Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce
Our Business Is To Help You Build Your Business

By Jimmy Johnson, Executive Director

FOCUS STATEMENT

The Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce is an association of business and professional people who work together to build the community in an organized way to ensure progressive, orderly development, effective government at all levels, and to maintain a positive climate for a sound and expanding economy.

Each Chamber of Commerce is as individual as the community in which it is located and typically exhibits the same personality. With a population of nearly 20,000, the city of Seminole is a small town compared to the neighboring cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater. Seminole, however, has a big heart and is known for being both warm and welcoming. The Seminole Chamber and Seminole city government work in tandem to be progressive and offer the best services possible to businesses and residents alike.

We, at the Chamber office, are fond of saying, “Everyone is someone to us.” We strive to ensure that each “customer” who contacts us is treated with the utmost courtesy and receives the personalized assistance he or she desires. Seminole is quickly becoming a destination city, and we are happy to provide information to tourists, vacationers, and newcomers. Sharing our community’s information gives us the opportunity to promote Seminole with its low taxes; low crime rate; shopping; excellent schools, including St. Petersburg College; joint-use library; post office and city hall; state-of-the art recreation center; beautiful parks; proximity to the beaches, and much more.

Residents often stop by the Chamber to say hello and catch up on the news, since the office at 8400 113th Street N. is the hub of the community and the “communications central” for all commerce in Seminole. We respond to more than 2,000 requests annually for the names of local businesses, professionals and services, as well as local data on business activities and opportunities.

Since 1962 we have been the catalyst organization that facilitates advancement for greater Seminole’s economy and quality of life. The Chamber maintains close contact with our government officials at the city, county and state levels to address the business community’s issues and concerns in a timely manner. The Chamber supports local schools through donations of time, talent and scholarships.

A community tradition for years, our annual Kids Appreciation Day event on the last day of school at the city park helps our youth welcome the summer in a positive way, while applauding them for their efforts during the school year. Educators are thanked for their dedication at an annual Tribute to Teachers breakfast.

We cultivate special relationships throughout the greater Seminole area, inviting businesses and organizations to become members and cherishing them as they remain in our association. We know our members by name, which is a benefit of being a small, but mighty, Chamber. A core group of our long-time members were founders of the city of Seminole and instrumental in its incorporation in 1970. Their wealth of wisdom and steadfast support is sincerely appreciated as the Chamber continues to grow its membership/business population. Thanks to a Business Assistance Partnership (BAP) with the City of Seminole and Pinellas County Economic Development, the Seminole Chamber is able to offer one-on-one counseling to all businesses, focusing on at-risk and start-up businesses, and furnishing them with a business plan, marketing plan and resources for financial assistance. The BAP program also serves as a tool to determine trends in the marketplace and offers business owners contacts to a pool of pre-screened employees and training programs.

Many tangible and intangible benefits are realized upon becoming a Seminole Chamber member. We help businesses build a solid foundation to increase their business success through our projects, events, workshops and after-hours socials. All of these provide ideal networking/marketing opportunities. An ongoing calendar is posted on our Web site: www.seminolechamber.net and in our monthly newsletter. Our Chamber-sponsored Business Leads & Skills Development Workshops facilitate learning and mentoring. We encourage all our Chamber members to become involved by joining one of our committees: Ambassador, Chamber Champion Award, Economic Development, Tribute to Teachers Breakfast, Golf Tournament, Kids Appreciation Day, Membership, Seminole Stampede, and Newsletter. Their input adds flavor, and their participation helps to maintain solid relationships within the community. Moreover, committee participation is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership. Each of their successes is our success.

Our Board of Directors and Officers are elected directly from our membership. Our members carry the torch forward, knowing that “Each of us is better at some things than others, but none of us is better than all of us working together.”

About the Author
Jimmy Johnson is the Executive Director of the Greater Seminole Area Chamber of Commerce. For additional information, contact the Seminole Chamber at (727)392-3245 or online at www.seminolechamber.net.