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Conference agenda a mix of work sessions, recreation
By Dave Hodges
DEMOCRAT BUSINESS EDITOR
The estimated 400 attendees this weekend at the annual Chamber Community Conference have two and a half days of recreation, business strategy sessions, networking opportunities and social events on the agenda at Amelia Island Plantation.
The annual event is a program of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Friday's events begin at 8 a.m. with registration at the resort's conference center and exhibits. At 8:30 a.m. the "Defend the Cup Challenge" golf tournament begins at the Amelia Links course. The tournament concludes at 1 p.m. with a lunch for players and announcement of the winners.
Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce Chair Ron Sachs will officially welcome the conference attendees at 5:30 Friday at the reception, to be held at the resort's Beach Club.
The advantage of a meeting held out of town is so that participants are not distracted by the usual business routine, the phone calls, meetings and things that would pull them away from a conference if it were held in Tallahassee, Sachs said.
"Out of town for two and a half or three days, there's an opportunity for a lot of social and fun time, and interacting with other business people whom you may not have the time to interact with even here in town," he added.
Access Tallahassee and Leadership Tallahassee will present a social event afterward called "Leadership Wine and Dine". The host will be Tony Carvajal, past chair of Leadership Tallahassee.
The Saturday schedule begins with a breakfast and general session sponsored by Comcast. The master of ceremonies will be political consultant and former Leon County Commissioner Gary Yordon, joined by Sachs, and Jerry Karnas, Florida Climate Project director for The Environmental Defense Fund, a conference cosponsor.
The morning's keynote speaker will be Tony Villamil, CEO of The Washington Economics Group. He will offer an assessment of current economic conditions and his advice on business management priorities, focusing on North Florida.
A former U.S. undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs and member of the President's Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, Villamil serves on the board of Enterprise Florida and has been an advisor to governors Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist.
The first breakout session is entitled "Our Innovation Economy" and will be moderated by Tripp Transou, chairman of the Economic Development Council. Panelists for the session include Dale Brill, director of Florida's Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development; Linda South, secretary of the Florida Department of Management Services; Rob Cowan, human resources manager for General Dynamics Land Systems; Bob Van Riper, vice president of sales/HondaJet Southeast for Flightline Group Inc.; John Fraser, executive director of Florida State University's Office of Research; and Joel Friederich, vice president and chief operating officer of Elbit Systems of America's Tallahassee Operations.
Other morning breakout sessions include New York Times best-selling author Don Yaeger's presentation entitled "Building Your Personal Brand" and an update on Our Region Tomorrow, an initiative that was inaugurated at last year's conference to address community needs on a regional basis. The update will be given by Our Region Tomorrow Executive Director Matt Doster and Allen Byington, executive director of the Big Bend Regional Health Information Organization.
Tallahassee Democrat Executive Editor Bob Gabordi and Digital Communities Editor Julia Thompson will moderate a session entitled "How to Make Digital Networking Work for Your Business." Panelists include Blake Dowling of Aegis Computer Services, business systems consultant Jason Johnston, Salter-Mitchell President April Salter Herrle and Karen Moore, founder and CEO of Moore Consulting Group.
"Green Business Solutions" will explore energy-saving and environmentally sound business practices. The moderator will be Tim Center, vice president of sustainability initiatives for Sustainable Florida. Panelists include Jerry Karnas of The Environmental Defense Fund, Mad Dog Construction Services Vice President Kristin Dozier; Assistant to the City Manager Michelle Bono; and Deputy County Administrator Vince Long.
Saturday's lunch, sponsored by Sperry & Associates Inc., will feature a legislative forum with the candidates for state House of Representatives Districts 8 and 9. They will be available for questions from the conference attendees.
Sunday morning's session begins with a panel discussion entitled "Straight Talk" with Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, Leon County School Supt. Jackie Pons and Leon County Commissioner John Dailey.
Their remarks will be followed by a keynote address by former Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller, who today remains the most decorated American gymnast in history. She is a seven-time Olympic medalist and nine-time world gymnastics medalist.
Miller founded the Shannon Miller Foundation to fight childhood obesity. She also co-chairs the Governor's Council on Physical Fitness in Florida.
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