By Kristopher McLane, President/CEO,
Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce
The holiday season is officially upon us and the year 2020 is coming to an end. We can all agree that 2020 was unpredictable and full of challenges for businesses and their employees, communities, hospitals, schools, and sadly those families that lost loved ones.
This is a year that most are ready to forget and move on from. However, I think it’s still important to remember that 2020 did have some positives. For me personally, my wife and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy to our family this March. For our organization, we found out how resilient our team can be during a pandemic.
With the pandemic upon us, our Chamber had to think quickly and be innovative with approaches that allowed our members to connect with other businesses virtually or in small groups due to restrictions. Our large events like the Women’s Work-Life Symposium, Panama City Beach Marathon, Friday at the Beach, and some Business After Hours, unfortunately, had to be postponed or cancelled. We created virtual Ideacamps with community speakers and members to share updates and ideas with other members on Facebook live. Our team created a Restaurant Guide for our membership that listed who was still open or offering carryout/delivery options. Our Chamber answered hundreds of calls/emails a week with concerned visitors and businesses. The need was so great that we designed a COVID-19 information resource page on PCBeach.org that has received almost 750,000 page views. We even created a new event once our state moved into Phase 3 with our PCB Chamber Bowling Tournament. Anything we could do to support our members, help our community, and still assist visitors, we were committed to doing.
I am very proud and lucky to have my talented team and supportive Board of Directors, led by Chairman Matt Griffitts, who guided our organization through 2020. The PCB Chamber still accomplished two of our goals: 1.) Growing our Membership to nearly 1,300 members and 2.) Giving back to the community with donations: $3,750 to Haney Technical, $1,000 to the Human Society, $1,000 to Covenant Care, and $200 to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of NW Florida. Plus, our December Business After Hours/Christmas Party is a huge toy drive for the Panama City Beach Police Department and Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
I want to conclude by saying thank you to all of our hard-working front-line healthcare workers, police, firefighters, EMS, and of course, our military who protect us every day. I also want to thank our proud members and community leaders who support us every year and allow us to continue our mission. We truly appreciate each and every one of you. This holiday season, let’s just reflect on the positives from the year and remember all those that protect our communities and country every day.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.