February is Black History Month, and the Kissimmee/Osceola County Chamber of Commerce will begin it with the inaugural meeting of the new African American Business Coalition on Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m. at the Chamber.
The African American Business Coalition grew out of requests from individual members to bring together Osceola’s Black business community to look at their collective business needs and assess opportunities to address them, while sharing support, resources, and understanding. The inaugural meeting is open to all, and Chamber membership is not required to attend.
Anyone interested in the African American Business Coalition can register at business. kissimmeechamber. com (scroll down to Upcoming Events) to take part in this meeting and stay apprised of the group’s futures endeavors. This first meeting will allow attendees to introduce themselves and their concerns and interests, assess the proposed direction of the group and settle details such as meeting dates and regularity and official name.
The African American Business Coalition will join the Chamber’s Warrior Coalition, launched back in November to correspond with Veterans Day, as new coalitions. The Warrior Coalition is a group of Veterans in business in and around Osceola County. Many members of the group are business owners, though many also work in other capacities in the community.
“As a veteran advocate and proud member of The American Legion, I am proud of the Kissimmee/ Osceola County Chamber of Commerce’s efforts to establish the Warrior Coalition,” said Chamber President John Newstreet of the Coalition.
The Chamber’s Warrior Coalition seeks to bring together veterans to support veterans and the greater Osceola community. Open to both Chamber members and non-members, the Coalition will meet regularly to identify and discuss the needs and opportunities within the local veteran community.
Up and running, it has already met twice at the end of 2021 and once earlier this month. Register at the Chamber website for future meetings.
The hope is that other demographic-specific groups will join the Chamber in the future for the opportunity to bring together specific business interests in the County in an informal setting, where individuals can pool their collective talents and insights in support of the community and each other.
Newstreet said he also sees opportunity for discussion at these meetings to aid the Osceola Works initiative that the Chamber recently launched, to aid the talent pipeline for our employers, educational partners, and dynamic local workforce in the county.
