NEWSLETTER Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber Currents 700 Main Street, Sebastian FL 3258 772-589-5969 | SebastianChamber.com

May 2016 Issue

If you would like to “make the front page” of our newsletter, make sure you schedule time this month at one of our networking activities, and maybe your name will be drawn for the monthly spotlight! Check out our calendar inside!

Member Spotlight

Isabel Marron joined the Oculina Bank “the friendly bank” team in 2006 as the Manager of the Fellsmere Branch. Isabel is a true team player not only for her bank but for any organization she joins. She is currently serving as the Treasurer of the Exchange Club of Fells-mere, Treasurer of the Fellsmere Action Community Team, Treasurer of the Fellsmere Elementary PTA, an Ambassador for the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce and she serves on the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity.

Isabel has lived in Indian River County for most of her life and graduated from Vero Beach High School. She’s been a successful community bank-er for more than ten years and anyone that knows her, quickly understands her passion for helping people with their banking needs. One of the rea-sons she enjoys working with Oculina Bank is their commitment to the community. Right now, they are giving away a Golf Cart! Yes, one lucky person will win a really cool customized Golf Cart. Isabel wants to know what your banker has done for you lately? If your answer is nothing, then she invites you to come on over to Oculina Bank, and experi-ence what the “friendly bank” is all about.

Isabel Marron Oculina Bank

56 N Broadway Street Fellsmere, FL 32948

772-571-1400 www.Oculinabank.com

Isabel Marron

Find out how you can win this customized golf cart from Oculina Bank.

May 2016

Beth L. Mitchell, President & CEO

Now that the doors are open to the Visitor Center and the chairs are on the Porch, we have planned a jam packed month for May,

with a number of interesting events and projects to keep working on our Chamber mission!

We start the month with the 25th Annual Golf Tournament, to be held on May 7 at the Sebastian Municipal Golf Course. We may

have a few slots still open, but it looks like another sell out event. This year’s committee, led by Chuck and Karen Mechling, and

Britney Melchiori, has done a fantastic job of raising the bar for this silver anniversary. Committee members include Kelly and

Kyle Bradfield of AAA Auto Club Group, Bob Morgan, Marine Bank and Trust, Dawn Biehl, Tiki Bar and Grill and Patti Jamar, Park

Place and a long time Chamber Board member. It’s been all hands on deck! Raffle prizes, foursomes to some of the swankiest

courses in the area, and a cooler of cheer that will keep you happy for a year, are all up for grabs at the event. Tee signs are still

available if you wish to show support.

As many of you know, the Indian River Lagoon has been in the forefront over the last couple of years, and most recently made

national headlines with the massive fish kill in the north part of the lagoon. The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program,

led by the Indian River Lagoon Council has located their offices in Sebastian and the Executive Director, Duane DeFreese will be

speaking to our Chamber lunch crowd this month at Capt. Hiram’s Tiffany Room. We fully expect a lot of interest and strongly

encourage you to make reservations for this lunch. Dr. DeFreese will fill us in on the plan of action from the IRL Council, and more

importantly, how individuals and businesses can make a difference in preserving our most important resource, the Indian River

Lagoon.

Another new initiative, the LionFish Festival happens on May 14th, at Capt. Hiram’s, Britney has provided all the details on this

event in her column further in the newsletter. This first time event has been initiated by Indian River County Environmental Spe-

cialist Kendra Cope and her team, with huge support from Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. This event is one of several

scheduled throughout the State to recognize the importance of protecting our marine habitats from invasive species like the lion-

fish. Plus, you will be able to taste the lionfish and they are really good to eat!

Two Concerts in the Park are scheduled this month, and will wrap up our Concert Series for 2016. We have enjoyed beautiful

weather and very appreciative crowds of concert goers. If you haven’t attended one this year, try to plan a fun Friday night be-

fore it’s over! We will start planning next year’s Series in October, so if you see value in sponsorship let us know!

