provided to The Santiva Chronicle
The six-month management contract between the SanCap Chamber and Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce (GFMCC) has yielded strong results for the communities they serve. Feedback from members, businesses, chamber staff, and community stakeholders has reinforced a decision for both organizations to work toward a permanent consolidation.
“This relationship began in the post-Ian days, when ‘mainlanders’ showed up for us in our time of need – in response to asks and deals we put forth to bring them across the bridge to support us and get us back on our feet,” said president and chief executive officer of SanCap Chamber John Lai, whom GFMCC asked to step in last December to lead while it sought a new president. “A permanent consolidation at this point would allow the synergy and strength regionalism brings while keeping the branding of each organization and the community identities intact.”
Consolidating and strategically investing resources these past months have helped both the SanCap Chamber, which has yet to regain more than 25 percent in lost accommodations, and GFMCC, which lost its pre-Ian home, in their recovery. The partnership has resulted in the conjoined SanCap and Greater Fort Myers Chambers of Commerce.
“Covid, Hurricane Ian, and the long recovery that has followed reinforced something we already knew but sometimes forget: Community is everything,” said Jen Whyte, chair of GFMCC. “When things fall apart, you find out fast who shows up, and you realize no chamber, no business, city, island, or community gets through it alone.”
Working with the SanCap Chamber since December 2025 has expanded connections, resources, and reach for GFMCC members, she said. For SanCap Chamber, combining forces has brought badly needed numbers – another 750 members to offset those lost to recent storms.
“We’ve built a great collaboration working with our partners at the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce over these past six months,” said SanCap Chamber board chair Michael Nachef. “We are extremely pleased with the results. We’ve found new and even better ways to support our business members and the broader community.”
He cited workforce, transportation, insurance, and housing as challenges better met by regional alignment than isolation. Currently, Lee County sustains 11 separate chambers of commerce. Back in 2018, when water quality issues made them all vulnerable, Lai was instrumental in uniting them to effect legislative and environmental change.
“I’m proud of what we’ve been able to grow under John Lai’s leadership over these past months, and even more excited about what comes next,” said Whyte. “Southwest Florida is stronger when we stop treating municipal borders as dividing lines. It often feels like we’re the only ones who care about those invisible lines. Clearly, our visitors do not.”
“Stay tuned for more news as this relationship continues to grow,” said Nachef.