close

Chamber holds first Business Leaders Luncheon Series

4 min read

The North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce has a new name for its monthly luncheons. They are now called the Business Leaders Luncheon Series, with the first held Wednesday, Nov. 19, at Harbourside Grille & Tiki Bar.

The guest speaker was Guy Whitesman, esquire, of Henderson Franklin Attorneys at Law, who talked about year end estate planning.

“The cardinal rule at the end of the year is accelerating deductions for 2008,” he said. 

Here are a few tips he outlined.

On timing of expenses and income:

n Postpone income until 2009 and accelerate deductions into 2008 to lower your 2008 tax bill.

n Postpone income if you anticipate being in a lower tax bracket next year.

n Accelerate income if you anticipate lower tax burden this year than next.

For accelerating deductions:

n If you are cash poor, use credit cards to prepay expenses that can generate deductions for 2008.

Concerning business equipment:

n Businesses may qualify for up to $250,000 in deductions for assets bought and placed in service in 2008.

n Businesses also should consider making expenditures that qualify for 50 percent bonus first year depreciation if bought and placed in service this year.

Other topics included a gamut from retirement planning to charitable giving.

The firm is located in Fort Myers.

The luncheon sponsor was Dr. Misty Green of Alabar Chiropractic & Rehab Center, who talked about Manipulation Under Anesthesia.

“MUA is a new procedure that we are now offering our patients who may suffer from chronic pain due to old injuries or unresolved musculoskeletal conditions. You may have heard it called sedation manipulation during recent commercials,” Green said.

“MUA is beneficial if you have old injuries that periodically flare up causing pain, where normal range of motion and function of a joint may have become compromised. MUA also helps with people who may be facing back or neck surgery due to a herniated or degenerated disk and is an extremely effective treatment with only minimal down time compared to similar procedures.”

MUA is performed through her office at the Gladiolus Surgery Center with a team of medical doctors and chiropractors. To learn more, call her office at 772-5777.

To sponsor a Business Leaders Luncheon Series event, it costs $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

“We do still have spots available,” said Chamber Executive Director Dina Porter. “Please call the chamber office of you are interested. There are also spots to sponsor Deputy of the Month.”

Business After Hours

and Honorary Mayor

In other chamber business, the next Business After Hours Networking event was announced. It will be held Thursday, Dec. 11, at Ichiban Japanese & Chinese Cuisine Restaurant, located at 14651 N. Cleveland Ave., at 5:30 p.m. The number for the restaurant is 995-7995.

That event will include a chamber ribbon-cutting and food. The cost is $5 for members and nonmembers.

A change in date for the chamber’s annual Honorary Mayor Gala was also announced. The new date will be Feb. 6, moved from an earlier announced December 2008 date. The gala will be held at Capt’n Fishbones Seafood Grill restaurant in the Shell Factory. At this third annual event, the new North Fort Myers Honorary Mayor will be named. The current mayor is Tom Cronin Sr.

Meanwhile, you can still vote for the candidates. At $1 per vote, the person who gets the most votes gets the nod. For information on the contest, call the chamber or view their website at nfmchamber.org.

Concerning the Web site, Porter announced that a new and improved site will soon be unveiled. Jim Wells of Vertical Point Technologies is currently heading the effort, working with Porter on updates.

The chamber is also now raffling off a giant, 8-foot-tall Christmas Stocking filled with toys and goodies. Tickets are one for $3, two for $5 and five for $10. The drawing will be held at the chamber luncheon, to be held at Victory Lanes on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at 11:30 am. You can stop by the chamber office and purchase tickets.

The stocking funds benefit the North Fort Myers Chamber Foundation, which funds scholarships to local high school students,” said Chamber President Morgan Halle. 

For information on any chamber event, call 997-9111.