Erika Spence: Business in the Park

A few shameless plugs

So how does the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce measure the year? For starters, we added 165 new members in 2015. Membership in the Park Avenue Merchants Association reached an all-time high of 127 members, a sign that downtown is indeed a vibrant place to do business.

Another way the Chamber measures the year is in events and programs. Our members, as well as residents and visitors alike, came out in force to support annual traditions like the Taste of Winter Park, Winter Park Autumn Art Festival and Harriett’s Park Avenue Fashion Week, among others. We had the distinct honor of partnering with the City of Winter Park Economic Development Advisory Board to honor more than 250 local businesses that have served our community for 25 years or more at Salute to Business over the summer. The grand finale of our year was welcoming 15,000 attendees to experience the best of our downtown for the holidays a few short weeks ago at Winter on the Avenue.

I could fill a book with stats from 2015. The number of ribbon cuttings held at new businesses: 48. You can see their smiling faces at facebook.com/winterparkchamber. The number of fans on the Chamber’s Facebook page: 2,064. Twitter followers: 6,730. 2015 marked our entry onto Instagram and 425 image-hungry followers have followed our visual antics since day one. You can find links to our social media channels to keep abreast of news and events happening in our business community on our redesigned website, winterpark.org.

Who gets a feather in their cap?

I think it’s worth mentioning one last time that the Chamber, the Park Avenue merchants and the Winter Park/Maitland Observer are asking for your help in determining the “best of” Winter Park. That’s right, this is your chance to vote for your favorite local businesses, including best new restaurant, best fitness studio, best dentist, and 47 other categories. Voting runs through Dec. 31 at wpmobserver.com. The winners will be announced at our Ovations Awards Ceremony and Business After Hours on Jan. 21.

Storytime

Jay Rupert in the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce membership services department is famous for telling stories. If you’ve been to an orientation session in the last decade, you’ve probably even had a role in his most infamous story about a man who wins the lottery and opens a business in Winter Park. It is the perfect illustration of how to start and grow a thriving business in our community by working with local businesses for everything you need, from a real estate agent, banker, CPA, attorney, printer, florist, caterer, and more. (If you haven’t heard the story, feel free to join us for an orientation session in the New Year.)

In 2016, the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce wants to hear your stories of how you support the local business community. We’ll share how Chamber members do business with each other and ways that local residents are making a concerted effort to support local businesses through a series we’re calling ABC: Always Buy Chamber. You can share your stories online at winterpark.org and follow us on social media with hashtag #AlwaysBuyChamber.

Erika Spence is the senior director of marketing and communications at the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce.