The Bay County Chamber of Commerce held its 2021 Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony June 18 at Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort. Bay County Chamber of Commerce President/CEO, Carol Roberts said this event is one of the most important events of the year for the Chamber. “The Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony is our chance to reflect on all of the accomplishments from the previous year,” said Roberts. “2020 and the beginning of 2021 was difficult on all businesses. Bay County had not only had to recover from surviving and rebuilding from Hurricane Michael, we are now recovering again from the COVID-19 Pandemic. While your Chamber has never skipped a beat, we are excited to finally be able to celebrate our successes with the Chamber membership. Many of the Chamber supported issues have become a reality in 2020, starting with the extension of the moratorium on offshore drilling with the military gulf training range to the groundbreaking and completion of the Destination Panama City Visitor’s Center of which would not have happened had this organization not led and conducted the campaign for a Panama City Bed Tax.” The event began at 5:30 p.m. with a social and silent auction benefiting Junior Leadership Bay (JLB), a program of the Bay County Chamber Foundation. JLB prepares Bay County’s youth and future business leaders to meet the challenges facing our area through hands-on activities and exciting discussions involving community leaders and motivational speakers. The program began at 6:45 p.m. with the main event, where community leaders and numerous elected officials gathered to celebrate the Chamber’s successes of 2020 and to honor the outgoing Chair of the Board, Andrew Rowell of GAC Contractors. Sandy Sims of Gulf Power Company served as the Master of Ceremonies for the evening. Rowell passed the gavel to 2021 Chair, Chris Moore of General Dynamics. In his closing remarks, Rowell stated that his time serving on the Chamber board of directors has been the experience of a lifetime. “Thank you for allowing me to serve,” said Rowell. “I’ve been fortunate to build relationships with all of you, our members. 2020 has certainly changed our lives both personally and professionally. It has also changed the way we have done business. Our board, has stood by the organization and the hard decisions had to be made
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on events, meetings and office operations and more.” Rowell then went on to commend the board of directors, and investors and the many others who have continued to invest. Also being honored at this event was the outgoing Military Affairs Committee (MAC) Chair, Will Cramer of Bill Cramer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. Cramer was the 2019 Chair of the Board of Directors before becoming the 2020 MAC Chairman. Cramer officially passed the gavel to Andrew Rowell who took over as the 2021 MAC Chairman on Tuesday, June 8th at the MAC Passing of the Gavel. During the event, Cramer commended the work of the local military installations of Bay County stating, had it not been for them, there would be no reason for him to serve as MAC Chair. “Our local military are the ones to be commended for their service for our country,” said Cramer. “Both of our military installations play a vital role not only economically, but also through their individual community involvement and the impact of spouses on our workforce. We appreciate you!” Each year the Chamber recognizes an outstanding member with its Member of the Year award. Scott Jackson and Julie McConnell of the Bay County/UF IFAS Extension Office, were announced as the 2020 recipients. Andrew Rowell, 2020 Chair of the Bay County Board of Directors, introduced Jackson and McConnell as the recipients stating they were top of mind from the very beginning. “From our first conversation, they stood out as a shining star,” said Rowell. “At the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the shutdown had loomed over the state, getting information out to the Chamber membership was key. Since 1954 the Chamber had only missed one First Friday and that was following Hurricane Michael. Chamber staff had received a call that offered a way to broadcast First Friday virtually. Following that first month of Virtual First Friday, Jackson and McConnell volunteered countless hours and expertise to assist in hosting Virtual First Friday. I am so appreciative of their time and talents that they were able to lend us to make sure that we were able to keep our membership up to date.” The last award of the night was the Lauren Merriam Memorial Award, the Chamber’s highest honor. Joey Ginn (who was the 2018 recipient of the award), presented the 2020 award to Jorge Gonzales, who was chosen for this award for his heart and love for all that is Northwest Florida. He has served on multiple boards, including FSU Panama City Campus Development Board and Dean’s