Finally, there are so many thanks to go around for all of the efforts in renovating this Chamber, but I would like to shout out to the

Chamber staff for all of their efforts! We have worked under some interesting conditions this year, and while we had nine months

of construction, we only closed five days because of extreme conditions. Nicole Holbrook really took on the planning of the interi-

or of the Visitor Center, working with consultants and organizing all of the new technology. Britney carried the ball in so many

ways, with graphics design, paint colors and details too numerous to mention, and Vicki helped with all of her suggestions. Gail

coordinated all of the plaques, invitations, fund raising efforts and Kim kept her head down in the “books”, never complaining

about the dust and the noise! While all of this was going on the Chamber staff maintained the same high level of service to our

members, and kept all of our events and happenings going at the same time. The elbow grease, sweat and tears were all worth it,

but it couldn’t have been done without them. Thank you to everybody! Have a prosperous month!

Have a prosperous month!

Chamber Networking Events

April breakfast at Seacoast Bank was well attended. Chamber members and ambassadors take a moment to pose for a photo.

Lunch at Marsh Landing Restaurant this month was sponsored by Napier and Rollin, PLLC. Shown: Kevin Rollin addresses the crowd.

Guest Speaker Kendra Cope, Environmental Specialist and Sea Turtle Coordinator from Indian River County Public Works

Left to right: Joel Stout, Andrea Coy and Betty Lolio

Left to right: Representatives from Pelican Landing and Senior Resource Center

Britney Melchiori presents the winner of the Photo Contest, Sandy Cheeks, with her treasure basket.

May 2016 Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events

Tuesday, May 10th Noon—1PM Lunch Sponsor: Signs by Tomorrow Speaker: Duane DeFreese, Executive Director Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program At Capt. Hiram’s 1606 Indian River Drive Sebastian FL 32958 Reservations requested, $15.00 with

Committee Meetings

Executive Committee Meeting Thursday, May 5th from 8AM—9AM Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian Full Board Meeting Wednesday, May 11 from 8AM—9AM Chamber Office—700 Main St., Sebastian

Friday, April 29th Concerts in the Park 5:30Pm—8PM

Riverview Park, Sebastian Featuring Professor Pennygoode’s Mighty Flea Circus (Swing, Rockabilly, Jump) May 13th Featuring SoulJam (Rock, Blues & Funk) May 20th Featuring Relayer (Cover Rock/Dance Band)

Friday, May 6th 8AM to 9AM Sponsored by Florida Eye Institute 13397 US Hwy 1 Sebastian, FL 32958

Thursday, May 19th 5PM to 7PM Sponsored by Sebastian River Art Club 1245 Main Street Sebastian, FL 32958

Fabian Cruz

Tourism Committee Meeting Recap Thank you to those of you that attended our April Tour-ism Committee Meeting. Here’s a quick recap if you missed it: In March, we became a VISIT FLORIDA Certified

Travel Information Center, 1 of 30 centers in the state. We are very excited to receive this designa-tion and look forward to the advertising, promotion and training opportunities that come along with it! Research shows that visitors who stop into a wel-come center stay longer and spend more money on their vacation based on information and the experi-ence they receive while at the center. We are excit-ed to offer even better services now with our new Pelican Porch Visitor’s Center enhancements! Later this year, Chamber Staff will go through training to become Certified Information Specialists, which will cover knowledge on tourism information through-out the state.

We are working on the 2016 Visitor’s Guide! We will be updating it with new pictures and content as well as new, larger maps divided into sections (north, south and west). We print 25,000 annually and they are distributed at the I-95 and I-75 VISIT FLORIDA Welcome Centers, Melbourne International Airport, local festivals and various hotels and attractions around the Sebastian River Area and Indian River County. We also mail them in response to inquiries that we receive from potential visitors. If you are interested in advertising in the guide, please contact Vicki Wild at 772-589-5969.

National Tourism Week is May 1st-7th. It is America's annual salute to travel and tourism, established by a congressional resolution in 1983. This week of events serves to champion the power of our indus-try. Travel and tourism professionals from across the nation work throughout the week to promote the impactful contributions their travel markets and organizations make to the U.S. economy, through many ways such as securing proclamations through local governments. Travel is a primary industry in America and this year’s theme is "hit the campaign trail" for National Travel and Tourism Week 2016 with Travel ‘16. In honor of National Tourism Week, I will be presenting on our tourism efforts over the past year to Sebastian City Council on Wednesday, May 11th. We will also be receiving a proclamation.

