On November 2nd, the Celebration Area Council invited the Osceola and Celebration business and residential communities along for a live panel discussion at Windsor at Celebration to explore and explain the “alphabet soup” of organizations that help keep Celebration running and successful. Many are confused by the seemingly endless list of acronyms and initialisms associated with Celebration, what each organization does, and who to go to for certain questions or services.
Three of these organizations joined our own CAC to help clarify some of the letter jumble and to discuss how our organizations can work together, and with the businesses and residents of Celebration, to make the Community as strong as it can be.
Jack McLaughlin of the Celebration Community Development District (CCDD), Kathleen Sipio of the Celebration Foundation (CF), and David Anderson of the Celebration Residential Owners Association (CROA) engaged with each other and our attendees for an hour as part of a panel moderated by Chamber President/CEO John Newstreet.
McLaughlin, a Celebration resident of 22 years and a past president of the CROA board, now holds seat 5 of the CCDD board. The CCDD is the special purpose limited government that falls under caption 1-9 of the Florida Statutes and is responsible for providing the infrastructure that makes Celebration the community it is. They finance, acquire, maintain, contract, and operate all of the infrastructure in Celebration. They are authorized to issue bonds, most recently for Celebration’s Island Village expansion, and are responsible for retention ponds, street trees, street signs, and much more. CCDD has a 5-person board of supervisors elected during November general elections.
Kathleen Sipio has been the Executive Director of the Celebration Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to build a better community through the arts, culture, and education. They are responsible for Celebration’s popular concert series, as well as special programs for Celebration’s seniors, an adult continuing education series, and community grants and scholarships.
David Anderson sits on the board of CROA. CROA is the HOA for Celebration. They recently hired a new management company and are exploring new and exciting ways to “onboard” new residents.
Other organizations that were not present for the panel discussion (a few of many, many more!) the Celebration Non-Residential Owners Association (CNOA), Celebration Community Services (CCS), and Lexin, which owns and leases the Celebration downtown. This dearth of organizations, our panelists admitted, is confusing even for them.
During this discussion, we learned that the CCDD has been asked by the state Department of Economic Opportunity to examine the question of incorporation for Celebration, and that is what they are focused on now. CROA just hired a new management company and are very excited about their new resident portal that allows Celebration residents to . The Celebration Foundation has found innovative ways to maintain their programs for residents throughout COVID, including extremely successful online programing that has attracted an international audience, and are excited to restart their concert series.
When asked how the different organizations can work together, and how the community might engage with these groups, the resounding answer was that Celebration residents, businesses and tenants are encouraged to be active and involved members of the community. The CAC looks forward to being better connected with Celebration’s many “alphabet” organizations and working together to combat common problems. Ongoing issues that the panel identified are increased parking solutions, the long-dormant Celebration Theatre, keeping the town fresh, and a need for rentable, shared office space.
If you are affiliated with an organization in Celebration, we would love to hear from you and connect with your organization. Please reach out to us at 407-847-4145 or cpilkington@theosceolachamber.com.
For the second time, the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber hosted a successful Trunk-or-Treat in our very own parking lot. At the Chamber, we appreciate this opportunity to bring the the public out to our property and increase awareness of the Chamber’s presence in our community. The Trunk-or-Treat proved to be a great opportunity to showcase our members as well. Forty member vendors parked their trunks for a night of fun.
We could not have anticipated the over 3,000-strong turnout at the event, but it was wonderful to meet so many enthusiastic Osceolans and their cleverly-costumed kids. We saw zombies, t-rexes, princesses, and almost the full cast of Star Wars. Our vendors put in as much creativity decorating their trunks as the kids did with their costumes as they competed for “Most Spooktacular,” most “Creepily Creative,” and the crowd favorite “Monsters’ Choice.”
Thanks to some awesome partnerships, we were able to provide some extra moments of fun. Orlando Health sponsored a cute photo opportunity as well as the free kids’ craft. Toho Water Authority sponsored a face painter, whose services were free to attendees, and provided a favorite treat on a warm night: water. Thanks to Bogin, Munns & Munns, trick-or-treaters also enjoyed fresh-popped popcorn. Kona Ice was also on site with their refreshing shaved ic.
At the end of the night, the most “Creepily Creative” trunk went to Mosquito Joe of Kissimmee’s Dia de los Muertos display, which included the owners in full face paint, and the “Most Spooktacular” was Geico Local Office – South Orlando‘s ode to a classic favorite The Nightmare Before Christmas. After tallying the many, many votes for “Monsters’ Choice,” that award again went to Mosquito Joe of Kissimmee.
It was a truly spooktacular night and we can’t wait for this event to return next spooky season with more creative fun and community access for all ages.
Thanks to our sponsors McLane, Orlando Health, Toho Water Authority, and Murray Insurance Agency Inc. for making the event a success.
After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, VIVA Osceola, the largest Hispanic festival in Central Florida, was back in style on October 9 at Kissimmee Lakefront Park. For almost three decades VIVA Osceola has celebrated Hispanic heritage, arts, and culture, as well as Osceola’s business community. The Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber has hosted this event for over 20 years and this year was one of the best yet.
The highlight of the festival was by far the entertainment. Before the event had even officially kicked off at noon, spectators were camped out to make sure they had an ideal spot for the day’s entertainment. Attendees caught lengthy sets from Orchestra Fuego, Edwin El Calvito Reyes, and the headliner, the “Original Canary of Salsa” Lalo Rodriguez. The concert was emceed by Epi Colon and Bebo from Exitos 96.5. Thanks to our partnership with AdventHealth, for the first time ever we were able to offer a livestream of the entire show, which is still available on the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber website.
AdventHealth also sponsored an awesome free photo booth complete with props. Attendees were able to take home a souvenir photo strip with the VIVA logo and three different poses. Kissimmee Utility Authority was back this year too with their popular Kids’ Power Zone. Kids could have safe fun with inflatable bounce houses and slides and festival-goers of all ages cooled off with free snow cones.
As always, there were plenty of food and drink options at VIVA. From Puerto Rican favorites to an Oktoberfest-themed biergarten, there was plenty to sample. The festival even had its own drink this year, the VIVA Blue.” This rum, blue curacao, and sprite concoction was a glowing treat!
