MEMBER SPOTLIGHT 700 Main Street, Sebastian, FL 32958 www.SebastianChamber.com (772) 589-5969 May 2010 Issue

For the past thirty-five years, the VNA of the Treasure Coast has been here for you, your loved ones, your neighbors, and your employees. Headquartered at 1110 35th Lane in Vero Beach, the VNA is the fifth largest private employer in our community, providing jobs for more than 500 peo-ple. The VNA was recently named one of Indian River County’s 2009 Best Places to Work by Workforce Solutions. Due to a growing population and increasing needs in our community, in 2007 the VNA opened an office in Sebastian, located at 1331 N. Central Avenue. Presently, more than 5% of our staff live in Sebastian, and nearly thirty compassionate Sebastian residents support the VNA’s mission as volunteers.

The VNA of the Treasure Coast provides home healthcare services — including Medicare-reimbursed and private-duty nursing; home health aides; physical, speech, and occupational therapy; in-home companions; and personal transportation — throughout the Treasure Coast. We are also the only licensed hospice provider in Indian River County, offering end-of-life care in patients’ homes, local hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and the VNA Hos-pice House. We also provide wellness services such as flu and pneumonia vaccinations, no-cost blood pressure/blood sugar screenings, and speakers on health-related topics for local com-munity groups and businesses.

While you may think of the VNA as a provider of services for senior citizens, we offer many ser-vices that can also assist local businesses. For example, if you have employees without health insurance, keep in mind that the VNA operates a mobile healthcare unit, which provides basic, non-emergent medical care free of charge for In-dian River County residents without health cover-age. The VNA Mobile Unit is stationed at Sebas-tian’s Riverview Park each Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., (with a lunch break from noon to 1 p.m.). The VNA Mobile Unit is stationed in Fellsmere, at 32 N. Broadway, each Sunday, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

The VNA also offers monthly bereavement sup-port groups to assist individuals who are experi-encing grief due to the loss of a loved one. Our bereavement group meetings are held on Tues-day evenings from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Cross-roads Christian Fellowship, 10205 US Highway 1, and on Thursday afternoons from 2:00 – 3:30 pm., at the Sebastian River Medical Center, 13695 US Highway 1. In addition, we also offer caregiver support groups for anyone who needs assistance with or education regarding how to care for an aging loved one. Our caregiver sup-port group meetings are held the third Thursday of every month at the First Presbyterian Church, 1405 Louisiana Avenue in Sebastian from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. All VNA support groups are free of charge and open to the public.

Finally, the VNA also provides seasonal flu and pneumonia vaccinations and offers no-cost blood pressure and blood sugar screenings at a variety of Sebastian locations each month. For more in-formation about any of these or other services, please contact our Sebastian office at 772.589.0270 or visit www.vnatc.com. The VNA has been and will continue to be a devoted sup-porter of local community outreach programs, and we are proud to be a member of the Sebas-tian River Area Chamber of Commerce.

VNA of the Treasure Coast

Proposed renovations to the Chamber building on Main Street, entitled the:

Pelican Porch

Visitor’s Center

Acorn Mini Storage

AC & Non AC Units/Boat & R.V. Storage Gated facility, security cameras, 24 hr access

SPECIAL-ONE MONTH FREE OFFICE MON-FRI 8:00-6:00 SAT 8:00-4:00 SUN 9:00-4:00

189 Sebastian Blvd. (Rt. 512 East), Sebastian

589-6939 U-Haul Trucks/Trailers for Rent

APRIL CHAMBER EVENTS

Lunch at Marsh Landing Restaurant

Business & Pleasure at Riverside Bank

Nancy Madsen, Treasure Coast Area Executive Director, American Cancer Society, Luncheon Speaker

Barbara Schlitt Ford, Executive Director, Youth Guidance Mentoring & Activities Program, Luncheon Sponsor

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Let’s Go Fishing in Sebastian! Local Fishing Tournaments

4/30 & 5/1 Ducks Unlimited Band the Slam Inshore Fishing Tournament, Squid Lips 5/7 & 5/8 SISA Spring Fling, Capt Hiram’s 5/7 & 5/8 GFWC Sebastian River Junior Women’s Club Flats Tournament, Squid Lips 5/14 & 5/15 Bluewater Brawl, Sebastian Inlet Marina 6/4 & 6/5 Exchange Club of Sebastian Blue Water Open, Squid Lips 6/18 & 6/19 FLFA Free Junior Angler Tournament, Capt Hiram’s 8/13 & 8/14 SISA Red Eye Classic, Sebastian Inlet Marina 10/2 FLFA Fish-Off, Capt Hiram’s

Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Calendar of Events

May 2010

May 1 LoPresti’s First Saturday featuring Rich “Dogman” Schaefer, 9-11:30 a.m. US Customs Agent. Charity breakfast to benefit “Special Equestrians of the Treasure Coast,” $5 donation 9 a.m.-3p.m. Craft Club of Sebastian Craft Show Riverview Park, Sebastian 11 a.m. Environmental Learning Center Grand Re-Opening Wabasso May 6 Chamber Executive Committee 8:00 a.m. Chamber Main St. Office May 7 Chamber Monthly Breakfast 8:00 a.m. Maverick’s Sports Bar & Grill, 1929 US Hwy 1, Sebastian 8:30 a.m. Legislative/Government Affairs Committee Chamber Main St. Office May 8 2010 Chamber Golf Tournament 7:45 a.m. Sebastian Municipal Golf Course May 11 Chamber Monthly Luncheon at Capt. Hiram’s Tiffany Room Noon Sponsored by Seacoast National Bank, Sebastian West Guest Speaker—Lisa Asselin, Waste Management, Business Recycling Reservations Please- $15.00. At the Door- $ 20.00 May 12 Chamber Full Board Meeting 8:00 a.m. Chamber Main St. Office May 20 Business & Pleasure 5:30 Southern Sisters Café, 709 US Hwy 1, Sebastian May 21 11th Annual Concert in the Park Series, Riverview Park 5:30 pm The Nouveaux Honkies, sponsored by Melbourne International Airport and the City of Sebastian

Proctor Construction Company Andrew Kennedy 1401 Hwy A1A, Suite 300 Vero Beach, FL 32963 772-234-8164 Fax 772-234-3115 www.proctorcc.com cemrick@proctorcc.com Construction Management

Bottom’s Up Beverage Ray Petrella 171 Englar Drive Sebastian, FL 32958 772-918-8806 Fax 772-466-8066 www.bottomsupbeverage.com classiccocktails@aol.com Mobile Bar Service & Catering

A Piece of Me Consignment Holly Barnett 4880 87th Street Sebastian, FL 32958 772-589-8984 apieceofme8984@aol.com Thrift Store/Consignment

2010 Sebastian River Area Chamber Golf Tournament

Sebastian Municipal Golf Course

May 8, 2010 at 7:45 a.m.

Gold Sponsor: Bay Street Pharmacy & Home Health Care

Sebastian River Medical Center

Silver Sponsors: Ferndale Lodge

FPL Indian River Medical Center

Oculina Bank VNA of the Treasure Coast

Waste Management

Individual Player- $65

Player cost includes: 18 holes of golf with cart, range balls, goody bags, coffee, donuts, lunch, and

opportunity to win prizes.

To sign up a team or for more information, contact Britney at 772-589-5969.

11th Annual Concerts in the Park Series Riverview Park 5:30-8:00 p.m.

SAVE THE DATES!

5/21/10 The Nouveaux Honkies

6/18/10 MJ Wicker & Matt Manning

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES THAT

DONATED ITEMS FOR THE RAFFLE: AA Stained Glass & More

About Kayaks AdVance Plumbing Solutions

Aerus Electrolux Anytime Fitness

Bay Street Pharmacy & Home Health Care

Bronze Lotus Tanning & Day Spa Busy Bee Lawn & Garden Center

Capt. Christy Lenz “Casual Cruisin” Capt Hiram’s

Countryside Citrus Disney’s Vero Beach Resort Gulfstream Goodwill Store

Island Style Hair Studio Mavericks Sports Bar & Grill Maxwell & Son Plumbing, Inc. Mel Fisher’s Treasure Museum

Minuteman Press New England Eatery & Pub

Panda Roof Paradise Ice Cream

Pig & Whistle Pub, The Positive Change Health Center

River Queen Cruises Sebastian Inlet Marina

Sebastian River Exterminating Vero Fashion Outlets

New Members 3/10/10 – 4/13/10

DID YOU KNOW???

