I hope everyone has enjoyed the summer months and you’re all doing well! It is hard to believe how fast the summer has gone, and school has started across our region. The Chamber staff and board are hard at work making sure these last few months of the 2022 calendar year are successful for our members. The teamwork I’ve seen from the staff and board over these last few months has been inspiring. A high level of collaboration has helped manifest several new ideas and events and I have been enthusiastic about the contributions being made by new members and the board.

The timing of school starting always aligns with important timing for my team at the Orlando Magic, given that is when the NBA schedule is released for the upcoming season. The high level of collaboration and teamwork it takes our company to plan and be ready for Opening Night is critical. That includes great synergistic conversations with multiple departments within the Magic and with our business partners in many areas of our organization. I think alignment and collaboration are main attributes of why we’re all part of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce. Teamwork across many companies helps our community and our businesses thrive. The partnerships we develop with other chamber members helps us all grow.

All that said, I am very proud of the Chamber’s announcement for the inaugural Tour De Chamber – Corporate Bike Ride! On Thursday, September 29th from 5:30 pm – 8:00 pm, we hope you join us and fellow members of the business community for a fun 8.2-mile bike ride through the neighborhoods of Hamlin in Horizon West. Joining this event will be a great opportunity to build relationships with your teammates, and with other businesses at the event. We’ll end the ride at Home State Brewing to continue the team building over food and beverages.

Our friends at Winter Garden Wheel Works will be assisting anyone that may need to rent a bicycle, while Orlando Health and Healthy West Orange is providing beverages and snacks on the bicycle route. We are Winter Garden and Imagine That Promo will be providing shirts and water bottles and Boyd Development will provide logistical support. Please visit the Chamber’s event webpage for information (https://wochamber.com/event/tour-de-chamber-corporate-bike-ride/) or give the Chamber a call for any assistance.

Ride solo and join up with others or build a team to ride! I hope to see you out there and continue to build on our collective teamwork!