John Lai, president and CEO of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce, served as chair for the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP) for 2021-2022, and recently stepped into the position of past chair. The statewide chamber agency installed its 2022-2023 board of directors from throughout the state at its annual conference held Dec.6-8 in Ocala, Fla.

 

The board of directors is the governing body responsible for overseeing the operations of FACP, whose mission is to advance excellence in chamber management in the state of Florida. As chair, Lai led the board during the past year and oversaw its direction in providing development skills for professionals within the chamber of commerce industry.

 

“I am highly honored and humbled to have served as board chair for an organization of such import to our state and the chamber of commerce industry,” said Lai. “I look forward to strengthening the islands’ standing and continuing to strengthen the voice of the business community with my ongoing involvement.”

 

Lai has served at the Sanibel & Captiva Chamber’s helm since his appointment in 2017. He has led members through toxic water quality issues, pandemic upheaval, and post-catastrophic hurricane recovery during that time by rallying local businesses at the state and federal government levels.

 

Lai was instrumental in bringing together the Southwest Florida Alliance of Chambers and in seeing the chamber’s visitor center modernized and named by Visit Florida as one of 13 official Florida Certified Tourism Information Centers.

 

“That center is now closed because of damage from Hurricane Ian in September,” said Lai. “But we look forward to welcoming visitors back and being an island resource sometime in 2023.”

 

The 2022-2023 FACP board of directors includes:

 

CHAIR:  Tamara Fleischhaker, IOM, FCCP, Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership

CHAIR-ELECT: Dan Lindblade, CAE, Greater Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce

TREASURER: John Newstreet, IOM, FCCP, The Osceola Chamber

PAST CHAIR: John Lai, Sanibel-Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce

PRESIDENT/CEO: Tammy C. Bracewell, IOM, FCCP

 

Rebekah Arthur, IOM, Seminole County Chamber of Commerce

Cindy Brief, IOM, FCCP, Coral Springs Coconut Creek Regional Chamber of Commerce

Steve Cannon, IOM, Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce

Michael Dalby, IOM, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce

Kim Dalglish, IOM, Manatee Chamber of Commerce

Tiffany Garling, FCCP, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce

Donna Germain, IOM, FCCP, Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral

Megan Harrison, Walton Area Chamber of Commerce

Jean Hungiville, Tarpon Springs Chamber of Commerce

Janet Kersey, CFEE, CDME, FCCP, Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce

Kristopher McLane, Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce

Noel Martinez, Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce

Christine Miller, FCCP, Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce

Robin A. Miller, IOM, FCCP, Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce

Shane Moody, CCE, FCCP, Destin Chamber of Commerce

Sandi Moore, Leesburg Area Chamber of Commerce

Gaby Ortigoni, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando

Amanda Patch, JAX Chamber

Amanda Payne, Amplify Clearwater

Sarah Pearson, IOM, Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce

Nancy Peltonen, FCCP, Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce

Sam Ruiz, IOM, St. John’s County Chamber of Commerce

John Solomon, Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce

Mark Wilson, CCE, Florida Chamber of Commerce

 

For more information, visit facponline.com, or contact Tammy Bracewell at

800-226-3269.

 

ABOUT SANIBEL & CAPTIVA ISLANDS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

The Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce is dedicated to promoting the prosperity of its members and preserving the quality of life of our community. With over 560 active Chamber members from both islands including businesses from Lee and Collier counties, the Chamber plays a key role in facilitating communication and cooperation between business, residents and government to enhance the economic health of the islands. The Francis P. Bailey, Jr. Chamber Visitor Center is located at the entrance to Sanibel Island and welcomes over 160,000 visitors each year. VISIT FLORIDA named the Visitor Center one of thirteen official Florida Certified Tourism Information Centers. The Visitor Center is open 365 days a year and provides visitors with comprehensive information about things to do, places to visit, where to stay, shop and dine. The Chamber website http://sanibel-captiva.org receives over 1.3 million website visits per year.

 

For more information about the chamber, visit sanibel-captiva.org or contact Ashley Pignato, member services manager, at 239-472-8255  or [email protected].