Joel EngelhardtChamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches unveils new look and new nickname while honoring former County Commissioner Jeff Koons.
It’s not just a new logo and website for the formerly tradition-bound Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches.
- It’s a new name. New coffee, too.
Catch up quick: The Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches — or should we say The Chamber? — unveiled its new logo Friday at a Kravis Center breakfast as it honored Jeff Koons, a former county commissioner and West Palm Beach city commissioner, with the chamber’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
- An alternative logo shortens the chamber’s mouthful of a name to two words, The Chamber, with the tagline: “est. 1913.”
- The main logo with The Chamber’s full name also has a new tagline: “Built for Business.”
Zoom in: The changes come as The Chamber transitions from longtime leader Dennis Grady, who retired in 2021, to his second successor as president and CEO, Michael Zeff.
The logos were designed by the West Palm-based PATHOS Agency, based on focus groups, stakeholder interviews and a membership survey.
As for the coffee, a blend produced by Pumphouse Coffee Roasters, The Chamber is calling it “Built for Business, Chamber Roast.” It will be served exclusively at Chamber events and through June at The Pumphouse Pouratorium, 1016 Clare Ave., West Palm Beach.
Koons, a Democrat whose first foray in local politics dates to 1989, remains active and spoke about some of the areas he’s touched: childhood health, homelessness, food inequities.
What he’s saying: “I preached Wall Street South. I preached the largest increase in wealth of anyplace on the planet the last five or six years. Yet we’ve got 600 homeless kids in West Palm Beach schools. Sixty-nine percent of the kids are on free or reduced lunch. Most of these kids are going through a very traumatic situation called ACE (Adverse Childhood Experience),” Koons said.
Other Chamber award winners:
- Young Professional of the Year: Kirby Davis, NAMI Palm Beach County.
- Small Businessperson of the Year: Serge D’Haiti, certified public accountant.
- Health & Human Services Organization of the Year: Palm Beach County Food Bank.
- Hospitality and Tourism Organization of the Year: Kravis Center.
- Nonprofit of the Year: Friends of MacArthur Beach State Park.
- Business of the Year: Florida Power & Light.
Video: Click here to see The Palm Beach Post video of the event.
Joel is a founder, reporter and editor at Stet News. His award-winning newspaper career spanned more than 40 years, including 28 years at The Palm Beach Post, which he left in 2020. Joel lives with his wife in Palm Beach Gardens. He volunteers on the board of NAMI Palm Beach County and the Palm Beach Gardens Historical Society.
