North Tampa Bay Chamber coffee
Attend a coffee social with the North Tampa Bay Chamber at the SpringHill Suites Tampa North, Land O’ Lakes, at 16615 Crosspointe Run in Land O’ Lakes. The coffee is held on the first Thursday of every month, which is Dec. 5 this month. The coffee is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The event is free. Bring lots of business cards.
Overtime labor law rules
Lourdes Bahr, community outreach specialist for the wage and hour division of the United States Department of Labor, will provide information about the new overtime labor law rules that take effect Jan. 1. The lunch ‘n learn session will be on Dec. 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the conference room at the North Tampa Bay Chamber office, 1868 Highland Oaks Blvd., Suite A, in Lutz. Lunch will be catered by Stonewood Grill & Tavern. The cost is $15.
HART receives transportation funding
The Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority has received a grant of $4.3 million from the Federal Transit Authority to replace diesel buses with compressed natural gas buses, according to a news release.
The Federal Transit Authority received applications for 318 eligible projects, totaling $1.9 billion. Just 94 projects received funding.
HART operates roughly 35,000 daily trips, covering a service area of 1,266 square miles, and has a bus fleet of 180 buses.
Business celebrations
The North Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce planned to take part in these ribbon cuttings in December:
- Glory Days, 28812 State Road 54, Wesley Chapel
- Shawn Harrison & Associates, 5331 Primrose Lake Circle, Suite 100, Tampa
- Hampton Inn, 11780 State Road 54, Odessa
- Apricot Lane Boutique, at The Shops at Wiregrass, 28211 Paseo Drive, Wesley Chapel
- ATT&T North Dale Mabry, 14446 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
- Profile by Sanford, 14837 N. Dale Mabry Highway, Tampa
- Scrubs ‘n Such Uniforms, 23016 State Road 54, Lutz
Also, Coffee Speaks ‘N Tea Talks, at 19651 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Suite C-2, in Tampa, had a grand opening ceremony on Nov. 26.
Learn about SCORE, at WOW
Susan Crane, a SCORE mentor and presenter, will talk about the free services that the organization provides and about its volunteer opportunities a the WOW meeting set for Dec. 6 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Beach House Assisted Living at Wiregrass, 30070 State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel. WOW is a women’s networking group of the North Tampa Bay Chamber. Preregistration and prepayment are encouraged. Online prepay is $5. Pay at the door is $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers. For more information, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com, and click on the Events tab.
Membership luncheon
The North Tampa Bay Chamber monthly membership luncheon will spotlight three nonprofit organizations in the community: The Human Society of Tampa Bay, Oasis Pregnancy Care Centers and Sunrise of Pasco Inc. The luncheon is set for Dec. 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Fox Hollow Country Club, 10050 Robert Trent Jones Parkway in Trinity. To preregister and prepay, visit NorthTampaBayChamber.com, and click on the Events tab. For more information, call (813) 994-8534.
Dade City business breakfast
The Greater Dade City Chamber of Commerce’s business breakfast will be on Dec. 17 from 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., at the Dade City Heritage & Cultural Museum, 14206 U.S. 98 Bypass in Dade City. Call the chamber for more information at (352) 567-3769.
Risk Management for Entrepreneurs
This free session, which is part of the Entrepreneur Education Series, will focus on avoiding, reducing and insuring against threats to your business’ potential success. The session is set for Dec. 18 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the SMARTstart West Entrepreneur Center, 4532 U.S. 19 in New Port Richey. The class is on the first floor. To register, visit PascoEDC.com, and click on the December events tab.
Greater Pasco breakfast meeting
The Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce membership breakfast is set for Dec. 20 from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., at Seven Springs Golf Club, 3535 Trophy Blvd., in Trinity. To register, visit GreaterPasco.com, and click on the Events page for December. For more information, call (727) 842-7651.
Wesley Chapel Toastmasters
The Wesley Chapel Speaks Toastmasters meets the first and third Monday of each month at the New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd., in Tampa. This group seeks to help its members develop and strengthen their public speaking skills, improve their communication and build their leadership skills. Guests can attend two meetings for free; after that, the fee to belong is $55 every six months. Toastmasters is a 501c3 nonprofit organization.
Coffee First
Sip a cup of coffee and do some networking on the fourth Wednesday of every month at 8 a.m., at the First National Bank of Pasco, 23613 State Road 54 in Lutz. The event is hosted by the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with First National Bank of Tampa. Enjoy a free cup of coffee and stay for the great company and conversation.
Blanket Drive
The Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce is helping to spread the word about Blanket Tampa Bay, a 501c3 charitable nonprofit, that is collecting blankets for the homeless and less fortunate. It has a goal of collecting 2,000 clean, new or gently used blankets. Visit Facebook.com/blanketthehomeless for more information. The blankets will be distributed on Christmas Eve at both locations of Trinity Café. For pickup, call (813) 300-9277.
Become a SCORE volunteer
Despite its acronym, (Service Corps of Retired Executives) volunteers do not have to be retired or an executive, they simply need the experience and willingness to be able to help small businesses succeed. Current local volunteers have backgrounds in human resources, engineering, accounting, sales, marketing, production and other fields. The needs of the clients the organization serves are even more diverse. To find out more, visit PascoHernando.score.org.
