Our first Chamber After Hours of 2024 will be on Thursday, Jan. 11, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Our host for this event is the Fountain of Life Church located at 1302 SW 32nd St.

Pastor Dave Robertson and his staff are looking forward to having us visit and take a tour of their facility. I understand they will have a fun ice breaker for us to be a part of too. Light refreshments will be available. Our after hours are a great time for networking, so remember to bring your business cards. Our Chamber events are always open to the public.

Workout Anytime Okeechobee is having their Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting on Thursday, Jan. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. The event will be held at 3278 U.S. 441 South next to Bealls Outlet. This is the 24/7 Gym that we’ve been waiting for and it will be exciting to take a tour of the facility and see all that they have to offer.

Don’t miss out on meeting Danny and Issac as they welcome everyone into their new business. We’ll get to hear all about their Charter and Premium membership opportunities, first time memberships, certified personal coaching and so much more. Let’s make them feel welcomed. Hope to see you there. All our events are open to the public.

Come help us celebrate Timberline Kissimmee Prairie -- Grand Opening/Ribbon Cutting on Saturday, Jan. 20, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at 33104 NW 192nd Ave., Kissimmee Prairie Preserve. Ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. and then tours of the facility will follow.

Richard and Joy Manders invite you to come check out the popular Glamping scene. Glamping is a great way to mix camping comfort with a little bit of luxury and some extras built in. Go ahead and build a fire, get your s'mores ready to roast, enjoy gazing at the stars while enjoying nature and all the natural beauty that surrounds you. If you’re looking to explore the area, you will find many different species of plants and animals also.

Be sure and mark your calendars for this exciting adventure and you’ll want to get in on the photo opportunity at the ribbon cutting at 10 a.m.

All our events are open to the public. We hope to see you there.

Saturday, Jan. 27, from 6 to 9 p.m., is our ever-popular Business of the Year Awards Dinner. This year our theme is “Havana Nights!” Our event will once again be held at the Downtown Venue, and we can’t wait to see what all is in store for us that evening. You just never know what’s going to happen or who is going to show up.

We know our 10 judges will be there and our 36 finalists which includes our five winners from last year. The five are competing for the honor of the all-around title BOYA! We can’t wait to find out who the winners are from each of the four categories, our MVP and the final BOYA award! We also have 10 leading Star finalists, and we look forward to presenting that award to someone in our community who has been voted best all around.

I would like to thank our Top Fedora sponsor – Mid-Florida Credit Union - for being that top sponsor … and following them we have our Mojito sponsors: Jones Supply, FPL, Florida Quality Real Estate, Miller’s Central Air, SouthState Bank, Brown and Company Realty, Glades Gas and Electric and Glades A/C. Taylor Rental, The Downtown Venue, HCA Florida Raulerson Hospital, VITAS, Mixon Real Estate Group, Okeechobee Health Care Facility, Martha’s House, and Seacoast Bank. Thank you to each of them for their support for this important event.

Don’t miss out on a great time, fun, delicious food, music, cash bar and lots of cheering for your fellow businesses. Let’s support and congratulate each of our finalists for their endeavors. Our local businesses do so much for our community, and we want to share in thanking them.

Get your tickets now to get seats reserved. Tickets are available online www.okeechoeebusiness.com at $60 each, as well as table sponsors at $600. Table sponsors include your logo.