Rotary Happenings: Rotarians hear from chamber on recovery efforts
We have all been affected in various ways from the winds and rain of Hurricane Ian. It was very reassuring to be able to hear from Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce President and Chief Executive Officer John Lai. The chamber has over 450 members and operates the “Francis P. Bailey” Visitor Center, the only Visit Florida-certified visitor center that is open 365 days a year and sees over 80,000 visitors per year.
Professionally, Lai has been in the hospitality and tourism industry for more than 28 years and a resident of Lee County for over 30 years. He has operated resorts on Sanibel, Captiva, Clearwater and Vero Beach. Lai joined the chamber staff in 2017 and was promoted to president and chief executive officer in 2018. Personally, he has been in Southwest Florida for more than 36 years, skateboarding all over the island.
Since Sept. 29, when we started to see the devastation of our beloved islands and the mainland, Lai reported that residents, business owners and Florida politicians were “working hand in hand like never before.” For example, the Sanibel Causeway being passable in 10 days is just short of unbelievable.
While we all have a long road ahead of us, we can rest assured that Lai has our best interests in mind and he is facing the challenges face on. Another resource that may be of help is RotaryFL.org.
The Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club holds a Zoom meeting on Fridays at 8 a.m. The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81545260726; Meeting ID: 815 4526 0726 and Passcode: 955563. To connect via phone, call 646-931-3860. For more information, visit sanibelrotary.org or www.facebook.com/sancaprotary.