New Grand Lagoon Bridge Ground Breaking

With gold shovels in hand and orange hard-hats protecting their heads from the deep blue skies, several big names from Panama City Beach, Bay County and the State of Florida broke ground on the construction of the new Grand Lagoon Bridge and its accompanying roadway on the north and south side of the structure. Years in the planning, the Grand Lagoon Bridge was literally a pipe dream until just recently. Today, in discussion with several people from the Friends of Grand Lagoon, I was told that for a long time, it wasn’t believed that it would ever happen.

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Patronis and Coley at First Friday

On Friday, July 10 Bay County Chamber of Commerce and the Panama City Beach Chamber got together again for Danishes and coffee and the ever popular First Friday sponsored by Comcast. Dozens of business teams and community leaders attended to network and meet guest speakers state representatives Marti Coley and Jimmy Patronis. Rather than giving a prepared speech, both Coley and Patronis opened the floor to take questions from our local businessmen and women. “We want to hear from you.” Said Reprentative Coley. The questions were few but specific, ranging from oil drilling and stimulus funds to the political musical chairs looming at the state level. Addressing the issue of Governer Crist leaving his seat as well as many others at the state level following suit, Patronis said, “It provides an opportunity to move agendas and legislature forward.” Coley added, “Let’s get educated, partner up and work together to move forward our economy.”

Several awards were given out, includiung the construction award to Waterstone in Springfield and the Small Business award given to Advanced Eye Care. Overall the event, which felt a bit like a pep rally of sorts, was another successful pairing of both Chambers.

If you missed the event, there are lots of other July events to attend. Here is the upcoming July schedule.

July 14 –

EDA Executive committee Meeting – Chamber Boardroom – 7:30 am

July 15 –

“Take Your Elevator Speech to the Next Level Workshop” – Chamber Boardroom – 8:00 am

Business Referral Network Group D Meeting – Sonny’s Real Pit Barbeque – 12:00 pm

July 16 –

Bay Young Professional Breakfast – La Quinta Inn and Suites on Thomas Dr. – 8:00am

Board of Directors Meeting – Chamber Boardroom – 11:00 am

Junior Leadership Bay Steering Committee – Chamber Boardroom – 4:00 pm

Business After Hours Grand Opening for Panama City Health Club and Spa – 5:00 pm

July 21 –

Business Referral Network Group A Meeting – Loco’s Restaurant – 12:00 pm

July 22-

Existing Industry Committee – Chamber Boardroom – 8:00 am

Speed Marketing – Gulf Coast Community College, Student Union East – 12:30 pm

July 23 –

EDA Board of Directors Meeting – Chamber Boardroom – 8:00 am

July 28 –

Ambassador Meeting – Chamber Boardroom – 4:00pm

July 29 –

Business Referral Group C Meeting – The Place – 12:00 pm

Leadership Bay Steering Committee Meeting – Chamber Boardroom – 4:00 pm

Vote Yes on Amendment 1 on January 29th

On the January 29th ballot, we will have the opportunity to vote on Amendment 1, that “offers property tax relief for all Floridians.” The main points are:

Double homestead exemption for almost everyone, from $25k to $50k
Allow portability so that homeowners can transfer their Save Our Homes tax benefits from their old home to a new home.
It will provide an assessment 10% cap on ALL properties (including rental homes, second homes, business properties, etc.)
Includes an exemption on the first $25k from taxes for tangible personal property for business owners.

You can get all the details at www.voteyeson1.com

You can view Representative Jimmy Patronis’ flyer on this here.