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<\/p>\nBy LOIS KINDLE<\/p>\n
The Greater South Shore Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 2026 Annual Chamber Banquet Jan. 30 at Little Harbor\u2019s Sunset Bar & Grill. Themed Southern Sunsets, the event was filled to capacity with 200 guests who came to enjoy a nice meal, connect with fellow members and honor the chamber\u2019s 2025 award winners.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beautiful waterfront setting to the heartfelt moments and well-deserved recognition, the night was truly a celebration of everything that makes SouthShore so special \u2014 our people, our partnerships and our community spirit,\u201d said Melanie Davis, the chamber\u2019s executive director. \u201cThis year\u2019s event was particularly meaningful for me because it\u2019s my final banquet, and it allowed me to shine a light on people who have done so much for this community this past year.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Surrounded by the Rev. Tom Campbell, left, and Melanie Davis, the SouthShore Chamber\u2019s executive director, right, Earl Bush\u2014co-owner of Sweet Tea Tiki mobile food truck\u2014is all smiles after being named 2026 Honorary Mayor of SouthShore at the chamber\u2019s 2026 Annual Awards Banquet.<\/p>\n
The 2025 awards and their recipients included
\u2022 Helping Hands for Business: Shawn Ferguson, Hillsborough County Small Business Development Center.
\u2022 Lovely Spirit: Rosemary Leist, Flipside Realty by Design.
\u2022 Front Page Friend: Lois Kindle, The Observer News.
\u2022 Rock Solid Impact: AdventHealth Riverview.
\u2022 Guiding Light: Lea Manningham, Girls of the World.
\u2022 Home Grown, Hustle & Heart: Ginger Morrison.<\/p>\n
Special congratulations went to Earl Bush, co-owner of Sweet Tea Tiki Bar, for his appointment as the chamber\u2019s 2026 Honorary Mayor of SouthShore.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Melanie Davis, executive director of the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce, addresses a capacity crowd of 200 during the 2026 Annual Awards Banquet, Jan. 30 at Little Harbor\u2019s Sunset Bar & Grill. The banquet marked the culmination of her 20th year with the chamber.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very honored to add my name to the many great people who came before me,\u201d said the fifth-generation Ruskinite. \u201cI thank God, my wife and all my great friends. I\u2019m thankful for this opportunity and look forward to having fun and doing great things in the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
AdventHealth Riverview and Friends of the SouthShore Library were recognized as major event sponsors. Others included Nadere Photography, Florida Foam Factory, Sunset Bar & Grill at Little Harbor and Grease Monkey \u2013 Ruskin.<\/p>\n
Davis also thanked the banquet\u2019s committee members who committed their \u201ctime, creativity and dedication\u201d to successfully bring the evening together\u2014Melissa Canfield, Kristen Fuhs, Lea Manningham, Ray Monahan, Heidi Neal, Bonnie Peacock and Sherell Bennett.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to everyone who attended, supported and helped make this night so memorable,\u201d Davis said. \u201cIt was like a giant reunion\u2014a wonderful mix of longtime members and new.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvenings like this remind us why our chamber is so unique\u2014 and why the connections we build together truly matter,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In other news
The SouthShore Chamber will host its annual Spring Expo at the United Methodist Church of Sun City Center, 1906 Haverford Drive, Feb. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon.<\/p>\n
The free expo will feature 50 vendors who will share information about the goods and\/or services they provide the community and enjoy the opportunity of meeting visitors in person. Here\u2019s a partial list of the businesses and organizations expected to be there.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SS-BANQUET-1.jpg\")
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NADERE PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTOS
Lea Manningham, founder and CEO of Girls of the World Inc., is overjoyed to hear her name called as the SouthShore Chamber\u2019s Guiding Light Award recipient during its 2026 Annual Awards Banquet, in recognition of her lifelong and exemplary commitment to lighting a path forward for others and walking alongside them with strength, courage and unwavering dedication.<\/p>\n
Health & Wellness
\u2022 Fox & Friends Animal Hospital
\u2022 HCA Florida SouthShore Hospital
\u2022 United Healthcare
\u2022 Manatee ER at Sun City Center
\u2022 LifePath Hospice<\/p>\n
Local Businesses & Services
\u2022 Grease Monkey
\u2022 The Observer News
\u2022 Cardinal Roofing
\u2022 Sunset Bar & Grill<\/p>\n
Community & Nonprofits
\u2022 Community Foundation Tampa Bay
\u2022 C.A.R.E. animal shelter
\u2022 Sun City Center Woman\u2019s Club
\u2022 Seniors in Service
\u2022 Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/p>\n
Housing & Senior Living
\u2022 Shadetree Apartments
\u2022 Imperial Candlelight
\u2022 Freedom Plaza
\u2022 SunTowers Retirement Community
\u2022 Cypress Creek Assisted Living<\/p>\n
Elected & Public Offices
\u2022 Hillsborough County Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez<\/p>\n
As always, the expo will include door prizes and lots of free tchotchkes. Visitors and vendors alike will have the opportunity to win prizes on site.<\/p>\n
For more information, call the chamber at 813-645-1366.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By LOIS KINDLE The Greater South Shore Chamber of Commerce celebrated its 2026 Annual Chamber Banquet Jan. 30…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":152959,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-152958","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-st-pete","9":"tag-st-pete-headlines","10":"tag-st-pete-news","11":"tag-st-petersburg","12":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","13":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=152958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/152958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/152959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=152958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=152958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=152958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}