Hall, Larkee speak at chamber luncheon
Lee County Commissioner Tammy Hall was the lunch sponsor for the North Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce December Business Leaders Luncheon, and spoke about the upcoming year in Lee County.
“2012 is exciting,” she said. We have lowered taxes, have infrastructure projects coming up that will get people back to work, the opening of JetBlue Park at Fenway South (the new Spring Training ballpark and adjoining Player Development Complex for the Boston Red Sox in Lee County) and more. What is also exciting is that our tourism numbers are way above past figures,” she said.
The main luncheon speaker was Joann Larkee, owner of Sound WSI Marketing, who spoke on the subject “LinkedIn – How to Really Connect,” discussing how to fully complete business profiles and connect with other businesses in a way that can help company leaders maximize social media results.
“560,000 professionals go to LinkedIn every day,” she said. “The numbers grow by one new member every second.”
She gave general information on LinkedIn, and how to better your profile and how to maximize its networking. It increases your credibility, alliances, find a job and employees. It also helps you turn cold leads into referrals.
The job section is a great place to look for a job, and a great place to find an employee, Larkey said.
“It s also a great tool to leverage your networking.”
In other chamber news, a fund-raiser to benefit Chamber North Fort Myers Honorary Mayor candidates will be held Saturday, Jan. 7, starting at 4 p.m., at the Chamber Welcome Center in the Shell Factory Complex.
It is called “Dinner & Blackjack – Three Chefs Cook For You.” Incoming Chamber President Dick Collins, Executive Director Kim Constantine and Treasurer Lance Goerndt will host the event.
Dinner, drinks and appetizers are $25 per person, and there will be cash and other prizes, a raffle and more.
The blackjack tables will be dealt by the Honorary Mayor Candidates Carolyn Graves, Al Giacalone and Michael Graves, with the proceeds to be split by the candidates.
The Honorary Mayor event itself is a fund-raiser for the Chamber Foundation, where the mayor is decided by the most $1-per-vote donation on the chamber’s web site, nfmchamber.org.
Voting continues through Saturday, Jan. 28, which is the date of the Honorary Mayor Dinner at Shell Factory Dolphin Room.
Outgoing President Phil Goss also turned over the gavel at the meeting to Collins, and Constantine and Chamber Executive Administrator Carla Moseley presented Goss with a trophy recognizing his service to the group.
The luncheon was held at The Shell Factory in the Dolphin Room (adjacent to Captain Fishbones restaurant), which will be the new monthly meeting place for the Chamber, with meetings the third Wednesday of each month.
For information on any chamber event, call 997-9111.