our unused space and will consider modifications for the right long term tenant. Got Ideas? Suggestions? How can the Apalachicola Bay Chamber better serve you? Is there something that we can do better to help your business?  Is there something you would like to see us add or change on the website, at the visitor’s center or in the visitors’ guide?  Ideas are always welcome.  Feel free to call or email us with your ideas at info@apalachicolabay.org. Press Matt Reinstetle, Entertainment Editor with The Ledger (Lakeland) was sent information on St George Island State Beach. He was working on an article about the park’s selection by Dr Beach as one of America’s Best Beaches. Lee Gordon was given information on the financial outlook for the coming months for 850 magazine. Apryl Chapman Thomas, a Freelance Travel Writer/Blogger and feature writer for Southern Hospitality Magazine southernhospitalitymagazine.com was in town in mid July. She was given los of information about our wonderful oysters and oystering in the bay. Kati Harding with Florida Media was sent information about upcoming events. Michelle Bowen with Michelin Must Sees Guide Florida travel guide was given lots of information and photos for updating their guide. Sarah Gabriele was given info for Apalachicola’s listing on Gozaic, the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website.  Apalachicola was blog posts are showcased on the homepage, as well on the Gozaic Facebook page and via Twitter. Events Wild & Scenic Film Festival The 2011 Wild and Scenic Film Festival will be better than ever this year.  The festival will open in Carrabelle at the St. James Bay Golf Resort on August 26 and 27 then over to  Apalachicola at the Dixie Theater September 2 and 3rd, and last showing in Marianna at the Gazebo Coffee Shoppe & Deli on September 10. Join us each night for a reception at 6:00 pm and the program at 7:00 pm. The award-winning films will be divided into two programs; one shown on Friday and the other on Saturday. Special appearances by Destin restauranteur Charles Morgan and local film maker Merrill Livingston will be on Friday September 2, at the Dixie Theater for the premier of their film about the Red Bay Grocery in Bruce Florida.  Charles and Merrill will introduce their film and talk about this unusual sustainable grocery and restaurant. Admission is free.  For more information call (850) 653-8936. Volunteers Needed The Apalachicola Bay Chamber Visitor Center seeks volunteers to help at the visitors center and with special projects.  Duties include giving our visitor information, answering questions about places to stay, restaurants and things to do.  If you would like to help, we’d love to have you.  It can be a fun and rewarding.  Contact us for details (850) 653-9419 or email us at info@apalachicolabay.org

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