We live in challenging times. I am sure that all our members are dealing with great uncertainty in their corporate and business lives – I know that I am. We seem to be coming out of the pandemic phase of COVID-19 and entering an endemic phase. Although this would have been an incredibly positive development a few months ago, we now may have to concern ourselves about inflation levels not seen in 40 years and even the specter of nuclear war in Europe. As a child of the 1970’s, it is a bit of déjà vu for me, as I suspect, it is for many of you as well.
In a world filled with such uncertainty I find it helps to be able to connect with friends and colleagues to get differing perspectives and share the burden of our current situation. While FEI is not the answer to the world’s many problems, I believe that our chapter can assist our members in dealing with many of the business challenges we all face together, and who knows maybe even a few personal ones as well. This is much more likely to happen in person than over Zoom.
I am happy to reflect on our recent meetings and how successful they have been. Our most recent meeting was a local company event at J.C. Newman, one of Tampa’s most historic companies and a cornerstone of our community. During the event we learned that J.C. Newman is the last surviving cigar manufacturing company in a city that previously had hundreds of cigar manufacturers and gave us our pre-Champa Bay nickname of Cigar City. As the sole survivor, J.C. Newman has assumed the role of preservationist. They have created a museum on the ground floor of their building and offer tours of their facility where participants can see the original manufacturing equipment, lovingly maintained, still operating, and producing cigars. They have recently purchased the long-abandoned Sanchez y Haya hotel across the street from their facility, which they plan to restore and open a new hotel in 2023, with a restaurant and, of course, a cigar lounge.
I am also happy to reflect on the fact that our membership continues to rebound from our pandemic lows. We continue to add new members and many of our lapsed members are coming back. As a member of FEI, and especially our Tampa Chapter, you understand the benefits of being a member. If you know of anyone who would benefit from a membership, we would love the opportunity to welcome them to the Chapter. Just let anyone on the Board, or Denise Parker know, and we will invite them, for free, to attend an upcoming meeting to experience the benefits of membership. If you know of any lapsed members, please encourage them to rejoin. The more the merrier and the better we will be as a group to help our members navigate the uncertain world that we live in.
As always, I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you, our members. You make us stronger. If you want to be more involved in the Chapter, please consider joining the Board. We are always looking for additional Board Members to help us grow and evolve as we enter the home stretch of our 2021/2022 chapter year.
Rob Taylor
President
FEI Tampa Bay Chapter