The Osceola Resort Area Council loves to convene the movers and shakers in Osceola’s tourism industry. This holiday season they were excited to gather together at Melia Orlando Celebration Hotel for tasty drinks and appetizers and lots of excellent networking both within the hospitality industry and among other Chamber members.
As attendees arrived, they dropped a business card for a chance to win donated raffle prizes that ranged from bottles of wine to theme park tickets. Once gathered in Melia’s impressive courtyard area, they were serenaded by a glowing electric violin. Melia’s general manager Antonio Baez addressed the crowd and thanked them for coming out. As the evening went on, volunteers from the ORAC board raffled off items to 8 lucky attendees and wished everyone a good night.
To stay up to date on the Chamber’s events, programs, and activities, regularly check the events calendar at theosceolachamber.com; follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; and keep an eye out for your Chamber events bulletin every other Tuesday.
As a benefit to our Unity, Visionary, and Champion level members, the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber puts together an annual Unity Day to help build relationships, strengthen connections, and facilitate unity between our members at these higher levels. Due to holdups related to the pandemic, we were just now able to host our first ever Unity Day event on Wednesday, December 1 at Osceola History‘s Pioneer Village. Attendees were invited to bring teams of their colleagues to use the day as a team building opportunity, as well as a chance to connect with the Chamber staff and fellow members.
The Unity Day serves one of the Chamber’s three primary goals, which is “Building Unity,” and our first ever Unity Day also supported a second goal of “Embracing Heritage.” With the historic Pioneer Village as our setting, the theme of day was old-fashioned picnic. In a setting decorated with burlap, baled hay, and classic red-checked picnic cloth, we all enjoyed sliders and sides from Lizzie’s Memphis Style BBQ and delicious cupcakes from Smallcakes Kissimmee as everyone got to know one another.
The Pioneer Village’s outdoor meeting and events pavilion provided the perfect location to eat and visit before moving outside for some outdoor fun. Osceola History gave us the opportunity to try our hands at some activities and games that Osceola County’s earliest settlers might have enjoyed. In teams of four, our group completed a relay that included sack racing, three-legged racing, and hoop trundling, and then battled it out with a final
tug-of-war. Proving they’re more than just desk jockeys, Team SouthState Bank proved to be victorious in the relay and tug-of-war. Some attendees played a few leisurely rounds of cornhole, while others took time to chat over beverages, cupcakes, and a second round of food. Everyone received a complimentary map of the Pioneer Village so they could visit the historic and historic replica buildings on their way out. The Chamber was also pleased to offer a $500 donation to Osceola History for the use of their facilities for the day’s event. All-in-all, everyone had a fun, relaxing day, unity was built, and heritage embraced! We look forward to the next Unity Day event!
Said Chamber President/CEO John Newstreet, “They used to call a beautiful, perfect-weather day a ‘Chamber of Commerce Day,’ and today we had exactly that. The weather was perfect, the sky was clear, and everyone had a wonderful time team building, spending time outdoors, and connecting with other high-level members.”
The Unity Day is a member benefit for Unity level members and higher. If you are interested in participating in a future Unity Day event, or want to know if it is included in your membership level, please contact the Chamber at 407-948-3174 or email us iresto@theosceolachamber.com.
The Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce has added a Community Events Calendar to our website. Businesses, non-profits, government entities, and other organizations are encouraged to submit their upcoming community events to this public calendar.
“With this public events calendar, we hope to provide convenience for community businesses and residents by giving them a place to check for conflicting dates or just find an activity for the weekend,” said Chamber President/CEO John Newstreet.
Ideal submissions are events that are open to the public such as community festivals or vendor fairs; private events that have an associated ticket cost such as educational seminars or clinics, speaker events, or golf tournaments; and job fairs or hiring events. Events such as benefit dinners or invite-only affairs, or private parties, should not be submitted. The calendar can be accessed under the “Community” tab at the top of the Chamber homepage by clicking on “Community Calendar.” It can be viewed as a monthly calendar or as a list and can be filtered by date range and searched with key terms.
Anyone may submit to the events calendar, though submissions are subject to approval. Chamber membership is not a requirement to submit an event, though Chamber members will be given priority. There is no fee to submit an event for the Community Events Calendar.
To submit an event to the Community Events Calendar, follow the steps or view the “how to” video below:
The calendar will also feature the Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber’s own events, which can also be found separately on the Chamber Events Calendar by clicking the Events button at the top of the page. They are also listed at the bottom of our homepage.
