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2025 Spring Conference Sessions

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Marc Jordan, IOM, CCE

Start Where You Are, Use What You Have, and Do What You Can Do

5/6/2025 12:00 PM - 5/6/2025 1:00 PM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Marc Jordan, IOM, CCE - Founder, Shamgar Consulting, LLC
    R. Marc Jordan, IOM, CCE, has led chambers of commerce throughout the South, both large and small, including Memphis, Raleigh, Norfolk, Rocky Mount, NC, and North Myrtle Beach, SC, where he achieved both 4 Star and 5 Star Accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. With an extensive career in chamber leadership, Marc was named a Lifetime Member of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), a testament to his outstanding contributions and dedication to the industry. Throughout his career, Jordan has held numerous volunteer leadership positions, including chairman of the Metro Cities Council and chair-elect for ACCE. He relinquished his pending chairman's position while awaiting a heart transplant, but upon returning to his adopted home of Lynchburg, Virginia, he resumed his impactful leadership journey. Marc's leadership and perseverance have earned him recognition as Chamber Executive of the Year in North Carolina and, most recently, Chamber Executive of the Year in South Carolina. Additionally, he has served as president of the state associations in Tennessee and North Carolina, solidifying his legacy as a transformative force in the chamber community. The Governor of SC appointed Marc to the Organ Donation Board to oversee and grow registered organ, tissue, and eye donors in the state of SC.
Summary
In my 25 years as a heart transplant survivor, I've learned that life can take unexpected turns. Despite predictions of a much shorter life, I’ve continued to live a fulfilling life with purpose. My story is not just about survival – it's about thriving, overcoming, and pushing forward. Let my experience show you how to handle challenges and achieve your goals

"Getting to Know You".....Attendee and Sponsor Networking Session

5/6/2025 1:15 PM - 5/6/2025 2:15 PM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Summary
Craig Turner from Momentum AI will once again use cutting-edge AI to optimize the networking at this conference. In the past six months, AI technology has advanced dramatically, so the attendee 'matches' will be even better! Attendees will receive a brief survey in advance of the conference and the data will be used to help our members meet other members who 'match' the criteria that they requested in their survey responses. It will be way more than just random networking, so you won't want to miss this session!

Breakout A: Tiered Dues (Everything You Wanted to Know But Were Afraid to Ask!)

5/6/2025 2:30 PM - 5/7/2025 3:25 PM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Shane Moody, CCE, FCCP - President, Destin Chamber of Commerce
    Shane Moody, CCE, FCCP, assumed the role of President and CEO on Jan. 5, 2004. Under his leadership, the Chamber won the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) Award for Excellence in August 2005 and became a Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP) Certified Chamber of Commerce in October 2010. His designation CCE marks him as an ACCE Certified Chamber Executive, the highest individual designation in the chamber profession, an honor he earned in 2007, and IOM indicates his graduation from the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Organization Management in 2003. Previously, he was the Clayton County (GA) Chamber of Commerce President and CEO. He was chairman of the FACP board (2010-11) and its executive committee and has also been its treasurer. He has served the Florida Chamber of Commerce Federation Advisory Board and Board of Governors; the Quality of Life Caucus for the Florida Chamber Foundation; the Certified Chamber Executive Commission for ACCE; and various other committees for state and national chamber associations.
Summary
This session will give an overview of the tiered dues structure and will look at revenue generation, the process for conversion for your chamber, and evaluating and looking inside your chamber.

Breakout B: Ad Sales Huddle LIVE: For Chamber Pros Who Sell Ads

5/6/2025 2:30 PM - 5/7/2025 3:25 PM

Location
Galleries 4-5
Speakers
  • Ed Burzminski - President & CEO, Chamber Marketing Partners
    Ed Burzminski provides publications consulting and ad sales coaching to chamber professionals who sell advertising and to those producing a chamber directory or community guide-style publication. Ed has produced publications for chambers of commerce since 1993 and is a W.A.C.E. Academy graduate.
Summary
Ad Sales Huddle LIVE will be an interactive, peer-driven session designed to help chamber professionals improve ad sales, overcome objections, and create more value for members. Modeled after the virtual Ad Sales Huddle, this live event fosters real-time discussions, idea-sharing, and problem-solving. Attendees engage with peers, exchange strategies, and leave with actionable solutions to boost ad revenue.

