The RD Air Services hangar was bustling and beautiful Thursday night, filled will 550 of Gainesville's business leaders. Jan. 28 the Chamber and CEO honored volunteers who went above and beyond, welcomed a new board chair, celebrated 2009 successes--including the Chamber's Five-Star Accreditation and the Gainesville Area being named the 2009 Region of Excellence by the Institute for a Competitive Workforce--and revealed the new community-wide initiative, Innovation Gainesville.
Another major piece of the evening, and one of the primary reasons the Chamber hosts an Annual Meeting, is to thank the outgoing Chairman of the Board for his work and welcome the incoming Chair. We said goodbye to 2009 Chairman of the Board and founder of Gainesville Health and Fitness, Joe Ciruilli, a fantastic leader who guided us through a year like no other. And we welcomed 2010 Chairman of the Board, and founder of Godet Industries International LLC, Eric Godet. Mr. Godet has been a member of the Chamber and CEO family for years and served as the CEO Chairman of the Board in 2009. We look forward to another banner year under his leadership.
Innovation Gainesville, the Chamber- and CEO-led community initiative that has had the business community buzzing, was unveiled Thursday night. Innovation Gainesville was created to strengthen our local economy and make Gainesville a leader in emerging technological fields. In less than six months, more than 200 individuals worked together in an unprecedented approach to transform Gainesville's knowledge through a collaboration laboratory, or "Collaboratory," and to connect our rich and abundant capabilities for specific and measurable results. In areas of Health and Green Technology, this Collaboratory will bring together an interdisciplinary set of experts, market-makers, inventors and investors to design and launch new products and services. More than 30 unique tactics have been named and prioritized and are now being executed. To learn more about Innovation Gainesville, and to get involved, go to www.innovationGainesville.com. Become a Facebook fan of Innovation Gainesville.
While this unprecedented Annual Meeting, sponsored by FloridaWorks, the Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency and the Cade Museum, had all the traditional features, plus some great surprises, the night would not have been complete without the exquisite décor by Keith Watson Productions, professional photography services provided by Footstone Photography, complimentary valet parking by Gainesville Valet Parking, exceptional cuisine from Bell's Catering. A big thank you also goes to Royal Restrooms, TDC Entertainment and Flycaster & Co.
Thank you to everyone who helped make the 2010 Annual Meeting a success. We had a feeling it was going to be a good night . . . and indeed it was!
The traditional Chamber awards were given out, and a new award, Innovation Advocate of the Year, was introduced. The award winners are:
Chairman's Award: Florida Bridgewater-Alford, University of Florida
Diplomat of the Year: Kevin Coulson, Meridian Behavioral Healthcare
Volunteer of the Year: Scott Costello, Advantage Publishing
Volunteer of the Year: Greg Bradley, Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency
J. Wayne Reitz Award: John Carlson, PPI Construction Management
J. Wayne Reitz Award: Tom Mallini, M&S Bank
Innovation Advocate of the Year: Sue Washer, Applied Genetic Technologies, Corp.
Innovation Advocate of the Year: Jackson Sasser, Santa Fe College
Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers that made 2009 an amazing year.