SHIFT The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down 2020 Chamber Board Chair Matt Clark, Vice Chair of Advocacy Gow Fields and Director of Public Affairs Ryan Reis to discuss the reasoning behind the Chamber's formal opposition to Amendment 2.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Chamber Chief Development Officer Darla Sechrest-Pettaway to discuss updates relating to the Chamber's Foundation and the progress of the Business Resource Center.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Patrick Gogliardo of Business Down Pat, Inc. who is also Chair of the Chamber's Small Business Council.

The episode features Patrick's advice for small businesses as a veteran entrepreneur and also discusses the role of the Chamber's new Small Business Council.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast, Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Tony Johnson, CCXP, Founder of Ignite Your Service. 

The episode features a a discussion on how to best offer customer service, secure sales and lead during our ever-changing economy.

Tony's experience in these areas comes from  20 years of running businesses - from retail to  restaurants and everything in between.  He has supported Fortune 200  companies and small businesses alike in Sports and Leisure, food  service, retail, healthcare, and convention centers. 

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast, Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Sylvia Blackmon-Roberts, Associate Vice President for Community Relations at Southeastern University. Sylvia is currently serving as Chair of the Reopen Lakeland Taskforce Marketing Subcommittee that is working on messaging that can aid in increasing consumer confidence as we look to relaunch our local economy.

The episode features a conversation as to the current status of small business in Lakeland and what the Reopen Lakeland Taskforce and our community as a whole can do to best serve our businesses now and after the pandemic.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast, Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Lakeland Electric General Manager Joel Ivy.

The discussion features a conversation as to the current status of Lakeland Electric as well as looking forward to what the future holds.

Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates also provides an update on the progress of the Reopen Lakeland Taskforce as well as the status of Chamber events.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Suncoast Credit  Union's Senior Vice President of Jackie Gilbert.

The discussion features a conversation as to managing risk and what to do if faced with financial hardship brought on as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic.

We also switch things up in our second segment where Chamber COO Sarah Breed interviews Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates as to the Reopen Lakeland Task Force, Phase 1 of the state's reopen plan and other matters relating to the Chamber.

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Suncoast Credit Union's Business Relationship Officer Alisha Martin.

The discussion features a reflection on the initial CARES Act, the process of applying for various grants and loans, as well as how businesses can be best prepared for opportunities presented by the new Cares Act. 

On  this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast,  Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Assistant Chief  Hans Lehman of the Lakeland Police Department and Captain Matt Brown of  the Lakeland Fire Department via telephone.

The discussion includes Hans and Matt talking about the impact that  COVID-19 has had upon our first responders and what they have learned  from life in this "new normal."

On this episode of SHIFT - The Lakeland Chamber of Commerce Podcast, Chamber President & CEO Cory Skeates sits down with Lakeland City Manager Tony Delgado via telephone .

The discussion includes Tony talking about his background, the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic and looking forward to the day that we are back to the Lakeland we knew previously.