Welcome Center news
Government Affairs Committee has already been called to assist several members with county issues, or to offer guidance. If your business would like to participate in the committee, please contact the Chamber office. All committee members must be in good standing with their chamber membership. This committee will act as a liaison between the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and chamber members, and will act in an advisory position only. The board representatives will report back to the board during monthly meetings, and the board will then disseminate the information to chamber members.
Several business partners have already indicated an interest in serving on this committee, please respond to Lisa Benton, info@pineislandchamber.org or call 283-4842.
The March After Hours took place at Lovegrove Gallery and Garden. Along with hors d’oeuvers and beverages, Leoma and Mike entertained us with their laser light show after dark. Thank you to those who attended and who contributed door prizes. If you’ve not been attending, this is an excellent way of meeting new members, sharing your business ideas with others and spreading the word about your business news with others.
MangoMania Tropical Fruit Festival is fast approaching. This year it will be held July 10 and 11 at the German-American Club on Pine Island Road. If you know of 40 or so acres that are available for development for festivals on the island, let us know! Our event chairman, Leslie Arias, is hard at work on the festival details, keep watching the Pine Island Eagle for information on the event. We have already lined up most of the music for both days, with headliners Deb and the Dynamics on Saturday and Grupo Batay on Sunday. Vendor applications are coming in and we are working on sponsors.
We have several souvenir items for sale at the Welcome Center. We still have T-shirts and tanks from MangoMania 2009 on sale.
Popular are the “Pole Are In” T-shirts and jams, jellies and hot sauces from Paradise Gardens. We also have four different laminated guides for our area, fish, shells, birds and butterflies. Capt. Dick May’s new cookbook is available at the Welcome Center and has been very popular. Additionally, we have several designs of the “Bokeelia Trading Company” shirts in our gift shop. Each design has a story to t, and these also make excellent gift items with Pine Island flavor.
We recently discovered some 2008 MangoMania shirts and they are now on sale for only $2 each. They are great for taking on trips, working in the years, boating, etc. Sizes are limited, so stop by to pick up a shirt or two or three.