Here are some Upcoming Events- Concerts in the Park-

April 29th - Professor Pennygoode’s Mighty Flea

Circus (Swing, Rockabilly, Jump)

May 13th - SoulJam (Rock, Blues & Funk)

May 20th – Relayer (Cover Rock/Dance Band)

*If you would like to donate gift certificates to be

raffled off to the crowd during intermission,

please let us know!

25th Annual Chamber Golf Tournament- May 7th- Sebastian Municipal Golf Course

Lion Fish Festival- May 14th- Capt Hiram’s Resort Blue Water Open- June 4th- Capt’n Butcher’s SISA Spring Fling- June 25th- Capt Hiram’s 4th of July Festival*- July 4th- Riverview Park, Sebas-

tian *Opportunity to promote your business at the Chamber

booth The next Tourism Committee Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19th. I hope to see everyone there! VISIT FLORIDA Roadshow

Nicole Capp Holbrook, Chamber Tourism Director and Amanda Smalley, Skydive Sebastian Manager

Amanda Smalley from Skydive Sebastian and I attended the VISIT FLORIDA Roadshow held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It was very informative to hear the stats from 2015 and what they are working on in 2016. There were 105 million visitors to Florida last year; 90 million were domestic travelers and 15 million were international travelers (Canada, the UK, Brazil Germany and Columbia being the top countries). The 2016 goal is 115 million visitors to Florida!

. Tourism Tidbits By Nicole Capp Holbrook

Tourism Business Spotlight

Making Delicious Dishes from Destructive Fishes

The Sebastian Lionfish Fest is scheduled for May 14th, 2016 and is this years’ event to attend! Held at Captain Hiram’s, this is a public event in which peo-ple can come learn about the invasive lionfish problem and will be intro-duced to eating lionfish. Consuming lionfish is one of FWC’s main mitigation measures for controlling the growing population of these invasive fish.

This event is both a fishing tournament and cook-off competition between local restaurants and is geared towards educating the community on the im-pacts of lionfish, introducing the idea of turning them into a popular dinner item, and different ways to help protect our coastal ecosystems.

Attendees of the cook-off will be given the opportunity to taste Lionfish pre-pared in various ways by many local restaurants and vote for the winner by picking their favorite dish! While enjoying their delicious dishes guests can watch fish filleting demonstrations, scientific dissections, and enjoy a coastal critter touch tank, and enjoy interactive activities.

Registration for the fishing tournament and tickets to the cook-off can be pur-chased online at www.sebastianlionfishfest.com. For more information please contact Kendra Cope at kcope@ircgov.com. Stay up on Lionfish Fest happenings by liking us on facebook! www.facebook.com/sebastianlionfishfest

Communication Corner By Britney Melchiori

The Tiki Bar & Grill was purchased in August 2011 from Suzy and Mel Strahowsky by long time residents of Se-bastian, Chris Pinson and Dawn Biehl and good friend John Campbell. John had recently moved back to the Sebastian area from Texas. How could they go wrong purchasing real estate along the beautiful Indian River that just so happens to have a bar on it?

Chris had lived on the river for the majority of his child-hood and Dawn who moved from New Jersey in 1984 worked across the street from this property as a paralegal for nearly 20 years. It reminded them of Capt. Hiram's back in the 80's.

Just like Hiram's, which is constantly improving and evolving so is the Tiki Bar. They have made many improvements to the property since its purchase. In October 2011 they began selling food and purchased a liquor license so as to provide a full liquor bar. Renovations were well under way and on July 4, 2012 almost a year later they unveiled the new, much needed bathrooms. There are plans in the near future to open up the "old house" as a service bar and provide a little more cover from the ele-ments. The Tiki Bar property extends across the street so there are plans to have access from US and a sign that can be seen from US 1, as well.

It is known as the "locals" bar, but the word is spreading and we’re seeing more and more people from out of town there. The owners work at least a couple of shifts a week as managers both to keep their pulse on the business and mingle with the pa-trons. You can expect to receive a warm smile or a hug from them.

