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Award winners, left to right: APEX Award winner Anjali Van Drie, Family Initiative; Nonprofit Excellence Award winner Kathryn Kelly, The Heights Foundation; Community Impact Award winner Robbie Roepstorff, Edison National Bank \/ Bank of the Islands; Young Professional of the Year Award winner Ashleigh Droz, Florida Gulf Coast University; and Large Business of the Year Award winner Buddy Martin, Entech. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce (GFMCC) celebrated its fifth Annual Chamber Awards with a record-breaking evening of recognition, inspiration, and community, welcoming 500 attendees to the Luminary Hotel & Caloosa Sound Convention Center\u2014making it the largest Chamber Awards celebration in the event\u2019s history.\n<\/p>\n
The annual awards recognize the individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations whose leadership, innovation, and commitment continue to strengthen the Southwest Florida business community.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis evening is officially the largest Chamber Awards celebration we\u2019ve ever hosted,\u201d said Greater Fort Myers Chamber president and chief executive officer John Lai during his opening remarks. \u201cThat\u2019s not just a reflection of attendance. It\u2019s a reflection of momentum. It\u2019s a reflection of confidence. And most importantly, it\u2019s a reflection of a business community that continues to believe in one another.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Throughout the evening, attendees celebrated not only the chamber\u2019s award recipients, but also the continued collaboration between the Greater Fort Myers Chamber, the SanCap Chamber, and the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association, reinforcing a shared commitment to promoting prosperity across the region.\n<\/p>\n
GFMCC board chair Jen Whyte reflected on the chamber\u2019s extraordinary year of growth, noting that the organization surpassed its membership goals while continuing to expand programming, partnerships, and opportunities for local businesses.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you haven\u2019t yet noticed, look around this room. Feel the energy,\u201d Whyte told attendees. \u201cThis Greater Fort Myers Chamber, by working with others, is absolutely winning.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Whyte also highlighted the chamber\u2019s continued momentum, celebrating record membership growth, new regional partnerships, and the evening\u2019s historic turnout.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat started with a cap of 375 attendees exploded to 500 people,\u201d she said. \u201cA blow-out record. Five hundred people who came out to celebrate this business community and, in particular, the nominees, the finalists, and the winners in eight award categories tonight. That is what winning looks like.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Serving as emcee, Gulf Coast News anchor Lisa Spooner reminded attendees that the evening represented much more than awards.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cProsperity is about more than economic growth,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about the ideas that spark innovation, the partnerships that strengthen our business community, the leaders who invest in others, and the organizations that create opportunities for future generations to thrive.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
2026 Chamber Award Winners
\nAPEX Award (Sponsored by the Greater Fort Myers Chamber Women in Business Committee)<\/p>\n
Winner: Anjali Van Drie, Family Initiative<\/p>\n
Community Impact Award (Sponsored by Lake Michigan Credit Union)<\/p>\n
Winner: Robbie Roepstorff, Edison National Bank \/ Bank of the Islands<\/p>\n
Entrepreneur of the Year (Sponsored by the City of Fort Myers)<\/p>\n
Winner: Dean Piccirillo, HBKS Wealth Advisors<\/p>\n
Nonprofit Excellence Award (Sponsored by M&M Multimedia)<\/p>\n
Winner: The Heights Foundation<\/p>\n
Volunteer of the Year (Sponsored by The News-Press)<\/p>\n
Winner: Amanda Berens, Children\u2019s Advocacy Center of Southwest Florida<\/p>\n
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Volunteer of the Year award presentation, left to right: Jim Fogler, The News-Press (award sponsor); Jen Whyte, GFMCC board chair; emcee Lisa Spooner, Gulf Coast News ABC, Amanda Berens, award recipient; and John Lai, chamber president and chief executive officer. -COURTESY PHOTO<\/p>\n
Young Professional of the Year (Sponsored by MIDFLORIDA Credit Union)<\/p>\n
Winner: Ashleigh Droz, Florida Gulf Coast University<\/p>\n
Small Business of the Year (Sponsored by CRS Technology Consultants)<\/p>\n
Large Business of the Year (Sponsored by Stevens Construction)<\/p>\n
The chamber also recognized its dedicated volunteers, committee leaders, and sponsors while celebrating the presentation of more than $36,000 in scholarships through the Chamber Foundation\u2019s Women in Business Committee to non-traditional students attending Florida SouthWestern State College and Florida Gulf Coast University.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe extend our sincere appreciation to Presenting Sponsor Verizon, all event sponsors, award sponsors, volunteers, finalists, nominees, and everyone who helped make this milestone celebration possible,\u201d said Lai. \u201cThe chamber looks forward to continuing its mission of promoting the prosperity of its members while strengthening the quality of life throughout Southwest Florida.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Planning is already underway for the 2027 Greater Fort Myers Chamber Awards. Sponsorship opportunities are now available and expected to fill quickly. For more information, contact the GFMCC at (239) 332-2930 or email events@fortmyers.org<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n ABOUT THE GREATER FORT MYERS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE\n<\/p>\n Founded in 1962, the Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce is a business organization that provides solutions and promotes the prosperity of our members and protects the quality of life in our community. The chamber represents professionals and businesses throughout Southwest Florida, empowering, connecting, and uniting members through educational, community, and business-focused programs and events. For additional information regarding membership opportunities or events, call 239-332-2930 or visit FortMyers.org<\/a>. For the latest news and updates, follow the chamber on Facebook.\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Award winners, left to right: APEX Award winner Anjali Van Drie, Family Initiative; Nonprofit Excellence Award winner Kathryn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[209,211,210],"class_list":["post-361853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral","tag-cape-coral-headlines","tag-cape-coral-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361853","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=361853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/361854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=361853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=361853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=361853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}