THE CHAMBER RESPONDS TO AN AVERAGE OF 60 INQUIRIES A MONTH FROM PEOPLE INTERESTED IN VISITING OR RELOCATING TO OUR AREA. THOSE LEADS COULD BE YOURS FOR ONLY $100 A YEAR! FOR MORE INFO, CALL NICOLE @ 772-589-5969!

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Membership News and Notes LoPresti’s First Saturday Event on Saturday, May 1 will host an interview with Rich “Dogman” Schaefer, US Customs Agent. Rich will tell of his 23 years of experience flying AEW (Airborne Early Warning) P-3 in pursuit of “the bad guys.” The event will benefit Special Equestrians of the Treasure Coast, an organi-zation providing therapeutic horseback riding and horsemanship skills for the physically and mentally challenged. Charity breakfast event begins with coffee and full breakfast at 9 a.m., presentation from 10-11:30 a.m. Charity donation $5. Sebastian Airport, 210 Airport Drive East, X26. All welcome. Call Mimi Erskine 772-562-4757.

The Sebastian Clambake Foundation is preparing for the 2010 Sebastian Clambake & Lagoon Festival on November 5, 6, & 7 at Sebastian’s Riverview Park. They are seeking applications from organizations wishing to be considered as beneficiaries. The Foundation funds new construction or capital improve-ments only. The application deadline is June 4th. Eligible projects are those that would occur between 77th St., near Wabasso, and the North Indian River County line, east of I-95. To view the list of require-ments, and for all other information about the festival, visit sebastianclambake.org. The Clambake is also looking for a new slogan, so enter their slogan contest online! Last year’s slogan was “There’s No Business like Clam Business.” The winner receives a 2010 Clambake T-shirt and $25 worth of food tickets.

The monthly Sebastian Business Connexions Businessmen and Businesswomen Networking luncheon hosted by the river grille, Official Dining Guide and Heartbeat of the Treasure Coast will meet at the river grille on US 1 in south Sebastian on Tuesday, May 4th at noon. Business to business networking with an informal agenda, door prizes, self introductions and testimonials will take place. Choose from mouth watering luncheon specials, $20 per person. RSVP is required in advance. Contact Cindy Bryant at 772-473-6107.

The Supervisor of Elections, Indian River County is hosting a Candidate Training Session on Wednes-day, April 28, 2010 from 9:00 a.m.—11:00 a.m. at the Elections office located at 4375 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach. Anyone who is interested in becoming a candidate or who has already filed for candidacy is welcome to attend this presentation. Topics to be covered are candidate and qualifying information, campaign finance, political advertisements, requesting voter data, absentee ballots and ethical conduct. The attendance of campaign treasurers is encouraged. Please contact the elections office at 772-226-3446 to reserve your spot.

Join the Youth Guidance for their 33rd Annual Tropical Night Luau! This fun filled event will be held Sat-urday, June 5, 7-11 pm, at the Quail Valley River Club. There will be dancing, tropical cuisine, a cash bar and an auction. Music by Gypsy Lane. Sponsorship packages available. For more information or tickets call 772-770-5040 or visit www.ircyouth.com

Grand re-opening at the Environmental Learning Center is scheduled for May 1, 2010 at 11:00 a.m. As many readers may remember, on June 30, 2008, the ELC’s largest building was hit by lightening during a severe thunderstorm, causing a fire which destroyed it and a nearby bathroom facility. Over 4,500 sq. ft. of buildings and contents were destroyed. The Re-opening is free with food and drinks for sale. The ELC is located south of Sebastian off County Road 510 at the end of the Wabasso Bridge. More info can be found at www.DiscoverELC.org.

Local students will be jumpin’ this summer, thanks to Indian River Federal Credit Union’s annual Sum-mer Reading Program. From June 9 through Aug. 30, local children up to age 13 can earn FREE AD-MISSION to Crazy Frogs! Located at 1375 US Hwy. 1, Vero Beach. For more info, visit Indian River Federal Credit Union at www.irfcu.com

You're invited to spend the afternoon on Saturday, May 15th from 1-5 p.m. at the Sebastian Area His-torical Museum for a 25th Anniversary celebration of the Sebastian Area Historical Society. The Mu-seum is located at 1235 Main Street in the Sebastian City Hall Complex. The program at 1:30 p.m. will include: Ruth Stanbridge, Indian River County Historian; Pam Cooper, Supervisor, Geneology Depart-ment, Indian River County Library; and Harry Tanner, Sebastian historian. Cake and refreshments will be served following the program. A cash door prize drawing will be held at 5 p.m. using a "vintage wheel." Visitors are welcome to view many new exhibits on display in the museum. Free admission. For additional information, call 772-581-1380.