Visit the Tiki at 1130 Indian River Drive, Sebastian. For more info., call 772-388-1080 or visit www.sebastiantiki.com or check them out on facebook at: www.facebook.com/sebastiantiki

Tiki Bar & Grill Two Nuts and a Clam

Inaugural Sebastian Lionfish Fest Saturday, May 14th 2016 Hosted at Capt. Hiram’s Resort & Marina Lionfish Derby/Tournament: Sunrise – 4pm Cook-Off & Community Education Event: 4pm – 7pm

Hello!

My name is Susan Hart. I have lived in

Sebastian since 2013 having moved here

from South Florida. I have been a li-

censed insurance agent since 2006.

Do you or someone you know find Medicare puzzling? Do you think it would be

an advantage to have a licensed insurance agent as an advocate for you when deal-

ing with an insurance carrier?

Other problems such as why a claim was not paid, what procedures are covered

and how the donut hole works are questions I can easily answer without you having

to be on the telephone, on hold

with the insurance carrier or CMS. I work with people who are just turning 65 or are already enrolled in

Medicare. I help them to find the options available to them that will cover the 20% that Medicare doesn’t

cover. I have plans that will fit every lifestyle and budget.

I am very happy to answer any questions or concerns that you or your

friends or family members may have. Please feel free to share my phone number.

Best Wishes.

Susan Hart

Premier Benefits Consulting

772-913- 2718

Premier Benefits

Consulting

Susan Hart

9740 N Marina Dr.

Sebastian, FL 32958

772-913-2718

Melbourne Greyhound Park has been Open for 45 Years and is home to Poker Room at

Club 52, Simulcast Wagering, and Live Greyhound Racing from January to Mid-April.

Also, Our Beautiful VIP Room can be reserved for your Private Party.

If you haven’t experienced our Facility, come out and enjoy the activities, and the only

Poker Room in Indian River and Brevard Counties.

For More Information please call 321-259-9800 or

visit our Website at www.mgpark.com.

Located at 1100 N. Wickham Rd. Melbourne, FL

Member News By Vicki Wild

I’VE JOINED THE CHAMBER...now what?

Add promotional information and cer-tificates to giveaway at Chamber events such as concerts in the park, 50/50 drawings, and golf tournament

Not sure how to get involved?

Call Vicki Wild at the Sebastian Cham-ber 772-589-5969

Track your referrals from the Chamber

120 days, you’re encouraged to:

Consider sponsoring a well attended event for brand awareness and in-creased exposure

Make the Chamber part of your media outreach & continue to send business updates

Utilize free Chamber services like, Score.

180 days, you’re encourage to:

Let us know if we are meeting your ex-pectations

30 days, you’re encouraged to:

Place your SRACC Membership Decal in a prominent location at your business.

Place the SRACC Logo on your website

Like us on Facebook at Sebastian Chamber

Come to our lunch where we will announce you as a New Member

Meet with your Ambassador

Business cards and pamphlets for the public to take at the Chambers Visitors Center.

Set up your Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

Use your free and Discounted Advertising

Sign up for Business 2 Business Discounts and use your B2B Discount Card

60 days, you’re encouraged to:

Have a name badge for any networking events

Continue to make your business relationships work for you at networking and educational programs.

Send us your events/seminars/Job posting or any economic news for the Chamber to pro-mote your event

90 days, you’re encouraged to:

Review the annual Membership Directory for potential business connections and referrals

Elevate your networking by going to larger, more profile events

www.sebastianchamber.com

772-589-5969

700 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958

Welcome New Members!

The Italian Cousin Gus Rivera 480 US Hwy 1 Sebastian, FL 32958 772-589-1412 Restaurant/Catering Indian River Publishers, Inc. Cindy Bryant PO Box 519 Vero Beach, FL 32962 772-473-6107 Publishing//Advertising Sebastian River Grill Neal Ellsworth 1451 Sebastian Blvd. #130 Sebastian, FL 32958 772-571-6114 SebastianRiverGrill@gmail.com Restaurant Riverside Theatre Oscar Sales, Jr. 3250 Riverside Park Drive Vero Beach, FL 32963 772-231-5860 Entertainment Liberty Health Share Bill James 7644 15th St. Vero Beach, FL 32966 706-835-8514 Melbourne Greyhound Park/Club 52 Teri Hoover 1100 N Wickham Rd. Melbourne, FL 32935 321-259-9800 www.mgpark.com Events/Entertainment