Breakout A: From Cradle to Career: How Local Chambers Can Lead on Early Learning and Literacy

5/6/2025 3:30 PM - 5/6/2025 4:25 PM

Location
Galleries 4-5
Speakers
  • Makayla Buchanan - Director of Early Learning & Literacy, The Florida Chamber
    Makayla Buchanan is a dedicated leader with a passion for advancing education, public policy, and nonprofit impact. As the Director of Early Learning and Literacy at the Florida Chamber Foundation, Makayla spearheads initiatives that align businesses, policymakers, and community leaders to improve early learning and literacy outcomes. Her work includes leading the Florida Business Alliance for Early Learning Project where she conducts and publishes impactful research that guides strategic decision-making around birth-to-eight education statewide. Previously, Makayla served as the Director of Engagement and Partnerships for the Consortium of Florida Education Foundations, where she managed partnerships, marketing, and strategic initiatives, including launching Florida's inaugural ConnectED Conference and helped secure state and philanthropic funding that nearly tripled annual revenue. Before that, as President and CEO of the Clay Education Foundation, Makayla transformed the organization’s operations and brand, increasing revenue through diverse funding streams and building partnerships that expanded program impact for educators and students in Clay County, FL. Makayla is known for her ability to bring people together, whether through developing cross-sector collaborations, launching new initiatives, or facilitating meaningful conversations. Her approach is rooted in a commitment to listening and learning from those in the field, and a drive to create solutions that leave lasting impacts. Makayla holds a Master’s in Public Policy and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Policy. She believes deeply in the power of education to transform lives and is honored to work alongside others to make that vision a reality.
  • Brittany Lamont - President, Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance
    Brittany Lamont is the President/CEO of the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, a 750+ business organization focused on supporting businesses in the Manatee and Sarasota region. Before her current role, she spent over a decade at the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. Starting as an intern, she worked through various positions leading to the Vice President role focused on membership retention, engagement, events and communications. She graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Marketing and Management. Brittany is an active member of the community serving as a Board Member for the Early Learning Coalition, Take Stock in Children Sarasota County, and the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corporation. She is a past Board Member of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals, the Florida Public Relations Association, and American Advertising Federation. Brittany’s most rewarding role is being a mother to her three children – Payton, Harper and David. Her weekends are spent enjoying time with family and friends.
  • Ken Phelps, IOM - Vice President of Resource Development, Daytona Regional Chamber
    Ken Phelps, IOM is Vice President of Resource Development for the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce. In that role, he engages the local business community in several key areas including strategic partnerships related to education and workforce development, leadership development, talent development and retention, and entrepreneurship. In June 2022, Ken received his IOM designation after completing the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management. He now serves on the Board of Regents for the Institute’s Southeast program in Athens, GA. In March 2023, he completed the U.S. Chamber’s Business Leads Fellowship, a program focused on best practices in workforce development and education. Ken graduated from Leadership Daytona in 2017. He leverages the benefit of that experience in volunteer roles for several organizations including CareerSource Brevard Flagler Volusia, Daytona State College, and Junior Achievement of Central Florida. An alumnus of the University of Florida, he is an avid fan of Florida Gators sports and will watch most anything if the athletes are wearing Orange & Blue and keeping score.
Summary
Early learning and literacy aren’t just education issues—they’re workforce and economic development priorities. In this fast-paced, action-oriented session, learn how chambers across Florida are stepping up as conveners, connectors, and catalysts for improving kindergarten readiness, 3rd grade reading, and access to affordable child care. Featuring real-world strategies from the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance and Greater Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce, plus tools and data from the Florida Chamber Foundation, this session will equip you with tangible next steps to launch or grow this work in your community.

Breakout B: Social Media Mastery

5/6/2025 3:30 PM - 5/6/2025 4:25 PM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Alexis & Eric Winegard - Co-Founders, Rare Blue Moon Marketing
    Eric and Alexis Winegard are the husband-and-wife duo behind Rare Blue Moon Marketing, a company founded on love, trust, and a shared commitment to growth. Eric brings over 20 years of marketing expertise, having served as Vice President at a leading company before taking a leap of faith to build something extraordinary with Alexis. His strategic mindset and industry experience lay the foundation for their clients’ success. Alexis complements this with more than a decade of marketing experience, dedicating herself to nurturing relationships and delivering results with care and creativity.
Summary
Learn how to maximize your social media impact with strategic content, audience engagement, and the latest trends. Walk away with actionable insights to grow your brand and drive results. Key Topics will include choosing the right platforms, crafting engaging content, building and nurturing your audience, and tracking success with analytics.

