Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce celebrates the end of a decade

At the Longboat Key Chamber of Commerce’s final networking event of the decade, sentimentality was served up at Surf Shack. 

The Networking @ Noon luncheon on Dec. 17 drew members new and old to the windy upper deck of the St. Armands restaurant for one final get-together. The atmosphere was one of a familial gathering. As members went around the area to introduce themselves and their businesses, some shared quick words of gratitude for the Chamber and its members. 

“This Chamber has meant a lot to me since 2002,” Allie Heuter said. “This Chamber has stood behind me since then.”

Others shouted out to give quick testimonials for their fellow Longboat businesspeople and the good experiences they’ve had working with their friends. Chamber president Gail Loefgren also shouted out the Good As Green Business of the Year, Junk King, when they introduced themselves. 

Even the newest members, such as Forrest Wildfong, had good things to say about the organization, which he’d just joined that day. He said it took him all of five minutes to decide to join the group when he came to the luncheon, a sentiment met with cheers and claps. 

Sherri Mills, a Realtor with Michael Saunders & Co., presented a gift basket with rest and relaxation aids to help one of her fellow Chamber members decompress over the holidays. 

“I’ve never met such hardworking people as I know in this Chamber,” she said. 

The Chamber has big plans for the new year, including bringing back the Savor the Sounds concert series at the Town Center Green for the final Saturday in the first four months of the year.