Premier Benefits Consulting Susan Hart 9740 N Marina Dr. Sebastian, FL 32958 772-913-2718 Insurance Wireless Alarm & Alert Co., LLC Greg Harrison 122 Coply Terrace Sebastian, FL 32958 772-777-1719 Security Services & Systems Estate Treasures, LLC Eric Behymer 858 21st St. SE Vero Beach, FL 772-577-3090 estatetreasuresvero.com KRS Tax & Financial Services, Inc. Nancy Scarpello 1701 US Hwy 1, Ste 8 Sebastian FL 32958 772-388-9570 Tax Preparation/Bookkeeping Service Nicole M. Cotton, P.A. Nicole Cotton 709 Washington St. Sebastian, FL 32958 772-589-0055 Legal/Criminal Defense Rapid Response Computer Repair, LLC Katherine McDonough, Kevin Biju 13529 US Hwy 1 Sebastian, FL 32958 516-641-1569 Www.Rapidresponsecomputer.com Computer Repair & Networking Kathryn Lambert Dale & David E. Dale 709 Roseland Rd. Sebastian, FL 32958 772-633-4671 Real Estate

Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

Board of Directors, 2015-2016

Executive Team

Kim Ellis, Kim Ellis Insurance Services – Chair

Michelle Napier, Napier & Rollins — Vice Chair

Dawn Biehl, The Tiki Bar and Grill — Treasurer

Theresa Tolle, Bay Street Pharmacy—Immediate Past Chair

Elected Directors

Capt. Christy Lenz, “Casual Cruisin”

Chuck Mechling, Insite Solutions

Ali Qizilbash, Cemco Construction

Joel Stout, Sandpiper Pest Control

Anna V. Tillery — White Glove Moving and Storage

Appointed Directors

Mark Rogers, Walmart

Kelly Enriquez, Sebastian River Medical Center

Bob Morgan, Marine Bank & Trust

Sue Skirvin, Tupperware

Jim Finoche, Sebastian Lions Club

Nancy Flickenger, FPL

Ex Officio

Wesley Davis, Indian River County Commissioner

Jason Nunemaker, City Manager, City of Fellsmere

Andrea Coy, Councilwoman, City of Sebastian

Chamber Team

Beth L. Mitchell, President/CEO

Nicole Capp Holbrook, Tourism Director

Britney Melchiori, Marketing & Communications

Vicki Wild, Membership Director

Kimberly Armstrong, Accounting

Gail Cavallo, Administrative Assistant

Chamber Ambassadors

Sue Skirvin, Tupperware 772-913-2010

Cynthia Williams, Primerica 772-713-1991

Theresa Ooley, VNA Hospice 772-480-7771

Michael Natale, M N Worldwide, Inc. 772-388-0044

Sandi Gehrke, TD Bank 772-581-1490

Isabel Marron, Oculina Bank 772-571-1400

Gloria Fleming, Treasure Coast Realty 772-538-1703

Kristie Woodward, Oculina Bank 772-581-3199

Angie Schepers, Signs By Tomorrow 772-633-3777

Mori Serpa, Seacoast National Bank 772-589-5229

Anna Valencia Tillery, White Glove 772-232-7843 Moving, Storage & Delivery

Brittany A. Beatty, Esq., Napier & Rollin 772-388-4447

Place Your Ad Here

Call 772-589-5969

The Chamber Currents Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

700 Main Street Sebastian, Florida 32958

Ph:772-589-5969 | Fax: 772-589-5993

www.SebastianChamber.com

DITCH 13 GALLERY AND GIFTS

National Elephant Center T-shirts

Local Honey, Preserves, Sauces,

Ceramics, Pottery, Coasters,

Leather Wallets, Belts, Purses

Intarsia Wood Carvings

Alligator Memorabilia

Unique Signs

Stained Glass

Bird Houses

Jewelry

Calendars

Postcards & Notebooks

Children’s Books & Cards Games

Framed Paintings, Photos, Prints

CD’s & Books on Local FL History

And More...

46 North Broadway Street | Fellsmere, FL 32948

Wednesday thru Monday 10am—6pm

(772) 918-8467 | ditch13galleryandgifts.com All major credit cards accepted