provided to Santiva Chronicle
John Lai, president and chief executive officer of the Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce, recently took a seat as chair-elect of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP). The statewide chamber agency installed its 2020-2021 board of directors from throughout the state at its annual conference held Sep. 15-17 in Fort Walton Beach, 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.
“I am highly honored and humbled to be taking this position with an organization of such import to our state and the chamber of commerce movement,” said Lai. “I look forward to strengthening the islands’ standing with this front-row connection.”
Lai has served at the chamber’s helm since his appointment in 2017. He has led members through toxic water quality issues and pandemic upheaval 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.
The 2020-2021 FACP board of directors includes:
CHAIR: Corydon “Cory” Skeates, JD, FCCP, IOM, Lakeland Chamber of Commerce
CHAIR-ELECT: John Lai, Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce
TREASURER: Tamara Fleischhaker, IOM, FCCP, Ocala/Marion County Chamber & Economic Partnership
PAST CHAIR: Elizabeth Spies, Destin Chamber of Commerce
PRESIDENT/CEO: Tammy C. Bracewell, IOM, FCCP
Cindy Brief, IOM, FCCP, Coral Springs Chamber of Commerce
Steve Cannon, IOM, Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce
Krista Compton Carter, IOM, West Orange Chamber of Commerce
Debbie Connors, IOM, FCCP, Port Orange-South Daytona Chamber of Commerce
Debbie Cotton, IOM, FCCP, Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce
Michael Dalby, IOM, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce
Kim Dalglish, IOM, Manatee Chamber of Commerce
Katie Worthington-Decker, IOM, Greater Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce
Colleen DePasquale, IOM, Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce
Ted Everett, Washington County Chamber of Commerce
Kelly Flannery, FCCP, South Tampa Chamber of Commerce
Tiffany Garling, Jackson County Chamber of Commerce
Megan Harrison, Walton Area Chamber of Commerce
Janet Kersey, CFEE, CDME, Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce
Brittany Lamont, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
Dan Lindblade, CAE, Ft. Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce
Kristopher McLane, Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce
Noel Martinez, Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce
John Newstreet, IOM, FCCP, Kissimmee-Osceola County Chamber of Commerce
Gaby Ortigoni, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando
Amanda Patch, JAX Chamber
Sarah Pearson, IOM, Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce
Sam Ruiz, IOM, St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce
Mark Wilson, CCE, Florida Chamber of Commerce
Tracy Wilson, Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce
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