The Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce has played a vital role in the success of the Brandon area for more than 64 years and continues to be a driving force to make Brandon a better place to live, work and do business.
The chamber’s mission is at the heart of everything it does, which is to connect, collaborate and build a better community. One of the ways the chamber achieves its mission is through its Leadership Brandon Program.
The Leadership Brandon Program works to identify and develop civic-minded leaders throughout the community with insight and access on community operations through eight months of Leadership Development Days, which include a series of activities, seminars, tours and interactive presentations that nurture business relationships, improve community awareness and strengthen leadership abilities. Leadership Brandon is open to emerging leaders from diverse professional backgrounds, including entrepreneurs, executives’ mid-level managers and community advocates.
“Our leadership recently met with various nonprofits from our community to learn about what they do for our community,” said Dylan Chadwell, owner of Regalitea and Leadership Brandon’s Class of 2025 president. “Each nonprofit pitches us a need they have at their nonprofit and then we, as a group, decide which nonprofit’s need will become our class project.”
The project the Leadership Brandon class picked was pitched to the class by the Rotary Club of Brandon, and it is to restore a community garden at Rotary’s Camp Florida in Brandon.
“We decided to update Connor’s Corner at the camp,” Chadwell said. “When Connor was a child who had a brain issue, which lead to him losing his ability to speak or be mobile, he was in a wheelchair but loved coming to Rotary’s Camp Florida and to be outdoors. When Connor passed, the camp dedicated a garden area in his memory. Since then, the garden is needing some upgrades, so this is our class project, and we hope to have it completed by the beginning of March.”
The Leadership class is looking to the Brandon community for partnerships to help them complete the project by March.
“We want to install raised garden beds that are wheelchair accessible, plant fruit trees for butterflies and add a sensory-friendly sandbox as well to Connor’s Corner,” Chadwell said. “We want this area to be a place for campers to come and have a little quiet spot to relax and enjoy themselves.”
If you would like to partner with the Leadership Brandon Class of 2025 on their community project or if you’d like to donate supplies to their project, you can contact Chadwell at dylan@regalitea.com.
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