It all started with a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for the Daytona Beach/Halifax Area Chamber of Commerce's Inter-City Visit in November 2008. It was there that many ideas about economic development in Daytona Beach began to form.

Then, at the Chamber's Annual Meeting in January, Chairman of the Board Ted Doran announced his plan to create 10,000 jobs in 10 years.

Since then, several business and economic development professionals in the Daytona Beach area have been discussing what's become known as the "International Speedway Boulevard Creative Corridor" which encompasses the stretch between Daytona Beach International Airport all the way to the Ocean Center on Atlantic Avenue.

On February 27, The Chamber hosted Scott Polikov of Gateway Planning Group who made a presentation about regional sustainable development and how we can incorporate Daytona Beach's assets into this Creative Corridor initiative. The Daytona Beach Young Professionals Group (YPG) also jumped on board in this effort, as it is a major component of the YPG's focus in 2009.

Want to get involved? Take a few minutes to view Mr. Polikov's presentation! http://www.gatewayplanning.com/PDFS/Daytona%20leadership%20meeting.pdf.

Stay tuned for updates!

Gov. Charlie Crist recently met with Daytona Beach residents at the Daytona Beach Board of Realtors to discuss the Cover Florida health care initiative. With an estimated 4 million uninsured Floridians, Crist said this initiative gives Floridians options in a time of high unemployment and financial uncertainty. Seven of 12 Cover Florida plans available in Volusia and Flagler have monthly premiums averaging $155 or less.

Under the Cover Florida plans, recipients can choose two general types of coverage: catastrophic or preventive. The more a customer pays, the more benefits that are included, such as screenings, office visits, surgery, and durable medical equipment.

Cover Florida is targeted to people who have lost their jobs or work as independent contractors - e.g. area realtors - and don't have access to group coverage. The program is open to people ages 19 to 64 who have been uninsured for at least 6 months or more and recently lost insurance because of unemployment, the death of a spouse or divorce.

Florida Healthcare/Blue Cross and Blue Shield are offering a Cover Florida plan locally. For more information, visit this website.

The Chamber was at this press conference because Affordable Health Insurance for Small Business was the top-ranked legislative issue according to a recent Chamber member survey.