105th Annual Chamber Meeting, Presented by Shumaker

Description

The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce invites you to join us for our 105th Annual Membership Meeting and Luncheon at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota. 

The Sarasota Chamber of Commerce's Annual Meeting, a premier event bringing together business leaders and community members, to celebrate the accomplishments of the past year and identifying the goals for the upcoming year. We look forward to celebrating with you on Friday, October 24, 2025, at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota.

Event Details:

Date: Friday, October 24, 2025

Time: 11:30am - 1:15pm [The event starts promptly at 11:30 am. Please plan to arrive no later than 11:00am to prevent any delays due to valet and any potential traffic.] A Cash Bar will be available in the Reception Lobby from 10:30am. 

Location: The Ritz-Carlton Grand Ballroom at The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota
1111 Ritz Carlton Drive, Sarasota FL 34236

Parking: Valet Parking Only - parking fee is sponsored by Tommy's Express Car Wash

Meal selection - Choice of one entree:

•  Pan-seared airline chicken breast, sweet potato beurre noisette, haricot vert, tomato sabayon
• Vegetarian & Vegan option: Cauliflower and chickpea curry with Basmati rice, crispy lentil thins. Papadum

Dessert: Chocolate & Dulcey Crème Tart, Vanilla Bean Cream, Mixed Berries

Seating: Elevate your experience by becoming a Silver or Gold Table Sponsor, ensuring your guests are seated together, with prominent visibility at this exceptional gathering!

Event Highlights:

Keynote Speaker: Jim Knight - Culture That Rocks: How to Amp Up your Company's Culture and Deliver Sustainable Results

Chamber Updates: Get an exclusive overview of the Chamber's initiatives, accomplishments, and vision for the coming year.

Board Announcements: The incoming Chairman of the Board along with the 2025-2026 Board of Directors will be announced

Award: The prestigious Chair’s Cup will be awarded to the most engaged Chamber Member

Networking Opportunities: Connect with hundreds of professionals from various industries, expanding your network and creating new business opportunities

Culture That Rocks: How to Amp Up Your Company’s Culture and Deliver Sustainable Results

This high-energy, impactful and interactive keynote presentation focuses on individuals, departments and entire companies who are charged with creating, maintaining, or revolutionizing an organization’s culture, ensuring it stays relevant in the 21st century. The session delves into every area of a company’s environment and reveals realistic solutions for systemic change.

Keynote speaker and best-selling author, Jim Knight will act as a thought-starter for the session. He will use the visceral backdrop of Rock ‘n Roll and several well-known brands, including Hard Rock International—via his 21-year run with that brand as the head of Global Training & Development—to discuss key strategies to transform any organization’s culture, regardless of the company’s cultural history or status.

Watch: Keynote Speaker on "Culture That Rocks":

Get Ready to Rock: Keynote Preview Video

Our Keynote Speaker: Jim Knight:

Business culture catalyst, former Hard Rock International Executive, and author of Culture That Rocks!

Renowned keynote speaker, author, and training and development executive Jim Knight teaches organizations of all sizes how to attain their own “rock star” status.

Although his illustrious career started at Gatorland—a working alligator farm in Florida (he has scar to prove it)—Jim cut his teeth in the hospitality training industry and eventually led Global Training for Hard Rock International for two decades. Jim’s customized keynote speeches show how to amp up organizational culture, deliver world-class differentiated service, and build rock star teams and leaders.

Jim’s role at Hard Rock involved many facets of organizational training including creating and managing all staff and management training materials and programs; facilitating Hard Rock’s Corporate University; overseeing management training locations; producing training videos; directing company e-Learning initiatives; facilitating leadership transitions; and traveling to properties to deliver onsite classes and measure company standards.

Jim put his experience and creativity to work, which consistently developed cutting-edge training concepts. During his time with the Hard Rock brand, his team won coveted video Telly Awards (Guest Service in 2000, Menu Rollout in 2007, Harassment & Discrimination Prevention in 2008); garnered Training Directors Forum’s 1998 prize for Reengineering Training; and won Brandon Hall’s Gold Best in Class Award for their Service Recovery e-Learning course.

Jim was also recognized by Training Magazine as representing one of the top 125 training companies in the world out of all industries and businesses. He has since been featured in Forbes Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, Nation’s Restaurant News, Business News Daily and Fox Business News. Finally, Jim Knight has been a contributing member of Rolling Stone Magazine since 2020

Jim has a music degree in Vocal Performance & Education and taught in the Florida public school system for 6 years. He is a lifetime member of CHART (an Association of Hospitality Trainers); previously sat on the Certification Governing Board of the National Restaurant Association; and founded the networking group, The Training Summit (CHART’s 1st Regional Training Forum), which includes over 100 active members in Central Florida to share best practices and discuss common issues with other industry professionals.

Jim is the Owner & CEO of Knight Speaker, delivering numerous keynote speeches worldwide on leadership, organizational culture, customer service, and employee experience. He is also the best-selling author of Culture That Rocks: How to Revolutionize Your Company’s Culture, now in its 3rd edition, which was featured in Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the “5 Books That Will Help You Transform How You Do Business”. Jim’s latest books, Leadership That Rocks: Take Your Brand’s Culture to Eleven and Amp Up Results and Service That Rocks: Create Unforgettable Experiences and Turn Customers into Fans were amazon #1 Best Sellers.

If you need to cancel for any reason, please do so by Friday, October 10th before 12pm. Following this time, cancellations will not be refunded as guarantees have already been made on your behalf. If you have any questions, please contact Celeste Lloyd-Jones at cljones@sarasotachamber.com

Join us as we celebrate another year of success and collaboration. Don't miss the chance to engage, inspire and contribute to the growth of our business community.