After a challenging year for local businesses, the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce is looking to 2021 in high spirits.
New Executive Board Chairwoman Billie Jo Kaler — installed at the chamber’s annual banquet on Friday, Feb. 5 — said that despite the hardships in 2020, the chamber saw local businesses and the community come together. Light and positivity were brought back to the chamber, Kaler said, and she promised more of that to come as she energetically takes the helm of the board.
“As we move into a brighter 2021, let’s maintain the core values that we base our efforts on,” Kaler said. “Let us continue to be positive beacons of light in our community and flourish the chamber into a stronger chamber.”
Her vision for this year is to reestablish unity in the Ormond community, she said to a sizable crowd of the chamber’s members inside ballroom at Hard Rock Hotel Daytona Beach. The chamber was a great resource for its membership as local businesses navigated the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and that included the distribution of personal protective equipment and the virtual enrichment programs, according to Kaler, who works for Realty Pro Title.
“We at the chamber have always prided ourselves on being a place to develop meaningful relationships and connections to support local businesses and our community,” Kaler said.
Ending on a good note
Kaler has succeeded past-chairwoman Caryn Baker, who Chamber CEO and President Debbie Cotton said was the right person to hold the position in 2020. It was thanks to Baker’s patience, guidance, leadership and humor that the chamber had a fairly good year, Cotton said. Visibly emotional, Cotton called Baker an inspiration.
“She’s been my calming voice when I really needed somebody in 2020 to let me know everything’s OK,” Cotton said.
When remembering the events of 2020, Baker, of Realty Pros Assured, said it was better to laugh than cry. She gave a rundown of all the novel events experienced throughout the nation: The mastering of the Zoom platform, increased purchases of pajamas and sweat pants, the essential nature of toilet paper, and the difficulties of homeschooling.
Baker also detailed the chamber’s successes: The launch of both Startup Grind Ormond Beach and the BOSS program, the OB Open for Business campaign that instructed people on how to support local businesses through a pandemic and the distribution of personal protective equipment kits.
At the end of 2020, the chamber had 600 members, and boasted not only the addition of 72 new members, but an 81% retention rate.
“It’s been an interesting year to say the least,” Baker said. “It’s also been a year that has shown me a community that honors and supports one another, and I’m humbled and blessed to be a part of that community.”
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