Groups aim to fill void left by West Volusia Chamber

PHOTO COURTESY KIMBERLY CLINE
New organization — Members of the West Volusia Business Connection Board of Directors are Mary Mulå of Debary Realty, left,; Dr. Chris Lechmaier of Lechmaier Family Chiropractic; in back are Joel Wilder of Cruise Planners, Teresa Greenfield of Greenfield Insurance Group; and Bob Biferie of Robert L. Biferie, CPA/PFS.

PHOTO COURTESY KIMBERLY CLINE
Fired up — Along with Mary Mulå, Kimberly Cline, who works with CPA Bob Biferie, was determined to keep a local business group in Southwest Volusia. She and Mulå put their heads together and formed the West Volusia Business Connection.

BEACON PHOTO/PAT HATFIELD
New president — DeBary Realtor® Mary Mulå will head up the West Volusia Business Connection, giving members of the now-defunct West Volusia Chamber of Commerce somewhere to turn. "It will help fill that void," she said.

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Jul 21, 2009 - 9:27:17am

News that the West Volusia Chamber of Commerce closed its doors earlier this month stunned the Southwest Volusia business community.

(See the story in the July 6-8 Midweek edition of The Beacon.)

Now, another group has formed to fill the void. The West Volusia Business Connection came about because two members of the West Volusia Chamber were determined to keep a local group going.

Mary Mulå, who will be president of the new group, and member Kimberly Cline agreed business people need the connections.

“The Chamber, as an organization, had a lot of great things going for it,” Mulå said.

The Business Connection will work to retain those great things, without membership dues.

“There will be three areas of service, similar to the Chamber,” Cline said.

Planned is an after-hours “vendor blender” 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month. Meetings will rotate from one business to another, with the first meeting Aug. 20 at the offices of Robert Biferie CPA, at 301 N. Pine Meadow Drive in DeBary.

Vendors can set up tables to display their products and services at the vendor blender, for a nominal charge.

The gatherings offer an opportunity for networking and mutual support.

The second area of service will be a networking breakfast at 8 a.m. on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month, at Sterling Court Retirement Center in Deltona. The cost is $5.

The third service area will be “Wonderful Outstanding Women,” or WOW, for short.

WOW luncheons at 11:30 a.m. on the first Thursday of the month, also at Sterling Court, will offer women support in personal and professional growth. Guest speakers will address topics of concern to women. The cost is $15.

Mulå said men are welcome, too.

For more information on the West Volusia Business Connection, call Cline at (386) 668-6809 or Mulå at (386) 668-0411.

The DeLand Area Chamber of Commerce is honoring memberships from the West Volusia Chamber, as are the Chambers of Commerce in Deltona and Sanford.

The DeLand Chamber’s next Business After Hours meeting will be 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 21, at Bill and Frank’s Brickhouse Grill, 142 N. Woodland Blvd. in Downtown DeLand. Visit online at www.delandchamber.org.

Deltona Chamber President Denise White said to attend one of Deltona’s upcoming events or fill out a membership form at the Web site, visit www.deltonachamber.org.

There’s a lot of assistance for small and home businesses. Home-business operators can join the Deltona Chamber for just $50 a year, White said.

She invited all interested people to attend a seminar on small business 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 22, at the Holiday Inn Express at 1330 Saxon Blvd. in Orange City.

Sanford Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Pam Czopp sent a letter to former West Volusia Chamber members, inviting them to a new-member breakfast July 22 and to a “Business Connections” group that meets every Wednesday.

“We’re just seven miles away, across the bridge,” Czopp said. The Sanford Chamber, online at www.sanfordchamber.com, has members in Seminole and Orange counties, and in West Volusia.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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