Skip to main content

Tag: AMI Chamber

Man completes Chamber passport program in five hours

Man completes Chamber passport program in five hours

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, Business.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The annual Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s Passport Program is a fun way for residents and visitors to the Island to get out and discover Island businesses with a passport offered for free by the chamber.

Participants are encouraged to get their passports stamped at four participating chamber-member businesses in each of the four defined areas: Bradenton Beach, Cortez, Holmes Beach and Anna Maria. Anyone who completes the challenge is rewarded by the chamber with a T-shirt for their achievement. For most, the task is completed over a few days, weeks or even months, but for one Bradenton Beach man, it only took five hours.

Roy Cuddahy, a 69-year-old retired “snowbird” who spends three months a year in Bradenton Beach, saw the Passport Program as a challenge he thought he could knock out in record time, so he set out to do exactly that.

“I hopped on my e-bike and did the four in Bradenton Beach, four in Cortez, four in Holmes Beach and four in Anna Maria,” Cuddahy said. “It took me five hours and 22 miles, and I made it to the chamber to get my T-shirt just a few minutes before they closed.”

Cuddahy said there were eight businesses he knew and eight businesses he had never been to, which is exactly why the chamber does the program each year; to allow people to explore new businesses and get to know the Island, while at the same time stimulating the local economy.

Roy is no stranger to e-bikes. Back at his home in Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire, he owns and operates an e-bike business. While on the Island, he visits the newly opened e-bike business, Better On Bikes in Bradenton Beach, offering his knowledge and assistance to them. He also conducts an Island e-bike tour on Wednesday mornings where participants can either bring their own e-bike or rent one for $35. The guided ride lasts about two hours and is free, but he accepts donations for the Robinson Preserve trail fund. The rides are from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will continue through Wednesday, April 10. Anyone interested can contact Better On Bikes at 877-426-4386.

Chamber awards trolley grants

Chamber awards trolley grants

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, Business.

CORTEZ – More than a hundred people packed the Seafood Shack’s Neptune Room on Jan. 25 for the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s latest Business Card Exchange, which featured the annual Trolley Grant Awards.

This year’s awards went to 16 nonprofit organizations that requested money for specific projects to better the community through their efforts.

To keep the familiar trolleys that carry passengers up and down the Island free of charge, the AMI Chamber sells advertising space on the inside and outside of the trolleys. After administrative costs and expenses are covered each year, excess revenue is dispersed in the form of grants to nonprofit organizations on the Island and in Cortez. The annual award winners are selected by a committee and awarded annually on the fourth Thursday of January based on submissions that are due in mid-December.

The program was founded by Ed Hunzeker, former Manatee County administrator, along with the late David Teitelbaum, of Anna Maria Island Resorts.

This year’s ceremony gave back more than $25,000, bringing the total grants given to nonprofits on the Island and Cortez since the inception of this program to more than $471,000. AMI Chamber officials say they are honored to manage this program with Manatee County that gives back to the community.

Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Trolley Grant recipients:

• Anna Maria Elementary School PTO

• Anna Maria Island Art League

• Anna Maria Island Garden Club

• Anna Maria Island Privateers

• Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring

• Annie Silver Community Center

• Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island

• Cortez Village Historical Society

• Friends of the Florida Maritime Museum

• Friends of the Island Branch Library

• Island Players

• Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria Island

• Roser Memorial Community Church

• Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island

• The Center of Anna Maria Island

• Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc.

AMI Chamber awards scholarships

AMI Chamber awards scholarships

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Entertainment, Events.

HOLMES BEACH – The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce’s monthly Business Card Exchange is always a great networking event, but the March 23 event at LaPensee Plumbing, Pools and Air was extra special for three area high school seniors who were each awarded a $1,000 college scholarship by the Chamber.

Evan Christenson, Hannah Ferguson and Terrance Johnson Jr. were on hand to accept their awards and meet Island business owners and managers.

Christenson is graduating from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School with a GPA of 4.24. He is a member of the varsity lacrosse team and volunteers at the AMI Center. Evan has been accepted to Florida State University and will major in finance and law. He hopes to return to Bradenton to establish his career and to dedicate time to help seniors and veterans who need business and or legal services.

Ferguson graduates from Braden River High School and has been engaged in businesses of her own from an early age, from her lemonade stand to her bakery. She became the “leader” in

the classroom as well as captain of the volleyball team and girls’ flag football team. She will major in entrepreneurship and innovations at the University of South Florida next fall. Her dream is to own a successful business on Anna Maria Island.

Johnson graduates through the AICE program at Palmetto High School. The pandemic significantly impacted him with the loss of face-to-face instruction. He overcame the situation by setting and maintaining his own goals to maintain good grades. He will attend Florida A&M University to study business, marketing and information technology.

“These scholarships are open to any Manatee County graduating senior who is pursuing further education, whether it be a four-year degree, two-year degree or a trade school,” AMI Chamber President Terry Kinder said. “The applications are turned in to the Chamber, which has a committee that goes through the applications and scores them, then picks the beneficiaries.”

Fifteen non-profits receive trolley grant awards

Fifteen non-profits receive trolley grant awards

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, Business.

CORTEZ – The Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce Business Card Exchanges are always a great opportunity for local business owners to network and get to know each other. The Jan. 26 event at the Seafood Shack in Cortez offered the added excitement of the Annual Trolley Grant Awards, which, this year, granted 15 local 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations cash awards of nearly $30,000.

In order to keep the familiar trolleys that carry passengers up and down the Island free of charge, the Chamber sells advertising space on the inside and outside of the vehicles. After administrative costs and expenses are covered each year, excess revenue is dispersed in the form of grants to not-for-profit organizations on the Island and in Cortez.

The annual award winners are selected by a committee and awarded annually in January based on submissions from local non-profit organizations that are due in mid-December. The program was founded by former Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker and the late David Teitelbaum of Anna Maria Island Resorts. The Chamber manages the award program with Manatee County leaders.

According to the Chamber, the Island trolleys carried more than 407,000 riders in 2022.

This year’s ceremony gave back a total of $29,341, bringing the total grants awarded to more than $447,000 since the program began.

This year’s grant recipients and their projects are:

Anna Maria Elementary School: STEAM Program (science, technology, engineering, arts and math)

Anna Maria Island Art League: Campaign to add artists and attendees to the Springfest art festival

Anna Maria Island Garden Club: Design and installation of an outdoor plant interpretive panel

Anna Maria Island Privateers: Testore the Skullywag landbound pirate ship

Annie Silver Community Center: Technology upgrades at its Bradenton Beach community center

Artists Guild Gallery of Anna Maria: Restroom renovations at the gallery

Cortez Village Historical Society: Orientation and reference materials to recruit new docents and for hiring a consultant to assist

Florida Maritime Museum: Stories from the Gulf Coast Commercial Fishing Industry in Cortez program

Friends of the Island Library: Sprout Early Learning Backpacks for children

Kiwanis Club of Anna Maria: Kiwanis Club-sponsored interdenominational Easter sunrise service

Roser Food Pantry: Sponsored food recipient program

Roser Memorial Community Church: Vacation Bible School

Rotary Club of Anna Maria Island: Anna Maria Elementary Peace/Conflict Solutions for Good Citizens program

The Center of Anna Maria Island: Beyond Classroom offerings

Wildlife Inc.: Care and feeding of animals