Dear all,
Welcome to the new SACC Florida!
We are tremendously proud to announce that what we all used to call SACC Miami will join forces with SACC Fort Lauderdale & Palm Beach under the new name SACC Florida.
By working together, we will achieve more, be able to serve our members throughout the State of Florida even better, and broaden the scope of ideas, best practices, smart solutions and geographic outreach.
SACC Miami has a long and impressive history that stretches over three decades. Read more about it in the article by Kickan Williams.
When Peter, Len, Kerstin, Johanna and Jan set out to form the SACC Fort Lauderdale & Palm Beach chamber in 2013, they focused on an “all inclusive, not exclusive” motto which continues to this day and will now be shared with the Swedish community throughout Florida. Jan tragically passed away in 2015 but his memory is with us and we especially recognize him at our annual “Glögg fest” every December hosted by his lovely wife Martha Norelid for the past five years.
As SACC Florida we will continue to strive to provide value to our members and to stay true to our organizational foundation of constant reinvigoration. Many chambers end up with long-term, sometimes life-term, board appointments which can hamper innovation and engagement. With that in mind, one of the core founding principles when establishing the SACC FLL & PB was defined term limits for the board of directors. This can be a challenge as you always need to identify and engage committed board members who are willing to invest their personal time, at no compensation, for the greater good of the community. SACC Fort Lauderdale & Palm Beach have managed to do this not only once but 4 board member cycles, with 4 different Presidents since 2013. This illustrates a strong continuity in the organization and great support from our Swedish community in Florida and beyond. Our chamber has been fortunate to have had many incredible people who have been part of the board, management, committees, the larger organization and you, our fantastic MEMBERS. You all play an important role to ensure continuity and vitality of SACC Florida.
With the greater SACC Florida organization, we hope to set up local chapters that can support your area specifically and I know Peter, who now resides on the Florida Panhandle would love to support SACC FLORIDA as the local coordinator. With the chambers joining together it will also be an opportunity to strengthen our advisory board which consist of past Board and selected Trust Members.
This year has been an especially challenging time for us all, but with your support, our interns and the board we will continue to grow and provide value throughout Florida. As soon as we can enter a new normal we are looking forward to creating various new events for and with our members, with both a business and a social focus. One event we all can look forward to is the SACC Summit in 2021. It is the annual gathering of all the over 20 SACC USA Chambers of Commerce, and we have, pending possibility, volunteered to host it in October 2021. This is, as you can imagine a high profile event, with lots of distinguished guests and speakers. If you are interested in pitching in, as a speaker, sponsor, organizer, supporter, please let us know.
Stay Safe and Welcome to the new SACC Florida!
Warm regards,
Per Cedergren