Unlock Your Event Potential: Conducting Effective Event Evaluations & Leveraging Your Events for Recruitment & Retention

5/6/2025 4:30 PM - 5/6/2025 5:25 PM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Cally D'Angelo, IOM - Founder & Principal, Collective Edge
    Cally D’Angelo, IOM is the Founder & Principal of Collective Edge (CE). Nonprofit organization management is where her passion and purpose align. After working directly for Chambers of Commerce for nearly 20 years, she created CE to amplify and influence NPOs impact. She is a seasoned executive, skilled in professional development, events & programs, sales & service, member recruitment & retention, coaching & consulting, benefits & onboarding, international travel, and volunteer engagement.
Summary
Are your events delivering the results you need? An event evaluation can reveal opportunities to enhance engagement, increase revenue, and align with your Chamber’s goals. In this session, learn how to evaluate your current event portfolio, identify what’s working, and uncover areas for improvement. From analyzing attendance to assessing ROI, you’ll take away a framework to optimize your events. Events are often the first touchpoint for potential members and an essential engagement tool for existing ones. Explore innovative approaches to integrating recruitment strategies and retention tactics into your event planning. Walk away with actionable ideas to elevate your event strategy and strengthen your membership base.

Selling a Membership to a Generation Who Doesn't Join

5/7/2025 8:00 AM - 5/7/2025 8:55 AM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Bill Holman - Partner, Holman Brothers Membership Sales Solutions
    Bill Holman isn’t just any membership sales and relations consultant, he’s a real-world chamber guy with over two decades of chamber membership sales, member relations and management experience – and “know-how!” The Holman Brothers partner with chambers of every size to implement proven membership sales and relations action plans and coaching that fast-tracks sustainable growth.
  • Scott Robertson - Sales Manager, GrowthZone
    Scott Robertson has been serving Associations for over 25 years. Scott’s passion and focus are providing customers with the tools to grow and retain membership, generate revenue, engage, communicate with members and prospects, and streamline their day-to-day operations. Scott has served as an Ambassador for his local Chamber of Commerce and graduated from the US Chamber Winter Institute program with his IOM in 2022. Scott currently resides in Hebron, KY with his wife and son, and you can typically find him playing competitive poker in his downtime.
Summary
Attracting and retaining younger generations—who often hesitate to join traditional membership organizations—requires fresh strategies and a deep understanding of their values. Join membership experts Scott Robertson and Bill Holman as they share effective techniques for engaging millennials and Gen Z using the benefits and services your chamber already offers. Through insightful discussions and real-world examples, participants will learn how to foster meaningful recruiting conversations that resonate with younger audiences. Whether you're focused on membership growth, engagement, or long-term retention, this session delivers practical strategies to help you connect with the next generation of members. Participants will receive a complimentary copy of the Holman Brothers’ Strategic Questioning Guide, packed with actionable strategies and step-by-step guidance for chambers of any size. This practical tool will help you lead impactful conversations and drive results in membership recruitment and engagement

From Data to Direction: How Chamber Leaders Use KPIs to Win

5/7/2025 9:00 AM - 5/7/2025 9:55 AM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • DJ Muller - CEO & Founder, 1 to 100 Advisors
    DJ was the founder of WebLink International in 1996 (now Personify). DJ’s company provided the first online membership management platform to chambers of commerce. DJ’s company won many tech awards for innovation, including a case study done by Microsoft. DJ’s company attracted several million dollars of venture capital in 2007. DJ led his company through 10x growth and eventually sold to Personify where it continues to thrive today. DJ now consults with other tech companies and chambers of commerce to help them optimize their organizations for retention, growth and profitability. DJ is a frequent speaker on entrepreneurship, transitioning from a tech startup to a scale-up; capital raising and other business topics with domain expertise in B2B sales, chambers of commerce and trade associations.
  • Noel Martinez - President & CEO, Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce
    As the President & CEO of the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce, Noel Martinez has distinguished himself as a visionary leader and a driving force in community and economic development. Under his guidance, the Chamber has become a pillar of economic prosperity for its more than 750 members, earning the prestigious "2023 Chamber of the Year" award from the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP). In 2024, Noel was further honored with the Florida Chamber Chair’s Award, recognizing his exceptional leadership and contributions to the business community. Before his current role, Noel made a significant impact as the Executive Director of Leadership Palm Beach County, where he honed his leadership skills and elevated the organization's reputation and financial stability. Beyond his professional achievements, Noel's influence extends to his active participation on several boards. He serves on the FACP Executive Committee as the incoming chair and is a board member for both Friends of Manatee Lagoon and the Palm Beach North Education Foundation, reflecting his commitment to fostering community engagement and development. A proud alumnus of Leadership Florida's Cornerstone Class 40 and Leadership Palm Beach County's Class of 2014, Noel champions the synergy between personal and professional growth. His dedication has garnered widespread recognition: he was named the "2023 Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year" by FACP and featured in Palm Beach Illustrated's "Top 100 Business Leaders in Palm Beach County" for 2023-2024, as well as Florida Trend Magazine's "2023 Florida 500."
Summary
Join DJ Muller and Noel Martinez (CEO Palm Beach North) as they discuss the best way to use KPIs in your chamber. Designed for CEOs and leadership teams, this high-impact session will equip you with simple, actionable frameworks to align your chamber’s priorities with the right KPIs (key performance indicators)—so you can hit your goals faster and with greater clarity. You'll learn: How to identify the right data for your unique chamber What to track weekly, monthly, and quarterly—and what to ignore How to use KPIs to direct your team, influence your board, and boost accountability What to share (and what not to share) with your board and staff Best practices for presenting data in ways that drive action—not just information overload Whether you're just beginning to use data in your executive decision-making, or looking to sharpen your data strategy, you'll leave with practical tools and ready-to-use templates to drive smarter decisions and deliver stronger results.

