From the Chamber desk:



By HEATHER BRYAN Of the Chamber

First, I would like to introduce myself. My name is Heather Bryan, I will be taking over for Petra as she retires at the end of the year. So far, I have learned so many things on how the Chamber gears work, and it is a well-oiled machine. I couldn’t have asked for a better person to train me; Petra is a wealth of knowledge and wonderful to work with. Now down to business.

In November, we added a new member, One Blood, Inc., a blood bank located in Tallahassee, serving our community via their blood bus. This brings our total to 74 new members so far this year! There have been 4 Ribbon Cuttings/Grand Openings in November- San Marcos, American Dream Realty, Sunrays Spa, and 319 Nutrition.

We had a full house at our Business Excellence Awards Banquet. Thank you to our title sponsor Ameris Bank for the continued support of this annual event. You will be able to see all the winners in the different categories on our website and Facebook page.

Last month kicked off our Shop Local campaign for the season! What does it mean to shop local? Shopping locally is the conscious act of everyday consumers, like you and me, making the decision to buy gifts, day to day items, food and so much more from a local business. When spending the money at our local small businesses, you’re making a personal investment into our community, which is huge! In fact, for every $100 spent roughly $68 to $73 stays in our community, that is an impressive statistic. Part of this campaign is our Business Bingo which runs for 4 weeks with a weekly payout of $100 and a grand prize of $300 in week 5. All cards entered though out the 4-week period are entered in the grand prize drawing. Thank you to all the participants, both players and the local businesses.

Also, a big thank you to the committee: Missy Rudd Gainer, Megan Smith, Tiffany Hartsfield and Katie Taff for making Business Bingo the best way to kick off the season!

Things upcoming to look forward to in December:
• December 10th – Christmas in Sopchoppy
• December 17th– Wakulla Horseman’s Association Club Show
• December 24th and 25th –Christmas holiday
You can find times and locations for these events on the Chamber website.
As always, a list of our members, services and products they provide on our website at https://wakullacountychamber.com/.
Our 2022 Wakulla Co. Chamber Business Directory was released in May and is available at several Chamber businesses and at the Chamber office. Call the Chamber office at (850) 926-1848 or send an email to info@wakullacountychamber.com to get your paper or electronic copy today.

We also want to thank all of our sponsors who made the directory possible this year.