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE SEBASTIAN RIVER AREA CHAMBER

OF COMMERCE OPPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO THE FLORIDA CONSTITUTION THAT WOULD FORCE VOTERS TO DECIDE ALL CHANGES TO A CITY OR COUNTY’S COMPREHENSIVE

PLAN AND URGING VOTERS TO VOTE ‘NO ON 4’ IN NOVEMBER 2010

WHEREAS, The State of Florida is experiencing an unprecedented recession; The State of Florida’s unemployment rate continues to climb and is among the highest in our nation; and, attracting new jobs and new businesses to the State of Florida is essential to the future recovery and prosperity of the state and its residents; and, Amendment 4 seeks to place a constitutional amendment before Florida’s voters to amend Article II, Section 7, of the Florida Constitution, (Title: REFERENDA REQUIRED FOR ADOPTION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL COMPREHENSIVE LAND USE PLANS) and Amendment 4 creates a time-consuming and costly process for businesses locating or expanding in Florida; and will impede efforts to grow and diversify Florida’s economy; a major economic study indicates that Amendment 4 is likely to lead to over 260,000 lost jobs in Florida; and this amendment will result in added costs to our local governments, weakened public services and heavier burdens on Florida tax-payers; the small Pinellas county town of St. Pete Beach adopted a local version of Amendment 4 in 2006, and this local version of Amendment 4 resulted in higher taxes, fewer jobs and endless litigation at taxpayer expenses; due to sustained job loss, stifled job creation and a loss of economic vitality, Amendment 4 will cause the standard of living of all Florida residents to decline. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SEBASTIAN RIVER AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THAT: The Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce hereby strongly opposes the proposed Con-stitutional Amendment 4, which poses a grave threat to Florida’s unique quality of life, the stability of its communities, and the prosperity of its economy; recommends defeat of Constitutional Amendment 4; and urges citizens to vote “NO” on Amendment 4 when it appears on the ballot.

RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF TAX ABATEMENT REFERENDUM

The Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors met on April 7, 2010 and pro-claimed the following:

WHEREAS, Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce supports the creation of better paying year-round jobs from growing local business and through the recruitment of new business which will lead to a prosperous future for county resident and workforce; and the Chamber understands the competitive nature of economic development; and supports creation of business incentive for growth and recruit-ment of new jobs in Indian River County; the Indian River County Board of Commissioners has ap-proved a tax abatement referendum to be placed on the November, 2010 voter ballot; the Chamber believes that TAX Abatement program will be a valuable tool in aiding economic development and will increase the competitiveness in attracting and expanding businesses; Indian River County will not be reducing tax revenues, but will continue to receive additional sales taxes from increase business and taxes received on non-abated assessed values such as inventory; and a tax abatement program would be based upon employment and wage criteria for new business and existing business expan-sion, now therefore, on this 7th day of April, 2010 Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce re-solves their support of the November 2010 tax abatement referendum.

FIRST ANNUAL LSA HOLIDAY

“Light Sport Aircraft" to gather in Sebastian for LoPresti Aviation's First Annual LSA Holiday. The world's first recreational gathering for Light Sport Aviators (LSA) will be held in Sebastian, Florida June 4th, 5th and 6th at Sebastian's beautiful airport. LSA is a completely new aviation segment of inexpen-sive 2 seat aircraft designed for affordable travel. The simple, safe design permits aviation enthusiast to own and fly with as little as 20 hours instruction. Hosted by LoPresti Aviation and promoted by the Chamber Tourism Committee, the event will offer a menu of recreational activities; playful aviation events, golf, boating, kayaking, hiking, music, camping, swimming, shopping and even massage. The Sebastian LSA Holiday Team plans to make this an annual public event, patterned after the Albuquer-que Balloon Fiesta. Tourism related businesses are encouraged to participate and for more informa-tion or reservations, please call David LoPresti at 562-4757, or Nicole Holbrook at 589-5969.

Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce

Board of Directors, 2010

Officers President – Debbi Vickers, Scripps Treasure Coast

Newspapers

Vice President – Theresa Tolle, Bay Street Pharmacy & Home Healthcare

Treasurer – Rick Wisner, Wisner Controls

Secretary – Patti Jamar, RE/MAX Riverside

Past President – Margie Duffell, Wells Fargo Home

Mortgage

Elected Directors Sandi Gehrke, Riverside Bank

Emily Holliman, Sebastian River Medical Center

Sherri Sproch, Sherri’s Floral Shoppe, Inc.

Michelle Napier, Dill & Evans, LLC

Bob Daberkow, Southern Fulfillment Services

Appointed Directors

Mickey Capp, Capp Custom Builders

Daisy Knowles, Sebastian River Medical Center

Chuck Mechling, Collier Club

Chris Pinson, Rotary Club of Sebastian

Chris O’Rourke, CPA

Beverly Paris, Paris Productions

Shawn Reeves, Merriweather Designs

Ex-Officio Wesley Davis, Indian River County Commissioner

Susan Adams, Mayor, City of Fellsmere Don Wright, Councilman, City of Sebastian

Jason Nunemaker, City Manager, City of Fellsmere Beth L. Mitchell—Executive Director

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May 2010 Beth L. Mitchell, Executive Director

We start out with our Annual Golf Tournament, on May 8 and the winners and results will be pub-lished next month. We especially want to thank Ed Moore from Ferndale Lodge, and our gold spon-sors, Sebastian River Medical Center and Bay Street Pharmacy. & Home Health Care. There’s plenty of companies to thank for their generosity, and we will list them for you next month! Summer events are coming up, and there are plenty of events to keep us busy and productive, there’s sure to be some way for you to promote your business during the dog days! May is our plan-ning month, and we will get started on the annual favorite, Sebastian Grill Out Night, scheduled for the end of July this year. We also convene our Media Auction committee in June, so look for the meeting schedule, this is a great way to do some networking with other business folks and work on a project that will give you plenty of exposure! Since its an election year, the Legislative/Government Affairs committee will be working on a County Commission Candidates Forum to help educate our community on the candidates and their issues, positions and charm. Since the primary is in August, we will schedule the forum for the beginning of the month, if you have burning questions for the candidates, send them our way! LoPresti Aviation is working hard to promote the Sebastian River area to their customer base, and their monthly Saturday breakfasts have become a very popular event at the Sebastian Airport. Now their ratcheting it up another notch, and the first annual “LSA Holiday” is really taking off! This three-day event, scheduled for June 4, 5, and 6, is a “Fly-In” for pilots and their wives and families, de-signed to be a recreational gathering. The event will offer a menu of recreational activities; aviation events, golf, boating, kayaking, hiking, music, camping, swimming, shopping and even massage. The Sebastian team plans to make this an annual public event, patterned after the Albuquerque Bal-loon Fiesta. This is a great opportunity for tourism related businesses to find some customers during the summer! Call us for more info! There are two resolutions in this newsletter that the Board of Directors passed at their meeting in April. The first one is in regards to Amendment 4, which the board opposes, the amendment, which will be on the ballot in November is more commonly known as “Hometown Democracy.” For more info on this ballot initiative, go to www.florida2010.com. The second resolution speaks to the referen-dum for a county wide tax abatement program. The voters in Sebastian overwhelmingly supported the City of Sebastian’s tax abatement program last fall, and now the county, and several other mu-nicipalities are following suite. The resolution wording provides an explanation for the support from the Board. We have two more Concerts in the Park scheduled in May and June. We want to thank Melbourne International Airport and the City of Sebastian for sponsoring the Concert series. We are really look-ing forward to bringing back the Nouveaux Honkies for an encore performance in May! Our Breakfast in May starts the month out right at Maverick’s Sports Bar & Grill, Lunch is at Hiram’s this month, and our Business and Pleasure is at Southern Sisters Café. Our lunch speaker this month is Lisa Asselin from Waste Management. She will be speaking about implementing recycling to all businesses and special events in Sebastian, Fellsmere and Indian River county. The Chamber has those new recycling bins out back, and we thought it would be helpful to our businesses to have her come and educate us on the programs that are available for businesses.

Have a profitable month!

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The Chamber Currents Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce 700 Main Street Sebastian, Florida 32958

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