NFM Chamber plans strong rebound
The North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce had a challenging year in 2015, but with the promise of good things to come for the area in 2016 and beyond, the future of the organization shines bright.
Without an executive director or marketing person for most of the year, Chamber President Al Giacalone struggled to keep membership. However, he also oversaw a great Taste of North Fort Myers event.
The hope for new president Jeffrey Houfek is that he brings enthusiasm and energy to the chamber which will, hopefully, result in recruiting and keeping members.
“He’s going to attempt to get more members involved. He also has a business sense about him so he’ll be smart with the Chamber’s money,” Giacalone said. “I will be excited working with him as past president to help him continue on to keep the Chamber going in a positive direction.”
Last year started with a staffing revamp.
Executive Director Chris Jackson resigned in January to move to North Dakota with his wife, who earned her own pastorship at their church.
Rather than hire a new executive director (which the chamber still plans on bringing in), they hired a marketing director, whose job it will be to maintain the current membership and bring in new members, later in the year.
That’s a major look ahead for the chamber in 2016.
“The jury is still out on her. It’s going to take a while to see if she’ll help bring new members,” Giacalone said. “I’m confident she can do the job.”
Also, there wasn’t an annual Mayor’s “Election Night,” the annual charity event where the candidate that raises the most money gets to represent the area as the unofficial “mayor.” Doug Dailey has held the position for two years, but Giacalone said he hopes to have another mayor’s event this year sometime.
Meanwhile, some new businesses came to town. Tractor Supply, Snowbird Station and a new assisted living facility represent some larger businesses that could provide an imprint this coming year.
And if some of the things regarding possible tenants at Hancock Square and Merchant Crossing come to fruition, the Chamber’s future should be a bright one.
Houfek said what makes North Fort Myers unique is that it’s an area, and not a city, and that it offers opportunity because there are many residents but not many businesses yet.
“The concentration of residents is higher here than in Estero. It’s pretty exciting and there are things going on such as the sale of Merchant Crossing,” Houfek said.
With another Taste of North Fort Myers coming in April and other events, Houfek is confident 2016 will be a great one for the Chamber.
“We’re in a great position. We have a lot of great events coming and we’re growing again. It’s a very positive time for the Chamber,” Houfek said. “The assisted-living facility just joined, so that’s exciting. We’re going to have really good year.”