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Chamber opens with hugs and a 'hooah'

The colorful $3.5-million building sits close to the road to make it feel walk-up friendly.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS
Published December 9, 2005

As members arrived at the new Brandon Chamber of Commerce building, one could see the excitement in the crowd.

People were hugging each other and pecking cheeks.

They looked up in awe at the chamber's new $3.5-million, 18,000-square-feet headquarters, which stands two stories tall on Paul's Drive.

"I thought it was the Taj Mahal," said Bill Wolfe, a chamber volunteer.

The chamber's new colorful office is the first to be built under Brandon's new Main Street guidelines. In hopes of creating a Main Street feel for Brandon, the rest of Paul's Drive and the surrounding area will soon be a hub of shops, offices and homes.

The chamber's building, like other Main Street buildings to come, was built close to the road to make it feel walk-up friendly.

"You want to come inside," said Laura Simpson, vice president of the chamber's department of business and community development. "You want to learn more about what we do here."

At last Thursday's grand opening, members milled about in the chilly evening air, and waiters circulated with trays of bacon-wrapped shrimp.

The ceremony began outdoors with a speech by U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, in which he praised the chamber for reflecting the free enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit of American society. Then, Putnam gave an American flag to soldiers attending the event.

Th e soldiers raised the first flag at the Brandon Chamber, as Heather Ochalek, owner of Music Showcase, sang the Star Spangled Banner.

As the song ended, an Air Force veteran in the crowd answered with a faint, "Hooah."

After the ribbon cutting, guests were welcomed inside. A talented young duo serenaded the second floor with piano and saxophone music. Children played in boardrooms as their parents mingled over Cold Stone Creamery ice cream.

Chamber members said they appreciate the new building's regal dark cherry furniture and the huge atrium that houses a flat-screen TV.

But, said Simpson, the chamber isn't based on its roof and walls.

"We're so much more than any building," she added with a smile.

[Last modified December 8, 2005, 07:50:08]