Mastering AI for Chambers: Operations, Members, and Leadership

5/7/2025 10:15AM - 5/7/2025 11:10 AM

Location
Galleries 1-3
Speakers
  • Craig Turner - Founder & President, Momentum
Summary
This will be a transformational session on harnessing the power of AI, designed specifically for chambers of commerce. Discover the essential “Big Three” strategies for chamber leadership in AI: • Integrating AI into your internal operations • Empowering your members • Establishing your chamber as thought leaders Gain practical, real-world insights and up-to-the-minute trends to seamlessly integrate AI into your chamber’s daily operations, allowing you to save (more) time, be (more) productive, and have a closer relationship with your members. Experience the power of LIVE AI demonstrations - impactful prompts will be displayed on-screen for everyone to see, use, and take back to their chambers for day-to-day applications.

Monetizing Advocacy Fireside Chat

5/7/2025 11:15 AM - 5/7/2025 12:10 PM

Speakers
  • Mark R. Mills - MarkMills.net
    Mark Mills promotes prosperous communities through leadership engagement and public speaker training that prepares and positions future civic, public and influence leaders to bring new ideas, new vision and new solutions to stubborn community problems, allowing people to flourish, prosper and thrive. Since 2008, he has collaborated with business, leadership and professional organizations in diverse markets to develop and deliver customized training programs to "build the bench" of future leaders of influence who have gone on to collectively impact the lives of nearly 36 million people. Prior to leadership training, Mark had extensive experience in high-profile political campaigns, primarily in media relations and messaging strategy roles, and public relations experience in business and public affairs. He spent nearly 10 years on the staff of a United States Senator, serving as communications director, media spokesperson and leadership office staff director, during his tenure. Visit www.markmills.net to learn more
  • Corydon Skeates, JD, IOM, FCCP - Accelerate Brevard
    Corydon "Cory" Skeates serves as the Vice President of Community Development at Accelerate Brevard: Chamber of Innovation, where he oversees Government Affairs, Military Affairs, Tourism (Visit Cocoa Beach), and Space initiatives. His career in not-for-profit leadership began at the Oviedo-Winter Springs Regional Chamber of Commerce (OWSRCC), where he was President & CEO from January 2007 to December 2014. Most recently, Cory held the position of Interim President & CEO of the OWSRCC during the organization's search for a new CEO. Before that, he spent nearly seven years as President & CEO of the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce (FL), from January 2015 to October 2021, where he led the Chamber to reaccreditation as a 5-Star chamber by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Cory was chosen by his peers to serve as the 2020-21 Chair of the Florida Association of Chamber Professionals (FACP) and is a member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Organization Management (IOM) Southeast Institute Board of Regents. He was again selected to serve on the FACP Board of Directors in 2024 and serves as Chair of the Advocacy Committee. He also brings extensive legislative experience, having served as Senior Legislative Assistant to several Florida State Representatives, including Representatives Attkisson (2001-2002), Kallinger (2002-2004), Quinones (2005), and Adams (2005-2006). Additionally, he has worked as an independent consultant for various local, state, and federal campaigns. Originally from Scottsville, NY, Cory moved to Central Florida in 1997 to attend Barry University School of Law after earning a B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from Grove City College in Pennsylvania. He has been married to his wife Shannon since 2002 and is a proud father of two daughters, Ella (20) and Amelia (17).
Summary
Advocacy isn’t just about politics or “lobbying.” There’s a greater purpose at work. Discover strategies for how government advocacy can elevate your chamber’s influence for community prosperity, contribute to your bottom-line and add value to memberships, regardless of the chamber’s size.
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