Thanks to the support of our members and the tireless effort of our volunteers and board of directors, 2014 was a great year for the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce. I want to especially thank our board chair, Tom Kelly, with Old Florida Bank, for his leadership and commitment to the chamber.
In addition to hosting successful events like the Taste of Winter Park, Autumn Art Festival and Christmas Parade, the chamber helped lead the 2nd Annual Feed the Need Campaign, a community-wide effort to raise funds for Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida. With partners Rollins College, Sodexo, the City of Winter Park and Think Creative, as well as sponsors Winter Park Memorial Hospital, Mayflower Retirement Community and Florida Distributing, and many community champions, we were able to raise over $85,000 to help end hunger in our community.
We kick off the New Year with two wonderful events. On January 16, we will host the State of the City Luncheon and honor Mayor Ken Bradley for his six years of service to this community. In early February, we look forward to recognizing the many contributions from our members, volunteers and board of directors at the Membership Awards Celebration. Thank you to CenturyLink and Kuykendall Gardner Insurance for sponsoring this special evening. During the event, we are proud to honor David McGuffin, the longtime president and CEO of the Mayflower Retirement Community. David will be retiring in 2015, so it is fitting that we recognize his many contributions to Winter Park by presenting him with the Lydia Gardner Citizen of the Year Award.
The New Year brings a sense of optimism and excitement. This year is set to be another busy and productive year for us. On behalf of the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce, we hope you have a happy, healthy and prosperous year.