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Spotlight On: Stephanie Freeman, President & CEO, Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber

By: Max Crampton- Thomas

1 min read April 2020 — Dunwoody, a city in DeKalb County and a northern suburb of Atlanta, has faced the same challenges as other cities fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. Stephanie Freeman, president and CEO of Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber, whose goal is to advance economic prosperity, relayed to Invest: the chamber’s efforts to assist the business community through this unprecedented crisis.

How is your organization working to assist the business community in mitigating the challenges and impact felt from the COVID-19 pandemic?

At this time of social distancing, the Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber is working diligently to be the steady voice of reason and reassurance for all businesses and the entire community. While our normal plan of work may be on hold, we are here to help businesses during this time of crisis. As they work to thrive during the current economic conditions, we are here for them; providing education, assistance, resources, and if needed a confidential outlet in which to discuss the future. We have developed a web page, are communicating daily with our members, and have developed an Engage Dunwoody Facebook group encouraging the entire community to communicate during this time.

Do you feel the business community is receiving enough state and federal support?

While the business community is receiving support from both the state and federal governments, the guidelines and regulations are ever changing. As this pandemic and its affects continue to vary, this is somewhat expected; however, businesses and community leaders look forward to a time when standards become more finalized.

How can the local community best assist your efforts in this time of need?

During this time, the local community may best assist the Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber by communicating their specific needs. While we can’t fix all issues, we are here to provide resources and advocate on behalf of the business community.

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

https://www.perimeterchamber.com/

Spotlight On: Ruby Wake, Vice President, Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce

By: Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read November 2019 — At first glance it may seem that there are more than enough chambers and business organizations in the Tampa Bay region to service the needs of the business community. The newest entry into the market, the Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce, would beg to differ. Created with the goal of promoting and aiding new and established Latino and Hispanic organizations in the region, the new chamber is looking to make a quick and significant impact within Tampa Bay. Chamber Vice President Ruby Wake spoke with Invest: about its mission, Tampa Bay as an emerging international hub of business activity and how the chamber will be addressing the greatest needs for this sector of businesses.

How did the Latin Chamber of Commerce come to fruition?

We noticed that there was a gap between the various Latino and Hispanic organizations. In this region, we have amazing organizations that cater to small businesses and startups by providing them with legal and accounting services, but there is no organization that caters to the professional services industry or the technology-driven industries. This was one of our main rationales for wanting to create this new chamber. We are in the process of developing a chamber that brings more than just monthly meetings and luncheons. We want to develop a chamber that is going to facilitate and assist in the development of new industries and companies within Tampa Bay. To accomplish this, we have created a board of directors that is very diverse, ranging from attorneys, to public administrators, to news anchors, with the purpose of figuring out what we can do for the Latino business community within Tampa Bay.

How is Tampa Bay establishing itself as a hub for international business?

Tampa Bay is going to continue to emerge as a hub for both national and international businesses due to our location and easy access to economic essentials. We have our ports and we are centrally located in Florida. We also have a booming economy, and we are slated to surpass New York City from a population density standpoint, which is amazing. Being in Florida also means that we are close to our Central and South American counterparts and having that access gives us the ability to introduce industries from different parts of the world.

What is the greatest need from the Latin business community to help grow their businesses?

We have noticed a lack of education from a financial standpoint. Unfortunately, most Latinos are not instilled with financial literacy at a young age. Even for those individuals with a higher education, it is not something that is taught in most universities, colleges or even in graduate schools. Programs are starting to emerge for high-school students, which is great, but what about adults who are already working full time in an industry or starting a business? These professionals have questions related to things like obtaining additional funding, creating a succession plan for their businesses or expanding on an already amazing business structure. How can they create an adequate business plan and then pitch that business plan to a potential loan officer or an investor, when they lack the education and resources? While, we contribute $300 billion to our nation’s economy, our businesses remain stagnant for the most part because of a lack of funding and a lack of education related to obtaining this funding. It is a vicious cycle that we are hoping to break.

How will the chamber assist in promoting Latino businesses and residents in Tampa Bay?

We hope to assist with the disparity by establishing two accelerator programs and a Latino leadership program. One accelerator will be a technology accelerator that will be hosted in conjunction with Tampa Bay Wave and the second accelerator will be a professional services accelerator. The Latino leadership program will assist Latinos who are interested in becoming involved in the political arena. We hope that by providing these additional resources, we will propel not only the Latin community within Tampa Bay, but Tampa Bay in general.

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/tampa-bay-latin-chamber-of-commerce/

Spotlight On: Jeffery Klink, First Senior Vice President & Southern Florida Regional President, Valley Bank

By Max Crampton-Thomas

2 min read August 2019 —During times of economic prosperity, the banking sector is primed to benefit the most, but when the economy begins to slow, or a recession hits, lenders normally feel the harshest effects. This forces banks and financial institutions to be innovative and mindful of how they approach their day-to-day business. There are, of course, the outliers like Valley Bank, which, as noted on its website, has never produced a losing quarter since its founding in 1927. Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale recently spoke with Jeffery Klink, first senior vice president and Southern Florida regional president for Valley Bank, who spoke about the bank’s efforts to ensure great customer experience, how it differentiates itself in a crowded South Florida marketplace and the biggest challenge facing the banking sector.

How does Valley Bank ensure a community bank feel while still providing the services of a large regional bank?

We are a community bank with a regional overlay and that is how we choose to operate. What has been really interesting is that our clients in many cases do not realize that we are a large regional bank unless they need access to loans that are $25 million to $35 million or above. Our core business clients that are looking to borrow $500,000 to $5 million still view us as a community bank because that’s the space that we operate in.

How does Valley Bank differentiate from the competition in the region?

Being client-centric is really our main differentiating factor in banking. Valley Bank, like most regional and national banks, has a similar technology platform. These systems allow users to access their accounts remotely, and they may very rarely come into our branches. How we mitigate this so the banking experience doesn’t become impersonal is to ensure that each client has a core group of bankers who they know and who know their needs. When customers call our bank, they are actually talking to somebody who knows the client not just from a business standpoint, but also on a personal level. This personal service combined with our technology platform has really allowed us to compete from a service perspective with the community banks.

What is the biggest challenge facing the banking sector?

The main challenge in banking is balancing interest rate movements. Throughout 2018, we saw Treasury rates increase significantly and that was allowing banks to adjust and increase the rates they were collecting on new loans. In 2019, we have seen interest rates pull back, which has been to the benefit of borrowers because rates have dropped to nearly historical lows. Banks are going to have to address and combat margin compression throughout 2019 because we are collecting less on the loan side and we are paying more than we have for close to 10 years on the deposit side of the balance sheet.

To learn more about our interviewee, visit:

https://www.valley.com/

Spotlight On: Stephanie Freeman, President & CEO, Dunwoody Perimeter Chamber

Spotlight On: Ruby Wake, Vice President, Tampa Bay Latin Chamber of Commerce

Spotlight On: Jeffery Klink, First Senior Vice President & Southern Florida Regional President, Valley Bank

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